First Peter chapter one and Romans 13 because we'll be over in Romans 13 here in just a little while. So, first Peter chapter one to start with. And then we'll be turning over to Romans chapter 13 in just a few minutes. Started a series back couple months ago now. Based on this verse of scripture right here, Revelation four eleven, thou worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.

For thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure, they are and were created. So, let's look once more time. Now that all the children are gone, praise the Lord. Revelation four eleven, thou art worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure, they are and were created. So, why were you created?

You were created for God's what? Pleasure. To do his will, to bring him glory, to bring him pleasure. Matthew five and verse sixteen and first Corinthians ten thirty one, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.

He made us and he saved us. So that we might bring him glory. Glory that he is due. He is due because he is the creator. He is due because he is also the savior.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, Lord, thank you for this day. Once again, this opportunity to bring glory to your name. May you direct us in our study today. May you direct us in everything we do that it might bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ, our savior.

Lord, if there be one here that's never received Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of their life. May you open their eyes and their heart today to receive that most precious and wonderful gift. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. First Peter one hundred fifteen and sixteen, if you're in first Peter, One of the ways that we can bring glory to our God is by being holy.

Says here in first Peter one hundred fifteen and sixteen, but as we, he, as he, but as he which hath called you is holy, So, be you holy in all manner of conversation because it is written, be you holy for I am holy. God, a holy God, separate from sin and all that defiles, desires holiness from his children. And that would be all who have come to Christ in faith. He desires that we be holy in every aspect of our walk of life. That's what that word conversation means there.

In all manner of conversation, that doesn't just mean what you say. It means every aspect of your conduct in life. That we be more like Jesus. That we be salt and light in the world. That we be set apart unto God to his service and from sin and worldliness.

He died to make us his children, to restore in us his image, marred by sin in the garden, to make us like his son, Jesus Christ, our savior, and our great example. Romans eight twenty nine, it says, for whom he did foreknow, those also he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his what? Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Why did Christ save you? He saved you that he might change you.

He wants you to change. He wants me to change. He wants us to be more holy. He wants to conform us, change us, mold us back into the image of his son, Jesus Christ. That image that was marred in the Garden of Eden.

He is working to do that even today in your life by his holy spirit and through his word and one day in heaven, that transformation will be what? That transformation will be complete. First John three two. Beloved, now, are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be what? Like him.

For we shall see him as he is. We can't see him in all of his glory now because of our sin and our sinful condition but one day, God will put all of that behind us. He will complete his perfect work in all of his redeemed children and we will see him as he is because we will be like him. But as Paul said in Philippians three thirteen and fourteen, we haven't arrived yet. He says there, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.

That means, I haven't reached the goal quite yet. Haven't arrived yet. I'm not there yet. So, he says, I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, this one thing I focus on in my life. Forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth into those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

What was Paul saying? Paul was saying this, I'm not perfect. I'm I God is not finished with me yet. I I'm still struggling with those things. I'm still growing.

I still need his help. Still need his power. Still need to keep pressing on. Because I'm not there yet. But one day I will.

And I'm pressing forward to that day in my life. I'm leaving behind those things that would drag me down. That would distract me from my goal of being like my savior Jesus Christ. And I'm looking forward to the day. When that will be a reality.

Now, Paul admitted that he had not attained that as yet and neither have we but he was striving each day for that goal. Do you think you should be also? Do you think that is a good goal? To have? Indeed, it is.

For that is God's goal for us and that should be our goal for us. That day by day, we be molded more into the image of Jesus Christ, our savior. So that we don't wait to heaven to shine our light that others may see our good works and glorify our father which is in heaven but that we clean up our lives to reflect that light more brightly today. As we follow him on that journey. We must therefore learn how to be set apart.

That's what the word holy means. It means to be set apart. To be set apart from the sinful lifestyle and behavior of the unsaved world around us. To be set apart into the service of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and to the purpose of being molded into his image, to be salt and light in this dark world, for our maker, our redeemer, to his glory, and his praise, and for his pleasure. We saw a couple weeks ago, one of the areas, the aspects of our life that needs to shine brightly, to bring him that glory, to be more like him, to be more holy is our faith.

We live in a world that is not a world of faith. It's a world of sight. Nonetheless, God tells us in his word, the just shall live by what? Faith and as the children of God to we need to walk by faith and not by sight. In a dark world where faith is absent, particularly faith in who?

Faith in God. The trust that we show in our God, the faith that we have in our God should shine very very brightly. To those around us. To his praise and to his glory. And to draw them to himself.

We are not here to magnify us. We're here to magnify who? Jesus. How do we do that? Well, we do that by growing each day in our what?

In our faith, in our trust in him. We do that by choosing to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. But to love Jesus Christ most of all. So, we demonstrate this holiness in the aspect of our faith but also in our affections and lust. The world is driven by self interest and sinful lust but we who know Christ should be driven by a different love.

Not just a love of self, not just a love of the world, not just not just the lust of the world. We should have a higher goal and a higher love. What is the greatest commandment? Thou shalt what? Love the Lord with all thy heart.

And not the things of the world which are what? Passing away. We become more holy as we replace the affections of the world and the lust of the flesh with love for who? With love for Jesus Christ and a love for the things that he loves. We become more like him.

We become more holy and then last week, number three, we become more holy in this aspect of our life as well. In our dealings with others, in our dealings with others. Our dealings in the world with others around us should be righteous dealings. Righteousness not only defines a condition of the heart but a condition of the heart that expresses itself and how we deal with the world around us. How we deal with other people.

God is very concerned that his children live righteous lives by the power of his spirit. If we are to be more holy to the glory of our God, we must deal with others differently than how they often deal with us or each other. Back back to Micah six eight. He has showed thee old man what is good and what does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. What does God require of us?

What is he desire of us? That we live justly or righteously among others. In this world in which we live. They may not deal justly with us. But we are called to deal justly with them.

We are called to love and practice mercy toward them. They may not always show mercy toward us but there is one in heaven who has shown us more mercy than we can ever imagine. And he has called us to show mercy to others and to walk humbly, submissively in faith with our God each day. To walk in the spirit and not in the flesh, to walk according to the principles of his work, to follow where he leads. The world likes to say, follow your heart.

The Bible says, follow your God and if you follow your God, your heart will follow too. If you follow your heart, it doesn't necessarily follow. That you're going to follow God. Put God first. Walk humbly with your God and as you do, you will also deal righteously, honestly, with those around you.

Exodus twenty sixteen, thou shalt not bear what? False witness against thy neighbor. Do we have the right to lie, cheat, and hedge when we're talking and dealing with our neighbors maybe because they do it with us. The answer to that is no. In every aspect of our lives with our neighbors, with our relatives, with our friends, at school, at work, in our business dealing, God has called us to be like him and how is God?

God is honest. He is always honest. He is true. He is fair. The Bible has a lot to say about our dealings with other people especially in business.

It says in Proverbs eleven one, a false balance is an abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight. God delights in us. He finds pleasure in us. He is glorified in us. When we go the extra mile to be honest and just when you when you sell a product and somebody gives you a 50 when they thought they gave you a 20.

Why do you do? Oh, well, you know, they gave me the 50. They don't know any different. Their fault, they should have known better. They should've locked at what they were giving me.

Or do you say, hey, excuse me, you gave me the wrong, the wrong bill, the wrong change, and make it right. You know, that that makes an impact in a world where people just aren't that honest today. But we are to be salt and light. Be honest. Be trustworthy.

Do what you say. Do your best. And God will be what? And God will be glorified. Number two, be loving and kind.

Be loving and kind. Act like a child of God. Choose love and mercy over bitterness and hatred and pride. Be more like the good Samaritan. Who gave up his time, risked his life, gave up his money, to help a fellow in need who probably would never have helped him.

But he helped him anyway. The good Samaritan is really a metaphor for Jesus Christ. For we were the guy in the ditch who was beaten by robbers and left for dead. Jesus Christ, our savior. Loved us so much that he left heaven and he gave up his life to restore ours.

Be peacemakers. Be peacemakers. Matthew five nine says, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of who? For they shall be called the children of God. Be a peacemaker.

Well, how do you do that? Well, first of all, you introduce people to Jesus Christ for he is the ultimate peacemaker. He is the one who came to make peace between us and God. However, being a peacemaker goes a little further than that. In Romans chapter 12, it says, as much as lieth in you, be at peace with all men.

In other words, as for your part, do everything you can to be at peace with that ornery neighbor. I have a neighbor right now that lives right beside me and every almost every Saturday night, they party till two in the morning and they have a one of these bass speakers out there and so my house vibrates. Usually while I'm trying to finish getting my sermon ready, my my house is vibrating from the the neighbors next door and if you step out, the smoke is so strong, you can't stand it. You know something? They need Jesus.

That's what they need. They're not going to get Jesus because I get mad at em, are they? No. I I I want to be a peacemaker. Sometimes, you you have to talk to your neighbor.

Talk to your neighbor in love. Jesus said, if they ask for your coat, give em your cloak also. If they ask for you to go with them one mile, go what? Go two. That's who our savior is.

He's a peacemaker And that's what he has called us to be. And that's another way that we can reflect the holiness of our God to a world around us. This morning, I want us to look at Romans chapter 13. I told you I'd get there eventually. Romans chapter 13.

Romans thirteen one through seven. It says, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God, for the powers that be are ordained of God, whoso therefore, whosoever therefore resisted the power, resisted the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. The word damnation, there is just a strong word for judgement does not necessarily imply hell. Verse three, for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil.

Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do which is good? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain.

For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore, you must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake. In other words, not only because you could be punished if you disobey but also because who is watching? Your father in heaven is watching. For conscience sake also.

For this cause, pay you tribute. What's tribute? Taxes. Yeah, that's another bad word there. Taxes.

Therefore, for this cause, pay you tribute also, for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to who custom, fear, to whom fear, honor, to whom honor. So, if we're going to be more like our savior, if we're going to be more holy, if we're going to bring glory to his name and pleasure to our Lord, we must learn how to deal with authorities in our life. We must learn how to be subject to those authorities and have a submissive heart. That is not something that comes natural.

Our human nature, our sinful nature says, I will do it whose way? My way and you better get out of my way if you're going to try to stop me. That's our sin nature talking. That's not our divine nature talking. That's not our new nature talking.

That's the old way. That's not the what? The new way. God says that we need to be submissive. Submissive first of all to our heavenly father, to our heavenly father because it is he from which all authority comes.

James four seven, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The word submit means to voluntarily place yourself under their leadership and authority in your life. Submit yourselves. Voluntarily place yourself under God's direction. Will you ever regret it?

The answer is no and when we yield ourselves to him, when we submit our will to his will, the enemy is going to what? Flee. Because he is no match for God. He is no match for God. So, submit yourself to the Lord.

Romans twelve one and two, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. What does that mean? It means submit yourselves to God. In this life you live, let him.

Be the one in the driver's seat. Let him be the one calling the shots. Submit yourselves to his will, to his word, to the principles therein. It is your reasonable service for he gave his life for you. We are to learn to obey and to submit to him in all things.

Not just the easy ones. Or the ones we understand. There are some things you say, oh yeah, I can submit to God. Oh, yeah. I understand that.

Yeah, that's easy. There are other things that we find more difficult. Those are the test, Not the things you agree with, not the things you understand, but the things you don't. Not the things you find easy, but the things you find hard. What if Joshua had told God he wasn't going to walk around the walls of Jericho because it just didn't make any sense.

Can you imagine here Joshua comes back and says to people, okay, this is how we're going to defeat the city. We're just going to walk around the city today one time and we're going get up tomorrow. We're to walk around the city again one time. We're to do this for six days. On the seventh day, we're going to walk around the city seven times and then we're going to shout and the city will be ours.

Now, how do you think some of the Israelites responded to that? What? Do what? We're going to what? That doesn't make any sense.

Of course, it makes sense to us now because we're looking what? We're looking back but praise God, he listened to the Lord. He submitted to his will and he went and he told the people why they were going to do and they did it and they submitted to him and they walked around the walls and the walls came tumbling down. What if Moses said, well, I'm not going back to Egypt. I already been there, done that one time, didn't work out very well, not going back there.

What if he said, well, I'm not going to walk across. I'm not going to walk up to that Red Sea and hold that stick in the air and see what happens? What if Noah said, I'm not building that ark. What do you mean? It's not even raining and there's no water right here and you want me to build this big boat in the middle of nowhere?

They're going to laugh at me and I'm sure they did. But they submitted themselves to God and you're here and I'm here. Obey the Lord. Submit to his will. One of the ways we submit to his will is by submitting to those that he has placed in authority over us.

Obey the laws of the land as long as they are not in direct conflict with the laws of who? The laws of God. First Peter two, three, thirteen, and fourteen. Submit yourselves therefore to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Whether it be to the king as supreme or under governors unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well.

Paul said it in Romans, Peter said it in Peter, you need to obey the laws of the land. In regards to the laws, the land laws concerning our personal behavior. Laws concerning our personal property and the property of others. Laws concerning the well-being of others. Laws concerning the pain of taxes.

And respect for authorities. Laws that Jesus respected and yielded to. Both the laws of Rome and of the ruling council in Jerusalem. Jesus submitted himself. He was the king.

He is the king. But yet, he humbled himself and he became a what? A servant. Being found in fashion to man, he humbled himself. He became obedient unto death even the death of the cross.

And Jesus portrayed that in his life by his obedience even to the laws of men who he created even to fallen men who are in many respects anything but respectable and yet he submitted to their laws and we're to do the same. Unless those laws conflict with the revealed will of God. In which case, Jesus obeyed the will of his father. He obeyed the will of his father when he healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. He obeyed the will of his father when he consorted with the outcast who were willing to accept the gospel.

He obeyed the will of his father when he confessed his true identity as the son of God. You see, the government gets their authority from who? From God. So, if the government tells me to do something that God tells me not to do, then, who must I obey first? God.

The government tells me not to do something that God tells me to do. Who must do I obey first? God. Because their authority comes from him. We too must choose to obey God rather than man in cases where human authorities tell us we cannot do something that God has commanded that we do.

Acts five twenty nine. I think it's up here on the screen. There it is. Then, Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. Now, why did they say that?

Why were they in a position to say that? Well, because Christ had commanded them to go into all the world and what? Preach the gospel. He had commanded them to be witnesses unto him first in where? Jerusalem and in all Judea and that's what they were doing and the authorities in Jerusalem arrested them, pulled them aside, and says, you can do anything you want except I don't want to hear anymore about this Jesus.

About him being the Messiah, about him rising from the dead. Just stop talking about Jesus and we will leave you alone. And what the apostle say? We ought to obey God rather than men. We must do as our Lord commanded.

We will obey you up to this what? This point. We must obey God. Daniel, Daniel was asked in Nebuchadnezzar's palace to eat food that was against the Old Testament law. And Daniel purposed in his heart that he would what?

Not defile himself with the king's meat. Later on, in Daniel six, Darius passed a law, cannot pray to any God but Darius for thirty days. Daniel knew he was being watched and he still went back to his home and he got down on his knees and he prayed to his God. And he trusted God to take care of the rest. We may someday be put in that same position.

When that condition comes when that choice is laid before us. We must choose to obey God rather than men. So, when God tells us to do something and men tell us we can't, we must obey God. When authorities compel us to do something, that God has forbidden, we must also obey who? We must also obey God.

Joseph. Joseph was in the house of Potiphar. He had really two masters in the house. He had Potiphar and he had Potiphar's wife. Potiphar made him the highest ranking servant in the house.

And one day when Potiphar was gone, Potiphar's wife said, come lie with me. Come sin with me. And what did Joseph say? How can I disobey my master and more importantly, my God and sin with you? He could've hidden behind, well, she's my what?

Authority. But he said, no, I must obey God rather than men and let God take care of me and he did and you say, well, it didn't end so well. He got thrown in prison. Yeah. But because he got thrown in prison, he met the baker and the butler and because he met the baker and the butler, he interpreted their dreams and because he interpreted their dreams, he was brought before Pharaoh when he had a dream and because he interpreted his dream, he was made the highest, second highest ruler in Egypt and because he was made the second highest ruler in Egypt, when his family was famished and without food, Joseph took care of them.

You see, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understand. All thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Obadiah was told by King Ahab to kill all the prophets. He could have said, well, Ahab told me to but he didn't.

Instead, he hid them and he fed them probably from food and water that came from Ahab's table. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, all they had to do was what? Just bow. Just just just a little bow. That's it.

That's it. But they said no. We can't do it. We cannot do it. We will trust our God.

He is able to deliver us out of your hands. We don't know what his will is. We don't know what he's going to do but we know what he's able to do and we're going to choose to trust him and not you. We're going to choose to trust him. When obedience to man's authority conflicts with God's, our choice is clear, we must obey God rather than men.

Should the government tell us we must marry, accept into our membership or hire those who are born one gender and demand that they be recognized as another or who want to marry someone of the same gender, we must not flinch, we must stick with what? God's word. God's word is clear. God has made clear what he feels about that. He created a man and a woman.

He created two genders. He created a man and a woman to be what? To be married and not a man and a man and not a woman and a woman. I will stick with God's word and I will let God take care of the rest. There are some who today would have us to say, well, you know, that's not popular.

That's old fashioned. God's word is obsolete. So, I'm just going to, you know, I don't like this part. So, so I'll just take this scissors here and I'll just cut this part out, so therefore I don't have to worry about it anymore. There we go, that part of God's word don't need it.

Now, just so you know, that wasn't actually a Bible. Wasn't actually a Bible. But I visited Monticello and in one of Thomas Jefferson's room is a Bible and it's all cut up. He just cut out the parts he didn't like. Can we do that?

No. No, we have to obey the parts even the parts we maybe don't understand or the world does not understand. We must not flinch. We must obey God rather than men. Should the government tell us that we cannot preach the gospel, a gospel which calls sin sin?

A gospel that declares Jesus is the what? The only way to heaven. We must not flinch. We must preach the word. Should you be a surgeon and the government tell you, you must agree to do abortions to keep your practice?

You must not flinch. Should you run a Christian adoption adoption agency and the government tell you you must place childrens in homes of transgender and homosexual parents. You must not flinch. Some of those choices are upon us. Some of them may come.

Will you trust God? Will you take a stand for what is right? You may have to choose. We may have to choose. We must choose the Lord to submit ourselves to him and trust him to take care.

But understand this, in closing this morning, these are rare exceptions. These are rare exceptions. Make sure you are following the rules before you start claiming the exceptions. Sometimes, the loudest protesters claiming, oh but I must obey God here rather than men are the least submissive to follow the other rules. So, make sure you're submitting yourself to the authority of God and to the proper authorities in your life before you start claiming the exception.

Else, you will not be a good testimony. You will be a poor one. Praise God our savior in heaven. Chose to submit his will to the will of his father. He left heaven.

He became a servant. He humbled himself unto death even the death of the cross and he did it for you and me. He even humbled himself to his disciples as he took a towel and he washed their their feet. He showed us the way to be a testimony, to be a light, to be salt in this world, to be servants, and not masters, to be submissive to the will of our father that is in heaven. Wanna ask just one question this morning God has made one way to heaven.

I just mentioned it. It's through his son, Jesus Christ. He is the only way. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me.

The only way any of us are going to get to heaven is not by our good works, not by our church membership, not because we got wet in a pool of water. The only way we're going to get to heaven is by submitting ourselves to who? To our God in heaven. By receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. By coming to God through faith in his son, Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross, for he is the only way and if you're here this morning and you've never done that as we sing a hymn of invitation in just a moment, it is my prayer and my plea.

That you receive Jesus today. That you come as we sing. And if the Lord has spoke to your heart in any other way that you respond also. You can come up here and pray. You can pray where you're seated.

But We need to be servants. We need to be willing to humbly submit. That we might be holy. That we might shine brightly. For Jesus our Lord.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord today for your word. Thank you Lord for all that you've done for us. May we submit to your word, not ignore it or cut it out or lay it aside. May we show the world around us that we honor and respect you.

By respecting your word, by respecting your son, by respecting the authorities in our life, that we would not be rebels but that we would be servants of Jesus Christ that we would be salt and light that we would be more like our wonderful savior. That others may see our good works and glorify our father which is in heaven. And Lord we pray if there's one here today that's never received has yet to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and savior that they would come this morning as we sing. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.