New Freedom
Series: Vision Series 2024 - New Life
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 17th March 2024
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Human beings have always valued freedom, they've valued choice.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:11 A couple of millennia ago, Aristotle and Plato, two Greek philosophers,
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 whose philosophy of the bedrock of Western civilisation,
00:00:16 --> 00:00:22 called for freedom of the individual and called for democracy.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 Although for both Aristotle and Plato, it was only ever limited.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:32 They saw that freedom and democracy was to be limited,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:41 and amazingly, only for a certain slice of the population should have freedom.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:47 All these centuries later, personal individual freedom
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 is perhaps the only publicly shared and acknowledged moral value
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 of our culture and society today.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:58 Everything else is up for grabs except for personal individual freedom.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 In fact, one way or another, whether you're on the right or the left,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 you're arguing for personal individual freedom.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:18 It's one of those values that is so clear and so self-evident in our day and age
00:01:18 --> 00:01:26 that very few are even bothering to explain what it actually is or means.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 It's just an assumption that we have.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 It's an assumption that is non-negotiable.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:38 The assumption is that choice is a good thing in life,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 and the more choice that we have in life,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 the more options we have in life,
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 the happier we will be in life.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 That's the underlying assumption of personal individual freedom.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:58 And along with this view is the view that any sort of authority in life
00:01:58 --> 00:02:04 that restricts my choices is inherently suspect.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:10 This has been a trajectory for several decades in Western civilisation
00:02:10 --> 00:02:17 to the point where police forces nowadays in Western society
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 are regarded as inherently suspect.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:26 They were the people who used to constrain evil so that I could have choice.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 Now they're regarded as suspect themselves.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 We don't want anybody to have the right to tell us
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 what we should think or how we should behave.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:44 The only thing that isn't tolerated in our society is intolerance.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:48 Our society regards freedom as the highest good.
00:02:50 --> 00:02:55 That becoming free is the only heroic story we have left.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 And that giving individuals freedom is the main role of any institution
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 or in our society in itself.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:10 And in fact, it's the role of society to give me freedom of choice.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 That's the baseline cultural narrative of Western civilisation.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 The deepest core roots of our value system.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 And so today we're looking at a very important concept
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 in living the new Christian life.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 The freedom of the Christian.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 1 Peter 2, verse 16.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 If you've got your Bibles there,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 not if you've got your Bibles, get a Bible, I should say.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 Open it up.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:38 1 Peter 2, verse 16.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 Live as free people.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 It's a short statement.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 And it's a theme that runs through the entire New Testament.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 And we see that and we go,
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 Amen, Jesus, you got that right.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 Live as free people.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 The 16th century church reformer, Martin Luther,
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 wrote an article called
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 The Freedom of the Christian in 1520.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:08 And he summarised the freedom of the Christian like this.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:12 A Christian is perfectly free, Lord of all, subject to none.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:18 A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:28 He went on to say that these two statements appear on the surface to contradict each other.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 The Apostle Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 19.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:39 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 That's the paradox of the Christian life.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:52 Christian freedom, through submission, service, obedience, is complete opposite to our culture.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:59 And yet, because we breathe the air of our culture each day,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:07 Christians have a great deal of difficulty understanding what true, genuine freedom is.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 And so that's what our journey is today.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 What is this new freedom that we have in Christ?
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 So three points.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 You've got the St Paul's app there.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 The paradox of freedom.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:18 Experiencing true freedom.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 And taking steps to freedom.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 So the paradox of true freedom.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:28 The way freedom is used in the Bible is so different the way it's used in society.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:33 I would argue that society has in fact got freedom wrong.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:41 I preached a sermon on this, which you'll all remember, back in November last year,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:46 in John chapter 8 and 9, with the title Abundant Freedom.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 You can get that online if you want to explore this a bit more.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:53 I'm going to go over a little bit of it here.
00:05:54 --> 00:06:00 Because this issue of freedom is so foundation to our value system in Australian society.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 And we've got it so wrong.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 Look at verse 16 again.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 1 Peter 2.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:11 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 Live as free people.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 Live as God's slaves.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 That's what Luther was quoting there.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:27 Another way Peter might have put that is that we can live as free people because we are God's slaves.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:41 In fact, the whole first paragraph here is about serving others, submitting ourselves to others, giving ourselves to others.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:42 Why?
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 Why would we?
00:06:43 --> 00:06:44 Because we're free.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 That's why.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 Because the Christian is a slave to God.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:58 And the reason we are confused by that is because our culture defines freedom in completely negative terms.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 Not positive terms.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 It's completely negative terms.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:07 It's what philosophers call nowadays total negative freedom.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:12 Freedom is freedom from stuff.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 Freedom from constraints.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Freedom from restrictions.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:25 And to the degree that we are obeying, serving, or keeping a promise to someone is to the degree that we consider ourselves not free.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 That's negative freedom.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 And there are two assumptions I'm working here.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 And we see both of these assumptions in the New Testament.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:46 Firstly, negative freedom, as our society defines it, is simplistic, unworkable, and it's actually an illusion.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 Because everyone is a slave to something.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:52 Everyone.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:00 Any commitment we make in life brings with it a constraint in life.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:04 You sign a contract at work, you are no longer free.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:13 Your second assumption of the Bible is that no person is truly free from constraints.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:18 Then we all need to choose the most liberating constraints in life.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 That's the choice we make.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 And this works right through society as well.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 It works in my life.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 I've mentioned this illustration before.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 I'll do it again just for your sake.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 Attached to me here on one side is a microphone.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 Attached to me on the other side is an insulin pump.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 I'm a diabetic.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 Type 1 diabetic.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:48 Now, what if I chose as a diabetic to exercise my personal freedom by detaching the pump from me and eating whatever I chose in life?
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 Chocolate cake.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 Tim Tams.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:51 Rice.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 Yes, rice is evil.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:54 Rice.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 Burgers.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 Coke.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 No constraints.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 I am free to do what I...
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 You doctor cannot tell me how to live my life.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 I'm free.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:12 What happens when your free choices and passions contradict other free choices and passions in your life?
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 On the one hand, I want to eat any food that I want to eat.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:24 But on the other hand, I want good health and experience life.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:34 Once upon a time, before insulin pumps and insulin injections, the diagnosis of diabetes was a 15-year death sentence.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:47 So the only option before me, if I want to live my life beyond 15 years, is to choose one constraint over another constraint.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:58 I need to constrain one element of freedom on my life in order to experience another element of freedom in my life.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 That is the way it works for all of us.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:06 True freedom is not the absence of constraints on my life.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 It's choosing the liberating constraints on my life.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:22 It's the strategic loss of some freedoms to gain the more liberating constraints and freedoms.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:30 And the liberating constraints are the ones that are in line with our design.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:41 I remember years ago now, I was a very new Christian and I was reading a book by the English pastor John Stott.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:54 I can't remember the name of the book, but I remember one illustration that he wrote in the book that was so vivid for me 30 years ago that it's very vivid for me till today.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 And I continue to use this illustration.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 I get it from Stott.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 It goes something like this.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:04 Imagine right here, up on the stage right now, I had a fishbowl.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 With a fish in it.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:21 And this fish, let's call him Eric, is cruising around his little fishbowl and he sees all these people out here getting up, going to the bathroom, on their phones.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 Some listening.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:30 And he says, I wish I was like those people out there.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 I mean, look at them.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 They can wear what they want.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 They come and go as they please.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 Here am I, just circling around in my little fishbowl.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 Again and again.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 I wish I was free like those people.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 And little Eric decides to escape.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:50 And so he catapults himself up from the depths of his bowl, managed to flip over the top.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 He hits the stage and then flops onto the floor.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 And he's flipping and he's flopping and gasping for breath.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 Is he free?
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 He's no longer constrained to his fishbowl.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 Is he free?
00:12:06 --> 00:12:15 If you've ever seen a fish out of water, that's what it's not free at all.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 It's dying.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 That is, the fish is not designed.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 It hasn't got legs.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 It hasn't got lungs.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:25 It's not designed to be on the floor helping itself to the toilet like we do.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 It's not designed for that.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 It's designed for the constraints of water.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 And providing it is within the water, it is as free as it needs to be.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:40 And the moment that you pick up little Eric and put him back in the fishbowl, away he will go.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 Depends how long he's been out of the water, I suspect.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 But he'll do his little kick and away he'll go.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 Don Cartzer puts it like this in his commentary on John 8.
00:12:52 --> 00:13:11 Christian faith declares that there is a God who created all things with a purpose.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 Our God created us for himself.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:24 And so we are only truly free if we accept his constraints on our life.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:32 And those constraints are service of God and of others.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:38 And when we choose primarily a primary allegiance to God in our life,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 we're actually choosing freedom and we are choosing life.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 So that moves me to my second point.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 There's three things that I want to highlight from 1 Peter.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 And I'm not constrained to 1 Peter 2.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 I'm looking over several passages in the end of 1 Peter here.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 Three things I want to highlight.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:05 There are many more in 1 Peter, but there are certainly many more in the New Testament
00:14:05 --> 00:14:09 in terms of what we are free from.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:15 So firstly, we have freedom from uncontrollable and enslaving emotions and desires.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 I get that from chapter 4 verse 2.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 but rather for the will of God.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 Peter is talking here about Christians.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 He's saying that as a result of being born again,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 the new birth that we have, which is back there in chapter 1,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:44 following Jesus means that we no longer live for evil human desires.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 Now, I've mentioned this before multiple times,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:50 but I'm going to say it again because I don't expect you to remember it,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:56 is that Peter is using a Greek word here
00:14:56 --> 00:15:00 that shows up constantly in the New Testament.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:09 It's the word epithymia, epithymia, which means an over-desire.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:17 Verse 3 refers to living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 and detestable idolatry.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 Now, we tend to think there that Peter is saying,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 you Christians, stay away from those terrible parties.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:31 For you, that may be the case.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 But even here, that's not what Peter's talking about.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:40 The word lust that he uses isn't referring to sexual lust.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:48 It's the same word that he uses in verse 2 for over-desire, an over-desire.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:55 So Christian freedom is freedom from over-desires.
00:15:55 --> 00:16:00 Freedom from desiring things that are so intense that it drives you,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 but it will never, ever satisfy you.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 Never satisfy you.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:10 For instance, health is a good thing.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 Health is a good thing.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:24 On the other hand, a hypochondriac is a person who has an over-desire for health.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 That's what a hypochondriac is.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 It's an over-desire for health.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 They're anxious constantly about their health.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:38 They are anxious and they are miserable, and so is everyone around them.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 There's nothing wrong with romance.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 But an over-desire for it is a problem.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 Likewise for security, career, status, etc.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 And over-desires control us.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 It's the New Testament version of idolatry.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:05 When something threatens that thing that we have an over-desire for,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 that's when the emotions start to rise.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 And they become uncontrollable.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 Whenever someone in front of me is angry,
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 one of the first things I'm thinking of
00:17:23 --> 00:17:30 is what over-desire have I triggered here in this person?
00:17:30 --> 00:17:42 The second freedom that new life in Jesus brings into our lives
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 is the freedom from circumstances.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:48 Chapter 5, verses 5 to 7, we read,
00:17:48 --> 00:18:04 Part of the freedom that we have in Jesus is that we don't have to be controlled by anxiety anymore.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:09 Now, that doesn't mean that you'll never be anxious and you'll never worry.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:19 But it does mean that that anxiety and that worry doesn't have to paralyze you with fear.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:24 I don't want to say any more than that.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:29 Third one is the freedom, the new life that Jesus brings into our lives,
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 is the freedom to serve people.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:39 All of chapter 2, verses 13 to 17,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 is talking about social contracts.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 Submit yourselves to the Lord's sake to every human authority.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:51 That's citizenship, social contract.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 Show proper respect to everyone.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 That is also citizenship, social contract.
00:18:57 --> 00:19:00 In society, it's all about neighbourliness.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 Love the family of believers.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 That's church membership.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 We are told here to live as free people
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 because we are God's slaves
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 and that gets worked out in our service of others.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 You'll see that as we go through 1 Peter as well
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 and the New Testament.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 How does that work?
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 Why would I need to be a slave of God in order to serve other people?
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 Well, in his book, Making Sense of God,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:33 Tim Keller references an interview that's conducted
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 with the famous French novelist,
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 François Salon.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 It's for a French magazine.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 This is many years ago.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 She's being asked about her life
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 and how her life has gone.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:50 And at one point, the interviewer asked her,
00:19:51 --> 00:19:55 then if you had all the freedom that you wanted,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 Sagan says,
00:19:58 --> 00:20:18 So there's a woman who has completely embraced
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 the modern understanding of freedom.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:26 She's right to see that the modern understanding of freedom
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 and love for others
00:20:27 --> 00:20:31 as being polar opposites to one another.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 She's right.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 She's identified that.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 The more you are in a love relationship,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 the more you lose your freedom.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 The deeper the relationship goes,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:51 the less able you are able to live as you please.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 But I would ask François Salon
00:20:56 --> 00:21:01 and I would also ask our society and potentially you,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:05 when do we most feel joy?
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 When do we most feel alive?
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 When do we most feel secure and settled?
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 When do we most feel loved?
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 When do we most feel like a fish
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 getting thrown back into the fish bowl?
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 Is it when things have gone well at work?
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 Is it when you've done that deal?
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 Is it not mutual love relationships?
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 Now, I'm not talking here about purely romantic relationships.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:51 I mean relationships where I am loved for who I am.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:56 That's when we feel the greatest sense of freedom.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 That's why the modern definition of freedom
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 has gone way too far.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 Way too far.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 In his book, The Happiness Hypothesis,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:10 American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt writes this,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:33 He's not a Christian.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 He's an atheist.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:41 The modern definition and assumption of freedom
00:22:41 --> 00:22:49 is basically a veil for self-centeredness
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 and finding hope in yourself
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 and finding joy and freedom in yourself.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 It's just a veil for self-centeredness.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:04 Selfishness is, in fact, the enemy of love.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:12 Love is the fuel that our lives run on.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 And when it does run on it, we feel truly free.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:22 Christian freedom is a freedom for love.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:29 So, lastly, what does it mean to take next steps
00:23:29 --> 00:23:32 to experience more and more of this freedom?
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 There is a reality that none of us,
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 even those who have been Christian for a long time,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:45 are still not that free from enslaving emotions.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:52 We are often paralyzed by fear
00:23:52 --> 00:23:56 and we are often not free from our selfishness,
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 particularly in the Western church.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:03 So, how do we grow taking steps
00:24:03 --> 00:24:06 into a greater freedom in life?
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 There are two practical things.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:13 Very quickly, the first one is,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 is not to be afraid of making promises.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 This point comes up from a bunch of places in 1 Peter.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 For instance, chapter 5, verse 5,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 it says,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 In the same way,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 you who are younger,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 submit yourselves to your elders.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 Now, that's a verse there about church membership.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 It's saying that when you join a church,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 you are making a promise.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 You make a promise to serve others.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 When you get married,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 you make a promise.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 Have you ever noticed,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 this is a side point,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 not in the script,
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 how often I've been to marriages,
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 and particularly a secular marriage,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:04 where the person doing the wedding ceremony says,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 today's all about love.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 And I want to go,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 actually, no, it's not.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 You'll notice that in the vows.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 It's actually not about love.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 It's actually about commitment.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 Loves are given by the time we get here.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 It's actually,
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 a wedding ceremony
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 is actually a ceremony
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 about commitment.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 That's why I'm there signing it off
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 on behalf of the government.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 Amen.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 When you get married,
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 you make promises.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 When you become a citizen,
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 you make promises.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 When you get baptised,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 you make a promise.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 When you get confirmed,
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 which is happening in a couple of weeks,
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 you make promises.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 Don't be afraid to make the promises
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 that teach your heart
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 to move away from selfishness
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 that will enslave you
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 into love relationships.
00:25:56 --> 00:26:00 And so I would encourage you
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 to take your next steps
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 here at St Paul's.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 In worshipping God,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 loving your church family
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 and serving the world,
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 it is for your freedom.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 Your next step
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 is for your freedom.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 And the second thing
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 and the most important thing here
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 is to look to Jesus on the cross.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 Chapter 4, verse 1,
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 Therefore, since Christ suffered
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 in his body,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 arm yourselves also
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 with the same attitude.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 Have the attitude
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 of Jesus Christ.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 What's that attitude?
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 What's chapter 4, verse 1
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 referring to?
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 Philippians 2 puts it like this.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 It's saying the same thing
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 as Peter.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 In your relationships
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 with one another,
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 have the same mindset
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 as Christ Jesus,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 who being in very nature God,
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 did not consider equality
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 with God something
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 to be used
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 for his own advantage.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 Rather, he made himself
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 nothing by taking
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 the very nature of a servant
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 being made in human likeness
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 and being found
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 in appearance as a man.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 He humbled himself
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 and became obedient to death,
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 even death on a cross.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 Therefore, God exalted him
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 to the highest place
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 and gave him the name
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 that is above every name,
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 that at the name of Jesus,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 every knee should bow
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 in heaven and on earth
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 and under the earth
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 and every tongue acknowledge
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 that Jesus Christ is Lord
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 to the glory of God the Father.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:21 Jesus has gone
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 from the highest heights
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 to the deepest depths
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 for you
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 and for me.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 Not because we are worthy,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 not because we are lovable,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 but because he is
00:27:35 --> 00:27:39 all driven by
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 the unconditional love
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 and obedience
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 to the Father's plan.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:49 We have to see
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 what he's done for us
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 again and again and again.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 That's why
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 for and more is crucial.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 You will not live
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 the Christian life
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 if you're not doing it.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 I don't care
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 what heritage
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 of theological knowledge
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 you've got from the past.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 If you are not constantly
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 in his word
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 gazing at his glory
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 and his sacrifice for you,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 you will not grow.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 You will not take
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 your next steps to freedom.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:15 I don't know
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 how much I need to say that.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 Over and over again
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 for 18 months.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 We have to see it again
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 as a famous Christian song
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 which we did the rounds
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 decades ago now,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 which had this line in it,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 he who flung stars
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 into space
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 to cruel nails
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 surrendered.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 Jesus,
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 the Son of God,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:52 totally and utterly free,
00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 free for all of eternity
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 in a mutual love relationship
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 with the Father
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 and the Son,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 mutually indwelling,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 fully giving each other
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 of serving the other,
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 in mutual love,
00:29:06 --> 00:29:10 broke free from that.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 Firstly,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 becoming constrained
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 by human flesh,
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 the invincible God
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 without any limit
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 became a baby,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 reliant upon
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 a woman whom he created,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:37 then constrained
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 by being nailed
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 to a cross.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 And then the
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 eternal God
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 who always existed
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 in blazing light,
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 the one who never
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 had a beginning,
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 was constrained
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 for three days
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 in the darkness
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 of the tomb.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 Jesus Christ
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 surrendered
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 his infinite freedom
00:29:58 --> 00:30:00 so that you and I
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 could be free.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 Free from selfishness.
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 Free from self-centeredness.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 He became enslaved
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 to free us
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 from our sin.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 The sin of rejecting God,
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 the sin of disobeying God,
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 the sin of choosing
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 life our way,
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 the sin of
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 I need to take this
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 for me,
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 I need to do this
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 for me.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 Free from all of that.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 And
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 free from all of that.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 As John Gospels
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 tells us,
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 if the Son
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 sets you free,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 you'll be free indeed.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 So what is
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 the next step
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 you are taking?
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 Think about
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 the next big step
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 you are taking.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 Is it because
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 the Son
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 has set you free?
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 Or it's because
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 I'm choosing
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 freedom for myself?
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 If the Son
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 sets you free,
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 you'll be free indeed.
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 Trust him,
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 trust him,
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 he is so very good.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 And if you trust him,
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 you will experience
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 freedom like you've
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 never experienced
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 before.
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 Freedom from sin,
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 freedom from guilt,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 freedom from shame,
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 freedom from condemnation,
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 freedom from enslaving
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 emotions and desires,
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 free from
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 what people think
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 of you,
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 free from
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 needing to prove
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 yourself,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 freedom from fear,
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 freedom from loneliness,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 free from the fear
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 of failure,
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 free from the fear
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 of sickness,
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 free from the fear
00:31:25 --> 00:31:25 of insecurity,
00:31:25 --> 00:31:27 free from the fear
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 of death.
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 To give
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 allegiance to God
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 will inquire
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 trust for sure,
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 but he is
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 trustworthy.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 He's not calling us
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 to do anything
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 that he's already
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 done for himself,
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 already himself,
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 out of love for us.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 The fuel in our tank
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 of obedience,
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 of surrender,
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 of submission,
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 of service,
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 is the unconditional
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 love of the
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56 only lovable
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 one.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 And so,
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 the more we trust
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 him,
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 the more we are
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 committed to him,
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 the more we conform
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 to him and obey
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 him,
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 the freer we will
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 become,
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 as he himself
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 is truly alive
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 and free.
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 If the Son
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 sets you free,
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 you will be free
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 indeed.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 look to Jesus
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 and take your
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 next step.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 I'm going to ask
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 Gary to come up
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 and read the Bible.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 We did it backwards
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 today,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 deliberately,
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 intentionally.
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 It's because if I've
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 asked Gary to read
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 the Bible,
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 before I preach
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 that message,
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 you will read
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 all these sections
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 in 1 Peter
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 and automatically
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 bring to bear
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 all of your
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 prejudices
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 and your excuses.
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 Now there's none.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 1 Peter chapter 2,
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01 reading from verse 13.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 Please follow in your
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 Bibles or on the screen.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:08 Submit yourselves
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 for the Lord's sake
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 to every human
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 authority,
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 whether to the
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 emperor as a
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 supreme authority
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 or to governors
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 who are sent by him
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 to punish those
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 who do wrong
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 and to commend
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 those who do right.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 For it is God's
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 will that by
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 doing good
00:33:24 --> 00:33:26 you should silence
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 the ignorant talk
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 of foolish people.
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 Live as free
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 people,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 but do not use
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 your freedom
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 as a cover-up
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 for evil.
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 Live as God's
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 slaves.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 Show proper
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 respect to everyone.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 Love the family
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 of believers.
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 Fear God.
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 Honor the emperor.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 Slaves,
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 in reverent fear
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 of God,
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 submit yourselves
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 to your masters,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 not only to those
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 who are good
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 and considerate,
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 but also to those
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 who are harsh.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 And then to chapter 3
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 from verse 1.
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 Wives,
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 in the same way,
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 submit yourselves
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 to your own husbands
00:34:06 --> 00:34:09 so that if any of them
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 do not believe the word,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 they may be won over
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 without words
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 by the behaviour
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 of their wives
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 when they see
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 the purity
00:34:18 --> 00:34:20 and reverence
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 of your lives.
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 down to verse 7.
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 And then to verse 7,
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 husbands,
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 in the same way,
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 be considerate
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 as you live
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 with your wives
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 and treat them
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 with respect
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 as the weaker
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 partner
00:34:31 --> 00:34:33 and as heirs
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 with you
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 of the gracious
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 gift of life
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 so that nothing
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 will hinder
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 your prayers.
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 Finally,
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 all of you,
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 be like-minded,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 be sympathetic,
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 love one another,
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 be compassionate
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 and humble.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:49 Do not repay
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 evil with evil
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 or insult
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 with insult.
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 On the contrary,
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 repay evil
00:34:55 --> 00:34:55 with blessing
00:34:55 --> 00:34:57 because to this
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 you were called
00:34:58 --> 00:35:00 so that you may
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 inherit a blessing.
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 And to chapter 4,
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 verse 1.
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07 Therefore,
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 since Christ
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 suffered in his body,
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 arm yourselves
00:35:10 --> 00:35:12 also with the same
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 attitude
00:35:12 --> 00:35:14 because whoever
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 suffers in the body
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 is done with sin.
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 As a result,
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 they do not live
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 the rest of their
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 earthly lives
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 for evil,
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 human desires,
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 but rather
00:35:23 --> 00:35:25 for the will of God.
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 For you have spent
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 enough time
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 in the past
00:35:28 --> 00:35:30 doing what pagans
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 choose to do,
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 living in debauchery,
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 lust,
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 drunkenness,
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 orgies,
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 carousing
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 and detestable
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 idolatry.
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 They are surprised
00:35:39 --> 00:35:41 that you do not
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 join them
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 in their reckless
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 while living
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 and they will
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 heap abuse
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 on you,
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 but they will
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 have to give
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 an account
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 to him
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 who is ready
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 to judge
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 the living
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 and the dead.
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 Verse 7.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 The end of all
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 things is near,
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 therefore be alert
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 and of sober mind
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 so that you may pray.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 Above all,
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 love each other
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 deeply
00:36:02 --> 00:36:04 because love
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 covers over
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 a multitude
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 of sins.
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 Offer hospitality
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 to one another
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 without grumbling.
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 Each of you
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 should use
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 whatever gift
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 you have received
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 to serve others
00:36:15 --> 00:36:17 as faithful stewards
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 of God's grace
00:36:18 --> 00:36:20 in its various forms.
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 Chapter 5,
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 verse 1.
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 To the elders
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 among you,
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 I appeal
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 as a fellow elder
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 and a witness
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 of Christ's
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 sufferings
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 who also
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 will share
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 in the glory
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 to be revealed.
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 Be shepherds
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 of God's flock
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 that is under
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 your care,
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 watching over me,
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 not because you
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 must,
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 but because you
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 are willing
00:36:42 --> 00:36:44 as God wants
00:36:44 --> 00:36:44 you to be,
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 not pursuing
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 dishonest gain,
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 but eager
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 to serve,
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 not lording it
00:36:50 --> 00:36:52 over those
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 entrusted to you,
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 but being examples
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 to the flock.
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 And when the
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 chief shepherd
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 appears,
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 you will receive
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 the crown of glory
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 that will never
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 fade away.
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 In the same way,
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 you who are younger
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 submit yourselves
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 to your elders.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 All of you
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 clothe yourselves
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 with humility
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 toward one another
00:37:11 --> 00:37:13 because God
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 opposes the proud
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 but shows favour
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 to the humble.
00:37:17 --> 00:37:19 anderen
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 conning
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 todos
00:37:20 --> 00:37:33 no
00:37:33 --> 00:37:35 yap
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 般
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 Mohammed
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 faz
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 compartil
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 pero
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 iz
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 と
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 isto
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 基本