Okay, so just keep your Bibles open there in 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
It's a great chapter, and I'm not going to be preaching for the chapter mainly.
It's the last verse that I really wanted to look at.
But if you look at the chapter, this chapter is primarily about how a church ought to be
run.
And you'll notice that God is setting things out for things to be in order decently.
Church shouldn't be a crazy house.
I mean, I've once attended a Pentecostal church, and I'm telling you, I thought I was in the
I mean, things, I didn't know what was going on.
I was waiting for the preacher to come and preach, because the songs just kept going
on and on.
You know what?
The preacher got up, he preached for about five minutes, then he falls on the floor.
He falls on the floor, and then people start talking in tongues, with tongues, or you know,
some gibberish.
I thought, you know, I didn't know what I was getting into, right?
And I was invited by some friends to this church.
People are falling over, people are barking animal noises, you know, people are just going
insane, brethren.
And what we see in 1 Corinthians 14 is that is not the way to run church, okay?
That is not beneficial.
That is not profitable for anybody.
But look at verse 40 there, 1 Corinthians 14 verse 40.
It says, Let all things be done decently and in order.
And again, this has to do with the church.
I understand the direct context is about your local church, and God wants your local church
to be run decently and in order.
This is why we have a time of singing.
Then we have somebody come and do the barbering, then we have someone come and do the preaching.
Everything is done one at a time, so everybody knows what's going on.
Everybody knows that it's decent and it's in order.
But I want to take that as a greater principle, because it says, Let all things be done decently
and in order.
And so we serve a God who runs things, who does things decently and in order, not necessarily
in the church, even creation.
You know, God could have created everything instantly, couldn't he?
But he took his time.
He had his order.
He took the six days of creation, and he rested on the seventh day.
You know, from the very beginning in the book of Genesis, we see that our God is a God of
order.
He wants things to be done a certain way.
And so what I'll be preaching primarily on Thursdays, maybe some Sundays, is a series
called Decently and in Order, okay?
It's a decently and in order series.
And so we're going to be looking at this, and there's so many things that we're going
to be touching upon on this.
But we want to build a foundation, and the purpose for this sermon is to build a foundation
on things that are decent and in order.
So the title for the sermon tonight is The Order of God's Nature.
The Order of God's Nature.
Can you please turn to Philippians chapter two in your Bibles?
Turn to Philippians chapter two, and I'm not going to read that passage straight away,
but you know, when we talk about things being done decently and in order, this is speaking
about, you know, a chain of command.
This is speaking about, you know, people having authority over somebody else.
And that when organizations exist, when businesses are run, when the government is run, when
churches are to be run, there ought to be somebody who passes down direction.
There ought to be some clarity of what is going on, okay?
Whatever institution that may be, you know, even in the family, there is the father, he's
the head of his wife.
There is always a leader.
There are always those that follow that leader under every institution.
And this is what's wonderful about God is that within God's nature, we see this chain
of command.
We see things run decently and in order.
We see this authority in the Godhead.
And I'll just quickly read to you Romans 13 verse one, it says, Let every soul be subject
unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God.
The powers that be are ordained of God, whosoever therefore resist of the power, resist of the
ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
And so what we see, when God creates things to be decent and in order, he creates powers,
all right?
And if you're under that power, God asks you to be submissive to that power that God has
put over you.
And if you reject, if you fight against those powers, you fight against that authority,
you're fighting against God himself, and you're going to bring damnation upon yourself.
Why should you follow the authorities that are over your life?
Because it's what God commands.
It's what God deems correct, right?
But again, this sermon is all about building our foundation, okay?
And of course, when we look at the foundation that there's no better place than to look
at once again, the Godhead, the nature of God, who God is.
And you know, when we think about the Godhead, we think about the especially the Trinity,
we think of Father, Son, Holy Ghost.
And when we think about the Father and the Son, isn't that immediately telling you there's
a chain of command?
I mean, doesn't the Father automatically have authority over the Son?
I mean, any parent here knows you are the one that tells your children what to do.
And if your children are telling you what to do, hey, things are out of order, okay,
you're going to bring up spoiled children, it's not going to be decent.
And so God has a chain of command.
When we think about God, the Father, God, the Son, immediately, just those titles, just
those names tells you that there's an authority structure within the Godhead, okay?
Now, the reason this exists, brethren, is for our benefits.
Because in First Peter chapter two, verse 21, it says, For even hereunto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps.
You know what's wonderful about the God we worship?
He doesn't ask us to do anything that he hasn't already done.
You know, God wants you to be submissive to authorities.
He said, but what if his authority is wicked?
What if it's out of control?
Well, you know what?
Jesus Christ, you know, submitted himself.
You know, he created an example that we can follow after his steps.
Look, we see no man with more humility, we see no man with greater submission, hey, he
submitted himself even unto death, you know, the death of the cross.
He paid for all our sins.
We see this example that Christ has left us, and he wants us to follow after his steps.
Now if we please look at Philippians, you know there, Philippians chapter two, and verse
number eight, and I just kind of quoted this in my own words, but Philippians chapter two,
verse number eight, speaking about Jesus, it says, And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
I mean, what humility does God require to die for sinful man?
Jesus Christ was able to do this, right?
He humbled himself, he was obedient unto death.
And so we see that, you know, when it comes to being submissive under authorities, you
know, understanding this chain of command, we must have those that are following the
leader, following the authority, they have to be submissive to that authority, right?
Now some people get uncomfortable with this idea, right?
Because listen, is Jesus Christ King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?
Is he God?
Absolutely.
Is there anything greater?
Is there anybody greater than God?
There isn't, right?
And so look, Jesus Christ is above all things, you must understand this.
But within the nature of God, there is a chain of command, okay?
Just because there's a chain of command, it doesn't mean one person is better than the
other person.
Listen, the Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife.
Does that mean the husband's better than the wife?
Does that mean that it's better to be a man?
Men are better than women.
Is that what it's teaching?
No.
You know, men and women are equal, right?
They're equal, equally human beings.
You know, souls that Jesus Christ died for equally.
But even though there's equal status, there is still authority, all right?
There is still authority.
You know, your boss at work is no better than you.
He's just another man, okay?
But at work, you go there and you follow what he says because he has authority over you.
Just because somebody has authority over you doesn't mean they're better than you, okay?
And just because God the Father has authority over his Son, it doesn't mean the Father's
better than him.
It just means he's got a greater authority within the Godhead.
But when we talk about God, there is no great authority over God.
And so there is no great authority over God.
Jesus Christ is God.
And so Jesus Christ is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So we shouldn't get uncomfortable with this.
You know, when we talk about the Trinity, we talk about how the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit are co-equaling glory.
And they are co-equaling glory, right?
You know, God the Father isn't, you know, more of a God or something than Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is not some lesser God than the Father or the Holy Spirit, okay?
They are co-equaling glory, but they're not co-equal in authority, okay?
And so this is what we're going to be looking at today.
This is what the Trinity is about.
This is how we can ensure we have things done decently and in order.
We see the example that God gives us and then we can follow this example within the chain
of command, the authority structure, the institutions that we have over us.
Now you're in there in verse number eight.
Let's backtrack a little bit, okay?
Because it's almost like the Apostle Paul, you know, through the movement of the Holy
Spirit, recognized that people might take this, that Jesus Christ humbled himself, right?
Fashioned himself as a man.
And this is where you get the crazy cults, the JWs that say, well, Jesus, he's not God,
right?
He's just another man or he's just a lesser God.
But you know, the author is very careful here of the Holy Ghost in verse number five, Philippians
2, verse five.
It says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who'd been in the form
of God.
Hey, is Jesus Christ God?
Yeah, he was in a form of God, listen, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
You know, Jesus Christ says, it's not robbery for me to be equal with God.
So what is that saying?
That Jesus Christ is equal with God, right?
What is robbery?
If you were to rob somebody, you're a thief, right?
You're taking something that doesn't belong to you, right?
But Jesus Christ, he doesn't see it as taking something that doesn't belong to him.
He is equal to God.
And so he has the highest authority.
Let's keep going, verse number seven, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
And then again, it says, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
So even though Jesus Christ humbled himself, he lowered himself, right, even though he's
subject to God the Father, he's still equally God, he does not see it as robbery to be equal
with God.
This is why when people, you know, claim for, you know, about Jesus being God, or they worship
Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ was able to forgive sins, this just shows you that he
is God.
There was nothing wrong with men worshiping Jesus, because he is God, okay?
He has the same authority, the same, there is one God.
It's not like there are three gods, not two gods.
There is one God, but within that one God, there is a nature, there is a chain of command,
there is an authority structure, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, okay?
Now let's turn to, if you guys can go to Hebrews chapter one now, go to Hebrews chapter one.
Let me just reinforce to you, you know, that Jesus Christ is God, he's equal, you know,
in that sense, in glory to the Father and to the Holy Ghost.
And I'll just read to you, Matthew, while you go into Hebrews chapter one, I'll read
to you Matthew 28 verse 18.
Matthew 28 verse 18, this is just before Jesus Christ gives a great commission.
He says, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
Listen, the only way Jesus could have all power in heaven and in earth is if he's God,
okay?
So, you know, this teaching isn't to remove somehow the idea that Jesus Christ is not
God or, you know, create some crazy teaching.
No, you know, we need to understand both elements.
Jesus Christ is God, he has all power in heaven, but he's also submissive to the Father, okay?
Colossians 2, 9 says, For in him, for in Jesus dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.
Jesus Christ is the head of all powers, of all principalities.
Principalities is where you get the term prince, right?
So people holding authority.
Jesus Christ is above all authority, okay?
But again, it says, In him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead.
Godhead is another way of saying, old English way of saying the godhood.
You know, Jesus Christ is 100% God, you know, our church teaches that Christ is 100% God,
yet 100% man, okay?
So you're in Hebrews chapter one, look at Hebrews chapter one and verse number five.
It says, For unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou, this is the Father speaking
to the Son, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and again, I will be to him
a father, and he shall be to me a son.
Okay, so what do we see there immediately brethren, the Father, the son relationship.
Immediately, as I said, when we started this sermon, that immediately tells you there must
be authority, right?
The Father has authority over the Son.
And so you know, when Jesus, when God created, you know, the institutional family, you know,
and you know, what we have one man called the Father, and you know, he's responsible
for, you know, bringing forth children for his wife.
Well, that's why children are to be subject to the Father, because that is the way God
is that is the that's how God runs things decently.
That's how his nature is in order.
And so when we look at the family units, it gives us a greater understanding of the nature
of God, the Father, the son relationship, the Father has authority over the Son.
Now even though the Father has authority over the Son, drop down to verse number eight in
Hebrews chapter one, Hebrews chapter one, verse number eight, but unto the Son he saith,
thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of
thy kingdom.
Hey, what does the Father call the Son?
He says thy throne, O God, even the Father has no problem calling the Son God, because
there is one God, right?
And there is no other God beside him.
And this one God that we worship and serve is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
I'm not trying to preach so much about the Trinity.
But we will touch upon that because we're looking at the authority structure within
the nature of God.
Now please go to Hebrews chapter six, Hebrews chapter six for me.
And verse number 13, Hebrews chapter six and verse number 13.
And just to show you here that there is no one greater than God, you know, God always
existed.
You know, God created everything that you see and touch and feel and smell.
You know, God created all things, brethren.
There is nothing that created God, right?
In Hebrews chapter six, verse 13, we see the promise that God made to Abraham, right, that
Abraham would be a father of a great nation, right, with all those promises and the promise
of the seed to come, which of course was Jesus Christ.
And we see here in Hebrews chapter six, verse 13, for when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he swear by himself, saying, surely blessing I will
bless thee and multiplying I will multiply thee.
You know, when someone swears they make an oath, sometimes, you know, it's not good to
make an oath, by the way, but when people do that, they swear by something greater than
they, they might say, I swear by my mother's grave, you know, I did not do that, right?
So they swear into something greater, I swear to God, I swear on the Bible, you know, we
shouldn't make oaths and swears, by the way, we shouldn't be doing that.
But anyway, you get the idea, you know, when someone swears, they swear about something
greater.
And the Bible telling us here, God could not swear by anything greater.
So there is nothing greater.
So he swears by himself.
Like, so God says, you know, I promised to God, to myself, that I'm going to fulfill
this promise.
Okay, because, you know, this just tells us there is no greater authority than God.
All right.
And of course, Jesus Christ is God.
Okay.
So this is what we're trying to understand the authority structure within the nature
of God.
Now, if you can please turn to the book of John, we're going to spend most of our time
for the rest of this sermon in the book of John, because the book of John has some of
the greatest teaching from Jesus Christ about the relationship between Father and Son.
The greatest teaching, you know, book of John, truly, you know, if you want to learn about
the Trinity, you want to learn about the nature of God, the book of John is the book to go
to.
You know, in the Old Testament, you can see images of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost, you see this picture of that relationship, you see that, you know, different times where
you may see Jesus Christ in view in the Old Testament, but it wasn't clear in the Old
Testament scriptures.
When Jesus Christ came to this earth, He taught us, this is a New Testament doctrine, you
know, Jesus Christ clarified all this and explained the nature of the Trinity.
He explained how He is the Son of the Almighty.
And so, you know, this is really a doctrine of Jesus Christ.
And then you can go back to the Old Testament and say, oh, yeah, you know, it's compatible
with everything that Jesus Christ teaches us in the New Testament.
But let's go to John chapter one, please.
Let's go to John chapter one.
And again, I don't want you to somehow get this idea that pastor Kevin preached that
Jesus is some lower God.
Not at all.
Okay.
And it's even the Holy Spirit, even though, you know, the book of John is so rich on this
relationship on this authority structure.
It's like the Holy Spirit just wanted to nail in from the very beginning, right?
John chapter one, verse one, John chapter one, verse one, in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God.
Oh, it might be someone else, but then it says, and the Word was God, the same was in
the beginning with God.
So what do we learn about the Word?
Of course, the Word, if you drop down to verse number 14, it says, and the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth, of course, speaking about Jesus Christ.
So Jesus Christ is the Word that's mentioned here, okay?
And we see that the Word was with God, and yet the Word was God, all right?
So we see this interesting idea of the nature of God.
We see that Jesus Christ is fully God, but He's also with God.
He's with the Father.
He's with the Holy Spirit.
And so this is where we get the idea, of course, the three in one.
You know, 1 John 5, 7, for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
There's not three Gods, brethren.
There's one God.
One God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, okay?
So it's like, you know, when you start reading John, it just wants to hammer home, you know,
Jesus Christ is God.
So you start with this idea, okay, Jesus is God.
But as you keep reading through the book of John, he explains that relationship, he explains
that authority structure within the nature of God.
So point number one for you today, brethren, point number one is the Father has authority
over the Son.
Please go to John chapter 10.
Go to John chapter 10, verse 27.
John chapter 10 and verse number 27, please.
The Father has authority over the Son.
Yes, the Father has a greater authority than the Son, all right?
John chapter 10, verse 27.
The Bible reads, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand.
What a great verse on eternal security.
What a great verse that we can never lose our salvation.
That's Jesus Christ who holds on to us, okay?
You can backslide, I hope you don't, but you can get to a fast state away from God, but
if you're saved, no man will ever pluck you out of the hand of Jesus Christ.
Hey, that's a powerful hand, right?
That can hold you for all eternity.
But then look at verse number 29.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand.
And so when Jesus Christ says my Father is greater than all, he's speaking, of course,
of all men, even including himself.
He's greater than all, right?
Jesus Christ holds you, but the hand that's greater than all is the Father's hand, and
the Father's hand also keeps you secure for all eternity.
You can never lose that salvation.
See, I just want to show you there that Jesus Christ has no problem referring to the Father
as greater, greater in authority, right?
Now please go to John chapter 14.
Go to John chapter 14 and verse number 24.
John chapter 14, and yes, this is a bit of a Bible study tonight.
John chapter 14 and verse number 24.
The Bible reads here, these are, of course, it's a great sermon by Jesus Christ, and he's
praying to the Father, speaking to the Father, and teaching his disciples many great things.
But he says, he that loveth me, sorry, he that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings,
and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Wow.
Jesus Christ says, look, the words that I'm teaching, I did not come up with this on my
own.
These words belong to the Father, okay?
And what does it say?
But the Father's which sent me.
You know, Jesus Christ has no problem saying that the Father sent him to the earth, okay?
Now look back one chapter before that, John 13 verse 16, let's just get a great principle
here.
John 13 verse 16, again the words of Jesus Christ, verily, verily, I say unto you, the
servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent
him.
Okay, so who sent Jesus?
The Father.
So if we take this principle in John 13, take it to John 14, he's saying that the one that
he sent is not greater than the Father.
Jesus Christ is not greater than the Father, as you can see that, because he was sent by
the Father, alright?
So you must understand this, it's like the workplace.
Like your boss might send you to go do a job.
Your boss might send you to complete some work, right?
Your boss has the great authority.
That's why he has the authority to send you to do and give you certain work to do, alright?
In this case, as we were reading John 14, go back to John 14 verse 24, he said the words
that I speak are the words of the Father.
So the Father gave Jesus the words to teach and to preach when he came to this earth.
Okay?
He's following the command of the one who sent him, the one that is greater than him.
Look at verse number 25, let's keep going.
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, so there's the third person of the Trinity, and look at this, whom the
Father will send in my name.
So if the Father is going to send the Holy Ghost, what does that teach you?
So the Holy Ghost is also under the authority of the Father.
The Father has the greatest authority within the Trinity, okay?
That's how God does things decently and in order, okay?
There's one that's in command, there's one that's in charge, and then there's those that
carry out the will of the Father, the works of the Father, the teaching and preaching,
the words of the Father.
Let's keep going.
It says, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever
I have said unto you.
Let's think about that.
It's saying that the Holy Ghost is not going to come and teach you brand new things, okay?
He's going to teach us the same things, it's verse number 26, end of verse number 26, and
bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.
So he's saying, look, whatever I've taught you from the Word of God, whatever I've said
to you, the Holy Ghost's job is to remind you to bring back to remembrance the same
things that I've taught you before, okay?
And again, this just destroys the Pentecostals, destroys the charismatic.
They think by the Holy Ghost they've got some new revelation, right?
They've got a new Word of God.
No, that's not the work of the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring to remembrance the things that Jesus Christ taught,
not to create some new teachings, some new doctrines, all right?
And so where do we get that idea from?
Of course, it's the Word of God, the Bible.
These are the things that the Holy Ghost that lives in us, that teaches us, it teaches us
the Word of God.
It teaches us the things that Jesus Christ has already taught us, okay?
But again, he's being sent by the Father.
The Father has authority over the Holy Ghost.
Let's keep going, verse number 27.
Peace I leave with you and peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto
you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you.
If you loved me, you would rejoice because I said I go unto the Father.
And notice the next phrase, for my Father is greater than I.
And if you've had any problems with what I've said so far, I mean, you just got to face
the reality here.
This is what Jesus Christ says, for my Father is greater than I.
And if we're Bible preachers, if we're Bible believers, we just have to take that at face
value and Jesus Christ says his Father is greater, he's got a greater authority than
the Son, okay?
But it's still the one God and there is no greater authority over God, okay?
So we need to obviously understand it and balance these two ideas together.
Let's keep going, verse number 29.
And now I have told you before it come to pass that when it come to pass you might believe,
hereafter I would not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh and have
nothing in me.
The prince of the world is called the devil.
He says, look, the devil has nothing.
I'm not being affected, I'm not influenced by the devil at all.
But I love how verse number 31 ends.
It says, but that the world may know that I love the Father.
And as the Father gave me commandments, even so I do.
Arise, let us go hence.
So let's look at that again.
And as the Father gave me commandments, even so I do.
Hey, who commands Jesus Christ?
The Father, you know?
And what the Father commands, he says, I'm going to do it, all right?
That is the proper, that's how things are done decently and in order.
When the person in authority says, you need to do this, you just say, okay, I'll do it.
That's how Jesus Christ is, all right?
He's willing to be.
Now listen, I understand that God the Father is perfect.
I understand that he's sinless.
He's never going to get anything wrong.
He's never going to ask something from his son that is sinful or unwise or wicked.
And I understand that we have authorities on this world, which is made up of human beings
and human beings aren't always right, okay?
But we take the principle, we take the lesson here that when there's authority, hey, what
they command, we have to do.
Hey, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, the Bible says, all right?
Employees, it's not about whining, complaining about your boss.
Hey, your boss says to do something, do it.
I mean, if your boss is that bad of a man, that wicked, just get another job, go find
someone else instead of rebelling against authority.
I mean, listen, you know, Christ came to set an example for us, you know, and not only
did Christ obey the will of his Father, he also subjected himself toward a wicked government
that put him to death, an innocent man to death, okay?
Pilate found no problems.
Do you know Pilate found nothing wrong with Jesus Christ?
He wanted to let Jesus go, but he still, you know, caused Jesus Christ to be crucified
and Jesus Christ allowed himself to be submissive to a wicked government, to wicked hands, all
right?
So this is what I want to cover in this series, understanding authority.
And look, I'm not going to preach that we should always obey the government no matter
what.
I'm not going to preach you should always obey your boss at work no matter what, okay?
But we're building something, we're building a foundation, we're trying to understand the
example that Jesus Christ has left us on this world, okay?
And when you reject this teaching and when you rebel against authority, you're not doing
things decently, okay?
You're not doing things in order, it's out of order when people are rebelling against
the authority.
You know, it's like church, if someone rebels against the pastor, hey, you know, you're
bringing things in this order, you know, you're not helping the cause of Christ.
So that's point number one.
Point number one is the Father has authority over the Son.
Point number two is the Son upheld the Father's authority.
Keep your finger in John, we will come back to John, please go to the book of Matthew
now.
Go to Matthew, please go to Matthew, Matthew chapter 20, Matthew chapter 20 verse 20.
The Son upheld the Father's authority.
Matthew chapter 20 and verse 20.
Because it's one thing to obey authority, okay?
But it's another thing to respect and honor the authority that is above you, right?
I mean, you can obey things and still be speaking bad of the authority of you, right?
I mean, you can, you know, even your children, you know, you might tell your children, hey,
clean up your room and they may obey you, but they may have a sour face, a grumpy face
and like, oh, why should I do that, right?
They might do the job, but hey, that's not right, they're not upholding, they're not
respecting the authority when they have that attitude, right?
Matthew 20, 20, the Bible reads, Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with
her sons, worshiping him and desiring a certain thing of him.
Do you see how people just worship Jesus?
Why?
Because Jesus is God, okay?
Verse number 21, And he said unto her, What wilt thou?
She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and
the other on the left in thy kingdom.
Hey, this is a good request.
It's not like this mother's out of line, you know, I mean, I'm sure we all want our children
to be close to Jesus, all right?
I mean, I'm sure, you know, it'd be such an honor if in heaven people could sit on right
next to Jesus, right?
On the right hand of Jesus, on the left hand of Jesus, I mean, she means well, right?
She wants the best for her children.
She loves Jesus, she's worshiping Jesus, I said, I want my sons to be close to you, Jesus,
for all eternity, right?
So she's not asking a bad thing.
But then it says here in verse number 22, But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what
ye ask.
Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism
that I am to be baptized with?
So this is speaking about ultimately his crucifixion.
And they say unto him, We are able.
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with, but look at this, but to sit on my right hand and on my left
is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
What an amazing thing.
Jesus Christ respected the authority.
You know, Jesus Christ didn't say, yeah, you know, yeah, I'll make the decision, you can
sit on my right hand and you can sit on my left hand.
Jesus Christ knew who was in authority, and when it comes to who's going to sit on the
right and the left hand of Jesus, this is not in Jesus' hands, this is in the hands
of the Father.
You know, there's a stupid teaching of modalism, oneness theology, that says Jesus is the Father.
It's like, what in the world?
So Jesus says, okay, I can't tell you who can sit here, but I am the Father as well,
so I can decide who's going to sit there.
I mean, that's just stupidity.
Okay?
Well, but what I want to take out of this, brethren, is that, you know, Jesus Christ
upholds the authority, right?
He doesn't undermine the authority of the Father.
You know, when the kids go to mom, you know, to mom's mom should not undermine the authority
of dad, and say, well, I know dad wants it this way, but while dad's at work, we'll do
something else.
Hey, that's undermining the authority in the institution that God has created, okay?
We see that Jesus Christ is respectful.
He honors the authority that is over him.
Listen, you know, when I was, you know, working a job, I didn't always like the decisions
of management.
I didn't always, like, I was like a middle manager many times, okay?
And so I worked my way up, and sometimes my manager would be like, we've got to do this.
And then you pass it down to the staff.
I'm like, I don't even like that idea, right?
But you know what?
When it came to the staff, you know, I said, look, this is what we're doing.
This is what, you know, has been decided by management, and I would never criticize the
authority that was over.
I would never say, yeah, but I disagree, because what's that going to breed?
That's just going to breed other people and say, yeah, that's a dumb idea.
And before you know it, you've got a company, you've got a business, you know, people fighting
amongst themselves.
You've got people not obeying the authorities that are over them.
Hey, that's a wicked way to do the business.
That's a wicked way to be, right, to undermine the authority that's over you.
Listen, if the authority is so bad, then just get another authority, really.
I mean, in the workplace, you have that luxury, you know?
There are other authorities you have no luxury to do this over, right?
Like the government that we live under, like the church, you can actually swap churches.
You know, if your pastor is that bad, you can always go to another church, I suppose,
right, and get some other pastor over you in that sense.
But listen, we see the example of Jesus Christ, that he upholds, that he respects the authority
of the Father, okay?
Now let's go back to the book of John, John chapter 6, and verse number 38.
So point number one, brethren, is the Father has authority over the Son.
Point number two is the Son upheld the Father's authority.
He did not undermine that authority.
The next one, point number three, is the Son submitted his will to the Father's will.
He submitted his will to the Father's will.
John chapter 6, please, verse number 38.
John chapter 6, verse 38.
He says, For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me.
What an obedient son, okay?
He says, Look, I've come to earth, you know, I've got my will, but I haven't come to do
my will.
I've come to do the Father's will.
And so, brethren, when we talk about things being done decently and in order, we talk
about the authority structure, you know what you have to learn?
And it's so hard that you've got to submit your will to the will of the person in authority,
okay?
You know, children, you have to submit your will to the will of your parents.
Employees, you need to submit your will to the will of the employer.
You know, church members, you need to submit your will to the will of the pastor.
You know, Australian citizens, you have to submit your will to the will of the government.
Okay, these are different institutions that God has created, and during this series, we
are going to touch on each of these institutions and teach through that, but it's so important
that you understand that God wants things done decently and in order, okay?
You know, look, do I like our Prime Minister?
Not really.
As far as I'm concerned, he seems like a bit of a tongue-speak in Pentecostal, I think,
from what I've heard, okay?
But listen, I'm not going to call him Skolma, okay?
I'm not going to disrespect his name because, look, I don't have to respect him as a person,
but he holds an office, and guess what?
God's allowed that office to exist.
It's just the way it is, brethren.
You live in this country.
If it's that bad, go find another country.
There's not many better countries than Australia, I'll tell you that, okay?
But listen, you know, this is the authority that God has put over us, you know?
And we need to submit, learn to submit our will.
This is hard.
This is hard because we are prideful creatures.
We like to do things our way, and we don't like, we just want freedom, we don't want
any authority over us, but yet, this is what God commands.
This is what Jesus Christ has done.
This is what Jesus Christ submitted himself, reverent to the will of a wicked government
that put him to death.
Just keep that in mind every time you struggle to submit your will, you know?
Jesus Christ was willing to submit his will to the Father.
I'll just read to you Luke 22 verse 41.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast and kneeled down and prayed, saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.
That's the cup represented in the crucifixion.
Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
Boy.
You know, if there's any time you think you would run away from responsibility, okay,
or from an order, from a command that God has given you, it's when, you know, he's saying
you gotta die.
I mean, you think that would be like a legitimate reason to run away from your responsibilities.
But Jesus Christ says, no, Lord, not my will, not Father, not my will, but your will be
done.
And brethren, let this be a lesson to us, you know.
The Bible is God's will for you.
You know, God is willing, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance.
You know what God's will is that everybody gets an opportunity to hear the gospel and
get saved.
And he gives us the ministry of reconciliation.
He asks us to get out there and give people the gospel.
I thank God that we have a gospel preaching church.
I thank God that there are men, even when unofficially, you know, officially we weren't
going soul winning.
I'm just glad there are others just going, you know what, I'm going to go anyway.
Now praise God for that, you know, that you're not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance, right?
We understand the will of God, but you know, it's not just soul winning.
It's every aspect of our life, our family, you know, God wants our family to be run a
certain way.
He wants our church to be run a certain way.
He wants you to live a certain way.
And you've just got to learn to submit that will, you know, and say, God, I'm going to
stop being so prideful and listen to what you have to say in your word.
I'm going to follow that as best as I can.
The son submitted his will to the father's will.
Now you're in John, I believe.
Let's go to John 17 now.
Let's go to John 17 and verse number four, John 17 and verse number four.
I'm getting toward the end now, up to my fourth point.
John 17 verse four.
This is Jesus Christ praying to the father, speaking to the father.
He says, I have glorified thee on the earth.
I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Listen, point number four is the son completed the work of the father.
I mean, I don't know if any of you guys have ever employed people.
How good would it be if your employees came up to you and say, I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do?
I mean, that's like music to the ears of any employer.
All right, I've done the job you've asked me to do.
You know what?
Jesus Christ, when he was issued a command, a direction, he said, look, I'm going to get
the job done.
It's not like I'm going to quit halfway through.
This job's too hard.
I'm going to go find some other job.
No, no, he said, look, this is the job that needs to get done.
I'm going to finish it.
I'm going to get it done.
And then, you know, I can do some other job.
I can do some other work.
And, you know, I'm going to go through the principles.
But it's so important, brethren, and men, I really say this to you.
It's so important.
You know, not all of us are going to always work for one employer.
You know, we're going to bounce around different employers, right?
But listen, when you decide to quit your job, get the job done.
Don't leave it half undone, all right?
You know, always make sure usually when you quit a job, you're given, you have to give
a time of notice, don't you, a week, two weeks.
Use that time to finish the work that you have, right?
Don't take on some new responsibilities, some new projects.
Get the work done because that's what Jesus Christ did.
He made sure the work was done.
Praise God, it is done, right?
When he was on the cross, he said, is it finished?
It is finished.
Praise God, it got done.
Otherwise, we would still be in our sins on our way to hell.
Jesus makes sure the work is done.
You need to make sure the work is done.
But again, look at verse number four again, the beginning of it.
He says, I have glorified thee on the earth.
Look, Jesus Christ glorifies the Father, right?
And so, you know, I think about, again, those that have authority, and I think about my
old workplace, where I would see ladies come to work, and they would speak bad of their
husbands.
Okay?
The husband, the man who has authority over that woman, you know, the one when they, on
their marriage day, they exchange vows, and she said that she would, what's the saying,
what's the marriage vows?
I don't know.
That she would be submissive to him, right?
It's somewhere there in the marriage vows.
I can't remember where, right?
You know, the same women that would say, I'll be submissive to that authority, they come
to work, and they complain about their husbands.
Oh, can you believe my husband made me say this about me?
You know, can you believe my husband didn't put down the toilet seat?
Can you believe my husband doesn't change the toilet rolls when it's done?
I mean, whatever it is, brethren, they'll come and complain.
Listen, they don't come to glorify their husbands, do they?
But listen, we see that in the example of Jesus, he glorifies the authority over him,
right?
Listen, you know, again, if I'm in the workplace, I'm going to say, hey, this is a good company
to work for.
I'm not going to bag out all the managers and bag out everybody there.
And I'm just like, hey, look, I'm employed here, praise God, I've got a job here.
You know, you know, they're not always right, but listen, you know, they're doing the best
they can, and we're getting the job done, we're getting a paycheck, you know, etc.
You know, we ought to learn to glorify those that are above us, that have authority over
us.
We see that Jesus Christ was sure to do that, and he was also sure to make sure the work
got finished.
Jesus Christ did not whine and complain about the authority over him, is what I'm trying
to say.
Let's drop down to verse number 8, same chapter, John 17 verse 8.
Now this is where Jesus starts to talk about us, okay, to the Father.
He says, for I have given unto them, that's to us, his believers, the words which thou
gave us to me.
Remember Jesus Christ came not speaking his own words, but the words of the Father.
He says, well look, I've given the disciples, I've given the believers, the same words,
the same teachings, the same doctrines that you gave me, Father, okay, and it says, and
they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed
that thou didst send me.
So again we see the authority structure, the Father sending the Son, the Father gave the
words to the Son, which is great, we're learning about Jesus Christ, but now Christ has given
you the words.
God's given you the same words that the Father's given him.
So Jesus Christ is basically telling us the same job that the Father left him to do on
this earth, now he's passing that job on to us, okay.
Let's drop down to verse number 18, drop down to verse number 18, and, sorry, as thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Now you know what your job is, brethren, as a believer.
Now you know, you got a job.
Jesus Christ has sent you, you thought you were here, you know you thought, I don't know,
you thought this world was about, you know, giving you whatever you want, you know, seeking
your own pleasures, your own desires, no.
You know, you're here, brethren, the reason you got saved and did not automatically go
to heaven is because Jesus Christ is sending you into this world, right.
He was sent by the Father to do the works of God, he was sent by the Father to preach
the words of God, right, he was sent by the Father to save souls, well now, God, Jesus
Christ has given us that same responsibility, brethren, this chain of command, this authority
structure, yes, Jesus Christ is above us, right, and he's telling us, look, I'm sending
you the way the Father sent me.
And so, brethren, you've got a mission, you know, you've got a plan, the Great Commission,
you know, seeing souls saved, you know, bringing them to, teaching them all things, we got
to teach them the Bible, you know, getting people baptized as well once they're saved,
this is all part of the Great Commission that Jesus Christ has left us to do.
That was the job that the Father gave the Son, that's what the Son is giving us to do.
And so when we examine God's nature, I hope you can see now, when we look at this, that
there is definitely a chain of command, you know, within the structure of the Trinity.
And the way God does things is he ensures those things are done decently and in order.
It's not out of control.
There's an authority, there are those that are subject to that authority, that are doing
the work of that authority, right.
And in summary, just in conclusion, brethren, number one, the Father has authority over
the Son.
Number two, the Son upheld the Father's authority.
Number three, the Son submitted his will to the Father's will.
And number four, the Son completed the work of the Father.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, I just want to thank you.