Sermon: Seeing is Submitting
#1799A
Bill Onisick
Given 11-Jan-25; 34 minutes
description: (hide) The tallest building in the world (the Burj Khalifa) has a massive foundation requiring 60,000 cubic yards of concrete and 40,000 tons of steel to anchor it to bedrock beneath 164 feet of unstable sand. We have received a mandate from our Savior to construct a foundation of faith, motivating respect, trust, and obedience in God's supreme power. In Genesis 39, Joseph remains faithful to God despite slavery and imprisonment, situations in which Almighty God gave him favor in the eyes of those who had authority over him, realizing that the evil foisted upon him by his enemies God would turn into blessings. In a world beset with trials, setbacks, natural disasters, and challenging circumstances, God requires that we submit to His plan for us regardless of the gravity of external events. We should replace the popular maxim "seeing is believing" with "seeing is submitting." All of us, husbands, wives, children, workers, and believers alike have received the biblical mandate to submit, even when the authority is flawed (Romans 13 I Peter 2, Hebrews 13:17 2 Peter 2:18-23), emulating our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, a behavior leading to both worldly blessings and spiritual rewards. Submission demonstrates a believer's acknowledgement and trust in God's divine order.
transcript:
This weather outside is quite the contrast to the hot, dry desert conditions in Dubai. Having traveled recently to Dubai, we had the opportunity to see the world's tallest structure. It has been the tallest structure since 2010. The Burj Khalifa is over half a mile high, and it is by far the most impressive structure that I have ever seen. Not just the building, but the pool, the fountains, all the landscaping around it. It is an amazing city.
Sharon and I were dropped off out front. As we tried to figure out where we needed to go for our lunch reservation at the top, there were a lot of long lines everywhere we looked, and I noticed a man standing outside of the security gates dressed in a kandoora, that is, the traditional Islamic attire, and I explained to him we had reservations. He smiled as if he understood, and I think he did, and he said, "Follow me."
He proceeded to open up countless hallway doors with his badge and he escorted us through the back channels of the building, and I must confess, I started to get a little worried about where is he taking us. But just then he opened another door into a hallway with lots of people and I noticed everyone was going out of their way to move aside and bow and give him honor. And I thought, "Who is this guy that's getting so much respect for authority and why is he taking time to escort us to our reservation?"
A few more hallways, an elevator later, and he opened one final big door to a beautiful lobby, which is part of the Armani Hotel, and he then explained that we would have had a very long walk in the heat of the day, which is why he took us to this back passageway. I think he had mercy on me. He saw my wife was dressed in a dress and she had shoes on that were probably not made for walking, and thought, you know, that mile around the block probably would not have set us up for a very relaxing romantic lunch. Sharon's hair would have been a mess. She would have been dripping of sweat, her feet would have been aching, and yeah, not a real good setup for a romantic meal.
So I thanked him, and then I asked him who he was. And I was surprised to learn that he was head of security over that entire building, and it turns out he had absolute authority for that entire building, the largest building in the world.
Now, our English word "authority" comes from the Latin, auctoritas, which means power, influence. And when we think of authority and power, we rightly think about a hierarchy with God the Father on top, Jesus Christ right next to Him. We then have the God-given authority in the church, of course, with his ordained ministers. We have civil government, the workplace, our families, and of course, our spiritual family. Hold on to that thought.
Now up in the Burj Khalifa, the views were impressive, but even more impressive than the view, even more impressive than the building itself, is what you could not see buried underneath. And as we toured the building, we read about the unparalleled design, the engineering, the project management, and the manual labor that was required to build a massive raft foundation to support the world's largest superstructure.
Richard would have been very proud of me because I actually read the plaques on all the walls of the exhibit. It is not something I traditionally do, but as they explained, that soft and sandy soil created an unparalleled architectural challenge for them. And it took them 60,000 cubic yards of concrete, 40,000 tons of steel rebar to construct a foundation, which included over 200 round support columns roughly 5 feet in diameter, each buried more than 164 feet down into bedrock. Without this unseen massive foundation that is built into the rock, that building would not stand. That building was subject to a physical power, we could say, subject to the authority or law of gravity that is uncompromising here on earth.
Now, everyone on earth can clearly see God's awesome creation. The heavens declare, as our song goes. We see the mountains, we see the oceans, we see the stars, the planets. They are all visible and subject to that law of gravity. But we cannot see gravity, can we? It is an invisible force. Likewise, when we ask ourselves the question, "Do we see God?" we are really asking, can we see the unseen massive foundation of our omnipresent great God that literally underpins everything in this universe?
As John Ritenbaugh once explained, the expression "faith is the substance of things hoped for," found in Hebrews 11:1, is really not defining what faith is, but rather what faith does in an operative sense. Just like that massive foundation, faith in the unseen great God undergirds what we in God's church hope for. In Greek, it literally means "that which underlies what is apparent." Faith is the unseen support of what is standing in clear view, and the foundation for our relationship with God, and the foundation for our relationship with everyone.
Just like that foundation that took a lot of work and time to build, our faith must be built over time. And as we put it to work, it becomes an unwavering trust built deep into the rock of Jesus Christ and His Word of God.
Now when we come to truly see God with our spiritual eyes, our mind's eye, if you will, this unseen foundation of faith becomes more real and more important than anything else under the sun. This faith motivates us to respect, fear, and obey this awesome great God who has supreme authority over everything created.
Please turn with me to Genesis 39. Now when Jesus Christ was being crucified, we read in Mark the 15th chapter that the chief priests and scribes mocked Him, stating, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." And they said, "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross that we may see and believe." And to this day, many in the world live by that common expression, "Seeing is believing." Until they see something with their own physical eyes they simply will not accept that it really exists. But as Jesus Christ tells us, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Paul adds in II Corinthians, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Now today we are going to hit on actually some of what Joe [Baity] was talking about. It is really nice to see God's hand in these messages. We are going to explore one of the primary fruits produced by a strong foundation of faith in God. As the title of this message reads, seeing is submitting. And I really need all the women in the church to listen up now. Oh, I see some looks on your faces; and I am only kidding.
As we will see shortly here, submitting is a responsibility that we all share: husband, wife, brother, sister, worker, child. We all have many authorities in our life that we must submit to. And when we ask the question, "Do we see God?" we are really asking, do we see the all-powerful Almighty God actively ruling in all aspects of our lives?
Here in Genesis 39, we are picking up the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. He was eventually bought in Egypt by Pharaoh's captain of the guard. Now, have we ever thought what it was like to be Joseph? How he must have felt at the betrayal of his brothers? He went from being the favorite son of a fairly wealthy Jacob to a slave overnight. Outside of death, not much worse could have happened to him. Did he have a "woe is me" attitude over this? Did he rebel against his new owners? Reading Genesis 39, verses 2 through 5, we will note here we find the first occurrence of authority in the New King James translation.
Genesis 39:2-5 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.
So Joseph, much like his father Jacob, was a hardworking, shrewd businessman. And despite the very tough circumstances that led him to Egypt, he remained faithful to God, and the Lord was with him as a result. Joseph submitted and served his master well, and he was given a position of authority. Now, if ever we think it is not possible to be successful as a Christian in this world, we are really shortchanging God. Joseph's story here tells us it is possible. Some of the same attributes that make us successful as a Christian, they make us successful in the world, in this corporate world. Hard work, a servanthood leadership style, the humility to submit and serve those in authority, ultimately lead to success, both in our Christian and professional lives.
But we know the story well, so we are going to fast forward through it. We do not have all day. Things are going well for Joseph until he is innocently accused of having an affair with Potiphar's wife and he is thrown into prison. And just like that, once again, he goes from having everything to having nothing. How did he react to once again the unfair circumstance of being accused of sexual misconduct and being thrown in prison? Did he go sulk in the corner, "woe is me!" Did he bad mouth his master?
Genesis 39:21-23 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
Even in prison, Joseph remains faithful and was given authority over the prisoners. Now I get the feeling that Joseph was so trusted by that guard, he could have easily escaped from prison and fled. But knowing God was in control, he knew that he was in prison because God wanted him in prison, and so he submitted to those in authority. And he remained in that prison for a full two years, we read.
Now Pharaoh later put two of his officers in prison with Joseph, the chief butler and baker. And Joseph had authority over all these prisoners, and they quickly realized that he was a just man. Over time, we read, Joseph demonstrated God's power in him to the chief butler through his ability to interpret their dreams. Joseph foretells the butler's fate, that he would be released, and the baker's fate as well, that he would be killed. And this later results in the chief butler telling Pharaoh, once the butler gets out, that Joseph has the ability to interpret dreams. And so when Pharaoh has the dream, who does he call? He calls Joseph. But Joseph makes it clear once again, "It's not me, this is God who will give Pharaoh an answer."
So, in Genesis 41:29-31, Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream. We all know this very well. Seven years of great harvest is going to be followed by seven years of perhaps even greater famine. He then tells Pharaoh he should select a discerning and wise man to be over the land to gather up and store the grain during the years of plenty under the authority of Pharaoh. And seeing the obvious answer right in front of his face, Pharaoh jumps at the opportunity to restore Joseph to power, and he now has authority once again over all the land and all the people.
After storing up the grain for seven years, we know all the neighboring lands one by one end up selling everything they have to Egypt in order to avoid starvation, and eventually even Joseph's brothers and his father come to Egypt to avoid starvation. They travel there for food. So let us read now Genesis 45, verses 4 and 5. This is when Joseph is being reunited to those brothers for the first time after they had sold him into slavery.
Genesis 45:4-5 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life."
Genesis 45:7-8 "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you and the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."
When Joseph is reunited with his family, he explains how he kept such a good attitude all these years. He tells his brothers he knew God was in control of everything. They could do nothing to him if God did not allow it. He says, do not worry or trouble yourselves over selling me into slavery. No big deal. God used your mistake for good. God sent me ahead. You did not send me, God sent me.
Could Joseph see God? Absolutely, he could see God! It was not you who sent me here, but God, he says, and while you meant it for evil, God meant it for good. God is in control of every event. Regardless of how bad it might be, He will use it for our good. Joseph saw God and he submitted to God's authority in all things, and he trusted that the circumstances of his life, every circumstance of his life, were all in God's hands. He submitted to all those God had put into authority, and once again, this brings us to the title for this message. For Christians in God's church, seeing is submitting.
When something bad happens to us, do we have the strong foundation of faith to see God's hand and the opportunity to learn from that event? Or do we take the victim mindset and think, "Oh, why me?" When we find ourselves under the authority of someone imperfect, do we still respect and submit to that authority? When someone, even an equal, says or does something bad to us, do we seek vengeance to return, evil for evil? Or do we really see God and submit, trusting that God let it happen, so there must be something He wants us to learn from this circumstance? If we truly see God, if we truly have faith in God, we trust God is in control of everything, and therefore, just like Joseph, we submit to everyone in authority, even to those that might do us harm.
Please turn to I Peter 2, verses 13 through 17.
I Peter 2:13-17 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put the silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
All authority on earth, brethren, is under the will of God, and we must never return evil for evil. We are called to honor all people, including even a corrupt leader or king. The only time—the only time—we should not submit is if someone is trying to get us to break one of God's commandments.
Now Satan is always seeking to take power. He is always seeking to get us to try to search and seek power. He will try to convince us that we know better than that leader, we maybe know better than our mother or father when we are young, and he will get us thinking that we should be in charge. That we, maybe, need to teach someone a lesson because we know better or perhaps even we have a new truth and God needs us to get it out.
Brethren, if we ever have a new truth, if we really are submitting we take that to the ministers and we let them do their job. They are the ordained ministers of God. We are not called to bring new truths out to the congregation. We could take it to their attention, and if they want to teach it, that is their authority to teach it, not ours. We could tie this to Hebrews 13:17 and to Joe's sermonette. We must obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account.
Let us pick it back up here in I Peter 2, verses 18 though 23.
I Peter 2:18-23 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscious toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.
Jesus could have avenged Himself with legions and legions of angels, but He submitted to those that were in authority because He submitted to God the Father in all things. He tells us in John 12:49 and John 14:10, "I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak." "The words that I speak to you, I did not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."
Jesus was under God the Father's authority while here on earth. God's Spirit in us enables us to submit to all authority. Satan's spirit wants to take authority. God's Spirit in us always wants to submit and give authority.
As you turn to Romans 8 (we are going to get there here in just a minute), I will tie in a few more scriptures on submitting. There are so many here, and we do not have enough time to go through them all. But in Ephesians 5:21, Paul tells us, "submitting to one another in the fear of God." We submit because we clearly see God's complete sovereignty. In I Timothy 2, Paul explains the primary duty of God's call is to "make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks to all men and all who are in authority." Why? So that "we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all goodness and reverence." In Titus we read that "bondservants are to be obedient to and submissive to their masters," and that we all are to "be subject to rulers and all authorities, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."
That is what submission is all about. It is about humility. It is about esteeming someone else better than us, even if they got it wrong. It is about creating an environment of peace by submitting and yielding and not going to war regardless of what was said or done.
I Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Now, by way of contrast, Peter states in II Peter 2:10 that those who walk according to the flesh, they actually despise authority because they are presumptuous. He says, they think they know better, that they know best. They are self-willed. They are not afraid of speaking evil of others and those in charge. Jude also warns of this in verse 8, that those reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries, is what he says.
Romans 8:5-6 For those who live according to the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
God's called have the ability to see the great foundation of God who underpins everything and remains in complete authority. And to be spiritually minded is life and peace. If we do not create peace in our relationships, it is because Satan has us grasping for power. He has us trying to usurp authority or trying to show someone up.
Let us continue reading in Romans 8:7-8, but I am going to read from the Lockman Foundation's Amplified Translation here.
Romans 8:7-8 (AMP) The mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God's law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
The mind of the flesh does not fully see and trust God is in control and thereby they will not submit to God's law, nor those that God puts into authority. James tells us, "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Remember, Satan always seeks to get power, to usurp God, right? And he is going to try to do the same thing in us, and we must resist it.
Paul contrasts the mind of the flesh to the mind of the Spirit. We could tie back to Galatians 5:19-21, and we clearly see when we read the fruit of the flesh, the attributes of the flesh, those attributes do not want to submit to anyone. They include hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, and envy. And Paul warns, "I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
A good tree produces no bad fruit. A good tree always submits. Satan will work hard to convince us that we do not need to submit. But the fruit of God's Spirit is always submitting to all authority—authority in respect to the church, to our ordained ministers, authority to our elders, authority to our employers, and authority to esteem each other better than ourselves. We can clearly see the attitude of submission in God's fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. When we walk in God's Spirit we always submit, respect, and obey authority. And again, the only time we would ever reject authority is if that authority was directing us to break one of God's commandments. Because God always comes first.
Let us skip to Romans 12. Now, we will stay in Romans.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.
Can we see the spirit of submission in all these scriptures?
Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Romans 12:16-18 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peacefully with all men.
I will read that again. "If it is possible" means if there is any possible way for us to submit and restore peace, to keep the peace, that is our responsibility.
Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
It is so easy to say and so hard to do, is it not?
But seeing is submitting, brethren. That is our calling. And just as Joseph did not return evil to his brothers that did the unthinkable thing and sold him into slavery; some might even have preferred death over slavery. But just think about that, right? All those years he could have easily held a grudge. But he trusted God. He had a strong foundation in God, and that faith allowed him to see that it was God who sent him to be a servant in Egypt, not his brothers. His brothers were just the means by which God worked it out, because if he had not gone there there would not have been a way to save the family. It is just amazing when you really think about it.
We in God's church cannot allow Satan to convince us to seek vengeance and try to take power for ourselves. We must quickly and readily forgive and forget careless words or acts of offense. We must build up daily our strong foundation of faith in the Almighty God. He is in control. Vengeance is His. He sees everything. He does not need our help to teach someone a lesson. He is going to do it on His time. We just have to be faithful and we have to submit.
Let us continue in Romans 13. I know there is a chapter break, but really the subject continues here, and I would argue these are our two cornerstone scriptures probably for this message, if there were two.
Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
So simply put there. God has ordained all authorities. They are all underneath His control. He even limits what He allows Satan to do. He has the ability to stop anything, and he is always in control. As Jesus commands in Matthew 22, we must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
Brethren, can we see the unseen massive foundation of our omnipresent God who has the supreme authority and power over everything, over each and every instance of our life? Can we see God? Seeing is submitting.
Each and every day we are faced with opportunities to seek to get power, to satisfy our selfish carnal minds, or give it away by submitting to everyone regardless of whether they deserve it or not. Seeing is submitting. And when we truly see God is in control, we walk in faith and we submit to each other to avoid conflict and to live peaceably.
Jesus Christ set the example here. He submitted to whatever God permitted. He did it out of a deep love, respect, and faith in God the Father. He had every right to rebel. He was completely innocent. He had done nothing wrong and yet He submitted to some of the most brutal, undeserved punishment ever recorded. He submitted to the wicked and corrupt officials, even up to a sacrificial death, so that we would have the opportunity to follow His example. Seeing is submitting.
And it is interesting when we really peel it back, why is God so concerned about us learning the art of submission? Well, submission and humility go hand-in-hand and God is more concerned about submission even, than mere obedience.
Now do not get me wrong. Obedience to God's law is always required, mind you, but we can technically be obedient without really fully submitting ourselves to the authority. But the reverse is not true. We cannot be disobedient if we are fully and properly submitting ourselves to all authority, starting with God.
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