The Barricade God Builds Against the Proud

 “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.’” 1 PETER 5:5

 

PONDER THIS

When people are filled with pride, do you know what happens to them? They do not receive the grace of God because God gives grace to the humble. When a person is full of pride, grace is withdrawn, and God sets up a barricade against that person. God resists the proud. Now that’s bad enough, but go down to verse eight. First Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Can you imagine an individual like this? Devoid of the grace of God; God resisting him; Satan circling to devour him. That’s what pride does. Nothing puts a person more out of the reach of Satan than genuine humility.

How can you know if you are driven by pride or humility?

How does following Jesus lead us to humility?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider the areas of pride in your life. Take intentional and prayerful steps toward humility in these places today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Don’t Do God’s Work Without God’s Voice

“Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

ACTS 5:20

 

PONDER THIS

The apostles had a command from God. The reason they took action is because they’d been told to do so. All true obedience is informed obedience. You must hear from God in order to obey God. Don’t do things just because you want to do them and think you’re living the Christian life. What God doesn’t initiate, God doesn’t appreciate. God is going to tell you what to do. And God has never promised to bless any endeavor that He has not commanded.

How can we know what God wants us to do?

How is regular time spent in God’s Word and in prayer connected to knowing what He wants us to do?

PRACTICE THIS

Take inventory. Consider the things you are doing because you feel God clearly called you to do them as well as those things you are doing according to your own desires. Seek to submit every area of your life to Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Authority Through Submission

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8

 

PONDER THIS

How are we going to exercise kingdom authority in the world? By submission. You may think, “Submission doesn’t sound like authority.” That’s the secret. Remember, the centurion said something like this to Jesus: “I know how You operate. I know why You have authority over this disease, because I also am a man set under authority. And I say to this man, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to this man, ‘Come’ and he comes. All You need to do is to speak the word and my servant will be healed, for I know how You work.” And Jesus said: “I’ve not seen faith like this in all the land of Israel.” That centurion understood submission.

What is submission? Submission is voluntarily placing oneself under the authority of another that God may be glorified. Submission is getting under the authority God has established. When you submit yourself to some governmental authority, you’re not doing it for his or her sake; you’re doing it for Jesus’ sake. God has established authority everywhere, and He is behind all authority. You’re not submitting to some human being; you’re submitting ultimately to Almighty God.

What are some ways you have opportunity to submit? How is that challenging?

Who are the hardest people for you to submit to? Why? How can Jesus help you with godly submission?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for someone you have a hard time submitting to, then make it a point to encourage that person in some way.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Am I Willing to Submit to You?

 

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” EPHESIANS 5:18-21

 

PONDER THIS

The Bible commands us to love. This love is not optional, but it’s not automatic either. If it were automatic, we wouldn’t be commanded to do it. In the Old Testament we’re told to love. But in the New Testament Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). This new commandment is that we are to love as He loved; that is, with a new quality.

We lay our lives down for one another. Christians are to submit ourselves to God first, then to one another. Biblical submission is one equal willingly and lovingly placing himself or herself under the authority of another equal so that God may be glorified. The various members of my body have to submit to the other parts of my body sometimes. We’re in the Body of Christ, and we care for one another. Therefore, I must sometimes submit to you, and you must submit to one another. We all will come to a time when it is right to submit and right for somebody to lead. Every part of our old selves, including our self-centeredness, is crucified with Christ, and we need to learn how to yield to, love, and to submit to one another.

When was the last time you loved someone in a sacrificial way?

Who has exemplified loving others in a sacrificial way? How could you imitate that example?

PRACTICE THIS

Love someone in a sacrificial way this week; challenge yourself to do that every week.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Willing to Submit to God?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

 

PONDER THIS

What is meekness? It is not weakness. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (KJV). Jesus was not weak, so we know it cannot mean weakness.

When a horse has been domesticated, it has been trained so a rider can sit on its back or it can pull a plow. The term for this change is the horse has been meeked. When this process happens, the horse yields to the rider; it yields to the yoke. That's what meekness is—strength under control, a compliant spirit. The Beatitudes were given in a specific order. First, blessed are the poor in spirit. That shows our condition. We recognize we are spiritually bankrupt. Then, blessed are they who mourn. After we understand our condition comes contrition. We have to say “Oh God, have mercy on me! I see what I am; I weep over it; and I truly repent of it.” And then after condition and contrition, comes the issue of control. I place myself under the Lord’s control. I am meek; not weak. I have a new master.

How have you sought to submit to the Lord’s control in your life?

Why do we resist meekness?

PRACTICE THIS

Discuss meekness with a brother or sister in Christ. Share some areas in which you need to submit control to God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Loving Leaders Follow Christ

PRAY OVER THIS

“For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” Ephesians 5:23

 

PONDER THIS

One man confessed, “I lied on my income tax. In the place where it said head of the house, I signed my name.” This verse doesn’t say he is the dictator of the house. He is the head of the house. And he is to be a loving leader. So many husbands think the Bible says he is the dictator of the house. Being the head means he is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church.

The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church. This wonderful little word as means that the husband is not a top sergeant beating his wife over the head with a Bible club and saying, “Submit, submit, submit.” Why does the Church submit to Jesus? Does He force us to submit? If He did, we’d be a lot different, wouldn’t we? We’d all tithe. We’d all say amen. If He forced us to submit, we’d all be here every Sunday evening, even if it rained. But He doesn’t force us. He loves us. Do you know why I love Him? Because He first loved me.

How does it change your perspective on submission to realize Jesus doesn’t force us to submit to Him, but leads us through love?

Who has God called you to lead in this way?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time this week to practically love someone God has given you influence or leadership over.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Submission Does Not Mean Inferiority

PRAY OVER THIS

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22

 

PONDER THIS

Submission to authority does not mean inferiority. Think of some different examples. Is a church member inferior to me because I’m the pastor? Of course not. Do you think I’m inferior to a policeman because I stop when he says stop and go when he says go? Of course not. Do you think a child is inferior to his parents because that child obeys his parents? Of course not. Here’s the capstone. Do you think God the Son is inferior to God the Father? No, of course not. If you know anything about Christian theology you know the basic prime tenant of our faith is the full deity of Jesus Christ, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father. And yet the Bible says the head of Christ is God the Father. Jesus was submissive. He “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Submission does not mean inferiority.

How does today’s devotion challenge your thinking about submission?

Who has God put in authority over you? How are you called to submit to them?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of ways you might honor God by submitting to those He has put in authority in your life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Holding On to Your Old Life?

PRAY OVER THIS

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

 

PONDER THIS

Imagine there’s a wedding. The vows have been said. The cake has been cut. Tom and Susie are in the car. They’re driving off. Susie looks over to Tom and says, “Tom, would you please take me home?” He says, “Susie, I can’t take you home. We’re going on our honeymoon. And then I’ll take you home.” Susie says, “No, Tom. I don’t mean that home. I mean my home. I want you to take me back to my mother. I’m glad that you’re my husband, I know that you love me, and I want you to know I’m grateful to be your wife. I’ll try to come to see you on weekends, and if I get sick or need anything, I’ll call you, but Tom, I’m going back to my old way of life.”

That doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Have you ever heard anybody say, “Now, Lord Jesus, I take You as my Savior. Thank You. That’s done. Now I’m going back to my old way of life. Oh, yes, Lord, I’ll come and see you a few times on weekends. And, Lord, if I need anything or if I get sick, I’ll call on You.”? That is the kind of religion that is filling Hell. People have never really made the authentic confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Have you recognized and submitted to Jesus Christ as your reigning Lord? Has that changed your life?

What former ways of life are you tempted to hold onto?

PRACTICE THIS

Think of someone you know whose life has been changed by Christ. Ask that person to share his or her testimony.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Has Jesus Ever Made You Do Anything?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.”

(Ephesians 5:25)

 

PONDER THIS

Did you know Jesus never makes me do anything? Husbands, you are going to be in severe difficulty if you think that when the Bible says you are the head, you read that as, “I am the boss.” “I am the dictator.” No. Jesus is not the dictator of the Church; He is the head of the Church. If the Church, as His bride, refuses to follow, then she is going to reap repercussions, but He never forces us to do anything. Any husband who takes the attitude of a dictator is going to see that his home is in severe trouble. He is seeking to use the Bible as a club saying, “I am the head. Submit.” This is not the way of Jesus and cannot be our way either.

Who do you know who you would say is a great leader?

What makes that person a leader you want to follow?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider the positions of influence and leadership you have been given. How will you move toward Christ-honoring leadership?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Submission and Obedience are Not the Same

PRAY OVER THIS

“And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’”

(Mark 12:17)

 

PONDER THIS

Suppose you work for a person and he or she asks you to do something dishonest. Someone asks you to cook the books, to juggle things, to steal for them, and you try to be in submission. Suppose the government enforces upon you an unjust law and asks you to do something that is contrary to the will of God. Suppose the government was to tell us that we could not proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is important to understand that submission is not always the same as obedience. Your ultimate loyalty belongs to God. You’re to render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and unto God the things that belong to God, but never give to Caesar the things that belong to God. Our ultimate authority is God and we must always submit to Him above any other.

When was a time you faced a conflict between honoring God and honoring man?

When was a time you faced difficulty for choosing to honor God over man?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of ways you currently are called to honor human authority. Ask God to reveal to you any way you might be honoring people over Him and to help you change your course in this area.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Does Everything Belong to Jesus?

PRAY OVER THIS

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 1:22-23

 

PONDER THIS

What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of your life? First, it means entire submission. There can be no other king in your life. No person can serve two masters. Somebody has said it well: “He must be Lord of all if He is to be Lord at all.”

Second, it means His absolute ownership of all that you possess. What people do with possessions reveals whether or not Jesus Christ is Lord of their lives. Giving to the Lord is a tangible, visible expression of total surrender to Him. Giving represents your brains, your blood, your ability, your time, and your intellect. When you give, you are returning to the Lord. You demonstrate that everything belongs to Him and you are His steward.

Where is God calling you to further submit to Him as Lord?

How does your giving show evidence that Jesus is Lord of your life?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of practical ways you can live daily to show that Jesus is Lord and seek to walk in those ways.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Worldly Submission vs. Godly Submission

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

1 John 5:3

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Submission is a term that has been grievously distorted because there are men who have used the word as a weapon to club their wives rather than as a hammer to build their homes.

When God tells a wife to submit to her husband, He also tells the husband to love his wife “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:22-25).

When God tells children to obey their parents, He also instructs the fathers to “not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

When God tells you to submit to Him, it is for your good (James 4:7). Jesus is the head of the church, and He leads by love. The same should be true in the home.

ACTION POINT

Discuss the principle of submission with your family and friends this week. Contrast what the world would say it means to submit with what God desires for us.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Want God?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“They fought from heaven; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.”

Judges 5:20

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

You know, even the stars have to obey our Lord. In the Old Testament, the Bible says the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. He was a general whose army had 900 chariots going to war against God’s people. Imagine—900 chariots! But God sent such a tremendous rainstorm that his chariots bogged down and he was defeated.

Later when they wrote a song to celebrate the victory, one of the stanzas says “the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” His kingdom came tumbling down. And ultimately Herod’s kingdom came tumbling down too, for Herod stumbled over a star—the Star of Bethlehem.

Listen to me, the whole universe is against the man who is against God. But the whole universe lines up behind the man who seeks God. Whatever is necessary, God will do it to get the hungry heart to Jesus. If you want Him, God is a God of might and miracle.

ACTION POINT

Some of you may be reading this by divine appointment because you’ve been wanting to find the Lord. God has guided you here. Thank God for the miracle of the stars. Bethlehem’s star was there to guide those wise men. It tells me that whatever is necessary, God will guide your hungry heart if you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready to receive Him today? Are you willing?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do you have a difficult boss?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Colossians 3:22

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you work for a difficult person?

“Yes! That slave driver, penny pincher, that bully!”

Well, let’s see what the Bible says about that slave driver:

“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward [harsh]” (1 Peter 2:18).

“You mean I’m supposed to submit to that two-legged devil?”

That’s right. And you are to serve him/her.

ACTION POINT:

You can shut the mouth of criticism and bring that one to Jesus Christ when you practice the mightiest force upon the face of the earth—submission through obedience.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Secret of Submission

BIBLE MEDITATION:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

If we are going to survive in the tough times of our lives, we must learn to submit. Wait. What? That’s right. Now, I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but let me explain.

The Word of God teaches us that no person is inferior to anyone else. We are all one in Jesus Christ. Submission is something we do to one another “in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). Through submission comes power and victory.

Do you want to know a good definition of submission? Here it is: Submission is one equal willingly placing himself under another equal that God may therefore be glorified.

ACTION POINT:

We are never more like Jesus than when we submit. And never more like the devil than when we rebel.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Having issues with a fellow believer?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Romans 12:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

My left hand is a member of my body. So is my right hand. The right hand cannot direct the left hand and vice versa. But both hands can receive instruction from the head. If both hands are connected to the head, it follows that our hands are going to submit one to another. They’re not going to fight one another.

It’s the same way in the Body of Christ, the church. Who is the head of the body? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who are the members of the body? You and I. God put us in the church together that we might have a spirit of submission in the fear of the Lord.

ACTION POINT:

Is there someone in the church with whom you’re having difficulties? Submit yourself to the Lord and allow Him to give you grace to submit one to another.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Misunderstood Principle Of Submission

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 

Submission is a term that has been grievously distorted because there are men who have used the word as a weapon to club their wives rather than as a hammer to build their homes.

When God tells a wife to submit to her husband, He also tells the husband to love his wife “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:22-25).

When God tells children to obey their parents, He also instructs the fathers to “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

When God tells you to submit to Him, it is for your good (James 4:7). Jesus is the head of the church, and He leads by love. The same should be true in the home.

ACTION POINT:

Discuss the principle of submission with your family and friends this week. Contrast what the world would say it means to submit with what God desires for us.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Submitting to One Another

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

If we are going to survive in the tough times of our lives, we must learn to submit. That’s right. Now, I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but let me explain.

The Word of God teaches us that no one is inferior to anyone else. We are one in Jesus Christ. Submission is something we do to one another “in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). Through submission comes power and victory.

Do you want to know a good definition of submission? Here it is: Submission is one equal willingly placing himself under another equal that God may therefore be glorified.

ACTION POINT:

We are never more like Jesus than when we submit. And never more like the devil than when we rebel.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Captain Comes to Take Over

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Joshua had an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament near Jericho (see Joshua 5). His first words to Him were, “Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?” (v.13). Joshua was on his guard, not wanting anyone to harm God’s people. Notice the Lord’s response, “Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come” (v. 14). Basically, He didn’t come to take sides, He came to take over.

Jesus is the Captain of the host of heaven, and this Conqueror with the drawn sword came to give Joshua a message of victory.

ACTION POINT:

You will never know victory until you lay your sword at His feet, bow yourself prostrate before His Mighty Throne, and worship Him. Before you can be a conqueror, you must be conquered. I pray you will soon be on the sunny side of Hallelujah Avenue where the glory roads intersect!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rigers

Submission Must Come Before Victory

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Proverbs 29:23

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever taught someone to drive? What was the first thing you showed him? If you’re like me, even before I showed my children the ignition switch, the accelerator, or the blinker, I showed them the brakes.

Now suppose your learner said, “I don’t want to know anything about the brakes. I just want to know how to make this thing go!” You would probably reply, “You aren’t ready yet to learn to drive! Forget the accelerator. Before you can go, you’ve got to learn to stop.”

ACTION POINT:

Put this in a spiritual realm. What if I asked you to submit to God and you said, “I’m not interested in submission. I want the victory!” God is not going to pour out His power upon you until He sees in you a spirit of submission.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers