Submission God Raises Up and Removes
Ezek. 30:20-26
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 "Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Surely I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 'I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 'I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25 'Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 'I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.'"”
It is God who raises up leaders and who removes them from office; our job is to submit to His bidding. Leaders commonly misunderstand this truth. God says that whether leaders are good or evil, He ultimately is the One who puts them there – and He will remove them.
Sunday Morning
Surrender
21 Christian Growth Issues in the Bible
Acts 9:1-9
I. Submit to God’s Authority Before Trying to Develop Yours
a. Acts 9:6
II. Surrender and Trust Go Hand in Hand
a. Prov. 3:1-12
III. God Requires and Blesses Humble Surrender
a. James 3:13-18
IV. A Life Characterized by Surrender to God
a. 1 Pet. 2:1-25
Sunday Evening
Why Aren’t More Men Qualified to Be Elders?
1 Tim. 3:1-7
I. Men are not putting forth the effort that is required to meet the qualifications.
a. 1 Tim. 3:1-7
b. Titus 1:6-9
II. Churches are providing substitutions for the eldership
a. Acts 14:23
III. Some do not want elders
a. Acts 20:28
IV. Many men don’t want to take on the responsibility
a. Heb. 13:17
V. A lack of preaching and teaching on the subject
a. Acts 20:27
Submission Give God Credit
1 Kings 8:12-61
After Solomon built a magnificent temple to house the ark of the covenant, he prayed a dedication prayer committing the temple to God. Despite his hard work, Solomon knew all the glory belonged to God. All leaders must recognize that lasting fruit appears only by the blessing of God.
Submission Everyone Is Responsible to Someone
Titus 3:1, 2
“Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
Everyone and everything exists in submission to someone else. Even in the home, God has called parents to assume the responsibility for the health and growth of the family. Those in authority do not necessarily have greater intelligence or gifts, but they do have greater responsibility.