A Women Under Authority - Part II Our Christian walk is a matter of submitting our will to the will of God and woman was created with a specific plan for her life and that plan included having us submit to our authorities. In the second part of this teaching we will learn of other roles in our life where we need to apply submission in order to please God. I. Submitted as daughters Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” Honor your mother and father; this is the first commandment with a promise so it may go well for you and you may have a long life. Our parents are the first authority figure in our lives, we learn first to obey them before any other authority figure in our lives, including God, this is why the word is clear in the commandment to obey and receive promises as a reward, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth”, to not obey has consequences “that it may not go well with you and you may have a short life on the earth” It does not matter your age, if you are married, widowed, honor your parents and God your father will be pleased and will bless you. II. Submitted as sheep/disciples Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Our pastors were placed in our lives to teach, guide our lives by taking the example of pastor of sheep, as pastors they see the wolf coming when the sheep has not idea of what is going on, that he is in danger; a pastor has a clearer vision than his sheep when it comes to the spiritual life. If your pastor has an authentic heart of a pastor then his interest in you is real without no other motives than to see you blessed, prosperous and happy. III. Submitted as employees 1 Peter 2:18 This verse teaches us to submit and respect our bosses, not only the good ones but also the ones that are hard to deal with, because we understand that “all authority was established by God” (Romans 13:1); if this person is in the position of boss/supervisor, and you under his authority, then God has arranged it this way and you as a Christian need to be a good example and give good testimony by submitting to your employer. IV. Submitted as good citizens 1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” For the sake of our testimony as good citizens, that obey the laws, that may seem important or not, large or small, that we understand or not, we need to be an example of what God desires, to teach the non-believer. If as Christians we are not obedient to the laws, this can be used by the non-believer as an excuse to not believe and/or a stumbling block. Why don’t we propose to be an example in all things? As Christian women let’s be a good example to the world, submitting ourselves and pleasing God with this important quality. |