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\par
IJames
Introduction
1.
Peter
It is
Merritt
2:18-25
Sure Way TotheGlory
something
world desperately wants but only God can give. Men l
ive for it. Men die for it. And yet so few people ever experience it. For so man
y people it is the only thing in the world that makes life worth living. Some pe
ople are addicted to it. They cannot get along with it and once it passes them b
y if they've ever had it many commit suicide because they know that it is gone f
\par 2. What is it? It is a nebulous, elusive thing that we call glory. Movie st
orever.
ars want to bask in its sun. Heros want to bath in its waters. Beautiful women w
ant it pictured. Politicians want it publicized. Everybody wants it and yet so f
ew people
\par
3. When
haveallit.seems
Glory.
a lost
Distinction.
cause, weRenown.
have a little
Honor. saying, "Well let's go out
\par
in a4.blaze
Well,offriend,
glory."God's people are people of glory. If you want to see a per
son of distinction of honor, of renown, of glory, look at a child of God. Peter
tells us that we are on our way to glory. Look in chapter 1 and verse 8 and not
only that we have glory--the glory of Jesus right now. Look over in John 17 and
verse 22, the way of Jesus is the way of glory. If a man follows Jesus, he is on
\par
the 5.
sureButwaylettomeglory.
warn you, the way of Jesus is not the way of the world. The w
ay the world will tell you to get to glory is not the way of Jesus. The world sa
ys the sure way to glory is to be the boss. Jesus says the sure way to glory is
to be the servant. The world says the sure way to glory is the easy life. Jesus
says the sure way to glory is a hard and rocky road. The world says the sure way
to glory is success. Jesus says the sure way to glory is salvation. If you want
glory--real glory--eternal glory--God's glory, you can have it today by followi
ng Jesus
\par
I. Peter
1.
The
Christ.
Glory
hadNow,
aOfdeep
Submission
God's
concern
glory-for
is submission.
Verse
manifested
18
inIn3verse
different
13 heways:
says submit your
selves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Then here in verse 11 he
says servants be submissive to your masters with all respect. And in verse 1 of
chapter 3 he says wives be submissive to your own husbands. Peter knew something
that we are quickly forgetting in our society and that is the entire order of t
he universe
\par
2. Now submission
is based onissubmission.
not a very popular thing today. Wives do not want to s
ubmit to their husbands. Students do not want to submit to the authority of the
teacher. Young people do not want to register for the draft. The employee doesn'
t want to be submissive to the boss. Children no longer want to be submissive to
their parents; and, so many parents no longer want to be submissive to God. I w
ant to tell you something this morning. When a country, any country, throws out
the bath
\par
Throw
3.
The
water
out
difference
of submission
the
babybetween
of society.
you'll
a society of order and a society of chaos is foun
d in the difference between submission and rebellion. A person without a spirit
of submissiveness is never more like the devil. It was rebellion that made the d
evil out of an angel. It was rebellion that chaos out of the cosmos. It was rebe
llion that kept Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. It was rebellio
n that kept Moses out of the promised land. It was rebellion that sent the Israe
lites into exile. And, it was rebellion that crucified the Lord Jesus. You are n
ever more like the devil than when you refuse to submit to proper authority. And
, now may I say contradistinctively, you are never more like Jesus than when you
have a spirit of submissiveness. The Bible says in Philippians chapter 2 and ve
rse 5, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." And, w
hat kind of attitude did Jesus have? It was an attitude of submission. Philippia
ns 2:6 reads, "Who although he existed in the form of God did not regard equalit
y with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a bond s
ervant and being made in the likeness of men, he humbled himself by becoming sub
missive
\par
4. So
to Peter
the point
saysofhere
death,
speaking
even to
thehis
death
society
on a in
cross."
the 1st century, "Slaves b
e submissive to your masters with all respect and not only to the good masters b
ut to the bad masters. Not only to the fair masters but to the foul masters." N
ow you know this is rather interesting. You never read in the New Testament wher
e anyone ever attacked the institution of slavery. And yet we all know that slav
ery is an evil of man. Now the question is why didn't the apostle Paul attack th
e institution of slavery? Have you ever thought that? Well may I say to you 2 th
ings: first of all you have asked the wrong question, Paul did attack the instit
ution of slavery. No, he didn't do it by marching up and down the streets agains
t it. He did not do it by editorializing in the newspaper. He did not do it with
armed force. The reason is that when Christianity majors on social issues it wi
ll ultimately degenerate into a social gospel. Now, I am interested in social is

sues. I am interested in abortion and alcohol, capital punishment women & li

beration and I m going to be preaching on these things but friend the greatest way t
o eliminate the problem of alcohol is not by educating people about it, it is no
t by marching against it. Friend, the greatest way to take care of an alcoholic'
s habit is to change an alcoholic's heart. What Paul did was he looked at this m
ountain called slavery and he began to bore holes in it. And, in those holes he
put the sticks of the dynamite of the gospel and when he did that he blew slaver
y to smithereens the greatest difference between socialism and Christianity is t
his: socialism says if you want to change a man's heart change his society. Chan
ge his environment. Redistribute the world's wealth. Make sure everybody is maki
ng the same amount of money and everybody has the same thing. Christianity says
if you want to change society change a man's heart. So Peter says to the slaves
, look, you just live like Jesus in front of that bad master and let Jesus chang
e his5.heart.
\par
Now there are some of you here this morning and you have bad bosses. You
have bosses that make fun of you they ridicule your faith, they're unfair to yo
u, they're hateful and harsh to you. You know what God's answer is to that boss?
Submit to him with all respect. Not only by your actions but by your attitudes.
You be the best employee to that boss you possibly can be. And, you want to kno
w why? The best way to turn a lost boss into a saved supervisor is to respond ki
ndly, work hard and radiate Jesus in your life. Now, that s not the world s way but it's
\par
God'sWhen
II.way.
The
a man
And
Glory
you'll
follows
Of Suffering
find
Jesus,
thathe-there
Versesisout
finds
19,
glory
very
20 inquickly
that way
thatofthe
submission.
way of glory i
s the way of suffering. And, it is right here that many people want to get off t
he train of redemption on the railroad to glory. A lot of people are interested
in glory but there're not too interested in suffering. I want to tell you someth
ing. Suffering
\par
A. Callingis a matter of calling when Jesus calls a man he not only calls h
im to come serve and follow me he calls him to come and suffer. Jesus says if an
y man will follow me he must take up his cross. He must deny himself and follow
me. Paul said in Philippians l:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ s sake
not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake." Friend, the Christi
an has1.three
\par
He hascallings
been called
in histolife.
salvation. As Peter made very plain in chapter 1 a
nd verse 1 - 2 we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God. That is we ha
ve been called we have been chosen out of this world to be a part of the family
of God.
\par
2. We are called to service. We are not only called to be saved, we are cal
led to act like it. We have been called by the man the disciples called master t
o be his slave. Peter tells us in verse 16 that we are to be slaves, servants of
\par
God.3.WeWearearecalled
calledtotoservice.
suffer.Thirdly,
Glory and suffering always go together. Look at
\par
chapter
B. Conscience
Suffering
4 and is
verse
not14.
only a matter of calling. It is a matter of conscience--ve
rse 19. When a man suffers for Jesus, he ll not suffer for doing what is wrong. He'
s going to suffer for doing what is right. And, Peter is saying - the test of a
man's Christianity is how he bears up under the burden of suffering when he is r
\par 1. I have said it before and I ll say it again many, many times. If you want to
ight.
know how close you are to Jesus don't watch how you act watch how you react. Yo
u see Peter is saying here's a man and he is suffering because he did wrong. If
he takes this suffering with a smile, never says a word, never complains for the
re is no credit in that, a sinner can do that! A heathen can do that! A pagan ca
n do that! That's the only logical thing to do. But he says that it takes a real
\par
man of2.God
Andtoyousuffer
see this
silently
findswhen
favorhewith
is inGod.
theInright.
verse 20, it takes the grace
of God to suffer for right doing. You want to know what glory is? Glory is givin
g a soft answer that turns away wrath. Glory is turning the other cheek. Glory
is loving your enemy. Glory is suffering for the sake of Jesus. You want to lear
n an important lesson today? A Christian learns by serving and he serves by suff
eringThere
\par
III.
and The
his
is no
suffering
Glory
greater
Of Salvation--21-25
leads
glorytoinglory.
the world than the glory of being saved. Than
the glory of knowing Jesus, than the glory of knowing that your sins have been f
orgiven and you are on your way to heaven. And what a savior we have in the Lord
Jesus. As Peter looks back on that cross as the sight of Jesus hanging on the c
ross burns into his mind, he gives us the most poignant pungent description of w
hat aHe
\par
A.savior
Substitutionary
bore
we have
our
sinsinon-all
the
Verse
ofcross.
the
24 Bible.
Friend, you want to know why Jesus died on t
he cross? He died for you. You want to know who nailed Jesus on the cross. We di
d. You want to know who sent Jesus to the gallows? We did. You want to know why
Jesus even bothered to come to this earth? He came to die for you and for me. 1

the wages of sin is death. And, every man on this earth without Jesus Christ is
on sin s death row. There is no court of appeal. There will be no stay of execution.
\par
The 2.
onlyAndhope
2000ofyears
a manago
on Jesus
sin's came
deathand
rowdid
is what
a pardon
no man
fromcanGod.
do, no one has don
e and no one else will do. He took our sins, our judgment, and our penalty on th
e cross.
\par
Jesus secured
Mercythat
Pardon
there
there
pardon
was
wasby
great
multiplied
going
andtograce
to mecross
the
was free,
taking our execution and se
curing3.aYou
\par
pardon
say,from
"Well,
God.that's not fair." No, friend, it s not fair. But it's Calvar
y. It's not fair to have to submit to a bad boss. It's not fair- to have to suff
er unjustly for doing what is right. It's just Calvary. If a man could be saved
in any other way, than by the death of Jesus Christ, God murdered his only son f
or nothing.
\par
4. How is a man forgiven of his sins? How is he healed of the disease and s
ickness of iniquity and sin in his life? Peter says by his stripes you were heal
ed. It is the only medical case in history where the doctor took the disease so
that the patient could get the cure. Get it in your heart, friend, right now Jes
us died
\par
WhenforCharles
you. Haden Spurgeon was lying on his death bed a close friend said
to him, "What is the greatest theological truth you have ever learned?" and Char
les Spurgeon said, "I could sum up all of my theology in four little words." "J
esus Think
\par
diedSinless
B.
for
about
me."
-it.
Verse
Absolutely
22
no sin. Not a sinful thought, not a sinful word,
\par
not 1.
a sinful
You know
deed,
I hear
not people
even forsaya sometimes,
sinful second
"Well,
did Jesus was
liveaongreat
thisteacher."
earth.
He set a great example. And, I believe if I just follow his teachings and follo
w his example then I ll be all right with God. Well, let me say something to that, f
riend. The only way you can be saved by following the example of Jesus is to be
sinless
\par
2. If
because
you are
he sinless
set a sinless
you areexample.
saved; but if you are a sinner, you need to b
e saved
\par
3. Oh,
and how
you Jesus
can only
stands
be saved
head and
by ashoulders
sinless savior.
above every other so called savi
or in the world. Did anyone else ever claim to have died on the cross for the si
ns of the entire world? Has anybody else ever claimed to have risen from the dea
d? To me the crowning glory of Jesus is he was absolutely sinless. Do you know
of any other man, any other God, any other spiritual guru or leader that could m
ake that
\par
C. Suffering
The
same claim?
human
mind- cannot
Verse
Jesus21imagine
was a sinless
how thesavior.
son of God suffered for the sons of m
en. Tried illegally, condemned unjustly, beaten unmercifully, until his back was
simply cords of loose quivering flesh, until his face was just a mass of blood
and bruises. He was slandered, scourged, he was mocked, he was forsaken and then
he was crucified as a common criminal, as a rapist or as a murderer and yet the
greatest suffering of all came when God turned his back upon him. Nobody in th
e world knows what it is like to have God turn his back on them except Jesus Chr
ist. The most hard-hearted atheist in the world does not know what it means for
God to turn his back on him. The greatest tragedy that can come to a man is when
God turns his back and forsakes him. And, friend, the only time God ever turns
his back on one of us is when we die having turned our back on him. You don't kn
ow the suffering that Jesus went through when God turned his back upon him. He w
as a Whoever
\par
suffering
D.
Silentsaid,
-savior.
Verse
"Sticks
23 and stones may break my bones, but words can never ha
rm me" was either deaf or stupid. The Bible says that there is nothing that can
pierce asunder to a man's heart and spirit like another man's words. Have you ev
er noticed how when nothing else can cause you to get angry, just the wrong word
at the wrong time can cause you to fly off the handle? And, yet, Jesus when he
was reviled, he didn't say anything. While he suffered he uttered no threats. Oh
, he could have said things like "he who laughs last, laughs best." He could ha
ve said, "Your time is coming." But all he said was, "Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they do." You see, Jesus was not interested in vengeance,
he wasHis
\par
E.interested
Submissive
life was committed
in- Verse
victory.
23toHeGodwasalla the
silent
waysavior.
to his death. Have you done this?
Have you entrusted every part of your life, even your dying to God? You see, Je
sus was in total control when everyone else was out of control because he knew G
od wasJudas
\par
in control.
gave Jesus over to the Jews. Jesus gave himself over to God. The Jews
gave Jesus over to pilot. Jesus gave himself over to God. Pilate gave him over
to the soldiers. Jesus gave himself over to God, the soldiers nailed his body to
a cross. Jesus said, "Father into thy hands I commit my spirit." He was a submi
ssive1.
\par
F.savior.
Sympathetic
You
know the-world
Verseis25full of straying sheep. The Bible says all we like
sheep have gone astray. It is in the nature of a sheep to wander aimlessly arou
nd not knowing where they are headed or why they are going. People today are jus
t like wandering sheep. They wander from one car to another. From one mate to an
other. From one thrill to another. From one job to another. From one drug to ano

ther, looking for that one clue that one thing that will bring them eternal happ
\par 2. And Peter says here that Jesus is the sympathetic savior. He is the good
iness.
shepherd who looks for any sheep who are lost. I am in the fold of God this mor
ning 3.
\par
not You
onlyknow
because
it isI wonderful.
found Jesus,Inbut
thebecause
Old Testament
Jesus found
the sheep
me. died for the s
hepherd.
\par
Christ
In has
the for
New sin
Testament
atonement
the made
shepherd
we are
diesredeemed
for thethe
sheep.
priceWhat
is paid.
a savior.
I paid
him for the cleansing blood that reconciled my soul to God what a wonderful sav
ior! He cleansed my heart from all its sin and now he reigns and rules within wh
at a 4.
\par
wonderful
What asavior!
wonderful savior! I praise him for the cleansing blood that reco
nciled my soul to God. What a wonderful savior. He cleansed my heart from all it
s sin and now he reigns and rules therein. What a wonderful savior. Had Jesus no
t submitted to the father, come as a servant and suffered as a savior, I would b
e an eternally dying man on my way to hell, instead of an eternally living man o
n my way to heaven. There is a sure way to glory. And it is the way of Jesus. It
is the way of submission. It is the way of suffering. It is the way of salvatio
n. Will
\par
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