So last Sunday, we started a series called Jesus, not politics. And the reason that we're in this series is not because we're trying to react to things happening in the world. We've been going through a letter that's part of the New Testament of the Bible. And if you're not familiar, the New Testament, it's like the newer part. Pretty simple. It's the part Jesus and after. And so this letter is called Romans, and it just so happens that we're in Romans chapter 13, which is all about the relationship between God and the government, and how do we as Jesus followers engage with that when very often the values and the way that sort of the governments of this world operate are very, very different, if not the polar opposite of the values that Jesus has. How do we engage with that? How do we not engage with that? What does that look like? And so last week we just sort of started by saying this hey, let's let it be about Jesus, not politics. Jesus was very, very adamant and clear that what he was doing in this world, the movement he was starting, he called that his kingdom. That was language that the people in his day would really get behind and understand. The movement that Jesus was starting was not of this world. It was not of this world. Meaning he wasn't gonna be using the normal channels of change that we see happen in this world. It wasn't gonna be political, it wasn't gonna be military, it wasn't by force. He was doing something completely different. And it caught everybody by surprise because all the people in this day imagined that this figure they were waiting for, they called it their Messiah, that the Messiah was gonna come and change the world, but was definitely gonna do it by means of politics, by means of military force. And so here comes Jesus, and he's clearly showing like some strong signs of being the Messiah. You know, like people are being healed of diseases, dead people are being raised, like people are like, I think he might be important. You know, maybe he's the Messiah, and so they're kind of waiting for him to take political authority and power, to really put some might behind his ministry, and he just avoids that every single time he's given the chance. Because he made it clear that his kingdom is not of this world, and I'm so glad that that is the case. Like, I just personally am so glad that Jesus is different than the world. You know, the thing about politics, and it's not just the politics in America, and it's not just the politics in the world today, it's pretty much all throughout history. The political systems of our world are such that the closer you look, the uglier it is. I had this experience on Friday night, it was kind of weird. Um, well, this part that I'm gonna say isn't weird, it gets weirder, but not that weird. I set that up in a weird way, so don't worry, it's actually not that weird, just go with me. So Friday night, I got to have a one-on-one date with my daughter who is eight years old, and uh, and if you ask my eight-year-old, precious, small little petite dancer, ballet dancer daughter, hey, what do you want for dinner? She will always answer, ribs. Uh, she's an eight-year-old who loves a rack of ribs. And so we were on a daddy date, and we went to a restaurant, and she ordered her ribs, and uh it was it was great, had a good time. I went to the restroom to wash my hands, and while I'm washing my hands, I had this weird experience. I look up and there's this piece of artwork right next to the mirror, kind of staring at me. And uh I actually took a picture of it. It's uh it's a wood carving of John Wayne. And you know how sometimes you see a piece of art and you're just like, wow, that's amazing. This was not that. By the way, I recognize that there is a possibility, however slight, that the person who made this is here or watching. And if so, I could not have done better. Okay? I'm not judging you. Uh great work, I don't know what to say. But I looked at that and I was like, kind of just like my first response was like, uh, you know. But then I started looking closer. And I found that the closer that you actually got to this, the more uh terrifying it became. So, like, that is not John Wayne. That is that is like John Wayne in need of an exorcism. That is like the Emperor from Star Wars level, just creepy. And I'm staring at this thing while washing my hands, just being like, man, the closer I look, the more I want to leave. You know? We can take that image off the screen. Creepy, terrifying, wooden John Wayne. That's how politics kind of is, right? Like the closer you look, when you first see it, when you first see the political systems of the world, you're not like, wow, amazing. You're like, huh. And then you look closer, and the closer you look, anytime there's ever a story that helps us see sort of inside a little bit deeper into the way the political systems of the world work, we're like, gross. It's worse. It's the total opposite of Jesus, by the way. The closer you look at him, the more beautiful, the more powerful, the more amazing. But the kingdoms of this world, they're not like that. And so I'm just saying that I'm personally grateful that Jesus came to this earth, and rather than looking at politics and political power and saying, I'm gonna use that, I'm glad that Jesus said, you know what? No. Don't want it, I don't need it. And he started a movement outside of politics that, by the way, the most powerful political systems that have ever existed on the planet tried really hard to stop. And they couldn't. Because his kingdom is not of this world. And yet at the same time, politics is something we can't avoid. I mean, even though Jesus bypassed it as he was changing the world his way, politics still affected him. Politics affect all of us, the government affects all of us. It's kind of like this: I have four kids at home, and I talk about that pretty often, and they definitely affect my life, for sure. But I affect theirs too. Like they live under my authority, and so the decisions that I make have major consequences for their lives. I can make decisions that that bless them, that help them prosper and thrive. In one moment, I could make a decision as their father that could completely change the trajectory of their lives and make their lives so much more difficult. And my kids are at this point now, or the oldest, occasionally look at me and make it very clear that they think I'm stupid and don't agree with the decisions that I'm making. I'm just glad they can't vote me out, you know? I would like if they paid taxes, but that's beside the point. Maybe one day. But that's kind of how I engage with the government. Like, like it's an authority over me, it makes decisions that affect me, and very often I look at the government and be like, y'all are stupid, and what are you doing? That's how we often feel. Or at least, depending on our affiliation politically, we feel like that every four to eight years, right? Like, maybe right now the person you voted for is in power, and you're like, yeah, but that if that's true, that means that a few years ago you were like, it's all burning down. And if it's the opposite of that, that means that like right now, you're like, it's all burning down. That's just the way it works. And we put our hope and trust in the politics of the world, we feel frustration, angst, and anger. It is not good for our soul. And yet at the same time, we live in a world where we cannot avoid the impact that the political world has on us. And so, with that in mind, we're gonna jump into Romans chapter 13, because Romans chapter 13 is gonna help us do two really important things. And I just want you guys to know it's gonna take us two weeks to unpack this. And almost every message, I try really hard to make it something that could stand on its own. And that this does to a degree, but if there's ever been like a series that you're like, you probably need to be here for both Sundays, or at least listen to both, or watch both from home, those of you who are watching from home, you'll need it with this one because there's no way for us to do all of this at once. So we're gonna do two things via Romans 13 when it comes to us, the government, God, all this stuff. We're gonna try to understand and engage. We need to understand how this really works. How does government and God and us, how does all that really work? And then in light of that, how do we engage or not engage? What does that look like? That's what we're gonna talk about the next two weeks. And so, with that said, Romans chapter 13, 1 through 7. Paul wrote, everyone must submit to governing authorities. That is my least favorite statement in the Bible. He was not an American. Let's just go there. Like it, like, no, we don't, you know, that's everyone must submit to governing authorities, for all authority comes from God. And those in positions of authority have been placed there by God, so anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Then do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes too, for the same reason. For the government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them, pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. I changed my mind. The pay your taxes line is my least favorite in all of Scripture. Alright. So we're gonna spend a couple of weeks unpacking this. And again, it's about understanding and engaging.

Okay?

And what I want to start with today is the very first two verses began like this: everyone must submit to governing authorities, for all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. Now, when I look at the world and the conversations that I have with people, the things I see on social media, it's obvious that many people are so constantly fired up, angry, upset, worried about what's happening politically, what's happening in the world, there's so many things to get fired up about. Maybe you're someone who kind of stays out of all of that. And if that's you, then like that's not a bad path to take, you know? But life has also shown me that eventually it kind of hits home for all of us. Eventually, the decisions of the people and authority in the world, it hits home for all of us, and it can lead you to this place of constant frustration. But if there's one thing that can cure you of that, if there's one thing that can take away that angst and that frustration and the worry and the stress and the strife, it's it's understanding a very basic principle that this puts plainly. God is over government. And we can forget that. Especially, I would say, in our political system, that's a democracy where we get to vote and we actually have some say, that that isn't really how it's been for most of human history, pretty much anywhere. But for us, I think it's especially easy to forget the fact that, yeah, even though we vote, even though we have a say, God is over all of it. And when we live remembering that, no matter how things look, no matter how it feels, God is over it. That brings us peace. And so there's a few principles I want us to highlight. And these are things, again, this is kind of the understand part. Once we understand these truths and we really sink our teeth into them and maybe let them change the way we think a little bit, then we're at a place where we can engage properly. And so next week, just so you know, as we talk about engaging, we're gonna talk about the idea of submitting, but also look at questions like is there such a thing as proper civil disobedience? Are there opportunities and times where because of our faith and who we are, we say, no, we are not submitting, we're actually going to resist? And the answer to that is yes, there are times. We're gonna explore that next week. But today we've got to understand some things. Number one, we need to understand that God understands government. God understands government. He gets it. He really, really does. There's a great story in the Old Testament, this is centuries before Jesus, and at this point in history, the nation of Israel has never had a king. They've had men and women who had very close relationships with God, men and women who who God spoke to, and they would lead the people. And they weren't people that had authority, they didn't have like a bloodline, and they would pass their authority on to their children. They weren't in authority because the people had chosen them, they weren't in authority because they were just born into the right family. They were in authority because God had put them there and they listened to God. It's kind of a cool concept. But there came a time when the people of Israel said, We don't like this. Because they looked around and all the other nations in the world had kings, and they were already this kind of strange people who didn't have giant statues of the God they worshipped, and all these other nations had tons and tons of God, and they've got this one invisible God, and they don't know what he looks like, and all these other nations have kings and queens, and they don't have one. And they they just wanted to be like everybody else. Sometimes, at the end of the day, that is like the driving force behind some of our worst decisions in life. I just want to be like everybody else. And so they decided we want a king. And they went to Samuel, who was the prophet that was leading them at the time, and said, We want a king. And so, on behalf of God, Samuel says this to the people. Well, let's just go back a little bit. 1 Samuel chapter 8. It says, Samuel passed on the Lord's warning to the people who were asking him for a king. He went to God about it, God gave him this warning. So Samuel's speaking on behalf of God here. This is how a king will reign over you. The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves, or servants in their world, and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king that you're demanding, but the Lord will not help you. But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning, even so we still want a king, they said. We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle. And so Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people have said, and the Lord replied, Do as they say, and give them a king. And then Samuel agreed and sent the people home, and everything goes really poorly after that, for the most part, in their story. The warning to us might be a little bit different, right? God understanding how our government works, he might say, Here's the way the government's gonna go. It's gonna be empty promises, it's gonna be scandal upon scandal, it's gonna be hypocrisy, it's gonna be people just solidifying their own power while pretending to really care about the needs of people. But the point is that God gets it. He understands government. I mean, he tells the people, look, here's the way this is gonna go. Here's what's gonna happen, and what he says happens, happens. And the same is true today. God understands the government. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we look at it and we're like, what's going on? And God's like, look, calm down. I understand what's happening. I know full well how this operates, and we need to have peace, knowing that God gets it. But God doesn't just understand government. What we need to understand is that God uses government, God uses the governments of this world. Whether they like it or not, they ultimately serve his purposes. So for example, Jeremiah chapter 27, verse 6. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant, and I've put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. If you don't know the context of this, Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king, and Babylon actually conquers Israel. And God says to the prophet Jeremiah, Yeah, I'm doing this. I'm giving Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, this power and these victories. Now, if you know the story of Nebuchadnezzar, you wouldn't read his story and be like, that man is a servant of God. I mean, there's a few moments where you're like, hey, Nebuchadnezzar, you get it, good stuff. But most of the time, uh, not at all. In fact, there's this one time where Nebuchadnezzar has a giant statue built of himself, and it's made out of gold, and then he tells people to bow down and worship it, and if they don't, they just get thrown into a fire. You know, just the normal sort of king stuff. Not exactly what we would consider to be a faithful servant to God. So why does God call Nebuchadnezzar his servant? Because, like it or not, even when they're unaware of it, the kingdoms and the governments of this world are going to ultimately serve the purposes of God. Because God is over everything. We see another story about this in Isaiah chapter 44. He says, I carry out the predictions of my prophets. By them I say to Jerusalem, people will live here again, and to the towns of Judah, you will be rebuilt, I will restore all your ruins. At this point in time, Israel has been conquered by the Babylonians. This happens uh several centuries before Jesus. And so they're no longer, most of their people have been sent away. They're not allowed to live in their homeland, their city has been destroyed, and their prophets are now saying things like, There's a day coming when we will return. In fact, uh, shortly after, you know that verse if some of you like love verse of the day kind of things, where uh I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

Yeah.

Plans to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope. Like that kind of stuff, that was not about like an individual person and God making their dreams come true. That was actually about the fact that 70 years from the moment that God spoke that, he was going to be bringing his people back to their home. And so, at this point in time, when this was written by Isaiah, Babylon has now been conquered by the Persian Empire. And there's a new king, his name is Cyrus. And so, here's what God says next. When I speak to the rivers and say, Dry up, they will be dry. When I say of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and he will certainly do as I say. He will command rebuild Jerusalem, he will say, restore the temple. Now, what's really interesting is Cyrus does that historically. King Cyrus of Persia, known as Cyrus the Great, he actually commanded, when he conquered Babylon, he commanded that the people of Israel be allowed to return to their home and rebuild their temple, their church, which is odd because it does him no political favors to do that. It doesn't strengthen his kingdom in any way. But God moved on his heart and he did that. And God says that Cyrus is his shepherd. Cyrus didn't know the Lord, let alone believe in the Lord. In fact, Cyrus, if anything, believed he was God. And God basically says, like, it's no different than the rivers, it's no different than the weather, it's no different than anything else. I can move on the heart of any king, of any president, of any political power in this world, and whether they like it or not, whether they realize it or not, they will accomplish my purposes in this world. That there is an overarching path in history. Everything in history is moving toward a single place. A moment that Scripture describes to us is this beautiful moment where God's kingdom is established firmly on this earth, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and gone will be all the death and the tears and the mourning and the weeping and all the strife and all the conflict and all the war, all that's gone forever, and we are finally under the peace and love of Jesus Christ forever. That is where history is moving. You can celebrate that. Even if you're someone who doesn't believe that, like, I get that. There might be, you know, maybe you're here and you're like, I don't know if that's true or not, I don't know if I'm there yet, belief-wise, that's fine. But just know that history, according to God, is headed somewhere, and where it's headed is a lot better than where it seems like it's going most of the time. But we have to understand that if that's true, if you're someone who does believe that God is in control, then everything, everything is headed in that direction. God uses the governments of this world to accomplish his purposes even when it doesn't seem like it. He uses the government. A great example of this would be Jesus, by the way. And we'll move on. Jesus gives his disciples this unbelievable mission right before he goes to heaven. He's died, he raises to life, if you don't know the story, and then he's on the earth, he appears to his people several times, and then there's a moment where he like kind of says, Hey, peace out, I'm off, and then they're like, Whoa. Uh, that happens, you know? Because like the only thing he hadn't done yet was fly. So you might as well. It might as well be the way. That's the only thing his disciples at that moment could have been like, Do you think he could fly? I don't know. I mean, he's he's died and come back, he walked on water that one time, he's miraculously multiplied food, he's healed diseases. Maybe he can fly. Told you he could fly. Like it was that moment. I just think there was one disciple who like elbowed another and like, I told you, I knew it. I knew it. He could do it. It says that Jesus ascended to heaven. But before he does that, he gives his disciples an unbelievable mission and challenge. He says, I want you to go to all nations. I want you to go everywhere. To all nations and basically tell them about me, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teach them to obey me. It's time for my kingdom to kind of go global. Jesus was the first person who had like a global mission. But you know what's amazing about that? Is just a few centuries before Jesus, maybe even as little as one century before Jesus, that mission wouldn't have been possible. Because, well, A, how do you go everywhere? Like, how in the world at that point in history do you go to all nations? There's not a way to, oh, unless the Roman Empire takes complete control of. Most of the known world at that time and builds roads that go everywhere. That's what Rome did. If you've ever heard the phrase, all roads lead to Rome, that's where that comes from. Rome was this massive empire, conquered most of the known world. I mean, they're going all the way to like Britain, all the way down into Africa, and it's all the Roman Empire, and they built roads that went everywhere. And not only did they build roads, but they united people under a common language. And so for the first time in human history, you could be someone who was born where Jesus was born, and you could get on a road, and you could go a thousand miles away, and you could speak the same language as a group of people who ethnically were completely different than you. That could never have happened just a short time before that moment in history. And so it's so funny because Rome worked so hard to stop Jesus. It was the Romans who executed Jesus. And if you know the early history of the church, the Roman emperors, they worked really hard to stop the movement of Christianity, but but what they did in building all those roads and uniting the world under a common language is the very thing that allowed the movement of Jesus to thrive. It's like, oops, we did this to ourselves. And it's just a point. It's an example of how God uses the government, even when the government's not aware of it. God's using it. He's got an ultimate purpose in mind, and no matter what, it will happen. And very often he uses, sometimes even evil governments, end up playing into his purposes. And that should give us peace. Because, yes, God understands it, but sometimes when we see things happening in the world, we're like, this is bad, and it is bad. But we know that God is still going to use it for good. Because that's what he does. Not only does God use governments, God actually establishes governments. Daniel chapter 2, verse 21. This just puts it so simply. He controls the course of world events. He removes kings and he sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. So God is in control. I love that he says he removes kings and he sets up other kings. Do we believe that? I'm just curious, I'm really curious on this, and I'm not asking for everyone to participate because there's no pressure here, but does anyone believe that? You're like, I believe that he does establish things in this world. I just want a show of hands. Okay, a few of us. We're kind of mixed. I get it. Those of you who are like, I'm not so sure. That means you look at the world and go, I'm not giving God credit for that, you know? But but if that's really true, if we really believe that, then it would give us so much, so much peace when, you know, like our candidate may not win. I'm one of the like least biblical ideas you can have as an American Christian is that is the belief that the person God wanted to win an election didn't win. Like God would somehow be like, oh no. Right? Now, I I have I have friends who are passionate on both sides of our kind of political aisle. And we live in a time where everything is so divided, the political parties in America, Republican and Democrat, are so clearly moving in opposite directions, but like almost in response to one another. Like it's it's almost like if one side says, you know, like we like sushi, the other side's like, sushi is evil, you know? Why? Because they like it. It's just like how things are going, which actually makes it really hard right now to be someone who's kind of like balanced. It's really hard right now to be like, you know, I kind of see both sides. It's like standing in the middle of a road. It's just uh it's it's hard. You gotta do a lot of bobbing and weaving when you stand in the middle of a road. And so I I've got I got a guy that I know, dear friend, and uh, and he he used to come here and he I hadn't seen him in a while. And I asked him why, and and if he's watching this, then I he'll he'll be fine with this, I think, if or he'll be really mad at me. I don't know. Um but uh but I think he'll be fine. But but I said, man, I haven't seen you in a while, and he's like, man, he's super like political and and very much like on the Democratic side. And he's like, I just I would bet that most of your people voted for Trump, and I just can't be there. And I was like, Well, we live in Georgia, you know? Like most of the people in Georgia voted for Donald Trump, so just move somewhere. You know, like I luned, who was like, if that's how you feel, then you just have to like, I don't know, go to a different state. Like that, you can't live in Georgia and be upset. That's Georgia tends to be a Republican state. We're purple, but you know, reddish purple. So I guess but that was his mentality. Now, I what I did tell him was like, look, our church is actually far more politically mixed than you might think. And some of you were like, really? Oh no. You know? You mean there's a chance that the person sitting next to me didn't vote for who I voted for? There is. But like that, that was like he couldn't in his mind grasp the, he couldn't in his mind even entertain the thought of coming into a place and worshiping God where the people around him might have different political opinions. Like that's that's where he was at. I'm like, man, that's not, all jokes aside, that's that's not that's not good. And so, on the flip side of that, like, I know people who were basically in a state of mourning when the last election happened because they're super on the Republican side. And the mentality was very much like, you know, God lost today. You know? There's no way. And and if if Trump had won, then some of my other friends like that would have felt the same way. But here's here's what I'm trying to get to, and I can just sense the tension and uncomfortableness in the room. Okay. Guys, we couldn't count the number of political leaders and kings and governors and senators and presidents that have existed, have lived, and died over the course of human history. And most of them just don't really matter that much when it's all said and done. They just become little footnotes in history. They become the statues that you see in museums, and you're like, who's that guy? Oh, okay. They become the name that your children try to memorize to pass a test in history class, but quickly forget about it a few weeks later. Yes, there are some moments in history that are so consequential that whoever happened to be in charge in those moments is forever known. But most leaders are just footnotes in history. Because at the end of the day, they're not the one that's shaping the world. It's the Lord. He establishes a government. And so this gives us peace, right? It keeps us from getting all fired up and angry because you know what, man, this is gonna be, alright, you talk about tension and uncomfortableness? Okay. Those of you who are who are Democrats, could it be that God wanted Donald Trump, or at the very least, allowed it, and was okay with Donald Trump being president for four years? Because maybe there were things that he wanted to accomplish in the world and that worked. That doesn't mean that God is like stamp of approval on everything the person does, no different than Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus. God, like, no, we'll get to this in a second. But could it be that? And I'm talking specifically to those of you who would have been like, that guy is the worst. Um, let's just be honest, they're all kind of the worst. They're all like that John Wayne picture. Like if your hero is a political person, pray that you just never meet them. Uh because, you know, it'll make it worse. And those of you who are who are Republicans, right, you're like, could it be that God has ordained that Joe Biden be our president for this season in America? Because there's things he's doing in this world that we might not understand, that Joe Biden's the one he wants in power right now. Now, some of you are like, no. Just like some of you on the other side were like, heck no. But do you do you understand the the peace that comes from going, God is in control? You know, King Cyrus, King Nebuchadnezzar, if you study history, not good people. And yet they end up making decisions that move history in the direction that God is going. The Roman emperors, not good people. Not by a long shot, and yet they make decisions that allow the movement of Jesus to move forward like it never could have without them. It's almost like Jesus should have been, hey, thank you guys so, so much. Those roads made it so much easier for me to travel. I was actually waiting to come to the earth until you built those roads. I couldn't have done it. It was like I wanted to come to the earth when there were roads, but before Twitter, that's where I wanted to land, you know, because that was perfect timing. But it challenges, it challenges my heart, it challenges my mind to actually submit to the idea that God is in control. And that I have peace, can I have peace, when the people who are in leadership are not the people I would pick? Sometimes it's like when either candidate is not the person I would pick, where you look at the list and you're like, this is it, this is the best we've got, this is it. Okay. I wouldn't vote for these people for my HOA board in the neighborhood I live in, but I guess I gotta vote for one of them. You know what I mean? Like it's how we are sometimes. But but what we fail to see when we look at a ballot is there's a name above all the names. That Jesus Christ is the King of kings, he is the Lord of lords, he establishes government, he sets up kings, and he deposes kings because he is doing all things, he's working all things toward his ultimate purpose, and that should give us peace. God understands government, he uses the government, he established the government, and one final truth we have to understand, and this brings us, I think, a lot of peace. He judges governments. He judges it. Really interesting scripture, Genesis chapter 15, verse 16. Uh, this is there's a man named Abraham, and he's uh someone that God is speaking to, and he's just a nomad. He's just a shepherd that wanders around in search of a place. God's promised him a nation and a home. And when he dies, he's got a couple of sons and no land, so it doesn't seem like it's gonna happen, but his nation becomes the people of Israel, and they are given a home, a place called the Promised Land that we see happen uh come up very often in Scripture. So at this point in time, he's traveling around, and there's this group of people uh called the the Amorites, and they are just, it's it's this whole culture is jacked up. And we're we're talking some of the most horrific evil things you can imagine. And God says, after four generations, your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction. Now that's an intense verse. That's intense. The idea that God would like oppose a whole nation, right? In fact, some people, when they read the Old Testament, they have a really hard time with that concept because there are times where God is like, no, I'm coming against a nation. And our tendency is to be like, well, what about the people in that nation that, you know, that it's not fair? Like, they're not all bad. And that's true. It's complicated, right? It's kind of nuanced. Look at what's happening right now with Russia and Ukraine. We have the whole world uniting against Russia as a nation. And in doing so, that's negatively affecting a lot of really innocent people in Russia that have nothing to do with what's going on in Ukraine. And so my point is simply that that's the way the world works. That's what we see happening in the world. And sometimes there's whole nations that end up in the crosshairs, either of other governments or, in some cases, when it comes to scripture, the Lord. But God says that the sins of the Amorites have not yet risen to their destruction, and one day that actually happens. And God actually judges an entire nation. This is a big deal. Let's go back to Romans chapter 13, verses 3 through 4. We read this earlier, and I want you to understand something. Paul, I believe, when Paul wrote this, you have to know that he was very often in prison, and his letters were almost always being read by the authorities that were watching him, were like, again, he's in prison many, many of the time, most of the time. And so these are not letters that would have bypassed the eyes of the government, if that makes sense. So listen to what Paul says here. We read this earlier. He says, the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right. It's almost like Paul is speaking to the government here. Like he's saying, like, right? Right? Like we, you know, the authorities, they would never strike fear into people who are doing right, but only in those who are doing wrong. Like I got pulled over last night when I was driving. Because I had a tail light that was out. Some of you were like, what happened? You know? And uh, you know, and it's like the that that in that moment, I'm sitting like, What did I do wrong? That's my first thought. What did I do wrong? Was I speeding? Was I not? Do I have my driver's license? I don't. Okay. Uh does the officer go to his hands? Will I be recognized? Let's see what happens. Because that's happened before. It's happened before. I got officer Ben, uh, he's here on Sundays a lot. Ben Ben Bitzer pulled me over, had uh expired tags. I'm really bad at remembering those things. And it's awesome when you get pulled over, and the first thing the officer says is, Are you Justin from his hands? Yes, I am. Okay. Moving on. But like that's the first thing that ran through my mind, right? Have I done something? What did I do wrong? Because that's how it should be. But but Paul is writing, let's be honest, at a time when the government is not this. Like the government was corrupt and very evil. And Paul's saying, no, the authorities, like, they punish those who are doing wrong. If you do what's right, they will honor you, right? That's the way the government should be. The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you're doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servant, sent for the very purposes of punishing those who do what is wrong. What Paul is doing is kind of reminding not just the people of his day to submit to the government, but he's reminding the government of their job. He's reminding the government, hey, your purpose established by God is to honor and protect those who do right and to punish and contain those who do wrong. Right? And we know that that's not the way that the government operates sometimes, or at very least, governments in the world and throughout history. So, what happens when governments don't do that? Well, the answer is that God he judges that. He does. God is not just someone who's looking at individuals, God looks at the nations. And in the book of Revelation, which kind of tells the end and it's very metaphoric and hard to understand, just it's not hard to get the idea that when Jesus comes back, he's like, he's dealing with nations. And again, this gives us peace. This isn't about fear, this is this is peace. Because when I look at the world and it's crazy, and when I look at governments around the world, and I'm like, you're all crazy, and I look at my government sometimes, and I'm like, it's just it's just a bunch of craziness, and it's it's the closer I look, the weirder and scarier it is. Oh yeah. I don't need to be fired up and angry and upset and full of angst and strife. Why? Because my God is in control. My God understands the government, uses the government, establishes the government, and will one day judge all governments. He's in charge. And that gives me peace because I'd much rather have him running the show than anyone else. Than anyone else. We have to understand this. We're gonna wrap up. We have to understand this. This is vital for us as people. Because if we don't understand this truth, we get sucked into all the craziness. And we we live our lives just like a powder keg of emotion. And everything upsets us, and everything bothers us. And we're convinced that everything is always on the verge of falling apart. Did you know that the story of Scripture is not the story of the world spiraling out of control until finally it's on its last straw and then God comes and rescues things? That's not the story of Scripture. That would be the story of Scripture if God was just like detached, if God kind of created things and then just said, ah, we'll see how they do. And he just waits until everything's you know how horrible of a like a parent you would be if that's how he were as a parent? Like you had your children and you just kind of like backed away and said, All right, I'm just gonna wait until they're at the very end of their rope, and then I'll get involved? No. That's not God. He is so involved. All through scripture, it's like this king and this empire and this group of people and this group of people, and God is just using it all. And he's using it all for good. He's moving everything toward the good. Sometimes it's hard to see it. It's true, sometimes it's really hard to see the good. But we have a good God who's in charge. And he's gonna work all things together for good. All things, you know, personally, we like to take those scriptures and think about them personally, but he works all things in the world together for his good. We have to understand this. Because it's all him. And this guards our hearts from all the angst and the all of that that comes from what happens in this world politically. Does that make sense? Okay, now next week. Next week, we're actually gonna talk about what do we do? Like, how do we engage with this? Because, you know, it's it's one thing to understand that God is ultimately in control and he's got everything, and everything's gonna move in the right direction, even if it doesn't seem like it is. It's one thing to understand that, but then like, what do we do? How do we actually engage with it? And I think that what we're gonna talk about next week is is very important, especially because we are Americans, and we do have the ability to engage in our government in ways that most people in history have not, and that is a tremendous blessing, responsibility, privilege, and sometimes trap. And so next week we're gonna talk about, okay, understanding all of this, how do we how do we engage? But here's one I want to land on, and we're gonna pray, and we got two people getting baptized, so let's do that. Um, I was actually, Megan asked me if I could use some prayer a few days ago. Megan's my wife, if you don't know that, she's awesome, she's the best. Um, she asked me, can I pray for you about anything? This was two days ago, and I said, Yeah, can you pray that the message won't be boring? And she was like, and that's why I was really glad that I saw the John Wayne painting, because, or whatever that thing is called, a wooden art, I don't know what it's called. Uh, because I was like, well, that's funny, you know. I like to be funny. But I seriously had this like, man, I just feel like this message is gonna be so boring. Because I'm talking about God and government, and it's just like, bah, you know? And and I really, I literally said, I just I want God to show me something that helps this be personal and encouraging to people because we're all going through stuff. Like, I know that we're all coming in here and it's nice to talk about kind of theological stuff like God and government, but every single one of us has something going on in our life. You got some problem, some struggle, and it's like, how does this help me right now? And last night I was just reminded as I was thinking through all these things. How incredible is it? I backstory, I was I was at a funeral yesterday with an amazing family from our church. And it was really hard, but I'm also really grateful that I've gotten to know them a little bit better through this process. And and I'm sitting there and I'm thinking about tomorrow, they're gonna come to church, and I'm talking about the government, you know? Like, Lord, I just we need something. And I had the thought last night, how amazing is it that this same God who establishes kingdoms, who sets up kings, who who both blesses and establishes empires and then judges them and removes them, that same king, that same God with that amount of power, that's the God who knows you. That's the God who listens to your prayers. That's the God who comes alongside you when you're struggling. That's the God who weeps with you when you're brokenhearted. That's the God who desires to encourage you, to speak to you. That's the God who wants to make his home your life, your heart. God is clearly powerful. He works all of history toward his purposes. But how amazing is it that that same powerful God that we're talking about today that we're understanding is the personal God who came to this earth and died on the cross so that we can know him. So look, when you're dealing with your issues this week, with your problems, that might be much smaller in scale to world events, but at the same time in your life, it's as big as anything you've ever dealt with. When you pray and ask God for help this week, remember who the God you're praying to is. There's nothing that he cannot do, and he's listening to your prayers. And he loves you and he cares about you. He's not too busy for you. He doesn't look at you and say, hey, look, I'd love to, I'd love to help you with this, but I don't know if you've seen what's going on in Ukraine right now. I I got my hands full. Like he's he's just too big. He can do all of it at once. He can handle that and still be like, no, no, no, tell me about your day. Tell me about what happened at school, tell me about what happened at work. What do you need? Let's talk. It gives me a lot of peace personally to know that the God I pray to, he's the one who sets up kings. He's the one over everything. He's not like a regional God, you know? He's not middle management, he's not a district manager. If you're a district manager, by the way, I'm not, that's great. That's awesome. But it's like, isn't it nice to know that the God you pray to is not a district manager? That he's over everything. That's powerful. And all it takes, by the way, to have that connection with him is uh is to submit your life to him. It's just to say, I believe in you. I believe in you. You're God, I'm not. You love me, that's amazing, and I want to live my life connected to you. And when you make that decision, one of the very first things that we do in our faith is we we go through this process called baptism, which is where you kind of let everyone know what you're doing, and it's symbolic. When you go into the water, it's like Jesus going into the tomb. When you come out of the water, it's like Jesus being raised. And we've got a couple people about to do that, so I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna shut up, which is a God thing. Clap for that. Like, yay, Justin's done talking. Thank you. We're gonna do this, and then we're gonna come back at seven for more worship. So, Father, thank you so much. Honestly, thank you, Lord, for uh for the ability to understand just how big you are. And Lord, I know that you know what we're talking about today is in some ways super relevant because of everything happening in the world. In some ways, it seems very distant because it's not something that we feel in our lives at a close level very often, but it's important for us to remember who you are. It's important, Lord, for me to remember who you are. You are the king of kings. You are over everything. And when I look at the world on a macro level and nations and politics, and I see things that bother me, I'm reminded that you're in control and I can have peace there. And when I look at things on a micro level, and I look at my life and the areas of frustration I have with myself, with the circumstances in my life, I can remember, oh yeah, you're over all of that too. You are powerful and you are per. So, Lord, I just pray that you remind all of us of that today. Help us understand this so that we can begin to engage with the world we're in in a really healthy, good way. We pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.