1 Peter 2. I'd like to read verses
12, 13, and 14. Having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God
in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme
or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well. is the will of God, that with
well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."
Let's pray together. Our Father, as we come before
You this evening, we are so thankful that we can call upon You in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Lord, I pray that you would speak
to our hearts, help us, teach us, guide us, help us this evening
as we desire to worship for Christ's sake. Amen. Every believer is in this world. And the Scripture says that we
are strangers. We are strangers. We don't live by, act by, think
by the world's mode of thinking. A believer is a new creation. created in righteousness, created from above. And the Lord
Jesus Christ said concerning Himself and His people. Now, this was in the Lord's high
priestly prayer. Listen to this. I'll read John
17, 13 to 16. He says, And now, He's speaking
to His Father, Come I to Thee, And these things I speak in the
world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them thy words, and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. Now, believers were born into
this world unbelievers. We have our same thinking as
the world thinks. We have no interest in the gospel. In due time, the Lord calls us
out of darkness. We live in this world. We die
in this world just like all other men do, but after we're regenerated,
our conversation, our manner of walk is different. Believers have a new thinking. They have a new mind, a new heart. They don't think. They've got
that old nature. He still thinks the way it always
thought. But there's a new man there. Our Lord, when He was
praying, He was praying to the Father. He said, Lord, I'm not
asking you to take them out of the world. Father, don't take
them. Keep them. Keep them in this
world. We've been called unto the Lord. And I know that by the hearing
of this gospel that we believe that's been preached here, God
calls His people out of this preaching of the gospel. That's
what the Apostle Paul said to the church at Thessalonica, 2
Thessalonians 2, 13, 14. I love this passage of Scripture.
We're bound to give thanks. all way to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." God's people have been
called through the preaching of the gospel. They've been given
faith to believe. They walk by faith. They hear the Word of the Lord. They hear the voice of Christ.
They're believers. They walk like believers. Now, Peter the Apostle, he exhorts
his readers, his hearers, back in 1 Peter 2, He is talking to
them about their walk. And he says back in 1 Peter 2,
verse 13, having your conversation, your walk, your manner of life
is what he is talking about. Let it be honest among the Gentiles. God's people are evil spoken. They are evil spoken of. by this
world. This world, the Scripture says,
the world hates you. And the reason the world hates
a believer is because a believer believes God's Word, he believes
God, and he sets forth from what he believes that God is God and
man is not. And the world hates him. He says,
now having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, whereas
they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works,
which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
That visitation right there, in the day of your conversion,
when the Lord visits you and calls you out of darkness. Now, after this, Peter exhorts. his hearers to do something that
this world knows nothing of. Verse 13, 14, Submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be
to the king as supreme or unto governors as unto them that are
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise
of them that do well, for so is the will of the Lord." Now,
I'm going to share something with you tonight that was heavily
on my heart today. I'm talking to believers now
because only a believer is going to understand what I'm talking
about. But over the last few months, And I know many of you
have to receive many calls or means of solicitation concerning
my political agenda. Now, let me just state something
right here. This pulpit is no place for a
political agenda, and it ain't going to start tonight. I can
tell you right now. This pulpit is a place where
God's sovereign grace in the preaching of the gospel is sent
forth. And that's where, by the grace
of God, it's going to stay. Right there. I've said all these
things that I said a while ago. We're in this world, but we're
not of it. And I know that we're living
in the midst of an organized world. We live here. And I have to get up and you
have to get up and we have rules and regulations in a society
of laws. And I'd like for us to consider,
just for a few minutes, the responsibility and the attitude concerning this
place in which we live, this government under which we live. The Lord has put us here and
we live. in this place. We live in West
Virginia. Some people live in different
states. Wherever the Lord has put His
people, that's where He's put them. Now, I want us to understand
something. We have just gone through an
election. We've had an election. of a president. Now, let me tell
you something. That's just the way it is. That's
the way this government is set up. And this is my stand concerning
these Scriptures on the attitude of a believer. I've just heard
so many things today that were so disheartening and so grieving. And I was just thinking, you
know what? I'm going to say something about
this. I'm going to say something about the attitude of a believer
concerning the government under which we live. Here's what it
is. Now, let me tell you about the
government under which we live and the authority and the offices. They are ordained of God. Now here's the way it is. Romans
13, 1. Now listen. This is what God
has to say. Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained
of God. Now this is it. Brother Henry
Mahan wrote this, and I'm going to read it verbatim. He said,
Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.
He said, Kings, presidents, governors, policemen, whatever position
of authority men have been vested with, we are to show respect
and obedience to their stations and to submit to their authority. This is what Peter was saying
to this group that he was writing to. He says concerning, Brethren,
having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas
they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which
they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation. Then
he goes on to Talk about the responsibility that we have concerning
submission to the governing parties, whoever it is. A policeman, he may be a rotten
cop, but let me tell you something. You see that badge he has on?
That is the authority right there. A teacher for students? I'm going to tell you something.
Can I give all of us as parents? My kids are out. Many of your
kids are out and stuff like this. But let me tell you something.
A teacher for a student, he is to be respected. To speak disrespectfully to a
teacher. I heard Brother Henry One time,
make this statement. He was talking to parents and
he said, parents, don't ever take your kid's side against
the teacher. He said, she may be wrong, but
she is the authority. He is the authority. And he said,
we are to submit. I mean, if we've been wronged,
we've been wronged. Okay. But just take it and let
your conversation be honest. before men." Walk as a believer. This position of authority, it's
ordained to let every soul be subject in subjection to the
higher powers. To not do that is rebellion against
God. Listen, to call into question Those that the Lord has put in
authority is to call into question God's wisdom. Listen to this,
Romans 13, 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. Somebody says, yeah, but they're
a crooked politician. Who put them there? Who put them
there? Do you know what I would do? I'd pray for them. I would pray
for them. The Lord has put them there.
There is not one of us... I'm going to tell you something.
I'm the most guilty right here. I'm going to just go ahead and
just fess up. I'm not trying to justify rebellion. It's just so. I'm guilty. When the Lord puts someone in
authority, What are we supposed to do? Cut them down? Argue with others about them?
Listen. 1 Peter, I just read this here. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake. Whether it be the King is supreme
or unto governors, it is unto them that are sent by Him for
the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do
well. As believers, let me tell you what Almighty God has instructed
us to do. Obey the laws of the land. Be
in subjection to those that the Lord has put in authority. Somebody said, yes, but we voted
them in. The lot is laid in the lap, but
the whole disposing of that situation is of the Lord. The whole disposing
is of the Lord. Almighty God rules and reigns. We are to be in submission. We are learning as we are in
submission that Almighty God rules. All things, all things,
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His purpose. What are we to
do if it's unpleasant? Submit. Why? Because it's the will of the
Lord. As servants of God, we submit to the authority that
Almighty God has established. The authorities are the servants
of God. Listen to this scripture. I read
this this afternoon, Jeremiah 27, 4 and 5. Listen as the Lord
speaks. I have made the earth, the man
and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and
by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed
meet unto me. And now have I given all this
land into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant,
and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him."
Nebuchadnezzar was the one that stood up in Babylon and said,
Oh, look at this great Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was the one that
set up that big statue. and told Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, I'm going to give you one more chance. Evidently, you didn't hear what
I said. When the music starts playing, you bow. And those three
men said, oh, King, we don't have to worry about this. We
ain't bowing. And Nebuchadnezzar threw them
in. And you know what happened. The Lord was with them and delivered
them. What did the Lord say about Nebuchadnezzar? He said, Nebuchadnezzar,
the king of Babylon, my servant. I'm going to tell you right now.
All authority, all authority, all authority, whatever the position
is, whatever job it is, whatever position, like I said a while
ago, if it's a teacher, if it's a police officer, if it's an
elected official, the Lord, the Lord put them there. The Lord
put them there. Almighty God, He said, I made
the earth, I made the man, I made the beast, and I give it to whosoever
I'm pleased to give it to. And whoever I raise up, is my
servant in the accomplishing of my purpose. And his purpose
is bringing his people to himself in the glorifying of the Lord
Jesus Christ. So here's what I know. I've got
two points. Here's one of them. What about the authority? It's
ordained of God. It's ordained of God. God Almighty
put them there. If we consider them to be fair
and honest and everything else, or we consider them to be the
most wicked person that's ever been in a place of authority,
it's ordained of God. Secondly, we are to pray for
and give thanks for all that are in authority. 1 Timothy 2,
1-3, he said, I exhort therefore that first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. You know, when we meet together,
I'll always call on one of you men to lead us in prayer. And
we do pray. We pray for the Lord's blessing
upon His Word. We pray for those in our midst
that are sick. We pray and thank the Lord for
giving us and establishing and keeping the Gospel here at Katie
all these many years. But here, the Apostle Paul, under
the inspiration of God's Spirit exhorts us to pray for all men. Pray for our enemies. Pray for
those that spitefully use us, abuse us, hate us. And I'll tell
you what, that just flies in the face of my flesh because
I'm not, I'm not, I'm just honest with you, I'm not by nature,
that old nature, prone to do that. But I can tell you this,
I know what God has to say concerning my attitude toward those that
oppose me, those that I love, and the God that I serve. I'm
to pray for them. Pray for those that you know
and pray for those that you're not familiar with. I pray that
God have mercy. Pray for those in authority.
And when we do so, may we pray with thanksgiving and praise
unto the Lord for His mercy toward us. They've been put there for
our protection and for our peace. That's what He said, that we
might lead a quiet life in godliness and honesty. I pray that the
Lord save His people. That's what the Lord taught His
disciples. He said, when you pray, pray
this way. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come." You know what you're saying when you do that?
Lord, save Your people. Save Your people. Thy kingdom
come. Bless, Lord, where You've raised
up the Gospel, where the Gospel has been faithfully preached.
Lord, bless it. I do pray the Lord save His people
and call His own out of darkness. He's the Lord. He's the Sovereign. But I want us to be reminded
this evening. Brother Don Fortner told me one
time, and I've told you this before, he said, Marvin, never,
never, never fail to deal with something proclaiming and preaching
that the Lord has dealt with in the Scriptures. Never, never
fail to deal with this. I think this is something that
we need to be reminded of. Who is the Lord? God Almighty
is God Almighty. Who's running this show, Brother
Scott, you say? Who's put all authority in place? The Lord has. What am I to do? Submit to Him. Submit to Him. Pray for Him. Be thankful for
Him. The Lord put them there. They're
put there for our good and God's glory. And I know it. And as
we come together this evening in praise and honor and adoration
of our Savior and the remembering of our Lord and saving us, let
us be mindful He has put us exactly where we are. He put us where
we are. He brought us together, established
this assembly, kept us all these many years, And He's put people
in positions of authority. It's ordained of God. I know
that. I know that. All authority is
ordained of God. I know that. I'm to submit to
it. Let my conversation be honest
before the Gentiles. Whereas we're evil spoken of,
I know they hate the gospel that we preach. I know that. but walk in absolute submission
unto those that the Lord has placed over us. And I'm going
to tell you something. Lord bless it. I pray that God
teach us through this for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ
and for the good of His people. Amen.