If you drive south to 127. going
toward Crossville, Tennessee, just after you cross the state
line just a little ways, you'll run into a place where a fellow
lived by the name of York, Sergeant York. Some of you may have seen
the movie with Gary Cooper. York lived in the country area
just in the edge of the mountains in that part of Tennessee. And
he once made a profession of faith, then he was drafted into
the war. And he was concerned about going
and went and talked to the pastor. And the pastor spoke to him a
little bit, and then he realized that York was serious about life
and responsibilities in life. He said, oh, I see. It was Walter
Brennan, who was the pastor and storekeeper. He said, I see. When you got religion, you didn't
get the Sunday go-to-meeting kind. You got the walk-around-in-your-shoes
kind. All true religion, all true Christianity
is the kind that involves how you walk around in your shoes. And if your religion doesn't
determine how you walk around in your shoes every day, your
religion is worthless. It is but a delusion. I want
you to turn with me to Romans chapter 13, Verses one through
seven for my text. My subject is Our Rulers, God's
Servants. Our Rulers, God's Servants. It is the work of God's servant,
of the gospel preacher, to preach the gospel of Christ. But as
we preach the blessed doctrine of the gospel, We must not fail
to declare the duties of life incumbent upon all who profess
to believe the gospel to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior
in all things. In this 13th chapter of the book
of Romans, the Apostle Paul was inspired by God the Holy Ghost
to tell us plainly what our duty is as members of an ordered society. Now, before I show you how to
live as good citizens in this world, I must urge you to make
certain first that you have a heavenly citizenship in a better country.
I urge you now to make certain that you're a citizen of the
heavenly Jerusalem. Make certain that your name is
recorded in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Make certain that your eternal
citizenship is in the new Jerusalem. You may ask, well, pastor, how
can I enter into the kingdom of God? How can I be certain
that I am a citizen of the new Jerusalem? How can I become one
of those who are heirs of eternal life? Let me tell you three things
you've got to have. Three things you've got to have.
First, you've got to have a clean record. You cannot enter into
heaven with sin, any sin. Your sin, all your sin must be
gone. None which are unclean in anything
shall enter the gates of the new Jerusalem. And the only way
you can have a clean record is by the blood atonement of God's
darling son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be washed in the blood
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You must have your sins purged
away by his sin-atoning sacrifice. Justice must be satisfied on
your behalf so that God has no reason to look upon you with
any disapproval, but only with perfect approbation. As Lord
Jesus washed away the sins of his people at Calvary 2,000 years
ago when he died in our stead as our substitute. Thank God
for his sacrifice. But you must, by experience,
have your sins washed away. You must yourself plunge into
the fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins.
Turn back to the prophecy of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter
13. Zechariah 13 verse one. The prophet
is speaking about this gospel day. I pray that he is speaking
about this gospel day, particularly for you today. In that day, There
should be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. When God the Holy Ghost comes
in saving mercy, he opens to chosen redeemed sinners a fountain
of cleansing, the precious fountain of Christ's own blood. Many,
many years ago, back before everything was so protected, Ralph Barnard
and his wife had driven across the country preaching and they
stopped in Yellowstone National Park, wanted to see that geyser
old faithful. And he'd had some car trouble
as they drove and his hands were dirty and handkerchief was dirty,
wiped his hands on. And he knelt down in those waters
and washed that handkerchief out and washed his hands and
he held it up and it was just clean as it could be. And he
didn't know anybody else was there. And he began to sing Calper's
hymn, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's
veins. And sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty
stains. And as he was singing, somebody
else came up behind him. And they presumed he was a preacher. And the couple said, preacher,
could we join you on the next verse? The dying thief rejoiced
to see that fountain in his day. And there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away. Come, plunge into the fountain
of Christ's blood, and go home free from all your sins. Not
only must you be without sin, If you would enter into the heavenly
Jerusalem, you've got to have a clean record, and you must
be worthy as a citizen of that land called the city of God. You've got to have perfect righteousness. Listen to this. There shall in
no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written
in the Lamb's book of life. You can't go to heaven without
perfect righteousness, perfect righteousness, not a flaw. That righteousness is the righteousness
of God, the righteousness of God brought in and established
for sinners by the doing and dying of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. By his obedience to God as the
sinner's substitute, as the surety of his people, the Lord Jesus
Christ fulfilled all the will of God, fulfilled all the law
of God, and satisfied all the justice of God by which God makes
sinners righteous. When God the Holy Ghost comes
in saving grace, he convinces men and women of sin, their sin. their sin, and of righteousness,
of the righteousness of God established for them, revealing Christ in
you, because Christ has gone to the Father. He who came down
here to redeem and save his people has done what he came to do.
He who came down here to fulfill all righteousness has done what
he came to do, and now he's gone back to the Father. Now, believe
on the Son of God. Believe on the Son of God. If
you can believe on Jesus Christ, right where you are, right where
you sit right now, God the Holy Ghost speaks peace to your heart,
convincing you that righteousness is yours. Oh, what blessed consolation. My sin is gone and I am righteous
before God. And third, if you would enter
into the kingdom of God, You must have a holy, righteous nature. You must be born again. Turn
to John chapter three for a moment. Hold your hands here in Romans
13. Turn to John chapter three. I want you to read this very
familiar passage of scripture with me. There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus. This man, Nicodemus, was a mighty,
mighty leader and teacher among the Pharisees. a ruler of the
Jews, verse two. The same came to Jesus by night
and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him,
how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of
the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which
is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit
is spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. You must be born again. You must
have a new nature given you, or you don't, verse seven. Marvel
not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again, born from
heaven, born a second time. And this is something that must
be done to you. You cannot give yourself the
new birth. You cannot birth yourself into
the kingdom of God. The wind bloweth where it listeth.
Thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these
things be? How can a man, how can a woman
be born again? And the Lord Jesus answers his
question. Jesus answered and said unto
him, art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and
testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If
I've told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall
you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath
ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man which is in heaven. Remember the Lord's telling Nicodemus
how a sinner is born again. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. In order for a sinner to be born
again, he's got to be redeemed. Christ has got to be lifted up
before him. He's got to have the gospel preached to him. He
must be loved of God. This is where this thing begins.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. Now listen to me. Will you listen
to me? If right now, if right now, are you listening to me? If right
now you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if right now you trust
the Son of God, you are born of God and made worthy of heaven. Believe Him. Believe Him. Come to Christ now and you are
born of God. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Is God as good as His Word or
is He not? Is God as good as His Word or
is He not? I don't hath believe Him like
I ought to. But believe him I do. That means
I am born of God. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Now, let's look at Romans chapter
13. In these opening verses of this
chapter, we have an inspired lesson in civics. A lesson in civics. Good study. Our students in schools these
days don't learn much about it. A good lesson in civics. I'll
tell you a little something I've observed in these 67 years I've
lived on this earth. Find me a man or a woman, find
me a child who is dependable in one area of life. And I'll
show you one who's dependable in every area of life. Find me
someone who is faithful in one area. I'll show you someone who's
faithful in every area. Folks who can't be depended on,
folks who are never on time, folks who never do their job,
folks who never do what they're supposed to in one place are
the same way in every place. You can bake on it. You can bake
on it. There may be a rare, rare exception, but I haven't seen
it yet. I've not observed it yet. I have found over the years
that people who are responsible are responsible everywhere. And
people who are irresponsible are irresponsible everywhere.
We who are believers are to behave responsibly in every walk of
life, in every area of life. Now, normally, I give you a lot
of milk. I give you a lot of milk. It's
called election predestination limited atonement. That's milk.
That's baby food. That's baby food. This is some
strong meat. This is some strong meat. It's
time that you grow up and live like men and women who know God. Romans chapter 13, verse 1. 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. Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to
good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid
of the power? Do that which is good, and thou
shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God
to thee for good. Our rulers, God's servants, he
is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that
which is evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword
in vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute
wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must need be subject,
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this
cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their
dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom,
Fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. God the Holy Ghost commands
every gospel preacher to teach these things to those who trust
the Son of God. Put them in mind, Paul said to
Titus, to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates,
to be ready to every good work. Now, try to get yourself in the
position of these Roman believers who received this letter inspired
by God the Holy Ghost from God's servant, the Apostle Paul. Rome
was the seat of the imperial government of the Roman Empire.
The Roman government was a government of debauchery. It wasn't a good
government. It was horrible. It was corrupt
at every level. It was a government that instituted
laws to promote every form of moral decadence and did everything
possible to resist the influence and the spread of the gospel
of Christ. Laws passed by the Senate, laws enforced by the
government, promoting every form of debauchery and decadence that
could be imagined, opposing everything right and good. Now, I challenge
anybody anywhere to show otherwise. That's the kind of government
Rome was, much like the government under which we live. By law,
the Roman Empire promoted and accepted every imaginable form
of idolatry while persecuting Christianity, imprisoning those
who profess to be followers of Christ, and executing them with
barbaric cruelty. much like the land in which we
live. Every form of religion in this
world is accepted by modern society and accepted in government circles,
except the gospel of God's free grace, which declares Christ
is the way and there is none other. It was in this letter
to the Church of God at Rome, in this letter, that Paul wrote
to the Church of God at Rome and he was inspired of God to
give to these people the fullest, most minute instructions about
civic duty to be found in the New Testament. That means there's
no getting around this. Paul intends this for you and
me. No excuse for us not to pay attention to these things. In
chapter 12, the apostle taught us the duties, responsibilities,
and proper attitudes incumbent upon believers with respect to
one another, giving us exhortations in reference to our conduct to
the world and our attitude toward all men. In this 13th chapter,
Paul deals with our duties and attitudes as members of the unordered
society, This chapter has to do with our attitude toward authority,
especially civil authority. Here, God the Holy Ghost teaches
us that as believers, as men and women who are representatives
of God in this world, and that, Jerry Sadler, is what you are.
Doesn't matter whether you're down there in that factory where
you worked till you just retired, or whether you're at home, or
whether you're at a restaurant. You are God's representative
in this society. Doesn't matter whether you're
dealing with somebody who just cheated you in business, or whether
you're dealing with your youngest child. You're God's representative
in this society. You who believe God, for some
of you, or for some folks, you are the only representative of
God they'll ever know. Now if that doesn't put a big
monkey on your back, it ought to. For some folks, you are the
only representative of God they will ever know in this world. Oh my soul, see that you represent
Him well. See that you represent Him well.
When the Lord God sent his church into Babylon, he told his people
how to live in that wicked city under the rule of their wicked
tyrants. I want you to read it, Jeremiah chapter 29, Jeremiah
29. These Jews have been carried
away into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. And Jeremiah
was inspired of God to tell them specifically to pray for their
captors, to pray for the peace of the city of their captivity.
Look at verse 1, Jeremiah 29. Now these are the words of the
letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the
residue of the elders, which were carried away captives, and
to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar
had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. Verse 2,
after that Jeconiah the king and the queen and the eunuchs
and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem and the carpenters
And the smiths were departed from Jerusalem by the hand of
Elisha, the son of Shaphan, and Germiah, the son of Hilkiah,
whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts. the
God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives. Not
you folks who are living in a tranquil, peaceful, good times with David
or Solomon as your king, but you who are carried away captive,
whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Your captivity is my doing. Nebuchadnezzar didn't do this,
I did it. The Babylonians didn't do this, I did it. Build ye houses,
and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat fruit of them.
Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters, and take wives
for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they
may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased there,
and not diminished. Verse seven, and seek ye the
peace of the city, whither I have caused you to be carried away
captives, and pray unto the Lord for it. For in the peace thereof,
ye shall have peace. In precisely the same way, the
apostle Paul was inspired of God to tell us to seek the peace
of the land in which we live. He said he would have us pray
for all men, kings and those that are in authority, that we
may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Now as God the Spirit will enable
me, I want to show you what Paul tells us in Romans 13 verses
1 through 7 with these three things. Number one, learn this in verses 1 through
4. You and I should always look upon our rulers as God's ministers,
as God's servants for our good. They are God's servants, and
they are God's benefactors, or our benefactors, no matter who
they are. Let every soul be subject to
the higher powers. What's that talking about? Obviously,
in the context, Paul is talking about kings and presidents, governors
and policemen, teachers, rulers, even dictators. These are the
higher powers spoken of. They're all by the hand of God
in their place, and they are all given by God authority over
us in his providence. To be subject to them is to show
respect, obedience, and honorable, suitable to their positions.
And it is to obey their lawful commands with submission. This
subjection also involves praying for them. and prohibits railing
against them. Now I have a confession to make. For the entire eight years that
Mr. Obama was President of the United
States, Romans 13 was a daily rebuke to me. And I don't take that lightly.
I wrote to numerous friends, pastors in other lands, asking
them to pray for me that I might learn how to behave as I ought
with such a wicked man as president. Paul tells me exactly how I ought
to behave. Doesn't matter whether the president
is a godly man or a reprobate man. Doesn't matter whether the
governor is a godly man or a reprobate man. My responsibility is to
give him the respect of his office and not to rail against him.
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether
it be to the king as supreme. All civil magistrates are rulers
ordained of God and placed by God in their position. Look at
what Paul says in verse one. For there is no power but of
God. There is one reason, only one
reason, why Barack Obama was elected President of the United
States. God put him there. No other reason. There is one
reason, only one reason, why Donald Trump was elected President
of the United States. God put him there. God put him
there. But he's this, he's that, God
put him there! That makes him president. It
is our God who is the fountain and source of all power and authority. All are by his purpose, his decree,
and his appointment. Obviously, Paul's primary reference
here is to civil authority. But all that he says is true
of all authority. What he says here concerning
kings and presidents and rulers is true concerning husbands and
parents, employers and pastors. They all get their right to rule
from God. Evil men may and do abuse, misuse
and corrupt authority, but government and leadership is necessary and
it must be followed and obeyed. Parents, are rulers over their
children to be obeyed by their children. What a strange idea
in this day. Parents are rulers over their
children to be obeyed by their children. Principally, the father
is the ruler of his house. to be obeyed by his household. That's the teaching of Scripture.
And anything contrary to that is contrary to Scripture. Civil
authorities are rulers to be respected and obeyed. Employers
are rulers to be respected and obeyed. Treated with respect,
spoken of with respect, and obeyed with respect. I'm not going to
give that to any man. You'll either give it to the
man or you won't give it to God. For to rebel against the one
God's placed over you is to rebel against God. Faithful pastors
are rulers in the house of God, to be respected and obeyed. The
scriptures give abundant, clear instruction concerning that.
A pastor is responsible to rule the house of God in the same
way a husband is responsible to rule his house. Now I know
folks accuse faithful men of loitering over God's heritage,
doing everything his way, his way or the highway. Well, let
folks say what they want to. God giving me grace, as long
as I have the responsibility of the ship, I'm going to be
at the helm of the ship. As long as I have the responsibility
of a pastor, I'm going to be a pastor. And that means that
by the word of God, by the preaching of the gospel, by the spirit
of God, God's servants rule his house. To rebel against God's
ordained authority is not to rebel against the person, but
against God. Look at verse two. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God,
And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation, judgment. The person who resists, rebels
against, or sets himself against any God-ordained authority, resists
the order and ordinance of God. Authority resisted in the faithful
discharge of his office brings God's judgment. Just take it across the board.
When you're talking about kings, presidents, dictators, pastors,
teachers, mother, daddy, policemen, just take it across the board.
Authority resisted brings judgment to the offender. Obviously, this
does not mean that we are to obey the laws, rules, and orders
of men, which are contrary to the revelation of God in Holy
Scripture. Holy Scripture says, children,
obey your parents in the Lord. Holy Scripture says, wives are
to submit to their own husbands. Holy Scripture says, when men
are in authority and set themselves in defiance against God, then
they are to be resisted. Remember Peter and John, when
they were accosted and charged not to preach in the name of
Jesus, they said whether raising this man up is lawful or not,
you can be judge of that, but we submit to the commandment
of God, you do what you gotta do with us. And they were prepared
for the consequences. Daniel, when he was in Babylon,
prayed contrary to the rule of the king. Openly knowing what
the consequences were because God is to be obeyed no matter
what Daniel's three friends Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Refused
to worship the king's idol and they were willing to go to the
fiery furnace, but they refused to worship the king's idol There
was a man by the name of John Bunyan in the 1600s who lived
in Bedford, England. I've been there several times
now. Every time I get a chance, I go to visit the place. Bunyan
spent 12 years in jail. Now let me describe the jail
for you. It was about the size of a small horse stall. It was
a wooden box hanging under a bridge over a river. He spent 12 years
there. Would you like to know why? Would
you like to know why? Oh, it's some great, great catastrophe. John Bunyan could have gone free
at any time in those 12 years if he had just agreed not to
preach within 12 miles of Bedford. That's all. Just go 12 miles
outside of town, you can preach. But he knew what God had sent
him there to do and be. And he refused to bend if it
meant spending his life in prison. He said, the boss will grow over
my eyelids before I'll agree to it. And he was faithful. Let
us be faithful to God, no matter the cost. But when the law of
man doesn't contradict the law of God, be obedient to the laws
of man. That's Paul's instruction. That's
his instruction. I know that some have been concerned. Some of you have expressed concern
about, you know, me expressing what the scriptures teach about
sodomy and the evil of it. about the perverse way of life
in our society, and they offer insurance to protect me from
those things. That's not going to happen here.
Not going to happen. As long as God's word stands,
I will never keep silent concerning evil, ungodliness spoken of in
this book. Sodomy, fornication, adultery,
contrary to this book. Drunkenness, contrary to this
book. I will never speak approving words concerning it, God helping
me. Not only are powers ordained of God, all powers, all rulers,
all magistrates are made of God to be benefactors to his church.
Look at verse three. For the rulers are not a terror
to good works, but to evil. They're not here to keep men
from doing good. Will thou then not be afraid
of the power? There's a good solution to that.
Do that which is good, and thou shalt have the praise of the
same. It's a very poor illustration, but it's a personal one that
you can understand. It has been a long, long time since I had
a speeding ticket. Not long after moving to Danville,
I've told you many times, coming down 34 into town, came out of
that 45 mile an hour speed zone, and as I was coming right into
the 35 mile an hour zone, there's that Campbellite church sitting
there, and there's an officer sitting in the parking lot. And
when I went by him, I knew he had me. I was doing over 45,
going into the 35 mile an hour zone. And he had me. I was guilty, I was guilty. And
prior to that time, I almost always drove like this. Look and see where they're sitting.
I finally learned to let up off the carburetor and I don't drive
like that anymore. And I drive by police officers
all the time. Most of the time on the highway,
almost any trip, I'll pass by dozens of them within a few miles.
All certain places they have spots where they're catching
folks speeding. And I drive by with perfect ease because I know
they've got no reason to be looking for me. All it takes to avoid
fearing authority is obedience to authority. The law was not
made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and the disobedient,
the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. Authority in
any area of life is good. It's good. Just suppose, just
suppose you had a, we're hoping to go see We had a basketball
game tomorrow night. Just suppose you had a basketball
game with no referees. I'd hate to see what teenage
boys do with each other if there were no referees there. It'd
be chaos. And if you had a society with
no law, no authority, it'd be chaos. And when every man does
that which is right in his own eyes, he always does evil to
the greatest extent of his ability. Those men God has placed in authority
over us, Whoever they are, are the servants of God for the general
welfare of all. Look at verse four. For he is
the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which
is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain. He is
the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doeth evil. If we're willing to follow God's
order and his proper chain of command, If we're not willing
to submit to authority, then the authority is designated by
God to deal with us accordingly. And that's by God's own hand.
Second, we must take care, not only to recognize that these
in authority are God's servants, we must take care to treat those
who rule over us as God's ministers. as the servants of God executing
the will of God. Look at verse five. Wherefore
ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath's sake, not only
for wrath, for fear of wrath and judgment, but also for conscience
sake, because this is what's right, and you know it's right. Look at verse six. Not only so,
but to support them. Seek to it that they're maintained
in their livelihoods. Paul tells us in verse six, now,
I know this is something that's contrary to men and women in
every society in the world, but this is what God teaches, pay
your taxes. Verse six, for this cause pay
ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers, attending continually
upon this very thing. And then in verse seven, it tells
us it's our responsibility to render to all their due. Render
therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due,
custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Any authority a person has trusted
to him is a sacred trust, a trust for which he shall give account
to God. That ought to make any man in
any place of authority sober. Any authority any man has, a
husband, a father, a trust from God, see that you honor God in it. A teacher, an employee, employer,
see that you honor God in it. political, civil ruler. Oh, beware
that you honor God in it. To abuse it, or not abuse it,
is the ruler's business. But our responsibility is to
obey, respect, and submit to them unto the Lord. Now, let
me show you one last thing, and this is the sum of it all. Let us walk worthy in this land
of that better land to which we're going. Let us walk worthy
of that better kingdom of which we are citizens. Children of
God, live in this world as the children of God. Be thankful
for the land God's given us. In no other nation under heaven
is there a greater measure of liberty combined with the same
measure of security and strength. The extent of our civil and religious
liberties is the boast of all who have the blessedness of living
in this favored country. Ours is a remarkable land. Back
many years ago when Ronald Reagan was president and all of the
islands in the Caribbean were fearful of the communist takeover
at any time, always walking in dread and fear of Castro and
the communist takeover of the various islands. And I happened
to be in Jamaica preaching for the area in Dumas the week after
Mr. Reagan sent the troops in to
liberate that little island. I don't know what was the name
of it. I've forgotten. I almost told him just a minute ago. It doesn't
matter. He sent them in there and I was in Jamaica the next
week. And as is normally the case in
those places, some fellas approach you on the streets when you're
on a crowded street trying to sell you some dope or their sister
or their wives or their mother or something. And when you refuse,
they get a little snooty and said, ha, American. And I responded
by saying, American, yes, I am, and proud of it and thankful
for it. We feed, clothe, and protect
you. You ought to be glad I'm here.
But we live in the most privileged place in the world. There's not
another like it. In this place, for some reason,
God has given the greatest measure of gospel preaching anywhere
in the world in our day. We ought to cherish what God's
given us. Our nation's the envy of the
world. We have friends in many other countries, many of whom
are listening to this message. I wouldn't offend them for the
world, but I repeat the United States of America is the envy
of the world. How different our condition is
from that of the Roman empire in the days of Nero, when Paul
wrote this epistle. In our blessed happy land, The
poorest among us is as much protected in his person and his property
as the richest. The opportunities of one are
the opportunities of all. Let us then be thankful to God's
providence for what he's done putting us in this land. If Christians
under such a government as Nero were commanded of God to prove
themselves loyal and faithful, Mark Henson, you and I ought
to prove ourselves loyal and faithful patriots in this land. We dare not be less. Having said
all that, let me say this and I'll be done. We're citizens
of a better country. Let us walk worthy of that better
kingdom. The Lord God, our Heavenly Father,
is the governor of the universe. He's established a kingdom, even
the kingdom of His dear Son, King of kings and Lord of lords.
We profess to be the subjects of Christ. We owe unreserved
obedience to and allegiance to Him. under Him, by Him, in Him,
and with Him. We enjoy perfect liberty and
protection from sin and Satan and death and hell. Honor Him
in all things. Serve Him in all things. Oh God,
give me grace to honor Him in all things and serve Him in all
things. I find it relatively easy in
measure, by comparison, to honor God in my home. I have a wife
who loves me, a daughter who honors me, children who honor
me. I find it relatively easy to behave like I ought to in
my home. I find it more difficult to behave like I ought to when
I do business with folks who aren't doing right. or when I
read about our politicians in the newspaper. And the fault
is mine, not theirs. I beg your forgiveness and I
beg God's forgiveness for any misrepresentation of my Redeemer. God, bridle my tongue and bridle
my heart and bridle my mind and give me grace to honor my Savior
everywhere, in all things, all the time. If you're yet a stranger
to God's grace, an alien to God's kingdom, without life, without
hope, without Christ and without God, I bid you now, right now,
come into the kingdom. The door's open. And all who enter in by faith
in Christ Jesus the Lord are accepted heirs of God and of
His royal kingdom. Amen.