WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.919 So last Sunday, we started a series called Jesus, not politics. 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:10.720 And the reason that we're in this series is not because we're trying to react to things happening in the world. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.640 We've been going through a letter that's part of the New Testament of the Bible. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.920 And if you're not familiar, the New Testament, it's like the newer part. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:18.640 Pretty simple. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:20.719 It's the part Jesus and after. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:43.439 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. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:44.960 How do we engage with that? 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:46.079 How do we not engage with that? 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:46.960 What does that look like? 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:53.759 And so last week we just sort of started by saying this hey, let's let it be about Jesus, not politics. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:01:03.280 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. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.879 That was language that the people in his day would really get behind and understand. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.560 The movement that Jesus was starting was not of this world. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:13.200 It was not of this world. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:18.480 Meaning he wasn't gonna be using the normal channels of change that we see happen in this world. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:22.319 It wasn't gonna be political, it wasn't gonna be military, it wasn't by force. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.000 He was doing something completely different. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:40.000 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. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:45.359 And so here comes Jesus, and he's clearly showing like some strong signs of being the Messiah. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:52.079 You know, like people are being healed of diseases, dead people are being raised, like people are like, I think he might be important. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:02:08.000 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. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:14.319 Because he made it clear that his kingdom is not of this world, and I'm so glad that that is the case. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.439 Like, I just personally am so glad that Jesus is different than the world. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:28.400 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. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:33.280 The political systems of our world are such that the closer you look, the uglier it is. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:37.680 I had this experience on Friday night, it was kind of weird. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.919 Um, well, this part that I'm gonna say isn't weird, it gets weirder, but not that weird. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.360 I set that up in a weird way, so don't worry, it's actually not that weird, just go with me. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:57.599 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? 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.599 She will always answer, ribs. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.080 Uh, she's an eight-year-old who loves a rack of ribs. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:08.800 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. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.960 I went to the restroom to wash my hands, and while I'm washing my hands, I had this weird experience. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:17.759 I look up and there's this piece of artwork right next to the mirror, kind of staring at me. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:19.520 And uh I actually took a picture of it. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.439 It's uh it's a wood carving of John Wayne. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:28.080 And you know how sometimes you see a piece of art and you're just like, wow, that's amazing. 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.159 This was not that. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:36.080 By the way, I recognize that there is a possibility, however slight, that the person who made this is here or watching. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:37.919 And if so, I could not have done better. 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:38.400 Okay? 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:40.159 I'm not judging you. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:44.719 Uh great work, I don't know what to say. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:49.520 But I looked at that and I was like, kind of just like my first response was like, uh, you know. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.240 But then I started looking closer. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:04:02.639 And I found that the closer that you actually got to this, the more uh terrifying it became. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.960 So, like, that is not John Wayne. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:08.479 That is that is like John Wayne in need of an exorcism. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.479 That is like the Emperor from Star Wars level, just creepy. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:17.600 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. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:18.399 You know? 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:20.959 We can take that image off the screen. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.680 Creepy, terrifying, wooden John Wayne. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:25.920 That's how politics kind of is, right? 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:31.439 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. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:32.720 You're like, huh. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:44.720 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. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:46.079 It's worse. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.160 It's the total opposite of Jesus, by the way. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:52.879 The closer you look at him, the more beautiful, the more powerful, the more amazing. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.839 But the kingdoms of this world, they're not like that. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:08.000 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? 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:08.560 No. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.160 Don't want it, I don't need it. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:23.519 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. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:25.199 And they couldn't. 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:29.120 Because his kingdom is not of this world. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:36.079 And yet at the same time, politics is something we can't avoid. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:43.839 I mean, even though Jesus bypassed it as he was changing the world his way, politics still affected him. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.319 Politics affect all of us, the government affects all of us. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:54.319 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. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:56.319 But I affect theirs too. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:03.360 Like they live under my authority, and so the decisions that I make have major consequences for their lives. 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:07.519 I can make decisions that that bless them, that help them prosper and thrive. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:16.639 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. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:25.519 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. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:28.399 I'm just glad they can't vote me out, you know? 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:32.240 I would like if they paid taxes, but that's beside the point. 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:33.680 Maybe one day. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.000 But that's kind of how I engage with the government. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:44.000 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? 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:46.319 That's how we often feel. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:51.519 Or at least, depending on our affiliation politically, we feel like that every four to eight years, right? 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:59.279 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. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.120 And if it's the opposite of that, that means that like right now, you're like, it's all burning down. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:04.720 That's just the way it works. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:10.079 And we put our hope and trust in the politics of the world, we feel frustration, angst, and anger. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:11.759 It is not good for our soul. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:18.639 And yet at the same time, we live in a world where we cannot avoid the impact that the political world has on us. 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:26.160 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. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.759 And I just want you guys to know it's gonna take us two weeks to unpack this. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.399 And almost every message, I try really hard to make it something that could stand on its own. 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:46.879 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. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:52.639 So we're gonna do two things via Romans 13 when it comes to us, the government, God, all this stuff. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:56.319 We're gonna try to understand and engage. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.079 We need to understand how this really works. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.399 How does government and God and us, how does all that really work? 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:08.319 And then in light of that, how do we engage or not engage? 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:09.120 What does that look like? 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:10.879 That's what we're gonna talk about the next two weeks. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:14.399 And so, with that said, Romans chapter 13, 1 through 7. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.560 Paul wrote, everyone must submit to governing authorities. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.040 That is my least favorite statement in the Bible. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:23.439 He was not an American. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:24.399 Let's just go there. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:31.040 Like it, like, no, we don't, you know, that's everyone must submit to governing authorities, for all authority comes from God. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:40.639 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. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:46.480 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:48.879 Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:50.720 Then do what is right, and they will honor you. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:54.639 The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.960 But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:02.720 They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:08.480 So you must submit to them not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.440 Pay your taxes too, for the same reason. 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:13.440 For the government workers need to be paid. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.799 They are serving God in what they do. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:21.360 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. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:22.000 I changed my mind. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:25.440 The pay your taxes line is my least favorite in all of Scripture. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.120 Alright. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:32.559 So we're gonna spend a couple of weeks unpacking this. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.480 And again, it's about understanding and engaging. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:37.440 Okay? 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:48.720 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. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:54.879 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:11.759 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. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.240 Maybe you're someone who kind of stays out of all of that. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:18.320 And if that's you, then like that's not a bad path to take, you know? 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.159 But life has also shown me that eventually it kind of hits home for all of us. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:28.399 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. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:41.600 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. 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:44.159 God is over government. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:46.799 And we can forget that. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:57.200 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. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:06.320 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. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:14.080 And when we live remembering that, no matter how things look, no matter how it feels, God is over it. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:15.840 That brings us peace. 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.639 And so there's a few principles I want us to highlight. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:21.360 And these are things, again, this is kind of the understand part. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:30.639 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. 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:40.960 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? 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:47.919 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? 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:50.159 And the answer to that is yes, there are times. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:51.600 We're gonna explore that next week. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:53.120 But today we've got to understand some things. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:57.200 Number one, we need to understand that God understands government. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:00.639 God understands government. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.159 He gets it. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:04.000 He really, really does. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:12.799 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. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:22.960 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. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:29.440 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. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:35.279 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. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.679 They were in authority because God had put them there and they listened to God. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:41.919 It's kind of a cool concept. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.279 But there came a time when the people of Israel said, We don't like this. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:13:02.879 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. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.399 And they they just wanted to be like everybody else. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:11.279 Sometimes, at the end of the day, that is like the driving force behind some of our worst decisions in life. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:13.440 I just want to be like everybody else. 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:15.519 And so they decided we want a king. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:20.879 And they went to Samuel, who was the prophet that was leading them at the time, and said, We want a king. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:26.320 And so, on behalf of God, Samuel says this to the people. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:27.679 Well, let's just go back a little bit. 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:28.720 1 Samuel chapter 8. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:33.279 It says, Samuel passed on the Lord's warning to the people who were asking him for a king. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:35.039 He went to God about it, God gave him this warning. 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:36.960 So Samuel's speaking on behalf of God here. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.440 This is how a king will reign over you. 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:44.639 The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:52.080 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. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:55.679 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.720 He will take away the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his own officials. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:05.279 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:11.519 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. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.519 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:20.480 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king that you're demanding, but the Lord will not help you. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:24.399 But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning, even so we still want a king, they said. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.720 We want to be like the nations around us. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:29.200 Our king will judge us and lead us into battle. 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:34.159 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. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:40.639 And then Samuel agreed and sent the people home, and everything goes really poorly after that, for the most part, in their story. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:46.240 The warning to us might be a little bit different, right? 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.600 God understanding how our government works, he might say, Here's the way the government's gonna go. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:15:00.559 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. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.879 But the point is that God gets it. 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:04.559 He understands government. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.120 I mean, he tells the people, look, here's the way this is gonna go. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.159 Here's what's gonna happen, and what he says happens, happens. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:11.600 And the same is true today. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.039 God understands the government. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.159 Sometimes we don't. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:16.960 Sometimes we look at it and we're like, what's going on? 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:20.720 And God's like, look, calm down. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:22.320 I understand what's happening. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:27.679 I know full well how this operates, and we need to have peace, knowing that God gets it. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:29.919 But God doesn't just understand government. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:37.679 What we need to understand is that God uses government, God uses the governments of this world. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:43.200 Whether they like it or not, they ultimately serve his purposes. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:49.279 So for example, Jeremiah chapter 27, verse 6. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:58.960 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. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:05.120 If you don't know the context of this, Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king, and Babylon actually conquers Israel. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:10.799 And God says to the prophet Jeremiah, Yeah, I'm doing this. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:17.679 I'm giving Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, this power and these victories. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:23.759 Now, if you know the story of Nebuchadnezzar, you wouldn't read his story and be like, that man is a servant of God. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:29.039 I mean, there's a few moments where you're like, hey, Nebuchadnezzar, you get it, good stuff. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.279 But most of the time, uh, not at all. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:40.799 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. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.919 You know, just the normal sort of king stuff. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.240 Not exactly what we would consider to be a faithful servant to God. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:51.679 So why does God call Nebuchadnezzar his servant? 00:16:51.919 --> 00:17:02.480 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. 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:05.599 Because God is over everything. 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:13.599 We see another story about this in Isaiah chapter 44. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.519 He says, I carry out the predictions of my prophets. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:23.839 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. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.359 At this point in time, Israel has been conquered by the Babylonians. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:30.240 This happens uh several centuries before Jesus. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:33.279 And so they're no longer, most of their people have been sent away. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:40.640 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. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:48.960 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. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.119 Yeah. 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:51.680 Plans to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:56.559 Like that kind of stuff, that was not about like an individual person and God making their dreams come true. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:03.759 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. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:10.240 And so, at this point in time, when this was written by Isaiah, Babylon has now been conquered by the Persian Empire. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.640 And there's a new king, his name is Cyrus. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.000 And so, here's what God says next. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:18.880 When I speak to the rivers and say, Dry up, they will be dry. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:23.279 When I say of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and he will certainly do as I say. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:26.000 He will command rebuild Jerusalem, he will say, restore the temple. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:28.960 Now, what's really interesting is Cyrus does that historically. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:43.920 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. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.039 It doesn't strengthen his kingdom in any way. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.559 But God moved on his heart and he did that. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:54.079 And God says that Cyrus is his shepherd. 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:57.599 Cyrus didn't know the Lord, let alone believe in the Lord. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.400 In fact, Cyrus, if anything, believed he was God. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:07.440 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. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:21.759 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. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.640 That there is an overarching path in history. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.759 Everything in history is moving toward a single place. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:49.920 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. 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:51.839 That is where history is moving. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:53.920 You can celebrate that. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.680 Even if you're someone who doesn't believe that, like, I get that. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:02.799 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. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:13.279 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. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:23.039 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. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:28.559 God uses the governments of this world to accomplish his purposes even when it doesn't seem like it. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:30.720 He uses the government. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.119 A great example of this would be Jesus, by the way. 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:34.799 And we'll move on. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:40.799 Jesus gives his disciples this unbelievable mission right before he goes to heaven. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:50.640 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. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:52.079 Uh, that happens, you know? 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:54.079 Because like the only thing he hadn't done yet was fly. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:54.960 So you might as well. 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:56.319 It might as well be the way. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.440 That's the only thing his disciples at that moment could have been like, Do you think he could fly? 00:20:59.519 --> 00:20:59.920 I don't know. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:05.039 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. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:06.319 Maybe he can fly. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:07.440 Told you he could fly. 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:08.480 Like it was that moment. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:11.759 I just think there was one disciple who like elbowed another and like, I told you, I knew it. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:12.240 I knew it. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:12.880 He could do it. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.039 It says that Jesus ascended to heaven. 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:21.359 But before he does that, he gives his disciples an unbelievable mission and challenge. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:23.119 He says, I want you to go to all nations. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.559 I want you to go everywhere. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:32.960 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. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.440 It's time for my kingdom to kind of go global. 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:38.079 Jesus was the first person who had like a global mission. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:40.079 But you know what's amazing about that? 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:47.279 Is just a few centuries before Jesus, maybe even as little as one century before Jesus, that mission wouldn't have been possible. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.720 Because, well, A, how do you go everywhere? 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:55.359 Like, how in the world at that point in history do you go to all nations? 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.599 There's not a way to, oh, unless the Roman Empire takes complete control of. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.200 Most of the known world at that time and builds roads that go everywhere. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:04.559 That's what Rome did. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.920 If you've ever heard the phrase, all roads lead to Rome, that's where that comes from. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:11.279 Rome was this massive empire, conquered most of the known world. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:18.559 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. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.160 And not only did they build roads, but they united people under a common language. 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:38.640 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. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:44.319 That could never have happened just a short time before that moment in history. 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:48.720 And so it's so funny because Rome worked so hard to stop Jesus. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.119 It was the Romans who executed Jesus. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:23:03.200 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. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.880 It's like, oops, we did this to ourselves. 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:09.039 And it's just a point. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:13.839 It's an example of how God uses the government, even when the government's not aware of it. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:15.039 God's using it. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.799 He's got an ultimate purpose in mind, and no matter what, it will happen. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:24.880 And very often he uses, sometimes even evil governments, end up playing into his purposes. 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.960 And that should give us peace. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:32.640 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. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:35.680 But we know that God is still going to use it for good. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.880 Because that's what he does. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:41.680 Not only does God use governments, God actually establishes governments. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.799 Daniel chapter 2, verse 21. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:46.160 This just puts it so simply. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.880 He controls the course of world events. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:51.680 He removes kings and he sets up other kings. 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.480 He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.400 So God is in control. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:02.079 I love that he says he removes kings and he sets up other kings. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:04.079 Do we believe that? 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:09.680 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? 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:12.480 You're like, I believe that he does establish things in this world. 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:13.759 I just want a show of hands. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:14.960 Okay, a few of us. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:16.000 We're kind of mixed. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:16.559 I get it. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.160 Those of you who are like, I'm not so sure. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.240 That means you look at the world and go, I'm not giving God credit for that, you know? 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:35.839 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. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:47.839 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. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:51.599 Like God would somehow be like, oh no. 00:24:55.839 --> 00:24:56.480 Right? 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:05.279 Now, I I have I have friends who are passionate on both sides of our kind of political aisle. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:19.200 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. 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:27.039 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? 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:27.759 Why? 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:28.640 Because they like it. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:33.519 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. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:36.079 It's really hard right now to be like, you know, I kind of see both sides. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:37.519 It's like standing in the middle of a road. 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:39.279 It's just uh it's it's hard. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:43.599 You gotta do a lot of bobbing and weaving when you stand in the middle of a road. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:53.440 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. 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:58.000 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. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:58.480 I don't know. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:00.799 Um but uh but I think he'll be fine. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:08.799 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. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:14.480 And he's like, I just I would bet that most of your people voted for Trump, and I just can't be there. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:18.079 And I was like, Well, we live in Georgia, you know? 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:23.599 Like most of the people in Georgia voted for Donald Trump, so just move somewhere. 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:30.400 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. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.640 Like that, you can't live in Georgia and be upset. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.400 That's Georgia tends to be a Republican state. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:37.039 We're purple, but you know, reddish purple. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:39.440 So I guess but that was his mentality. 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:44.400 Now, I what I did tell him was like, look, our church is actually far more politically mixed than you might think. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:45.920 And some of you were like, really? 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:47.039 Oh no. 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:48.000 You know? 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:53.839 You mean there's a chance that the person sitting next to me didn't vote for who I voted for? 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.880 There is. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:07.119 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. 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:08.559 Like that's that's where he was at. 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:12.640 I'm like, man, that's not, all jokes aside, that's that's not that's not good. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:25.039 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. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:31.039 And the mentality was very much like, you know, God lost today. 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:32.160 You know? 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:33.599 There's no way. 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:40.240 And and if if Trump had won, then some of my other friends like that would have felt the same way. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:45.200 But here's here's what I'm trying to get to, and I can just sense the tension and uncomfortableness in the room. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:45.839 Okay. 00:27:50.559 --> 00:28:06.559 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. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:11.599 And most of them just don't really matter that much when it's all said and done. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.559 They just become little footnotes in history. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:18.880 They become the statues that you see in museums, and you're like, who's that guy? 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:20.720 Oh, okay. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:30.079 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. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:36.720 Yes, there are some moments in history that are so consequential that whoever happened to be in charge in those moments is forever known. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:41.519 But most leaders are just footnotes in history. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:47.440 Because at the end of the day, they're not the one that's shaping the world. 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:49.680 It's the Lord. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.279 He establishes a government. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:56.160 And so this gives us peace, right? 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:01.839 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? 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:02.400 Okay. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:15.519 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? 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:20.480 Because maybe there were things that he wanted to accomplish in the world and that worked. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:28.960 That doesn't mean that God is like stamp of approval on everything the person does, no different than Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus. 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:32.640 God, like, no, we'll get to this in a second. 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:34.000 But could it be that? 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.440 And I'm talking specifically to those of you who would have been like, that guy is the worst. 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:40.079 Um, let's just be honest, they're all kind of the worst. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:43.200 They're all like that John Wayne picture. 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:48.240 Like if your hero is a political person, pray that you just never meet them. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:52.240 Uh because, you know, it'll make it worse. 00:29:54.319 --> 00:30:08.559 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? 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:16.799 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. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:18.720 Now, some of you are like, no. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:22.559 Just like some of you on the other side were like, heck no. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:31.440 But do you do you understand the the peace that comes from going, God is in control? 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:37.440 You know, King Cyrus, King Nebuchadnezzar, if you study history, not good people. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:43.839 And yet they end up making decisions that move history in the direction that God is going. 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:47.440 The Roman emperors, not good people. 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:55.200 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. 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.160 It's almost like Jesus should have been, hey, thank you guys so, so much. 00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:01.359 Those roads made it so much easier for me to travel. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:03.920 I was actually waiting to come to the earth until you built those roads. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.279 I couldn't have done it. 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:13.039