38. Worship Service - Pastor Stephen Bohr - 09-18-21

[Music] good morning and let me wish you a happy and blessed sabbath day this is indeed the day that the lord has made we're going to rejoice and be glad in it and we welcome you to the some tv secrets unsealed worship experience the sabbath school and the worship hour we're glad you're with us may we remind you to support your local church during these times of stress and covid pandemic most churches are opening back up again but if you are not able to attend your local congregation remember that church in prayer and with your financial support it is our prayer this day that god will draw especially close to you and give you just the blessing that you seek and stand in need of it is our prayer that as we worship together god will be the center and circumference of all that we do but more than that that he will be the honored guest in our churches in our homes and in our lives may god bless you our opening song this morning tell me the story of jesus tell me the story of jesus right on my heart every word tell me the story [Music] is [Applause] to god in the highest peace and good tidings to of earth right on my mind every word [Applause] [Music] tell of the day [Music] at last [Music] he was despised and afflicted all less rejected and more tell me the story of jesus [Music] us sweetness [Music] where they lay [Music] again [Music] tell me the story of jesus [Music] was [Music] good morning friends happy sabbath and welcome to secrets unsealed some tv sabbath school hour we're so glad that you decided to make us your choice today for the study of god's word during this period of time i would like to introduce my panel this morning we have to my left pastor govea my pastor from the fresno central seventh-day adventist church and my great friend pastor c.a murray good to be here who is associate speaker here at secrets unsealed this quarter we have been studying the topic rest in christ and it's almost over we've almost gotten to the end of this quarter and it seems like it just started this is a lesson uh right right to the end here and we're going to be studying uh this week the restless prophet which basically is going to encapsulate the story of jonah from the old testament and so this morning i'm going to ask if pastor gouveia would give us lead us in a word of prayer and pastor ca if you would read our memory text for us this morning all right let us pray father in heaven we want to praise you this morning for jesus amen we want to thank you for the rest we have in him and that every sabbath day we can be reminded that he created us and that he loved us and gave himself for us thank you that we do not have to work our way up to heaven but that jesus is giving us everlasting life and the power to live in newness of life i pray that the holy spirit may guide our conversation may it be edifying may it glorify your name and be a blessing to each and every one that is listening we pray in the name of jesus amen amen amen amen our scripture text our memory text comes to us from the book of jonah chapter 4 and verse 11. i'm reading from the new king james version the bible says and should i not pity nineveh that great city in which there are more than 120 000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left and much livestock very good very good well this morning as we look at basically the book of jonah and we try to fear it out from it the idea of rest we'll see that there are so many salient points that we can pull from this chapter that will directly impact or should impact us not only in our christian journey but in our relationship with god and as you know jonah is a prophet jonah is called by god but when he's called to do work for god uh he runs the other way and you know there and there's so much pack just into that idea because as we sit in the pew each sabbath we are called by god uh in in this church to be a voice for god at this time in earth's history yet many of us shrink from and run from the idea of sharing god and the word that he has for a surrounding community where we find ourselves when we think of rest in christ we would think that a prophet would understand that concept but in the book of jonah we find anything but the idea of understanding of rest and so it's going to be important as we kind of ferret through this book to see what we pull out from it as we start out on sunday running away i thought you know just to set up we would read the first three verses of the book of jonah because that really sets the scene so pastor gove if you could read for us sure so jonah chapter 1 verses 1 2 and 3 now the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amitai saying arise go to nineveh that great city and cry out against it for their wickedness has come up before me but jonah arose to flee to tarshish from the presence of the lord he went down to joppa and found the ship going to tarshish so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to tarshish from the presence of the lord you know this this is interesting as i as i looked on the map you know god says to his prophet i want you to go to nineveh jonah says i'm going to tarshish and and for those who may be in california you know we're here in fresno and god says i want you to go to san francisco that great city yes and uh we say i'm booking a plane to san diego it's kind of like 180 degrees the other direction and so there there are some things going on here what's what's happening with jonah that he feels that he not only can't even start his journey to nineveh but he's got to start going as far away from from nineveh as he can go i think there's a hint that the text gives us right at the beginning in these first three verses saying that when he arises to go to tarshish she is going away from the presence of the lord so the book will let you know at the end exactly what that means but right from the get-go we have this sensation this feeling that there's something between jonah and god he's going he's running away from god he doesn't want what god wants for him no no no sorry i don't want that there are a number of things one of the things that this shows is that prophets are not perfect people that uh when i look at my own perfections i know i'm not a perfect person no well i got i got you know because prophets are not perfect people there's a there's a thing that that my uh grandson this is many years ago you should do he used to hide his face he felt if he can't see you you can't see him you know so he would just you say something he just put it down over there yeah i'm not here because there's there's really no running from the presence of them yes you're running from the command of the lord yeah but you know uh whereas david says if i go to the mountains i'm there you know he's there so you're not running from the presence you're running from the assignment because you don't like the assignment for any number of reasons yeah and just because you can't see god doesn't mean that god can't see you you know you're always in his sight so we we're starting out with a very imperfect person and then we work our way from from that from that price okay there's also something in what you read right at the beginning uh it said when he says arise go to neva that great city and cry out against it for their wickedness has come up to me and when we look at the historical record um you know nineveh is kind of the capital city of assyria yeah yeah and these these guys were cruel very cruel yes very good for a cruelty stick yeah i mean inside fear and and make no mistake you know war is it can be very cruel yeah but these guys were beyond what was considered cruel you know i mean yeah they they really they were famous for uh causing suffering to their enemies yeah and the lesson mentions the conquest of lakeish by senecarab that he impaled thousands of people and played some other thousands and take took others to be slaves put them in forced labor so of course if god tells you hey i want you to go and preach to those people and tell them that they're no good i mean we all would feel come on lord really yeah this guy's got knives they got he loves me right right right and they're not afraid to use it correctly yeah in the in the most idious ways yeah yes yeah yeah so definitely it was not something easy for jonah that the thing is i i believe that god is trying to convey that when he asks us to do something that something may be very very difficult but not doing it will be worse no matter what not doing it will be worse whatever god wants us to do even if it's hard if it causes suffering i mean we think about the apostle paul he was preaching the gospel everywhere he was beaten with rods he was stoned people thought he was dead you know he suffered all of that but he was doing what god wanted him to do so god was renewing his strength from day to day until the point that he gave up his life for the cause that he believed in but god was with him and he was with god and no matter what happens when you're doing what god wants you to do he gives you this strength to cope with all of it you know it's way better to go to a place filled with assassins but you know that that's where god wants you to go right then to you know a field with a lot of flowers but you know there are some bees there and you're allergic to bees so [Laughter] so god god has you covered if you if you're doing what he wants you to do yes so you know i think that the essence of the idea is that is that god's call also comes with enabling with empowering yes he's not going to call you to do something that he's not going to empower you to do and so um but there there are some other issues that we're going to come to in time that have jonah kind of set on edge here about this assignment that he's getting yes but he books he books his journey yeah he books his journey uh going to tarshish but god has a way god has a way and so uh as we read down further when he gets on this ship god it says you know the lord sent out a great wind so jonah has an idea that he's fleeing from god you know and the old line comes up you can run but you can't hide you know god says i want you to do something and i'm going to put some stumbling blocks in front of your journey here and so he sends a wind and uh and it creates havoc on the ship uh to the point where the mariners are tossing off their goods trying to to to to save the ship and the lives that are on the ship uh obviously they're not able to and so they decide to cast lots and so they cast lots and of course the lot falls on jonah yes now you know there's something that i i just saw again here it says but john had gone down i'm in verse stretch of the back into verse five but jonah had gone down into the lowest part of the ship had laid down on his father's sleep right jonah was at peace with his decision right he wasn't pacing the floor you know he was he was going to sleep man right the ship is rocking to and fro the storm outside jonah asleep so he's at peace with his decision yeah and um you know this casting lots i guess that's not the the best way to make decisions but it worked here yes and a lot felt okay it's that guy that's sleeping over here so he wasn't even awake he wasn't even part of it but it's a sleeping guy it's him you know that kind of thing uh so now they've got up they've got a an issue that they gotta deal with you know for their very lives yes yeah now it's interesting when the captain approaches him and when the mariners begin to question him in verse nine you know they ask him who are you and where are you from and so pat pastor sia could you read verse 9 for us so he said to them i'm in verse 9 i am a hebrew and i fear the lord the god of heaven who made the sea and the dry land now i i think that's just an ironic statement it is very much so yeah you know i i just think there's so much irony packed in there yeah he says you know who am i i'm a hebrew yeah and and i fear the lord you know now you know when we read the definition of fear as as as found in scripture part of fear is obesity obeying god obeying yeah you know the fear of the lord you know when we fear our parents and it's not necessarily being afraid of them but an awe and a respect and obedience and uh here you know jonah finds himself running but he considers himself one who uh is of the people of god who obeys god of course he's not right you know and that you see that so many times um many of us we we we say oh i'm a seventh-day adventist i identify with all the beliefs and doctrines of my church but i'm not very committed i don't know i don't go to church you know sometimes i pay talk sometimes i don't sometimes i hear a sermon well you know yes it's like playing a little bit with god you know oh yeah i'm your prophet i'm gonna follow you but no that no oh i don't want that you know so but what i find interesting in the story is that the the these men are so much more god-fearing than jonah right first of all the captain says arise verse six arise call on your god perhaps your god will consider us so that we may not perish yes so a pagan is telling him pray to your god you know right so then they ask uh him who he who he is then he answers and they the men were exceedingly afraid so they start you know having these attitudes that jonah himself would not have for pagans they start trying to save his life they want to row and you know go through the storm and not throw him overboard but he told him to throw me overboard and the the sea will be calm but they are trying to save his life and after that they see they cannot save his life they throw him overboard with a prayer they pray to the true god they're like lord please you know we're not doing this because we want this is your decision don't let this man's blood fall on us and then they offer sacrifices to the lord when the tempest goes away so these men who are not worshipers of the true god start worshiping the true god because of jonah even though he was really not where he was supposed to be so this is such a beautiful picture of the love of god yes amen god pursues his children god does not give up on us yes and god uses us even when we are not where we should be right i remember in my teenage years i was surrounded by people doing drugs and all of that and still i remember that i would have conversations about the bible and uh share jesus with people and i was like i know i'm not i'm not where i su where i am supposed to be right god doesn't want me here and still he would use me to bring jesus to people so this is a wonderful god we serve yeah and i find it interesting that it depends you know they said perspective and perception is the editor of reality you know from one vantage point god loved you and so you know he was working through you but he also loved the people who were around you exactly and so he was working through you to affect them amen you know and that's something that jonah hasn't quite caught on to yet at any rate he ends up being thrown over bored into into the sea and you know we get the name of the story joan and the whale yes which i think is a misnomer because it really misses the whole encapsulation of what the book of jonah is about but it's such a phenomenal idea you know that jonah would be swallowed by this large fish that the lord had prepared [Music] and in this book the idea that the lord prepared comes up multiple times and so you know it's like god is out there ahead of the game you know he already knows and he is working for our benefit and for the benefit of mankind and so he prepares this this this large fish this swallows jonah and he gives jonah a three-day vacation you know uh all expenses paid [Laughter] in in in the belly of this fish and so something interesting occurs while jonah is now in this precarious position he comes to himself yeah he comes to himself you know there's there are so many subtext in in what seems like a a pretty straightforward story but there are many um in verse nine jonah announces that his god is in charge of the sea yeah and of course pagans will accept your god you know just find me a god that can control his situation right you know and he says well my god control this then they asked what shall we do to you now that statement they were prepared to kill him they're they're comfortable with sacrifice you know should we cut you up shall we what do you want us to do right we need to get this situation under control and if it means sacrificing your life that's not too much for us to have right you know and jonah says well throw me overboard you know that's yeah that's going to do it and they're ready to do it what's interesting they fight against that and you alluded to this um what would have been a natural solution okay your life for our life but they're fighting against this so there's something inherently good about the nature of these men they you can kind of see that they're searchers and if this is played out right you can see you can get converts to the kingdom of god because they're they're searching for something you know situation is is involving them and they're trying to be as humane as they can yes and still get out of the situation uh so they're rowing now and then finally jonah comes to himself praise the lord yeah because another event stands off after that yes so you know he he's in the situation where he's encapsulated in the whale and you know his mind changes his mind changes yeah he starts praying right he probably should have done that before okay that's what that's i mean yeah god came to moses and was like oh no not me lord so at least moses talks to god jeremiah same thing jeremiah i want you to be a prophet to the nations lord i'm just a child at least they are talking to god you know jonah he turns his back away gets the ticket to san diego right right and god has to hijack the flight right so now that he's in the belly of the fish for three nights three days i think some sometimes god does this to us you know he okay he he puts things in a way in our lives that we have to stop now sometimes it's a disease sometimes it's a problem in our family and we just have to stop and really talk to him and and jonah was was actually not even saying hey get me out of this fish right jonah was just recognizing god's goodness praising him because god delivered him he was about to die with seaweed around his neck right but god was merciful delivered him and then he cries out to god with faith that god is hearing him from his holy temple yes that's very powerful you know i'm here down below i'm in the belly of this fish but you are there in your holy temple and you are listening to my prayers you know that's that's amazing and then he also um expresses that he wants to be faithful in his vows to the lord because and i love this the end of his prayer says salvation is of the lord right right yeah so god prepared god prepared god prepared you know he prepared a storm then he prepared a fish but ultimately god has prepared salvation amen salvation is of the lord yes yes he has prepared that for us and so when jonah comes to himself we would just we just keep moving here and i like the idea that you you know you said i have a note written here that like jonah sometimes god has to put different things in our way he has you know he has to put roadblocks and uh you know my dad used to say well a hard head makes for a soft behind you keep falling on it you know you know so yeah and so god he puts things in our way to soften us up yes and uh and so you know it then jonah's able to come to himself and of course then god speaks to the fish and it throws jonah up on dry land because now jonah is committed to carrying out this missing mission not because he wants to but because god says to and the idea of a prophet is the mouthpiece of god so he starts out and it's it's a three-day journey from one end of nineveh to the other it's a great city it is a great city and he cries out to them yet forty days and nineveh will be destroyed now you know that that's a hard message that's a hard message but interestingly enough it's well received oh yes it's well received and i want to talk about the reception i want us to just discuss the reception of this message this hard message that he's putting out well just before the reception i i just like to would like to underline that it was a hard message yes but it was the message that god gave him to preach right god said good this is what you want to preach we seventh-day adventists we look at the three angels messages like beasts mark at the beach no ah let's try to get a little twist here so it's more pleasing and loving and it's a hard message yes yeah but and you know we we spend like rivers of money to preach for months and we baptize a few people this guy preaches three days okay just saying you're all gonna die in 40 days and he was not happy he didn't love them right and they all repent you know the bottom line is the message was well received you know we look at our audience sometimes there's no in the world these people are going to be converted by anything i have to say yes so why are you sending me here to bang my head against the wall yes these are these are the ninevites this isn't this isn't romper room this is not mr rogers neighborhood right these are tough people yes they kill people you know and they do it for a living they're professional but the bible says they believe proclaim the fast and and and put on sackcloth so they're they're ready for a change he preaches and they change yeah to his surprise and i almost want to say to his shock and aura but they do change yeah they listen to the word but see the only person that was surprised was john jonah god knew they were ready right you know he wasn't taken by surprise the surprise was jonah yeah from the greatest to the least yeah and you know of course the greatest would be the king and he even decreed that the animals yeah you know they should mourn i don't know you know in the lessons i don't know how animals worn but probably after a few days of not eating and so but as a result the king says cry out to god and turn from your evil now that that that is interesting because they recognize how much they've deviated [Music] from what should be the order of the day yeah yeah the king knows that they have been yes unrelentingly cruel and he says cry out to god and isn't that repentance yes it is isn't that the essence of repentance crying out to god and then turning away from evil yes and the whole town does that you know and i like the idea that you have uh you know that you've brought up that um even today we want to soften the message we want a smooth gospel good point yeah yeah we want to put it out smooth so that it'll be palatable to those who are hearing but god knows what people need to hear and drastic times call for drastic measures that's true and he knows that the three angels messages are set up for a drastic time and so he he says this is the message go give it and it is a message of mercy i think all the ninevites understood if somebody is here telling us that in 40 days we're about to perish and it's somebody sent by god probably god is giving us an opportunity he is giving us 40 days to repent right and that's what the king said who can tell verse 9 chapter 3 verse 9 who can tell if god will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish so when we preach the tree angels messages it's it's not because it's like oh you know what we need to be different somehow so we're going to preach these verses in revelation no we believe god gave us this message to preach because it is a message of mercy a message that is calling people back to him calling people to repentance and i do believe that a lot of people like the ninevites when they hear the truth being you know spoken in in without any fluff fluff exactly they will say okay i need this you know straight yeah that's what i need actually i need to come back to god because i'm not living according to his word now you would think you know here he he he goes out and he preaches this hard message just straight to the court straight at it and a hundred and twenty thousand [Laughter] yeah are converted praise the lord a hundred and twenty thousand yeah in a three-day revelation seminar talk about a successful evangelist yeah yeah this is the definition this is this is what you want you you pray i heard your sermon a few weeks ago and you you know you just knew you know if i get out there and preach with the spirit thousands will come but 120 000 in three days boy this this is you know just short of pentecost right yeah okay and and you would think of the prophet carrying the message would just be elated [Music] but he's not but he's not and uh in it as we go to chapter four um you know of course chapter three says god saw their works and he and he turned from what he was going to do and in chapter four says verse 1 it displeased jonah exceedingly so he became angry and passively suicidal you know he wasn't just upset but he thought his life should end and i just what do you make of that well i think he had first of all i think he had the syndrome of the big evangelist definitely did because big evangelists sometimes um they when things don't turn out the way and when i'm saying big evangelist not big in the other god but somebody who thinks he's a big evangelist when things don't turn out the way he wants or thinks he just takes it all on him you know and jonah was actually worried about his reputation i mean i said that they're going to die and now they're not going to die you know so i'm going to be a false prophet but the interesting thing is his his prayer so the way he expresses his feelings to god so he prayed to the lord and said ah lord was not this what i said when i was still in my country therefore i fled previously to tarsus for i know that you are a gracious and merciful god slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness one who relents from doing harm so basically when he flees from the presence of the lord that's why i was mentioning that i think the text is giving us a hint he's not happy with what god wants him to do because he knows who god is yeah and he he kind of guesses what god is trying to do through him and he's not happy with that no why mercy to those people they need to die you know right right the underlying thing is lord you're going to embarrass me right right i'm going to preach you know if you go back to isaiah 36 i was just paging back and and look at uh sanakra's letter to hezekiah you know yes the mean letter yeah yeah all of this is probably i know these people i've seen what they've done to my country i know the disrespect they have for you god and for your people right and now you're going to forgive them you're going to make me look bad yes you know so there's a lot of self in this in this issue yeah but he says you know you're you're gracious you're merciful you're slow to anger and abundant loving kindness and that's the way you should be to us hebrews are you going to be like that yeah yeah but you know to the assyrians really you know yeah and and i'm going to go preach to them and they're going to turn and you're going to accept them with all the history that we have between us he wants them to be punished yes he does yes and isn't that speaking to us today with all the unrest we have you know we think that we we we believe that god is merciful and kind and and loving and all of that to us to us but we don't want it to extend to that other guy who has a different political affiliation a different philosophical bent a different way of seeing the world than we do we don't think that god should be kind and merciful and loving and forgiving to him yeah and it's amazing how when you read the bible and you study all that we know about nineveh and the assyrians we see that they repent with jonah's preaching but later on they become very cruel and terrible again so you you are looking at a god that looks at a generation and says okay these are ripe for repentance i'm going to give them that opportunity even though i'm doing two things here right it was not only interested in the salvation of those 120 000 ninevites but he was interested in changing jonah's heart and i think that this is an amazing thought sometimes we look at pastors and evangelists and you know gospel workers and we think they all have it all together and we don't you know we have a lot of things in our character that need to change and when god gives us a mission like he did to john james peter when you look at them they had characters that had a lot to change and those were the ones that jesus brought closer to him god brought jonah very close to him in this story he said jonah you're you're not looking at things right and and yeah i i want to make you think about this now as i prefaced earlier about god preparing things the the chapter ends with god preparing a plant as jonah goes up to salt on the side of the mountain you know god prepares a plant to protect him from the heat of the day and and and jonah is happy about that but then it says in verse 7 that god prepares a worm that assaults the plant and and and and the plant withers away and then god prepares a vehement east wind and the east wind you know beats upon the head of jonah and so jonah again becomes passively suicidal he wants to die and god says is it good for you to be so upset really are you should you you know over a plant really you know and and he says is it right for you to be so angry about this plant and jonah says it's right it's right even to the death i mean he's so upset he's got this attitude he's got this bug stuck in his craw and it ain't going nowhere yeah right you had nothing to do with this plant yes came up at night you know you had you you have nothing to do with this plant that's right something that i did for you right and you're vex now right because of this plant you didn't fertilize it you didn't water it because you didn't plant it yeah you know i did all of that but you're upset about what i've done with this plant but then he turns and he uses this plant as the parable yeah but you have a different idea when it comes to the assyrians because i planted them you know i've been watering them and i sent you to them but you had an issue with that you know and and for you this plant has become more important than a hundred twenty thousand persons and much cattle yes yeah much livestock and so really instead of jonah and the will i i i say maybe it should be joan on the gourd jonathan the squash plant something with a big nice shady leaf because god is saying that often we get our perspectives skewed yes and we put our values in the wrong place and so here jonah falls in love with a thing but he hates the people and god wants us to love the people and and just use the things that he has prepared for us and so friends we our time has slipped into eternity as ca says again another week we're so thankful that you decided to join us the sabbath and we hope that our discussion with you has been a blessing go with god go in peace have a wonderful sabbath [Music] let's pray father in heaven we come before your awesome throne in the powerful name of jesus to thank you for the privilege of being with you today and we ask that as we conclude the sabbath school service and as we begin the worship service that the same spirit that was with us during the sabbath school study will be with us as we study your word during the worship service we also ask that you will bless all of the other parts of the service that our lives might be edified and you will give us the capacity to proclaim the wonderful god that we serve we thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it in jesus name amen morning boys and girls our story today is called sarah's big black dog mother and father were going to go to the neighbor's house to pick up some supplies and sarah their four-year-old daughter wanted to go with them but mother said i'm sorry sarah but this journey will be too long for you please go back to the cabin stay with your sister mary and be a good girl father and mother watched as sarah made her way back to the cabin and then they too turned around and started their journey but little did they realize that sarah had also turned around and was following them from a short distance well the path that took them through the woods but pretty soon the woods became deep and dark and sarah couldn't hear her mother's laughter nor her father's deep voice panicly she turned around would she go to the left would she go to the right but soon she realized that she was lost so she curled up next to a big rock and cried herself to sleep while mother and father had picked up the supplies and made their way back to the cabin but to their horror they discovered that sarah wasn't there and mary sarah's sister assumed that sarah had gone with her parents father ran called the townspeople and soon everyone was looking for sarah all night long but in the morning father returned to the cabin and there was no sarah father mother and mary knelt down on their knees and they prayed to the lord sunday went by monday went by tuesday went by and wednesday went by but there was no sarah well finally on thursday mr heath who lived 20 miles away came and told sarah's parents that he had this dream and he dreamed it three times he saw in his dream a little girl with light curls she was fast asleep under a big pine tree near barry brook but guarding sarah was a big bear when father heard this he sat down in his chair and he looked at his wife and he said i'm sorry i didn't tell you but some men found sarah's footprints but besides sarah's footprints they also found the track of a big bear we didn't want to tell you we were afraid well mr heath calmed down father and soon they were on their way to barry brook while it seemed eternity for mother who stayed at the cabin but soon she heard three gunshots she knew that was a signal that they had found sarah can you imagine boys and girls what joy it was for mother to finally embrace sarah with tears of gladness running down her cheeks well after sarah took her bath rested and ate her meals she recounted to her parents what had happened she told them that the first night that she was lost she awoke to find a big black dog sniffing her leg she hugged the dog said her prayer and fell fast asleep but do you know that every evening the big black dog returned lay next to sarah to keep her warm throughout the cold nights that she was lost when mother heard this she whispered into her father into father's ear the angel of the lord sure takes on strange forms do you know what boys and girls whenever you are afraid whenever you are sad whenever you have a problem we need to do exactly what sarah's family did we need to get down on our knees and pray to the lord for the lord hears our prayers and he will answer them according to his will our scripture reading this morning comes from the book of jeremiah jeremiah the 27th chapter verses 5 through 8. i have made the earth the man and the beast that are on the ground my great power and my outstretched arm and have given it to whom it seemed proper to me and now i have given all these lands into the hand of nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon my servant and the beast of the field i have also given him to serve him so all nations shall serve him and his sons and his son's son until the time of his land comes and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them and it shall be that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve ye nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of babylon that nation i will punish says the lord with the sword the famine and the pestilence until i have consumed them by his hand may the lord add a blessing to the reading and the hearing of his word [Music] under his wings [Music] still i can't trust him i know he will keep he has redeemed is [Music] often [Music] i am is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] i'm is [Music] is [Music] safely [Music] [Laughter] [Music] some tv is a worldwide christian ministry providing christ-centered programs with clarity and power on topics such as bible prophecy in time events bible interpretation tips for helpful living cooking demonstrations and much more our programs provide practical counsel for daily life and assurance and these uncertain times download the free some tv app or watch online at some tv.org you will be blessed well good morning and happy sabbath i'm glad that you decided to join us for our worship service today i know we've had a wonderful sabbath school study and now we are going to open god's word and study several very important things in this period of human history but before we do we want to have a word of prayer so i invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray father in heaven we're living in momentous times the signs of the times are fulfilling right and left very quickly we ask lord that as we study this very important subject today about what caesar or the government owes us that you will guide our minds that you will empower us to live in harmony with every word that proceeds from the mouth of god even in very difficult times we thank you for the promise of the presence of your holy spirit we claim that promise in the precious and holy name of jesus amen a couple of weeks ago actually exactly two weeks ago i spoke about what we as citizens owe to caesar what we owe to the civil power or to the government today we are going to talk about what the civil power owes to its citizens now before we do i want to review the passage that we studied last time it's rather long but we have a few extra minutes for our study today so i'm going to read the entire passage and add some comments as we go along the passage is romans chapter 13 and verses 1 through 14. this is how it reads let every soul be subject to the governing authorities in other words to the civil power to the government for there is no authority except from god and the authorities that exist are appointed by god therefore whoever resists that means whoever opposes or rebels against the authority resists the ordinance of god and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil do you want to be unafraid of the authority do what is good and you will have praise from the same in other words with if we're obeying all legitimate civil laws we have nothing to fear of the sword of the civil power now let's go to verse 4. for he that is the civil servant is god's minister to you for good but if you do evil be afraid for he that is the civil ruler does not bear the sword in vain for he is god's minister an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil so notice we're told in several ways that god has established the civil power we're told that it is from god it's appointed by god it is by the ordinance of god and the civil ruler is even called the minister of god it's not talking about a preacher minister means servant the word diaconos and then notice what we find in verse 5. therefore you must be subject not only is it an option that we subject ourselves to the civil power it is an a command therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath in other words we must be subject to the civil power and its laws not because we fear the civil power actually punishing us for disobeying the civil laws so once again therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake in other words christians have a greater motivation for obeying civil laws not only because we need to respect the legitimate laws of the civil power but also because we have a conscience that tells us that that's what we're supposed to do so once again verse 5 therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath that is because you fear punishment but also for conscience sake for because of this you that is the members of the church of rome also pay taxes because we call them civil servants we pay taxes so that they can be remunerated for uh executing the laws and protecting the citizens so once again for because of this you that is citizens also pay taxes for they that is a civil ruler are god's ministers attending continually to this very thing this very thing means preserving the civil order verse 7 render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due customs those are duties that are passed on imported goods and customs to whom customs fear that means respect to whom fear honor to whom honor and then the apostle paul is going to talk about the greater motivation of the christians the civil power can command you to obey the civil laws but it cannot command you to obey the civil laws because you love other people because love is implanted in the heart by god so once again here paul is going to amplify why christians should obey civil laws not only because we should be obedient citizens but because our conscience tells us that we're supposed to love our neighbor notice verse 8 owe no one anything except to love one another for he who loves another has fulfilled the law for the commandments you shall not commit adultery you shall not murder you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness you shall not covet and if there is any other commandment by the way paul skipped one the commandment that says honor your father and your mother but he says if there is any other commandment all are summed up in this saying namely namely you shall love your neighbor as yourself love does no harm uh to a neighbor therefore love is the fulfillment of the law so the regular citizen the secular citizen who has no religious inclinations obeys the civil laws because that is good for society however the christian not only obeys civil laws because it's for the peace and tranquility of society the christian keeps civil laws because keeping them also reveals love for our fellow human beings in other words if we love our neighbor we're not going to kill if we love our neighbor we're not going to commit adultery with his wife if we love our neighbor we're not going to steal what belongs to him or to her if we love our neighbor we're not going to talk evil things about our neighbors speaking false witness so uh the the people the regular people of society who have no religious inclination they obey civil law for the good of civil society christians do that but they also keep the laws because they love their fellow human beings and love is implanted in the heart not by the government but by god through the holy spirit and then the apostle paul beginning with verse 11 is going to explain why christians should live in this way i read verse 11 and do this in other words love your neighbor by keeping the second table of the law do this knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed so the apostle paul is saying we're living in the last days so we need to fulfill this command to love our neighbor taking into account the time in which we're living and then verse 12 the night is far spent and the day is at hand therefore let us he's talking to the church members at rome therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light verse 13 let us walk properly as in the day not in revelry and drunkenness not in lewdness and lust not in strife and envy but put on the lord jesus christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts so this is the passage we studied last time and the gist of it is this god has placed the civil servants god has placed the government to maintain order in society christians are supposed to obey those civil laws as other citizens as well however christians have a higher motivation they keep civil law because it's the law it's for the good of society but they also keep the law because they love their fellow human beings and god has implanted his love in their hearts now today we're going to talk a little bit more about what the state owes christians let's begin by noting that the church has a sword and the civil power also has a sword let's read ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17 which describes the lord's sword that he has given to the church it says there in ephesians 6 17 and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god so the church has a sword and it's this book right here the holy bible this is the sword of the church but the state also has a sword notice romans chapter 13 verse 4 a verse from the passage that we just read romans 13 and verse 4. speaking about the civil servant he is god's minister to you for good but if you do evil be afraid for he that is the civil servant does not bear the sword in vain for he is god's minister an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil so notice that the civil power also has a sword now how does the civil power use the sword well the civil power uses the sword by imposing fines for the violation of civil law it also uses the sword to incarcerate people it uses the sword also to in some states at least to impose the death penalty and also it uses a sword to confiscate goods that have been acquired illegally so in other words the state uses the sword to punish violations of legitimate civil law and the church also has its sword which is the word of god the state cannot use the sword of the church to accomplish its mission and the church cannot use the sword of the state to accomplish its mission the purpose of the civil power is secular the purpose of the lord's sword is sacred or spiritual the word of god is used by preaching in other words the church uses the sword by preaching the gospel and the holy spirit convicts human hearts but the civil power uses the sword as a punitive instrument against those who disobey legitimate civil laws let me read you here a couple of statements from the spirit of prophecy on the idea that the sword is what the civil power has and the dangers of the church using the sword of the state here we find the first statement has to do with saul of tarsus we're told this then he that is saul of tarsus was entrusted with the sword of secular power so notice this member of the sanhedrin this young guy he became member of the sanhedrin after the stephen episode but he receives a sword of the secular power but now he's going to punish heresy which uh you cannot use the sword of the state to do so once again saul of tarsus was entrusted with the sword of secular power he was the agent of the sanhedrin now there's a church using the power of the sword the jewish inquisitor the exterminator of heretics seeking victims to imprison to scourge or to stone and then ella white describes the roman catholic papal system that used the sword of the state to impose penalties upon heresy upon the convictions of conscience that people had this is great controversy 277 she wrote thus rome succeeded in a reign france against the reformation it was to uphold the throne preserve the nobles and maintain the laws that the sword of persecution was first unsheathed in france so in other words this is the church using the sword of the state according to this to uphold the throne to preserve the nobles and to maintain the laws ellen white wrote about martin luther actually this is martin luther speaking when he is about to depart the wartburg where he was in exile for a while to go back to wittenberg in great controversy page 188 ellen white wrote this is martin luther no secular sword can advance this cause now there's the cause of the reformation god must do all without the aid or cooperation of man he who has most faith is the most availing defense so martin luther understood that the secular sword could not be used to advance the reformation that god's work goes forward much better without the aid of man than with the aid of man now let's talk a little bit about the principles upon which the united states of america was built the constitution of the united states primarily the first two clauses of the first amendment tells us that the united states government cannot be hostile to religion it cannot support religion and it cannot favor one religion above the other in other words the secular power of the united states of america needs to remain totally aloof from spiritual issues from religion it neither is hostile to religion nor supports religion nor supports one church above every other church the civil power's limit of authority is to preserve and maintain the civil order of society to protect the right of each citizen to live safely peacefully and to guarantee each citizen the right to worship or not to worship according to the dictates of their conscience i believe that the first person who fully understood the correct relationship between church and state was roger williams who lived during the time of the colonial period you see just to give you a little bit of history the colonists arrived from europe and they wanted to establish a system where there would be freedom of conscience freedom to worship god according to the dictates of their consciences which they did not have during the 1260 years in europe and so uh they came to new england and they established the colonies and then they did the same thing in the colonies as had been done by the papal church during uh its period of dominion of course the 1260 years were not finished yet because the colonial period is around the year 1620 approximately and so in the colonies individuals returned their tithes to the government and the government remunerated the pastors but only the pastors of the established church in the colonial period if you did not attend church on sunday you were fined some people were imprisoned and at least at least in three of the colonies there was a death sentence against those who remained stubborn in not observing sunday as the day of rest furthermore only those who belonged to the established church could occupy a position in the government so in the colonial period in the united states before the constitutional period of this country and by the way uh when i say of the united states i'm talking about the territory of the united states because there was no united states until the declaration of independence the constitution and the bill of rights but anyway during this colonial period they intermingled church and state and as a result those who did not comply were persecuted roger williams wrote the following words the civil magistrate possesses a civil sword for the defense of persons estates families liberties of a city or civil state and the suppressing of uncivil or injurious persons or actions in other words the state is to rule on civil matters to preserve the order of society and to protect everyone within society thomas jefferson expressed the same idea when he wrote the following the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others so once again the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others and then somewhat humorously he wrote it does mean no injury for my neighbor to say that there are 20 gods or no gods it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg so if somebody picked your pocket or somebody broke your leg well the civil power has the right to punish you for that but what he's what jefferson is saying is that the federal government cannot legislate regarding religion it only deals with acts that are injurious to other people james madison also wrote some very interesting words and i read now what he wrote about this separation of religion and the civil power i quote i observe with particular pleasure the view you have taken of the immunity of religion from civil jurisdiction interesting phrase he speaks of the immunity of religion from civil jurisdiction and then he continues in every case where it does not trust trespass on private rights or the public peace so in other words religion is immune to civil jurisdiction as long as it's not infringing on private rights or the public peace now let's notice a few things about the first amendment to the constitution of the united states of america and we're going to take just a few moments to analyze some of the phrases and some of the words that we find in the first amendment by the way the constitution was ratified in 1787 but then a bill of rights the first ten amendments to the constitution were added in the year 1791. the ten amendments are part of the constitution amendments doesn't mean this is an appendix and it's not as important as the original constitution no the ten amendments are part of the constitution notice what the first amendment says congress shall make no law now let me say something about the word shell you know the the founding fathers could have written congress will make no law why did the right congress shall make no law well let me read a definition that is given in the dictionary about what the word shell means and the contrast with the word will this is how it explains shell is used with the meaning of obligation and will with the meaning of desire or intention so you can tell the difference when the first amendment says congress shall make no law it is a mandate it is not simply a desire or an intention so once again congress shall make no law what does no law mean it means exactly that no law congress shall make no law respecting notice an establishment of religion in other words the civil power cannot establish any religious observance it is not to mingle with religion it is not to support or oppose religion it is simply to allow people to worship according to the dictates of their conscience so once again congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion in other words it cannot establish religious observances and now it continues or prohibiting the free exercise thereof in other words the government cannot restrict you from practicing your religion it cannot establish a certain way that you have to worship and it cannot deny you the right to worship this is called the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the constitution so once again congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof now this is dealing with the religious rights of the citizens but the first amendment also guarantees their civil rights so notice that the first amendment contends it contains the idea of full religious and civil liberty because the first part of the first amendment deals with the religious rights of people the second part deals with the civil rights of the citizens notice what he continues saying congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof and now comes the civil rights or abridging the freedom of speech now let me say something about the word of bridging what does it mean to abridge something well i looked at the 1828 edition of webster's dictionary which would be a dictionary from that time period and the definition that is given there is this it's not eliminating folks abridging is not eliminating the dictionary says to diminish to contract or to reduce the freedom of speech in other words the civil power cannot abridge freedom of speech it cannot diminish contract or reduce freedom of speech i wish that people would pay attention to that in the united states today because more and more speech that is offensive to this person or that person or this group or that group is abridged and is removed and taken away notice what he continues saying or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press the reason why they wanted a free press is because if the press is only with one political party only one point of view is going to be seen but if you have freedom of the press you're going to have a freedom of opinion expressed in the newspapers and these days on the internet this is ideal but it's not really happening these days so once again it says the freedom of speech or of the press and then it goes on to say or of the right of people to peaceably assemble in other words you can't burn down businesses according to the first amendment to the constitution you can't demonstrate non-peaceably where you're injuring other people and where you're looting stores and you're burning down buildings the first amendment does not guarantee that because you're infringing on other people's rights the first amendment clearly says that the people have the right to peaceably assemble and finally it says and to petition the government for a redress of grievances in other words for the government to do you justice if somebody in society does something wrong to you that's the first amendment full guarantee of religious and civil liberty the first amendment guarantees the civil and religious rights of all citizens these are not this is very important these are not accommodations allowances or privileges that are granted by the state i'm going to say that again in other words what we find in the first amendment are not simply accommodations that the government gives us or allowances that the government gives us or privileges that are granted by the state no no no they are rights congress can make no law that establishes religion or forbids the free exercise of religion in the united states people can choose to worship god not worship god or worship many gods without the interfere or interference of the civil power civil rights such as freedom of speech freedom of the press freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom to request the government for a redress of grievances belong to all citizens religious and non-religious the founding principles of the united states of america stand in stark contrast to the principles of the two beasts of revelation chapter 13. the beast from the sea in revelation 13 1-10 which represents the roman catholic papacy use the sword of the civil power the sword of the state to enforce religion and violate the consciences of individuals who thought differently than the established church of that time the inevitable result of the church using the sword of the state was persecution against those who did not comply we're told in daniel chapter 7 that during the 1260 years the little horn or the sea beast used the power of the state to launch an attack against things relating to god we're told in daniel chapter 7 that the little horn allied with the civil power spoke blasphemies against the most high persecuted the saints of the most high thought it could change god's holy law it blasphemed god's name which is a representation of his character it blasphemed god's tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven and it also persecuted mercilessly those who thought differently than the established church this adulterous relationship between church and state during the period of the first beast or of the little horn is illustrated by the experience of martin luther when he stood in 1521 before the diet of worms present there were the religious dignitaries of the papal church accusing luther of heresy before the emperor of the state charles v and pressuring him to silence martin luther thus the church was attempting to use the sword of the state to punish luther for his religious convictions of his conscience in his speech martin luther was courteous and respectful when he addressed the civil dignitaries that were present i want to read now the words of martin luther before these dignitaries these uh civil and religious dignitaries there at forms i read most serene lord emperor most illustrious princes most gracious lords i beseech you to grant a gracious hearing to my plea which i trust will be a plea of justice and truth and if through my inexperience i neglect to give to any their proper titles or in any way offend against the etiquette of the court in my manners or behavior be kind enough to forgive me i beg since i am a man who has spent his life not in courts but in the cells of a monastery a man who can say of himself only this that to this day i have thought and written in simplicity of heart solely with a view to the glory of god and the pure instruction of christ's faithful people i would say that those words that martin luther spoke before the assembly were very courteous and respectful but when it came to the matter of conscience martin luther could not be moved he was firm in what he said his words are very well known when he was asked to renounce what was written in the booklets and the books that were there on a table martin luther was on bending he was obedient to the legitimate civil laws of the state but when the church used the state to infringe on his conscience martin luther was inflexible as steel notice what martin luther said to this same group since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply simple reply i will answer unless i am convinced by scripture and by plain reason and not by popes and counsels who have so so often contradicted themselves my conscience is captive to the word of god to all go against conscience is neither right nor safe i cannot and i will not recant here i stand i can do no other so help me god when it came to obeying the legitimate laws of the state martin luther was an exemplary citizen citizen when it came to the church using the state to enforce the law against the religious convictions of martin luther martin luther was immovable now let's go to revelation chapter 13 and verses 11 to 18. we've just noticed what happened during the period of papal dominion the church allied itself with the state for the state to support the church and anyone who did not agree with the church fell under the punishment of the state now the book of revelation in chapter 13 11 to 18 speaks of another beast that rises from the earth and this beast has two horns like a lamb and then it speaks like a dragon these two horns as i've expounded in previous presentations represents civil and religious liberty one horn is civil liberty the other horn is religious liberty they are not one and the same they are separate on the head of this beast not together as jesus said render therefore to caesar what is caesar's and to god what is god's you know when it comes to taxes that's what we owe caesar when it comes to god we owe him the tithes caesar cannot take a portion of the tithe and the church should not take any remuneration from the civil power from the government because there becomes an entanglement when the church receives support from the state or the state receives support from the church they are to remain totally and completely separate however the book of revelation tells us that this beast that at its beginning has two horns like a lamb in other words it supports civil and religious liberty and we notice that in the first amendment to the constitution it's there the guarantee of religious liberties and civil liberties and so this beast that rises from the earth at first it supports civil and religious liberty but then it speaks like a dragon we are told now it's interesting that if you notice daniel chapter 7 each beast or kingdom is replaced by another kingdom because the following kingdom conquers it by force of arms for example the lion representing babylon is conquered by middle persia medo-persia is conquered by greece and greece is conquered by rome in other words the previous power falls into the hands of the succeeding power but this beast of revelation chapter 13 11 to 18 is very interesting it's different because instead of this power destroying the previous power it actually allies itself with the previous power and acts just like the previous power did now what is the previous power revelation 13 1-10 is referring to the roman catholic papacy the little horn of daniel chapter 7 represents the roman catholic papacy we've already described what happened during the period of papal dominion church and state were united everyone who disagreed the church used the sword of the state to punish heresy to punish convictions of conscience that were contrary to what the church believed amazingly this beast from the earth which at first guarantees civil and religious liberty is going to end up speaking like a dragon it is going to actually do everything to please the first beast you say now how is that well let me make a list i'm not going to read all of the verses because our time is limited but everything that this beast from the earth does it does to please the first beast here is the evidence we're told that the land beast exercises all of the authority of the first beast so notice it exercises all of the authority of the first beast in other words it doesn't knock off the first beast it exercises only all of the authority of the first beast that's revelation 13 verse 12. we're also told that this beast from the earth forces everyone to worship the first beast that's revelation 13 verse 12 as well so it exercises the authority of the first beast it also commands everyone to worship the first beast and the passage continues saying that it will do everything in the presence of the first beast notice it's always in reference to the first beast everything it does it does in the presence of the first beast what does that mean in the presence of the first beast well the niv translates on behalf of the first beast the contemporary english version translates it worked for the first beast and the lexicons explained that it means that this beast acts at the commissioning of the first beast so you'll notice here that this beast that rises from the earth it does everything in the presence of the first beast which means that it works on behalf of the first beast it worked for the first beast it works at the commissioning of the first beast but it doesn't end there because we're told by the way if you want to notice the phrases that i that i just mentioned roman revelation 13 verse 12 and verse 14 but we're also told in verse 15 that this beast from the earth will make an image to the first beast and of the first beast in other words an honor of the first beast and a replica of the first beast that's revelation chapter 13 and verse 15. also we're told that this beast from the earth will enforce the mark of the first beast so you can see that all of the characteristics indicate that this beast from the earth that at first has these two divine principles of civil and religious liberty not the intermingling of church and state is suddenly going to have a change of character or a change of behavior it is going to become a persecuting power it's going to be a replica or an image of the first beast and what is an image of the first beast well the first beast united church and state to persecute which means that if this beast makes an image of the first beast it's going to join church and state and it's going to persecute those who do not comply with the desires of the church incidentally we're also told in revelation chapter 19 verse 20 that this beast from the earth deceived the multitudes by performing signs and wonders in the presence of the first beast so everything that this beast does when it changes its character is relating to the first beast in other words roman catholic principles will be exalted and applied in these united states of america now let's take a couple of biblical examples to amplify what we're talking about let's talk about the three hebrew worthies that were thrown into the fiery furnace this story teaches us tremendous lessons so let's go first of all before we go to daniel 3 let's go to jeremiah 27 jeremiah 27 and verse 8. jeremiah 27 and verse 8. this was a portion of our scripture reading for this morning god told israel and the surrounding nations that they must submit to nebuchadnezzar's power they must obey the civil power notice and it shall be that the nation and kingdom which will not serve nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of babylon that nation god says i will punish says the lord he would punish with the sword the famine and the pestilence until i have consumed them by his hand so god says submit to the power of the king of babylon and if you don't he's not only going to punish you i am going to punish you as well now in spite of god's command to subject themselves to nebuchadnezzar's authority in the valley of dora when king nebuchadnezzar raised this majestic image all of gold and commanded all of the nations represented to bow before it and to worship it there were three young men that said we are not going to do it they were disobeying the king's authority hadn't god said that they were supposed to submit to the king and they were supposed to to obey the authority of king nebuchadnezzar well they're disobeying the law of nebuchadnezzar nebuchadnezzar overstepped the sphere of his legitimate authority he invaded the realm of conscience which belongs only to god a command to worship did not belong to nebuchadnezzar's sphere of authority he established religion in other words he raised up a nibb he says you have to worship this image he is establishing a religious observance a command to worship did not belong to his realm of authority now how did the young men answer the king when it was told nebuchadnezzar that there were three that refused to worship this image by the way nebuchadnezzar lived for a while as a beast so this is an image of the beast and everybody has command to command it to worship and whoever doesn't worship is to be killed this is actually the backdrop to revelation chapter 13 but anyway we we had have more we could say about that but we don't have the time notice the answer of the three young men to the king daniel 3 verse 16 all nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if that is the case our god whom we serve no man can serve two masters see the young man could not serve king nebuchadnezzar and god at that point because if they served nebuchadnezzar's command they would be disobeying god and we need to obey god rather than men so it says if that is the case our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand o king but they're not presumptuous they say but if if god doesn't deliver us we're still servants of god the last verse verse 18 says but if not if god chooses not to deliver us let it be known to you o king that we do not serve your gods nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up they practiced civil disobedience because of their convictions of conscience well you know what happened nebuchadnezzar threw them into the furnace but god intervened and delivered his servants notice god had told them to be subject they disobeyed the king's laws and in spite of the fact that god had said he was going to punish those who did not obey the king god actually rewards these three young men because nebuchadnezzar the civil power overstill overstepped his realm of authority let's take another story from the book of daniel when daniel was thrown into the lion's den this is in daniel chapter 6. now this story is a little bit different because in daniel chapter 3 king nebuchadnezzar is establishing religion but in daniel chapter 6 we find king darius prohibiting the free exercise of religion in other words he's saying you cannot pray for 30 days to any god or to any man other than to the king and so basically what doris is doing he is eliminating the free exercise of religion whereas nebuchadnezzar established religion well you notice what happened what happened is that the king gave this a law that nobody could make a request of god or man for 30 days except the king and daniel he opened the windows of his chamber and knelt toward jerusalem and prayed three times a day as it was his his custom where did he end up he ended up in the den of lions now let me ask you did darius have the authority to give a decree that people could not make a request of their god for 30 days of course not he is legislating religion he is giving a law that restricts the practice of religion the free exercise of religion he's overstepping his bounds and even though daniel was an exemplary citizen when it came to civil laws he practiced civil disobedience because darius overstepped his realm of authority it's interesting to notice that even after daniel was taken out of the lion's den that daniel told the king he told darius you know i have done you no wrong and i have done god no wrong notice daniel chapter 6 verse 21 and verse 22 o king live forever my god sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths so that they have not hurt me now notice because i was found innocent before him and also o king i have do done no wrong before you in other words i have been obedient to your legitimate civil laws and i have been obedient to god's moral law ellen white wrote in fundamentals of christian education page 78 the following words daniel possessed the grace of genuine meekness he was true firm and noble he sought to live in peace with all but notice this while he was unbending as the lofty seater wherever principal was involved in everything that did not come in collision with his allegiance to god he was respectful and obedient to those who had authority over him but he had so high a sense of the claims of god that the requirements of earthly rulers were held subordinate he would not be induced by any selfish consideration to swerve his duty his duty swerve from his duty ellen white explained the limits of the government or the civil power in great conversation 201 she wrote to protect liberty of conscience is the duty of the state so what does the state owe us it owes protection of our conscience to worship god according to the dictates of our conscience not legislating religion in harmony with what the church wants so once again to protect liberty of conscience is the duty of the state and this is the limit of its authority in matters of religion so what is the duty of a state to protect liberty of conscience and she says this is the limit of its authority and matters of religion every secular government that attempts to regulate or enforce religious observances by civil authority is practicing is sacrificing excuse me the very principle for which the evangelical christian so nobly struggled the civil power cannot legislate anything relating to the first table of the law of god because the first commandments describe our allegiance to god our duty towards god not the state a person can have 100 gods worship idols abuse god's name or keep any day they want or no day without the interference of the civil power president john f kennedy explained it beautifully this way and it's interesting that john f kennedy was a roman catholic i might say a very liberal roman catholic not a conservative one but notice what he said about the relationship between church and state it is this is february 23 1959 it is my firm belief that there should be separation of church and state in the united states that is that both church and state should be free to operate without interference from each other in their respective areas of jurisdiction we live in a liberal democratic society which embraces wide varieties of belief and disbelief there is no doubt in my mind that the pluralism which has developed under our constitution providing as it does a framework within which diverse opinions can exist side by side and by their interaction enrich the whole is the most ideal system yet devised by man i would phrase that differently yet devised by god but anyway he continues i cannot conceive of a set of circumstances which would lead me to a different conclusion timothy hall who wrote a very interesting book separating church and state wrote the following words speaking about roger williams nor did williams think that toleration required believers in different faiths to leave one another alone one another alone you know because the pope is saying today oh let's just all get along let's not criticize other churches roger williams says no roger williams says nor did williams think that toleration required believers in different faiths to leave one another alone prosecution in other words trying to win converse from other churches for him was entirely consistent with religious liberty he believed in a militant faith although one whose militancy expressed itself through spiritual weapons such as preaching and persuasion and prayer rather than through civic violence the religious toleration williams advocated was one that would leave believers free to undertake spiritual warfare against spiritual error fantastic the religious toleration williams advocated was one that would lead believers free to undertake spiritual warfare not literal warfare spiritual warfare against spiritual error he sought to sheath the civil sword in other words put the civil sword away so that the sword of spiritual truth could be wielded against apostasy and unbelief he had a clear view of the idea of separation of church and state and the legitimate authority of each power within its realm ellen white warned us not to fight for our civil rights when conscience is not involved i'm going to repeat that again ellen white warned us not to fight for our civil rights when conscience is not involved this is what she wrote in let's see manuscript 22 a 1895 pages four through six in cases where we are brought before the courts we are to give up our rights and obviously he's talking about civil rights for what i'm going to read now in cases where we are brought before the courts we are to give up our rights unless it brings us in collision with god so she's talking about civil rights here she continues it is not our rights it's civil rights that she's talking about it is not our rights we are pleading for but god's right to our service instead of resisting the penalties imposed unjustly upon us that that is for the violation of civil law folks instead once again instead of resisting the penalties imposed unjustly upon us it would be better to take heed to the savior's words when they persecute you in this city flee yet ye to another for verily i say unto you ye shall not have gone over the cities of israel till the son of man be come however ellen white also wrote then when consciousness that when conscious is involved it's a different story we are not to give up our rights when it comes to religion this is what she wrote in reviewing herald december 11 1888 the prophecies that show us the closing scenes of earth's history are fast fulfilling the time is fast approaching when we shall be made to feel the hand of oppression listen carefully now because we demand our religious rights so notice she says even if the government turns against us in violating our civil rights she says we shouldn't fight but when it comes to our religious rights different story once again the statement reads the prophecies that show us the closing scenes of earth's history are fast fulfilling the time is fast approaching when we shall be made to feel the hand of oppression because we demand our religious rights shall we then dishonor god by keeping silent when his holy commandments are being trampled underfoot in other words when religious rights are violated do we keep quiet don't we say anything now the question is how does all of this theory that we've studied this morning apply to specific cases in these united states of america today well this is actually the second presentation in a series of installments last week as i mentioned we spoke about the christians duty to the state today we're talking about the principles regarding the duty of the state towards people who belong to the church but how does this apply to specific examples within society today you know not only can the state violate our conscience when it intermedals with the first four commandments of god's law but also when it meddles with the last six commandments of god's law the state can also violate our rights of conscience when it enforces laws regarding the second table of the law and you say well how is this well let me ask you this what if there were to be a law where the civil power tells a preacher you cannot counsel a gay person to try and show them that god created this individual either male or female and that they should live according to their gender what if there were a lot were a law that said you can't counsel someone who is gay to uh you know change uh their point of view uh because uh there's a law of the state that says that when an individual is gay they were born that way and you have to leave that person that way would the minister simply fold his arms and say well you know there's a law of the state that says that i can't counsel people spiritually about what gender they had when they were born no in that case the state is violating listen carefully the state is violating the religious rights of the minister and the minister has the right to disobey the civil law because the civil law is interfering with a religious right that the pastor has to counsel members of the church or even non-members of his church let's take another example what if a gay person comes and asks a preacher to marry this gay couple it's the law of the land that gay marriage is accepted it's the law of the united states of america so what if there was a law that said that ministers are not exempt ministers have to perform gay marriages now this isn't dealing with the first four commandments this is dealing with the seventh commandment what would the minister do what do you say well you know there's a civil law that says that i have to marry a gay couple and so i have no choice because i'm a good citizen i have to obey civil law or would the minister have a right to disobey i sustained that the minister would have a right to disobey for the simple reason that it is a violation of his religious convictions that marriage is between a man and a woman so it would be legitimate even to disobey civil laws if civil laws interfere with the conscience of the individual now do you know that some day soon and i'll end with this there's going to be a national sunday law that will require everyone to observe sunday and eventually forbid the observance of the sabbath it will be a civil law but it's a civil law imposing religious observance observances and forbidding the free exercise of religion what would we do obey the civil law and violate our conscience no because we owe our allegiance our supreme allegiance to god not even to the civil power especially when it infringes upon the rights of conscience in our next study together we're going to unpack several of these examples where our conscience can also be violated with regards to the last six commandments i trust that our study today has been useful let's be kind to everyone but let's be firm as a rock when it comes to principle god bless come lift your voices and sing with us hymn number 286 wonderful words of life [Music] of life [Music] beautiful word wonderful birth of life christ the blessed one gives to allah [Music] beautiful [Music] word of life [Music] wonderful words of life [Music] wonderful words of life [Music] [Applause] [Music] wonderful words [Music] let's pray father in heaven as we've studied what the bible has to say about the two kingdoms the kingdom of this world and god's kingdom we look at the world today and we realize that we are living in the last remnant of time awesome things are happening in the world today awesome things are happening in these united states of america slowly but surely we are losing our liberties i ask lord that you will be with us in the trying times ahead that you will give us the necessary faith to go through the tribulation successfully we ask that you will help us to study your words so that we might be able to give a reason for what we believe when we are brought before the great thinkers and the great men of the earth we thank you lord for having been with us in our study we ask that you will take what we have studied and write it in our minds and in our hearts we pray in the precious name of jesus amen [Music] you

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Published: Fri Sep 17 2021