"How Should Christians Respond to President Biden?" | January 17, 2021

hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing in and through first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well good morning and welcome to worship that first baptist dallas today let's stand together welcome guest high campus viewers let's see praise to the lord the almighty the king of creation for my soul grace [Music] join me [Music] work and defend thee surely his goodness and mercy your daily uh [Music] if psalm 150 declares praise the lord praise god in his sanctuary praise him in his mighty heavens praise him for his mighty acts of power praise him for his surpassing greatness and let everything that has breath praise the lord [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] sound from his people again [Music] [Music] give praise to our lord and savior this morning he's a lion of the tribe of judah and the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world let's declare together he's coming on the clouds kings and kingdoms will bow down and every chain will break and every chain will break as broken hearts declare his praise who can stop the lord almighty our god is [Music] [Applause] [Music] our god is [Music] oh [Music] our god who calls us [Music] [Music] our god is [Music] his blood breaks the chains [Music] oh [Music] we worship you [Music] who can stop the lord almighty who can stop the lord [Music] no almighty who can stop the lord [Music] our god is [Music] our god is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] foreign amen we'll praise the lord together you may be seated wonderful worship as we get going in our morning worship service here at first baptist dallas it's great to see each and every one of you today and we want to especially welcome the guests who are joining us both here in the room in downtown dallas as well as on icampus we have a very special gift just for you it's our pastor's brand new book praying for america 40 inspiring stories and prayers for our nation guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide you'll find and close this guest card please take the time to fill this out keep the card with you at the conclusion of the service take it outside our main worship center doors to one of many of our guest gift tables located around our campus and you can exchange this completed card for your gift today as well as our staff will answer answer any questions you may have regarding our church those joining us on icampus we also have a very special gift just for you lots of exciting events are taking place here in the life of our church so let's all take a look together at the screen well good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today and we want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events our discipleship university semester is now underway online and there is still time to join a class we have an excellent selection of classes and teachers you can find a full list of classes and zoom links on our website if you're a guest with us this morning we would love to invite you to sign up for first step on sunday january 31st both on campus and online in this class you will learn all about the beliefs ministries staff and campus of first baptist dallas ladies we are excited to host our heartstrong faith conference both in person and online on february 26th and 27th tickets are now on sale for a weekend of fellowship and an incredible lineup of speakers finally it's good to gather together to worship as we continue to reopen our church and our ministries in the new year you can help us maintain a healthy environment for everyone by wearing your mask practicing social distancing and using our hand sanitizing stations for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstdallas.org slash events our scripture reading this morning will be foundational for the pastor's message very important message to come in just a few moments here in our service we're reading from romans chapter 13 and we'll read the first four verses we'll be reading from the new american standard bible and those will be the words you'll see on the screens both here in the worship center and on icampus as well so that all can read god's word there's something about reading god's word aloud that really cements it in our hearts so we hope you'll take part in that we stand honor the reading of god's word so stand with me as we read romans chapter 13 beginning with verse one ending with verse four let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from god and those which exist are established by god therefore he who resist authority has opposed the ordinance of god and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves for rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil do you want to have no fear of authority do what is good and you will have praise from the same for it is a minister of god to you for good but if you do what is evil be afraid for it does not bear the sword for nothing for it is a minister of god an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil may god richly bless the reading of his word let's keep standing together as tyler comes back to lead us in more worship [Music] calling chains are falling hope is dawning bright and true day is breaking night is is making all things you're the heart of heaven beating jesus saves jesus and the hush of mercy breathing jesus saves jesus saved in the host of angels glory to [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] sorrow sharing jesus says jesus says he will die our burden bury jesus saves jesus says [Music] jesus bright and true [Music] is [Music] together [Music] forever rising lows [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we believe that this morning jesus saves you may be seated as ben lavorne our executive pastor comes now with a special word thank you tyler jesus saves and that's why we are here this morning amen that is the message that we have for the world and today's a big day in the life of our church here at first baptist dallas our pastor will be bringing a special message we are opening the expansion of our horner family center and it's also best gift sunday as you know we started on january 1st mission 1a courageous our two-year ministry strategy to deliver the gospel jesus saves to our city to our nation and to our world and the world certainly needs to hear that message so we've asked you to bring your best gift toward this two-year ministry strategy by giving at the front of this two-year time period it helps us to build momentum as we move forward so as you exit the worship center today you can leave your tithes and your offerings in the boxes at the exits if you're worshiping with us on the icampus today you can mail those in or you can give online this morning at firstdallas.org forward slash give online but during this time of commitment we'll go to the lord in prayer together so i'll ask you as you're able to lean all over the worship center as we approach his throne gracious heavenly father we praise you this morning as our god as our lord as our king and as we celebrate your mighty works we come before you humbly we come before you as your people being conformed to the image of our lord and savior jesus christ who came and died and rose again so that we could be redeemed and reconciled to you so that we could be commissioned for your service and even as we celebrate this morning and we reflect on all that you have done and you're doing lord we're reminded of the fallen nature of this world we're reminded of the brokenness and the sin that's so prevalent and so we pray for those who are facing sickness brokenness and loss we're grieved lord by the division the hate the violence that we see in our nation much less throughout the entire world and we pray for your divine intervention we pray that you would comfort the brokenhearted we pray that you would heal wounded spirits we pray lord that you would turn the lost to you and we pray that you would equip us to serve as your ambassadors of light to the world and so this morning as we give to you our tithes and offerings we give to you a spiritual sacrifice of worship acknowledging you as our god and our king and we pray lord that these resources would be used to make disciples of all nations as we look forward to your kingdom to the day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that jesus christ is lord and we pray this all in the saving name of jesus [Music] amen [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] the conflict and the sun refuses to shine for there he cries [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Applause] yet in my heart not all prisoners the war had come home [Music] i didn't know that the war had been [Music] the won he has [Music] [Applause] [Music] victory [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] yes it is finished some of christ's final words on the cross that phrase it is finished comes from the greek word tetelestai paid in full and that's our message because christ has paid in full the payment for our sins we can be assured of ultimate victory thank you so much andy tyler first dallas choir music ministry for your music today we want to welcome the multitude of you who've joined us in our day one service and the multitude of you who are watching on our first dallas eye campus and on our pathway to victory television program and radio program we're so glad you joined us for worship today at first baptist dallas and today i'm bringing a very special message tuesday afternoon i was driving down harry hines boulevard and the telephone rang and the person on the other end said this is the white house operator the president would like to talk to you from air force one can you take the call and so i quickly pulled into a convenience store parking lot and parked my car and was on the line when the president came on and first of all he asked about our church and he wanted me to extend his best his greeting to each of you and uh he's doing well in spite of all the things you may read he's doing well and we talked about the election we talked about the last four years and i said to him mr president i believe you will go down and be remembered as the most pro-life pro-religious liberty president in history and we all thank you for that i believe that believe that with all of my heart and that's why i was disappointed and millions of people were disappointed over the outcome of the election nevertheless this coming wednesday joe biden is going to be inaugurated as the next president of the united states we need to understand that he is going to be the next president of the united states but i want to tell you this morning i'm not depressed i'm not discouraged i'm not downtrodden over that fact for one simple reason even though the occupant of the oval office is changing this week the occupant of the throne in heaven is not changing at all god is on his throne in heaven and that's what i want to talk about today even though we have a change in presidents there are four things about our eternal god that have not changed and they never will change and in light of that we're going to answer the question today how should christians respond to president biden pastor what is it that hasn't changed about god well the first thing that hasn't changed about god is god's sovereignty has not changed god's sovereignty has not changed what do we mean when we talk about the sovereignty of god god's sovereignty refers to his rule over everything that happens in this universe the bible declares very clearly in psalm 103 verse 19 the lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over what all god is not just part sovereign he's not just semi-in control of what's happening in the world he is in control of everything you can't be semi-sovereign any more than you can be semi-pregnant ladies you either are or you're not it's one or the other and it's true with being in charge you're either in charge of everything or you're really not in charge of much of anything the bible says god is in charge of everything that happens psalm 115 verse 3 says but our god is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases job 42 verse 2 job said about god i know that you can do anything and that no one can stop you in ephesians 1 11 paul declared we have obtained an inheritance having been been predestined according to god's purpose who works all things after the council of his will will you notice by the way that word will in ephesians 1 11 is singular god doesn't have multiple wills he doesn't have a plan a and a plan b and a plan c god doesn't say no if this doesn't work out the way i want to then we'll do this and if this doesn't work out then we'll do this no he has one will one plan that governs everything that happens in the universe it's a secret plan we can't see what it is right now but he has a plan and he causes all things that happen in the world and in your life to achieve that plan i mean think about it god's will whatever it is as big as it is is big enough to encompass lucifer's rebellion against god in heaven adam and eve's sin in the garden the murder of thousands of hebrew babies in egypt god's will is big enough to even include the torture and the unjust death of his own son jesus christ god's will includes all things god works all things after the counsel of his will and ladies and gentlemen all things includes elections god works all things after the counsel of his will it was exactly five years ago this coming saturday january of 2016 that there were 16 people running for the republican nomination for president of the united states and in january of 2016 not one vote had been cast in a primary or a caucus most people laughed off the idea of donald trump ever becoming president but five years ago this saturday january of 2016 i was flying around iowa with then businessman donald trump introducing him at campaign rallies uh leading in prayer and on that saturday between campaign stops we were 30 000 feet in the air looking down on the frozen tundra of iowa and we had just uh had our wendy's cheeseburgers for lunch his campaign manager it was a skeleton operation back then there were three of them and his campaign manager had gone through the drive-through at wendy's and picked up some hamburgers and we were eating our hamburgers and mr trump and i were splitting a bag of french fries and after we had finished lunch we were talking and i said mr trump i believe you're going to be the next president of the united states and if that happens it's because god has a great plan for you and for our nation he said do you really believe that robert i said yes sir i do he paused for a few moments thought he said okay i've got a question for you do you think it was god's will for obama to be president of the united states i said yes sir i do daniel 2 21 says it is god who establishes kings and removes kings god is the one who determines all authority he's in control of all of it in fact you look at the scripture over and over again it affirms god's sovereignty even over human government listen to the words of romans chapter 13 verses 1 and 2. every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities we're to obey the government why for there is no authority except from god and those which exist are established by god therefore he who resists government authority has opposed the ordinance of god and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves i want you to think about that astounding comment there is no authority there is no government that exists anywhere at any time in history that was not established by god think about it that includes hitler stalin mussolini there is not one government the bible says that was not established by god were those evil governments absolutely when paul wrote these words when he was writing that there's no establishment that hasn't been established by god there was one governing authority in the world you know who it was it was the roman emperor nero the most evil of all roman emperors nero was the one who took christians and he would dip them in wax and set them on fire to be human torches in his gardens that was nero and yet paul was writing that nero was established by god by the way it was nero who just a few years later would have paul beheaded 30 years before that paul wrote those words in 60 80. 30 years before that tiberius was the emperor of rome and that governed the entire world and do you remember in acts 2 23 7 weeks after the crucifixion and resurrection of jesus christ peter stood on the southern steps in temp of the temple and preached that famous sermon at pentecost and in verse 23 of acts 2 he said this man jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of god you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and you put him to death he said jesus death was no accident it was part of god's predetermined plan but that predetermined plan was accomplished by godless men specifically godless government officials i mean think about it had tiberius not been emperor of rome pontius pilate would not have been appointed as the governor of judea there could have not been a trial of jesus it could have turned out differently but god used evil human government to accomplish his purpose let me tell you something on tuesday night november 3rd god didn't slap his forehead and said oh i can't believe what's happening in this election look at what's happening to pennsylvania oh no what are we going to do biden is winning he didn't do that there was no panic in heaven over the election there is nothing that happens outside the sovereign plan of god does that mean everything joe biden is going to do is going to be great no god can use imperfect people and every government official is imperfect god uses imperfect wrong things that people do and for which people will be held accountable he uses those to accomplish his perfect will so what is our responsibility to human authority to government authority what does the word of god say it's not what do i think what do i want what is the bible saying it says we are to be in subjection to the governing authorities we need to obey the governing if we resist government it's the same as resisting the god who put government into place ladies and gentlemen we don't have any right as christians to overthrow a government we don't like we do not have that right to resist government authority is to resist god himself just because you don't like the government doesn't mean you get to overthrow it and resist it i mean think about jesus did he call for an overthrow of the roman government no and they were the ones who would put him to death instead he said pay your taxes to that evil government render unto caesar the things that are caesar's now what about paul did he say turn over the roman government get rid of it lead a rebellion against nero no he said be in subjection to the governing officials now there's one exception to that the bible says in acts 5 29 when you're asked to do something you're asked not somebody else's ass you're asked to do something by the government that violates god's law acts 5 29 says we ought to obey god rather than men we ought to obey god rather than men but that's not the same thing as saying if government is doing something that is in opposition of scripture just before i came in here i was looking at the chat room of people in our uh first dallas eye campus and somebody wrote in the biden administration supports unrestricted abortion which is true are you saying we're supposed to obey that kind of government yes we're not to get an abortion but that doesn't mean we get to overthrow a government because they have anti-scriptural anti-god policies we can push back we can try to vote them out of office but we have no right to lead a rebellion against the governing authorities the bible says we're to be in subjection to those governing authorities that's exactly what the word of god says and we have an obligation now i'm going to talk about pushing back in just a few moments but we are to obey the governing authorities that's our first responsibility secondly we're to pray for the government leaders we're to pray for joe biden and we're to pray for kamala harris and we're to pray for every elected official in 1st peter chapter 2. paul said first of all then i urge that in treaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgiving need be made on behalf of all men for kings and all those who are in authority we don't just pray for the government leaders we voted for the ones that we like are the ones that we support we are to pray for all of them why so that we might live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity we ought to pray for their wisdom and what they do and we pray most of all that they would leave us alone to practice our faith that's what paul's saying is here that's the best prayer you can pray for government pray that government will just leave us alone and allow us to practice our faith no the bible says even though the election has changed god's sovereignty has not changed he is in control now to be honest with you the sovereignty of god in and of itself isn't always that comforting of a truth because if god's will encompasses all things not only does it include elections it includes cancer and car wrecks so you have to balance the sovereignty of god with another important truth about god that hasn't changed and that is god's love for you has not changed god's love for you has not changed god's sovereign plan that governs the universe in your life is a plan that is conceived in love by a compassionate god aren't you glad we serve a god who loves us who cares about us you know it was the former speaker of the house tip o'neill who said all politics are local and by that he meant people's concern about government is really a concern about how government is going to affect their life i'm sure there are many people out there who didn't vote for the new president who are fearful of the future they want to know is this new administration going to make it harder for me to find a job or keep my job is it going to lead to a collapse in my 401k retirement plan is lawlessness going to increase and decrease the value of my home and my neighborhood am i going to be persecuted for my faith many people are concerned about the future and what this present administration new administration might mean to us the truth is i can't answer whether any or all of those things or none of those things is going to happen but what i can tell you with absolute certainty is god's plan for your life has not changed and it is a plan that was developed and designed by a loving god in psalm 103 verse 8 the psalmist said the lord is compassionate and gracious slow to anger and abounding and loving kindness psalm 107 verse 1 oh give thanks to the lord for he is good for his loving kindness is everlasting first john 4 8 the one who does not love does not know god for god is love ladies and gentlemen if you have trusted in jesus christ for the forgiveness of your sins you have a loving god who is watching out for your life and remember jesus promise in john 10 28 and 29 he said i give eternal life to them and they shall never perish no man shall snatch out of my hands those whom the father has given me you are in the grip of god if you're a christian and no election is going to change that god has a plan he's working out and that plan is for your good i think about paul's words in romans 8 remember the climax verses 31 and 32 he said if god is for us who can be against us he who did not spare his own son for us but gave him up for us all will that same god not also freely give us everything else that verse is not promising that you won't have any adverse circumstances in your life over the next four years it's not promising that at all but it is promising when you face adversity you don't face that adversity alone you have a great god who is for you he's not against you and if he's for you what difference does anything else really make maybe you saw the movie that came out years ago called the bear and in one of the final scenes of that movie a little cub little bear fuzzy bear was out by itself and a mountain lion was threatening its life and the mountain lion was snarling and moving in for the kill when that little fuzzy cub reared back on its hind legs and let out a growl the best it could summon it wasn't much but amazingly that mountain lion started to retreat and as the camera pulled back you saw why because behind that little cub was daddy bear reared back on his hind legs letting out a ferocious growl we have a father in heaven who is behind us who is watching out for us who is protecting us and that's why we have nothing to fear i think about the words of donald gray barnhouse who said there is no will or act of creatures men of angels or demons that can do other than work for our good no dog can bark against us no man can act or speak against us no sinister plot of evil can be against us but all must be for our good there is no phenomenon of nature fire flood storm or earthquake that can work us any ultimate ill the law of gravity cannot cause anything to fall upon us unless it has been sifted through the will of god and his purpose for our good somebody said it this way there is nothing that can come into the life of a child of god that has not first of all been sifted through the love of god the plan of god the wisdom of god and if it's come that far into our life it's come for some good and glorious purpose this election did not change god's love for his people there's a third thing that has not changed because of this election that is god's promise of christ's return has not changed you probably saw this a few weeks before the election in november a well-known televangelist made a startling prediction he said a number of things actually he said first of all with absolute certainty donald trump is going to be the next president he's going to win again he said after that time there's going to be a war against israel a giant asteroid followed five years later by the return of jesus christ but then he added as a caveat he said but of course as matthew 24 36 says no man knows the hour or the day not even the angels or even the son of god but only the father alone you know since christ ascended into heaven for the last 2000 years people have tried to predict the date of christ's return don't do it jesus himself said no man knows the hour of the day but what most people miss in that verse is what jesus was also saying jesus was also affirming there is a day month hour moment already recorded on god's calendar when the father will say to the son it's time and christ will come to reclaim this world that is in temporary control of satan christ is coming back again and that's the good news every christian has to look forward to and there is nothing that happens including a presidential election that is either going to accelerate or delay that already recorded moment on god's calendar of christ's certain return that's what our hope is that is good news now the bible also gives us some not so good news and the not so good news is before christ's return things are going to get tough they're going to get rocky in fact in second timothy 3 1 paul says it this way but mark this there will be terrible times in the last days now there are two phrases there first of all the last days in the last days they're going to be terrible times what does it mean the last days are we living in the last days in the new testament the phrase last days is used two different ways sometimes the phrase last days means that interval between the first coming of jesus and the second coming well by that standard we're definitely in the last days christ has already come the first time to die for our sins he's back in heaven we're in that in between time before his second coming so we're in the last days in that sense but the term last day sometimes also in scripture refers to the days immediately before the second coming of jesus the days of the great tribulation before the visible return of jesus christ and he says in the last days there will be and here's the second phrase terrible times that phrase terrible times comes from a word that is only used twice in the greek new testament here and then in matthew 8 28 when it refers to some demon-possessed men who were terrible it literally means without moral restraint it means fierce violent dangerous frightening you could paraphrase this verse this way in the last days savage times will come as people cast off all moral restraint and society begins to disintegrate doesn't that describe the time we're living in right now when people have cast off the restraints that god has put into place you see that all around you whether it's regarding gender fluidity same-sex marriage unrestricted abortion all of these things are the result of a society that has thrown off god's restraints one theologian has described the three stages of a moral revolution in a country stage one those things that were celebrated are now condemned stage two those things once condemned are now celebrated and stage three those who refuse to celebrate are condemned we're seeing that in our society right now those things that were so long ago and not really that long ago those things that were celebrated virtues that were celebrated the new culture condemns those things that were unspeakable a few decades ago are now celebrated and if you don't follow society and celebrate with them you're condemned by society and that's what the problem is in society we're going to see it intensifying if the church refuses to join in the celebration of immorality and ungodliness there's going to be a problem if you've got the culture celebrating while the church is condemning you know what that produces it produces friction friction when you're going against the culture when you're going against the government in john 16 33 jesus said in this world you're going to have tribulation that greek word tribulation means pressure there is going to be pressure whenever the church condemns what society is celebrating and i believe that's what we're going to see happen very very quickly over these next four years now this is not a partisan sermon i'm not preaching from a partisan position but let's just be honest about the new administration and what they've already stated is going to be their policy for example take the issue of gender fluidity gender identity the idea that there is no set gender you get to choose whether you're a male or female and you need to respect the right of other people to do that look gender confusion is an emotional psychological problem that ought to be treated compassionately but it doesn't need to be treated it's an emotional disorder it doesn't need to be valid validated uh it can't be validated it needs to be treated and yet you've got a new administration that wants to promote the right of people to choose their own gender and and choose the gender of their children as well just two weeks ago the speaker of the house nancy pelosi passed a rule for the congress the house of representatives that no longer can you use gender-specific language in the house you can't talk about men and women husbands and wives mothers and fathers instead you need to use gender inclusive language persons siblings parents and so forth that is a complete violation of what god says the bible says god created them male and female that is an ungodly policy or take the issue of same-sex marriage in 2015 the supreme court in the old burgerfeld decision said we're going to change god's definition of marriage marriage is now whatever you want it to be two men two women that is now marriage and our new president certainly pushed for that with his boss championed that position to the supreme court but now the new administration has said we are going to go after organizations that refuse to celebrate that expansive view of marriage and you watch it you're going to see more and more organizations that refuse to join in the celebration of immoral marriages you're going to see those organizations condemned or think about the area of abortion the taking of the life of the unborn it's no secret there's no apology for it the new administration supports unrestricted abortion the slaughter of an unborn child for any reason you don't like the gender of the child get rid of it the child's inconvenient get rid of it any reason at all an abortion at any time in the mother's pregnancy up until the time the child's in the birth canal of the mother you said a pastor you're exaggerating they don't believe that really then ask the new administration ask anybody of the incoming party what restriction they would place on abortion they will not name one restriction not one they believe abortion at any time for any reason just look at the new secretary of health and human services that the new administration is proposing javier becerra he is currently the attorney general in california he has supported prosecuting organizations that criticize planned parenthood he wants them arrested and shut down this new secretary of hhs has said that pregnancy centers operated by churches like ours ought to be forced to suggest or abortion as an alternative for a mother that's the new incoming administration so when you've got an administration a government that is celebrating what god has condemned and the church condemning what they are celebrating ladies and gentlemen there's going to be friction there's going to be pressure there's going to be persecution peter said in first peter 4 12 brethren don't be surprised at the fiery ordeal that's come upon you for your testing as though some strange things were happening to you you ought to expect that whenever the church of jesus christ is going against the culture there is going to be a problem and we need to get ready for that we need to get ready for the fact that a church that is known for 152 years for being built on the bible for standing for god's truth we've got a bull's-eye on our back and we need to be ready for the fact that there's going to be in pressure governmental pressure to restrain our ability to preach and teach the eternal truths of god's word without consequence i think at the very least you're going to see a thread of our tax-exempt status in churches like ours that continue to preach and teach things which society opposes now i want to be very clear about this i hadn't planned to get into this but i'm going to get into it what happened two weeks ago at the capitol was horrendous those people who marched into that capital and assaulted and killed police officers and especially the ones who carried banners saying jesus saves they are despicable human beings and they ought to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law those men and women they were not doing god's work they were doing satan's work jesus said in john 8 44 satan is a murderer anybody who cr involves himself in violence and murder especially of law enforcement they are tools of the devil doing his work i denounce it with every fiber of my being but have you seen now what the tendency is we've got to deal with this and we do have to deal with it but one of the proposed solutions is to limit free speech we've got to shut down any speech that might incite that kind of violence well most people would agree with that but where do you stop there are other people who say you know we've had such a tough four years we need to just get rid of any speech in the public square that is poisonous that is uh hurtful that diminishes other human beings one representative proposed a ministry of truth to be able to regulate what is put out by the press it's not hard to see at all once you go there it's not hard to see at all how christians who say that there's only one way to salvation and that's through faith in jesus christ without christ we're destined to any eternity of hell that's hate speech that's hate speech and once you allow the government to start controlling speech it's not a very long trip to the persecution of the church at all and we need to get ready for it it is coming but here's the good news we don't have to fear it we don't have to worry about it yes we ought to push back against it remember the apostle paul himself spent two years fighting the roman government over his right as a roman citizen to preach the gospel we do need to push back but we can also be hopeful because all of these things these terrible times are temporary and they are simply a prelude to the greatest event of all the return of jesus christ william barkley says history is moving towards the inevitable triumph of god and though evil may flourish it cannot in the end be triumphant do you remember our study in the book of revelation in revelation chapter 10. that announcement that came that the long delay of christ's return is just about over and that when that seventh angel blows the seventh trumpet the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our god my predecessor my pastor for so many years dr crystal said one time about that passage never forget that somewhere beyond the starry sky there stands that herald angel with a trumpet in hand and at the appointed moment on god's calendar he will sound the trumpet and the kingdom of this earth will become the kingdom of our god that's what we look forward to and nothing no election is going to change the triumphant return of jesus christ and that leads me to one final thing that has not changed because of this election and that is god's mission for the church has not changed it has not changed before he ascended back into heaven remember what jesus said to his apostles he said go into all the world and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the father son and holy spirit teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i commanded you and although i'm with you always always even until the end of the age until that moment of christ's return we're to be doing one thing we're to be focusing our time our energy our money on one thing leading as many people to faith in christ as possible and helping them follow christ in every part of their life daniel henderson is a gifted writer i was reading this week something he wrote about the church he said most christians today envision their christian life as a luxury cruise on the way to heaven they have their ticket on the luxury cruise through their faith in jesus christ the cruise ship is the church the pastor is the captain of the ship there to ensure that their journey is a pleasant one the staff is the crew of the ship making sure that their spiritual food and entertainment and family activities are all to their liking but then henderson says in truth the church is not a cruise ship we are a battleship on a search and rescue mission to find as many lost people as we can and save them before the lord returns that's a great picture of our church we are a battleship and battleship first baptist dallas for the last four years we have been operating in some fairly calm waters in a faith-friendly administration that's getting ready to change we're getting ready to enter into some choppy seas but we have no reason to fear the mission hasn't changed and the captain of our ship jesus christ is in control and he has promised upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and no election can change that let's bow together in a word of prayer i'm asking no one to leave no one to move for any reason i realize there's some hearing in day one some of you watching on television or listening by radio who may not know christ as your savior jesus said don't fear only those who can kill the body instead fear the one person who can destroy both the body and the soul every other issue in life is secondary except this issue how can i be right with the god who made me how can i find the forgiveness for my sins so that i'm invited into the heaven god is preparing for me what can i do to be right before god there's only one thing we can do and that is to trust in christ for the forgiveness of our sins as the choir saying a few moments ago jesus said it is finished paid in full jesus has paid our sin debt for us but we have to receive that forgiveness in our life and today if you've never received the forgiveness that god offers you if you'd like to begin a relationship with the god who has a wonderful plan for your life i want to invite you wherever you are to pray this prayer in your heart as i prayed out loud would you pray with me dear god thank you for loving me i know i have failed you in so many ways and i'm truly sorry for the sins in my life but i believe what i've heard today that you love me so much you sent your son jesus to die on the cross for me to take the punishment from you god that i deserve to take and right now i'm trusting in what jesus did for me not in my good works but in what jesus did for me to save me from my sins thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life following you in jesus name amen if you're watching online and you prayed that prayer with me i want you right now to go to the top of your screen there's a link for you to click on i prayed the prayer to trust in christ as soon as you click on that link i'll be notified of your decision and i have some free material i want to send you about what it means now to live as a christian please don't wait right now go click on that link as for those of you in day one or if you're here in our worship center if you prayed that prayer with me i'm gonna ask you to take out your welcome card and check the third box that says i prayed the prayer with dr jeffress i'd love to send that material to you as well you may be a guest here you can check the first box maybe you'd like more information about our church maybe you'd like to join first baptist dallas today you can check that final box but we're going to do something a little different today if you have filled out this card what we would like to do is we'd like to exchange it for a copy of my recent book praying for america 40 and 40 inspiring stories of faith in our country's history we'd like to give that hardback book to you today all you have to do is take your card if you're a guest or you made a decision go to one of the many tables outside on the concourse and exchange your card for a copy of the book you don't have to talk to anybody just hand them the card and they will give you a book so thank you so much for doing that today today is the dedication of our horner family center expansion almost 90 000 feet square feet of new space for our children and preschool area and this is going to be such a great help to us because now all of our families can meet in one building and park in one building doesn't matter a preschool children our youth department our college department our young adults are all in this marvelous building and so i want to thank first of all our planning and development committee mark lavorne and their committee i want to thank ben lavorne who oversaw the project and all of our staff but most of all i want to thank you who contributed so generously to make this a reality you know so many churches are figuring out how to get young adults back into church and children into church we're figuring out how to take care of all of them that are coming here and god has given us a great problem but because of your generosity he's given us a great solution i hope today sometime maybe after sunday school when you finish you'll walk over there and see it for yourself what god has done through you but right now i want to direct your attention to the screen we are so excited to finally host the grand opening of our horner family center expansion in 2020 while many churches closed their doors the first baptist church of dallas not only continued to operate but we continued to grow as we welcome more and more new families who joined our church and completed the construction of our expansion despite the shutdowns only god could have accomplished this today i'm so excited to join with other staff members and members of our planning and development committee to officially welcome you to our expanded and complete horner family center with two additional floors we're ready to welcome members and guests to our new family center where children students college and young married adults can all gather in one building we're ready to welcome even more children as we intentionally teach boys and girls that the bible is real and it is true [Music] we are ready to host pre-teens in their brand new space in the same building as the rest of the children's ministry we're ready for the new students the lord will bring to our ministry in the days ahead we're ready to minister to college students in our new space on floor 7. we're ready to welcome young families and support them in their journey of marriage and parenting we are ready with additional classroom space to reach teach and minister to everyone who comes through the doors of our sunday school we are ready church ready to transform our world with god's word one life at a time we are ready to minister to every person who visits our church thank you for your faithfulness to pray to give and to serve here at first baptist dallas to god be the glory and now mark lavorne the chairman of our planning and development committee leads us to prayer of dedication our gracious heavenly father and lord we as a church with one voice praise you and thank you for what you have done in this place lord so many times in your word you have chosen to show your strength your power your provision to your people your children during times which at first appear the most dire the darkest the most insurmountable lord we remember that during the great recession you chose to bless us with this totally recreated new campus and now during these days of unprecedented pandemic and unrest you have blessed us again with this building expansion a building for our children our teenagers and young families and father as we as a church praise you and thank you we do so with a re-commitment of our own hearts and our lives and as we dedicate this building to you father we rededicate ourselves to the work of spreading and sharing and teaching the good news of jesus christ the gospel with a lost and dying world around us and it's in the saving and wonderful name of our savior that we pray the name of jesus amen all right we wanted each of you to be a part of the official opening so i'm going to ask you to stand with me right now and we're going to do our countdown starting at 5 5 four three two [Music] one amen thank you church again for your faithfulness and funding the mission of our church and making this possible let's close today by giving the god of we serve all the glory for the great things he has done tyler sir let's join our hearts our voices together to god be the glory great things he has done great things he has done the world that he gave us [Music] the lord praise the lord let the earth [Music] through jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] god bless you church have a blessed day hi campus family thank you so much for being here today and joining us in worship we hope that you are blessed by today's service make sure to invite your friends family and loved ones to join you each and every week right here on the first dallas eye campus also stay connected with us all week long on our social media channels and join our new icampus global facebook group to know what's going on right here at first baptist dallas we love you guys so much and we'll see you next week hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing in and through first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning and welcome to worship at first baptist dallas today let's stand together welcome guests i camp as viewers let's sing it praise to the lord the almighty the king of creation oh my soul praise him for he is [Music] [Applause] join me [Music] praise to the lord who does prosper thy work defend [Applause] [Music] [Music] if psalm 150 declares praise the lord praise god in his sanctuary praise him in his mighty heavens praise him for his mighty acts of power and praise him for his surpassing greatness let everything praise the lord [Music] from his people again [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] gladly forever [Music] forever praise to the lord praise to the lord our savior our king he's the lion of the tribe of judah and the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world let's see he's coming on the clouds kings and kingdoms will bow down and every chain will break and every chain will break as broken hearts declare his brains who can stop the lord almighty our god is [Music] [Applause] our god [Music] [Music] and the land before [Music] our god who calls for [Music] who can stop the god lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] foreign god we worship you who can stop the lord almighty who can stalk the lord almighty there's no who can stop the lord [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] oh will bless his name this morning incredible worship church you may be seated and we welcome each of you to first baptist dallas today we welcome our guests as well it's so good to see you in the room as well as those joining us on icampus today we have a very special gift just for our guest it's entitled praying for america our pastor's brand new book 40 inspiring stories and prayers for our nation guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide and you'll find enclosed this guest card please take the time to fill this out and at the conclusion of the service take it outside the main worship center doors you'll find many guest gift tables located around our campus our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your book today as well as answer any questions you may have regarding our church for those of us uh joining on icampus you also have a link that you can follow for your special gift as well lots of exciting events are taking place here at first baptist dallas as we get going here in 2021 so let's all take a look together at the screen well good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today and we want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events our discipleship university semester is now underway online and there's still time to join a class we have an excellent selection of classes and teachers you can find a full list of classes and zoom links on our website if you're a guest with us this morning we would love to invite you to sign up for first step on sunday january 31st both on campus and online in this class you will learn all about the beliefs ministries staff and campus of first baptist dallas ladies we are excited to host our heartstrong faith conference both in person and online on february 26th and 27th tickets are now on sale for a weekend of fellowship and an incredible lineup of speakers finally it's good to gather together to worship as we continue to reopen our church and our ministries in the new year you can help us maintain a healthy environment for everyone by wearing your mask practicing social distancing and using our hand sanitizing stations for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstdallas.org slash events our scripture reading this morning is found in romans 13 we'll be reading the first four verses and these will help provide some foundation for the pastor's message to come in just a few moments we're going to be reading from the new american standard bible you'll see those words on the screen both here in the worship center and for eye canvas as well and we do that to encourage you to read out loud god's word with us there's something about reading his word out loud that helps cement it in our heart and so that's why we encourage you to do that and we also ask you to stand if you will to honor the reading of god's word as we read together romans chapter 13 beginning with verse 1 ending with verse 4. let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from god and those which exist are established by god therefore he who resist authority has opposed the ordinance of god and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves for rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil do you want to have no fear of authority do what is good and you will have praise from the same for it is a minister of god to you for good but if you do what is evil be afraid for it does not bear the sword for nothing it is a minister of god an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil and may god richly bless the reading of his word let's keep standing as tyler comes back to lead us in more worship [Music] freedom's calling chains are falling hope is dawning bright and true day is breaking night is waking god is making all things [Music] jesus jesus says jesus says glory to [Music] jesus says [Music] see the sky alive [Applause] [Music] jesus sorrow says jesus says jesus says he will die our burden jesus says jesus [Music] christ [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] salvation [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus saves amen you may be seated as ben lavorne our executive pastor comes now with a special word thank you tyler that's right jesus saves amen jesus saves and that's why we're here today jesus saves and that is the message that we have to share with the world today's a big day in the life of first baptist dallas our pastor dr jeffress is bringing a special message today we are opening the expansion of our horner family center and this is also a day that we've called best gift sunday as you know we started our new two-year ministry strategy mission 1-8 courageous it's our plan to reach our city our nation and our world with that message the gospel that jesus saves and so we've asked you to bring your best gift possible towards your commitment to mission one eight in this two year one fund ministry strategy it's imperative that we start with strong momentum and so that's why we've asked you to make that contribution on the front end of this time period so if you can do that today we would gratefully appreciate it and i'm confident that god will use those resources to advance our mission you can do that when you exit the worship center today by leaving your ties and your offerings in the boxes that are at the exit if you're worshiping with us on the icampus today you can either mail your contribution to the church or you can give online this morning at firstdallas.org forward slash give online but if we as we continue our time of worship this morning this is a time of commitment or time of commitment of our lives so i'll ask you as you're able to kneel all over the worship center as we go to the lord in prayer together heavenly father we praise you this morning as our lord as our god as our king and we come humbly before you as we celebrate your mighty works we bow before your throne as your people who are being conformed to the image of our lord and savior jesus christ the one who came and died and rose again so that we might be redeemed and reconciled to you so that we might be commissioned for your service and lord even as we celebrate all that you've done and all that you're doing through our church we're reminded that we live in a fallen world in a broken and sinful world and so lord we pray for those who are facing sickness and brokenness and loss lord we are grieved by the division the hatred the violence in our nation and even throughout the world we pray lord for your divine intervention we pray that you would comfort the brokenhearted we pray that you would heal wounded spirits and we pray that you would turn the loss to you lord we pray this morning that you would equip us to serve as your ambassadors of light to the world and even now as we give to you our tithes and offerings we present them to our god and our king as a spiritual sacrifice of worship and we pray too lord that these resources would be used to share that message the gospel that jesus saves with the world as we look forward to your coming kingdom and we look forward to the day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that jesus is lord and we pray this in the saving name of jesus christ [Music] amen [Music] so [Music] is [Music] [Applause] the oh [Music] all the others [Music] refuses to shine foreign [Music] cries [Music] is [Music] is [Music] of war [Music] making [Music] that king of the ages he has [Music] victory his name [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is yes [Music] it is finished those were jesus words on the cross the greek word tetelestai paid in full and because christ has paid that sin that we know we're going to have ultimate victory thank you so much andy tyler and marvelous first dallas choir and orchestra for your music today thank you i want to welcome the literally millions of you who are watching this broadcast for listening to it on pathway to victory or on our first dallas high campus we're so glad you chose to worship with the first baptist church in dallas as i bring a very special message today tuesday afternoon i was driving down harry hines boulevard and my telephone rang and the person on the other end said this is the white house operator the president would like to talk to you from air force one can you take the call i veered into a convenience store parking lot and sat there and talked to uh president trump he began by the way by asking about our church and asked me to send his greetings his warm greetings to each of you he appreciates our church and what we've done to help him and we talked about the election and we talked about the last four years and i said mr president without doubt you're going to go down as the most pro-life pro-religious liberty in the history of our country and i want to thank you for that and i believe that with all of my heart and that's why i along with millions of conservative christians were disappointed in the results of the election but the fact is we are going to have a new president this wednesday at 1201 pm joe biden is going to be the new president of the united states nothing's going to change that and the question is how should we who are christians perhaps christians who didn't vote for him what is our responsibility toward this new christian a new president i want to assure you that i am not downtrodden i'm not distraught i'm not depressed over the election results i am more hopeful than i've ever been about the future of our country and our world and here's the one reason i have that hope although the occupant of the oval office is changing this wednesday the occupant of the throne of heaven is not changing he is still in residence he is still in control and that's what i want to talk about today the hope that we have as christians specifically i want to share with you four things about god that the election did not change and cannot change first of all this election does not change god's sovereignty god's sovereignty has not changed what are we talking about when we talk about god's sovereignty we're talking about his control over all of his creation in psalm 103 verse 19 the psalmist said the lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over what all god is in control of all things you can't be semi-sovereign any more than ladies you can be semi-pregnant i mean either you are pregnant or you're not pregnant either you are sovereign in control of everything or you're not really in control of anything god is in control of everything psalm 115 verse 3 says but our god is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases job 42 verse 2 job said i know that you can do anything and that no one can stop you in ephesians 1 11 paul said we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to his purpose the god who works all things after the counsel of his will he is working all things to accomplish his will and by the way would you notice that word will is singular not plural god doesn't have multiple wills he doesn't have plan a that he hopes will get done but if plan a doesn't happen then he's got plan b and plan c in place no god has one plan it's a secret plan it's a hidden plan we don't know all the details of it but we he has one plan that governs everything and everything that happens is working to achieve god's ultimate plan you know when we say all things think about this god's will was wide enough to include the rebellion of lucifer in heaven the fall of adam and eve in the garden the murder of thousands of hebrew babies in egypt god's will even included the torture and execution of his own son he causes all things to work together for his plan and by the way included in that phrase all things is elections elections are under the control of god it will be exactly five years ago this coming saturday january of 2016 when there were 16 people running for the nomination the republican nomination for president 16 people trying to be the republican candidate one of those people was businessman donald trump and nobody in january of 2016 before one primary vote or one caucus vote nobody was expecting him to be president people laughed him off they thought he was a joke and five years ago this coming saturday before a vote was ever cast five years ago i was flying around iowa with then businessman donald trump and i was introducing him at rallies in iowa getting ready for the iowa caucus and i remember that saturday very well we were between campaign stops where you're flying 30 000 feet above the snow-covered plains of iowa his campaign manager had driven through wendy's and picked up a sack of cheeseburgers and french fries and so mr trump and i were having uh a hamburger we got our own hamburgers but we had to share a bag of french fries and while we were talking i said mr trump i believe you're going to be the next president of the united states and if that happens it's because god has a great plan for you and he has a great plan for our nation he said robert do you really believe that i said yes sir i do he thought for a moment he said okay i've got a question for you do you think it was god's will for obama to become president i said yes sir i do daniel 2 21 says it is god who establishes kings and removes kings god is sovereign that is the testimony of the scripture the apostle paul certainly believed that in romans chapter 13 verses 1 and 2 listen to what paul said every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities for there is no authority underline that no authority except from god and those which exist are established by god therefore whoever resist authority has opposed the ordinance of god and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves now folks that is an astounding claim by paul all authority all governing authorities are established by god all includes hitler stalin mussolini all evil men who did evil things they will spend all eternity paying for and yet they would not have been in power except by the will of god god causes and can cause evil things to work for good that was the apostle paul by the way when he wrote these words you know who was the emperor of rome the one who controlled the world nero the most evil emperor in history it was nero who would take christians have them dipped in wax and set them on fire alive to burn his candles human candles in his gardens it was nero who a few years after paul wrote these words would behead the apostle paul himself and yet paul said nero wouldn't be in power had god not established him 30 years before paul wrote those words remember the apostle peter standing on the southern steps in jerusalem addressing the crowd who seven weeks earlier had called for the crucifixion of jesus christ in that great sermon at pentecost peter said this man jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of god you nailed him to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death jesus death was no accident it was all a part of god's plan but god's plan allowed using evil men to accomplish god's good and perfect purpose i mean think about it when peter spoke those words tiberius was the governor of uh or the emperor of rome but if tiberius as evil as he was had not been emperor there would have been no pontius pilate who was appointed as governor of judea had there been no pontius pilate there would have been no guilty verdict at the trial of jesus and jesus may not have been crucified god used evil rulers to accomplish his purpose what does this mean for us i'll tell you what it means it means on tuesday night november 3rd god wasn't up in heaven slapping his forehead saying oh i can't believe this is happening we're losing pennsylvania there was no panic in heaven over this election god has a perfect plan that he is working out does that mean everything's going to be great that joe biden is going to do everything right no but it means god can use rulers whoever they are to accomplish his purpose so what is our responsibility to the governing authority especially the governing authority we didn't support and vote for what's right there in romans 13. romans 13 says we are to be in subjection to the governing authority we are to obey the governing authority there's only one situation which we say no to government and that's when they ask us to do something that violates the clear teaching of god's word in that case acts 5 29 says we ought to obey god rather than men i'm going to talk about that a little later in the sermon but the default position is we obey the governing authority we may say well i don't like big government well it doesn't matter god doesn't care whether you like it or not i don't like paying taxes to support things i don't agree with who cares nobody cares whether you agree with that or not the bible says you're to obey government remember jesus he didn't try to overthrow the roman government as evil as it was instead he said you're to support it pay your taxes render under caesar the things that are caesar's paul said to the evil roman government you're to be in subjection to them we're to be in subjection to the governing authorities we have absolutely no biblical right to try to overthrow government we need to be in subjection to the government unless we're asked to do something that violates god's will secondly we're to pray for the governing authorities we're to pray for our leaders we're to pray for joe biden and kamala harris and all who are in office in 1st timothy 2 paul said first of all then i urge that entreaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all men for kings and all those who are in authority paul said we're to pray for everyone who's in authority not just the ones we voted for not just the ones we like we're to pray for them and specifically what are we to pray for them pray so that we might lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity you know the best thing you can pray for governing authorities paul said just pray that they will leave us alone to practice our faith that's the best prayer for government i pray that they will just leave us alone we're to pray for the governing authorities what i'm saying to you to you ladies and gentlemen is we have hope because in spite of the election god's sovereignty hasn't changed god is in control now if we're honest we have to say the sovereignty of god in and of itself isn't a comforting god unless we know what kind of god he is i mean after all to say god's in control of everything everything not only includes elections it includes car wrecks and cancer so what comfort is there in that knowing god has a plan you know it was the former speaker of the house tip o'neill who had a saying he said all politics are local and what he meant by that people's concern about government is really in how is government going to affect me what does it mean in my life there are some of you here some of you watching that may be very fearful apprehensive about a biden administration you wonder how it's going to affect you personally is it going to make it harder for you to find a job or to keep your job are you going to lose your 401k in a stock market crash are you going to be persecuted for your faith is violence going to increase in the country you want to know how it's going to affect you frankly i can't tell you that any or none of those things will or will not happen but here's what i can tell you if you have been forgiven by jesus christ for your sins and you are a child of god you have a loving heavenly father who is watching over you the god who controls this universe is a god of love not indifference in psalm 103 verse 8 the psalmist said the lord is compassionate and gracious and slow to anger and abounding and loving kindness psalm 107 verse 1 o give thanks to the lord for he is good for his loving kindness is everlasting this election that occurred does not in any way invalidate jesus promise in john 10 28 and 29 when he said i give eternal life to them they shall never perish no man shall snatch out of my hands those whom the father has given me if you are a child of god you are being held by the lord jesus christ and no one and no circumstance and no government official will snatch you out of the hands of jesus that is the promise that we have doesn't mean terrible things may not happen they may they may not but we have an advocate a god who stands on our side remember paul's words i love this in romans 8 31-32 if god be for us who can be against us he who did not spare his own son for us but gave him up for us all will he not also give us everything else freely again paul's not promising bad things aren't going to happen to you but he said if they do and when they do you have somebody behind you on your side and if god is for you what difference does anything else make you may remember this movie came out years ago called the bear and there is one of the final scenes in the movie that this little fuzzy cub was out by itself and it was suddenly discovered by a mountain lion and the mountain lion was closing in for the kill on this little cub and the little cub reared back on its hind legs and let out the most ferocious growl it could muster which wasn't much and suddenly you saw that mountain lion begin to cower and to pull back you wonder why was it doing that just that little pitiful growl out of the cub but as the camera pulled back it showed standing behind that cub was daddy bear on his hind legs letting out a ferocious growl i thought what a great picture every child of god when we are under thread under attack we have standing behind us a powerful loving heavenly father and nothing is going to come into our life apart from his divine permission i love the words of donald gray barnhouse he said there is no will or act of creatures men angels or demons that can do other than work for our good no dog can bark against us no man can speak or act against us no sinister plot of evil can be against us all must be for our good there is no phenomenon of nature fire flood storm earthquake that can work us ultimately ill the law of gravity cannot cause anything to fall on us unless it unless it has been sifted through the will of god and his purpose for our good and that great somebody said it this way there is nothing that comes into the life of a child of god that has not been sifted first of all through the love of god the plan of god the wisdom of god and if it's traveled that far into your life it's come for some good and glorious purpose this election did not change god's love for his children here's a third thing a great thing that this election has not changed it has not changed god's promise of christ's return god's promise of christ's return has not changed a few weeks before the election a well-known televangelist made a prediction you probably saw in the media he predicted without hesitation that donald trump was going to be elected for a second term and then he predicted following that there was going to be a war against israel a giant asteroid was going to strike the earth and within five years jesus christ was going to return but then he added this disclaimer of course he said matthew 24 36 says no one knows the hour or the day except the father in heaven not even the angels or the son well he was right about that last part nobody knows the hour or the day and that's why it's so foolish to make predictions about when christ is coming back for 2000 years people have been trying to set the date for christ's return the bible says don't do it jesus said don't do it no one knows except the father in heaven but what a lot of people miss in that verse matthew 24 36 is jesus was saying there is a year a month a day a moment when the father in heaven is going to turn to the sun and say it's time it's time and christ is coming back again to reclaim this world that has been temporarily lost to satan that is the good news we have christ is coming back again and no election no circumstance is going to accelerate or delay that moment that has written an indelible ink on god's calendar isn't that good news this return of christ has not changed it's coming that is the good news now here's the not so good news although we look forward to that great day when christ comes back the bible also predicts immediately before that time are going to be difficult days in second timothy 3 verse 1 paul said but mark this there will be terrible times in the last days now there are two phrases you have to understand in that verse to know what paul is talking about the phrase last days in the last days there will be terrible times in the bible the phrase last days is used one of two ways sometimes it refers to that period of time between the first coming of christ and his second coming obviously we are living in the last days if you define it that way christ came the first time died for our sins rose again ascended into heaven and we're awaiting his return so in that sense we are living in the last days but the phrase last days can also refer to the days months perhaps years right before his visible second coming we often call that period of time the tribulation we're not there yet we're getting closer with every passing day what paul is saying is regardless of how you define the last days as we get closer to the return of christ we're going to experience terrible times now that phrase terrible times comes from a greek word that is only used twice in the new testament here and in matthew 8 28 in which it refers to some a demon-possessed man he was demon possessed and he threw off all the restraints that the people put on him to try to control him it's a word that can be translated fierce violent dangerous frightening one person has translated the verse this way in the last days savage times will come as people cast off all moral restraint and society begins to disintegrate casting off all moral restraint i would say we're there right now wouldn't you we're seeing a day when people cast off god's constraints moral constraints on society when gender is whatever you decide it to be when marriage is however you want to define it when you're free to kill an unborn child whenever you think it's convenient or appropriate to do so we are living in that time of the lack of god's restraints one theologian has described how a moral revolution happens in a country step one what was celebrated is now condemned what was celebrated is now condemned step number two what was condemned is now celebrated and the final stage those who refuse to celebrate are condemned we're living in that time right now when things that were thought unthinkable just a few decades ago are now welcomed in our culture those things that we used to call virtues are now seen as evil and those who refuse to celebrate this change with the culture are condemned as narrow-minded and hateful bigots we are witnessing that and what i'm saying to you today is when you have culture celebrating evil but the church of jesus christ resisting evil you're going to have a conflict you're going to have friction you're going to have problems that's why jesus said in john 16 33 in this world you will have tribulation that word tribulation means pressure friction and we're seeing that right now and it's going to get worse now this is not a partisan sermon i did not mean it to be a partisan sermon but if we're going to prepare for what is about to happen we need to call things like they are this administration that is incoming has already announced many of their policies they're already working toward those policies for example on the issue of gender fluidity this is an administration who believes that you get to pick your gender you can pick your gender whatever you want it to be you can pick it even though the bible says god made them male and female god's the one who selects our gender but they want to continue this confusion now look my daughter is a licensed professional counselor and she will tell you gender confusion is a real emotional illness and it needs to be treated compassionately but it does need to be treated it doesn't need to be accepted as a normal thing to be confused about your gender it needs to be treated compassionately but it needs to be treated and yet this administration is for saying gender is whatever you want it to be did you just see two weeks ago the speaker of the house nancy pelosi passed a rule for the house for the congress saying no longer on the floor of the house of representatives can you use gender-specific language you can't talk about men or women husbands or wives boys or girls fathers and mothers you have to use gender inclusive language people siblings parents and so forth that was unthinkable a few years ago but now that's what the culture is celebrating or take the issue of marriage this administration our incoming president championed with barack obama redefining marriage and they pressed the supreme court in 2015 to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual marriage and that happened in 2015. and now this new administration has said they want to go a step further they are going to go after groups that refuse to celebrate that expansion of the definition of marriage it is it is hateful not to recognize all marriages is equally valid and they've announced a plan to go after organizations that refuse to celebrate same-sex marriages or you look at the issue of abortion this administration and the party they represent is very clear about this they don't apologize for it at all they believe that a person ought to be able to kill an unborn child for any reason whatsoever you don't like the gender of your unborn child kill it it's not a convenient time for you to have a child murder it and they think it ought to be able to be done at any time in the woman's pregnancy up until the time the child is in the birth canal of the mother you're saying a pastor that's an exaggeration they don't really believe that really why is it they won't name one restriction they would place on abortion not one regarding reason or regarding time and those who refuse to celebrate that expansive view of abortion are going to be condemned and president-elect biden has announced that his secretary of the health and human services division is going to be javier uh becerra who is attorney general of california becerra as attorney general in california prosecuted people and groups that criticized planned parenthood which is nothing more than a slaughterhouse for the unborn children he championed the prosecution of people who oppose planned parenthood he has championed the idea that pregnancy centers like the one our church supports that support life instead of death that pregnancy centers ought to be forced to mention to pregnant mothers abortion as a viable option now that is the position of this new administration and that's why i'm just saying to you we need to be ready for this first peter 4 12 says don't be surprised by brethren at the fiery ordeal that has come to you for your testing as though some strange things were going to happen to you this is what we should expect whenever you have the church resisting what culture is celebrating you're going to have a problem and when you have a church like first baptist church dallas that has been known for 152 years for being built on the bible and standing for the truth of god's word i'm telling you folks we've got uh the crosshairs on our back right now we've got a target on us and i have no doubt that the time will come sooner than we can possibly imagine when we are going to be faced with the choice of either giving up our tax-exempt uh status as a church or continuing to uh propagate these errors that are coming out of our culture we're going to make a choice and to me it's no choice whatsoever we're going to be faithful to god's word regardless of what the culture says we're going to preach the unchangeable truth of god's word now you better be ready in your own life for this as well now i hadn't intended to go here but i am going to go here what happened two weeks ago in the capitol was despicable to have people storming our capital and assaulting our law enforcement officers and killing an officer that was despicable and those people who stormed into the capital carrying banners that said jesus saves they are the most despicable human beings of all because they were not representing god they were representing satan in what they were doing in john chapter 8 jesus said satan is a murderer he's been a murderer from the beginning and anyone who is involved in that kind of violence is a murderer and there's gonna spend a lot of time paying for that and they ought to spend a lot of time paying for that i have no sympathy for what they did it was wrong full stop on that what you see now is an attempt to control that type of behavior which i understand but the remedy is not a good one and that is to try to curtail people's freedom of speech it comes under a good purpose we don't want to incite violence so we're going to ban any kind of speech that may incite violence but once you start down that path it is a slippery slope it's not hard to see at all how government could say you know we have in their mind had four years of poison in our country and we need to cleanse our society our country of this poisonous speech the only problem is who's going to define what that is one young representative this week proposed a ministry of truth can you imagine such a thing government setting up a ministry of truth to determine what's good and acceptable speech what's true and what's not true it's not hard to see how you could go from that very quickly to say anybody like our church that says there is only one way to heaven through faith in jesus christ that's the only way to heaven and anyone without that forgiveness faces an eternity in hell that's hate speech that's hate speech that's riling people up that's why i'm saying to you get ready there is a time coming when the government is going to try to censor our ministry and our message and we cannot allow it to happen don't be fearful but be ready terrible times will come but ladies and gentlemen those terrible times are only a prelude to a great future for us william barkley says history is moving toward the inevitable triumph of god and though evil may flourish it cannot in the end be triumphant you know why it can't be triumphant because jesus christ is going to have the final word in history jesus christ is coming back again these terrible times are a prelude to a glorious future for those who know christ do you remember in revelation chapter 10 we had that scene of that announcement that is coming that finally the long delay in christ's return is over and when the seventh angel has blown that seventh trumpet and the final judgment has come that christ will return i remember so well dr criswell what he said about that passage he said never forget that somewhere beyond that starry sky stands a herald angel with a trumpet in his hand and at god's appropriate moment that trumpet will sound and the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our god that's what we have to look forward to no election is going to change god's appointed time for christ's return now very quickly there's one final thing this election has not changed and that's god's purpose god's mission for the church it hasn't changed before jesus ascended into heaven remember he gave us our final marching orders he said in matthew 28 therefore go into all the world and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the father son and holy spirit teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i've commanded you church family god's given us one assignment until he comes one thing to focus our time our opportunities our money on and that is winning as many people to faith in jesus christ as we can and teaching them to follow him in every part of their lives that's our mission it hasn't changed daniel henderson is a gifted writer i was reading his words this week he said you know unfortunately too many christians view their christian life as a luxury cruise they're sailing on their way to heaven their ticket on the cruise is their faith in jesus christ the church is the cruise ship the pastor is the captain he's there to ensure a pleasant journey for those on the ship the church staff is the church the ship's crew members there to make sure that the spiritual food you get the music the things provided for your family those activities that they're all acceptable and pleasurable for you that's how a lot of people see and the church it's a cruise ship but henderson says that's not the right analogy the church is not a cruise ship it's a battleship we are on a search and rescue mission we're to search and save as many people as we possibly can over these last four years the battleship first baptist dallas we have been sailing in some pretty calm seas these last four years in a faith-friendly administration that's getting ready to change we're getting ready to enter into some choppy waters but we have absolutely nothing to fear our mission hasn't changed and thank god our captain jesus christ hasn't changed he's the one who promised upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it that's why every christian can be hopeful let's bow together in a word of prayer for some of you watching right now some of you in this worship center your most pressing need right now more than anything is to know that your sins have been forgiven that you've accepted god's free gift of salvation and that one day you're going to be welcomed into heaven jesus said don't fear people who can only kill your body fear the one who is able to destroy both your body and your soul do you know for sure you're in a right relationship with god there's only one way to be sure and that's by trusting in jesus to be your savior i don't think it's an accident you're here today or you're watching online perhaps you were curious about what i would say about the election but god i think had a plan for you to be tuned in today so that you can receive the most important gift of all god's gift of salvation today if you would like to receive that gift of forgiveness you can't earn it you have to receive it as a gift today if you'd like to receive it i want to invite you wherever you are to pray this prayer with me knowing that god's listening to you would you pray this with me dear god thank you for loving me i know i failed you in so many ways and i'm truly sorry for the sins in my life but i believe what i've heard today but you loved me so much you sent your son jesus to die on the cross for me to take the punishment that i deserve to take for my sins and right now i'm trusting in what jesus did for me not in my good works but in what jesus did for me to save me from my sins thank you for forgiving me and help me to spend the rest of my life following you and i pray this in jesus name amen today if you're watching online and you prayed that prayer with me i want you right now to click that link at the top of your screen that says i prayed the prayer to trust in christ as soon as you do that i'll be notified of your decision and i have some free material i want to send you about how to live as a christian don't wait right now click on that link that says i prayed the prayer to trust in christ we're happy for you and your decision for those of you in our worship center today i want to ask you to take your card that's in your bulletin if you prayed that prayer with me check that third box i prayed the prayer with dr jeffress we'll get that information to you if you're a guest check that first box if you'd like more information about the church you can check that box maybe you'd like to join our church you can check the final box now we're going to do something different today once you've completed your card on your way out you'll notice a number of stations tables there if you will hand your card at one of those tables turn it in we will give you a copy of one of my newest books praying for america 40 inspiring stories of faith from our nation's history it's our gift to you for being a guest today at first baptist just fill out this information exchange it at one of the tables on your way out thank you for doing that well today is a very special day in the life of our church it is the dedication of the expansion of our horner family center it's an almost 90 000 square foot expansion that will allow us to finally put all of our young adults and their families together our preschool children youth college young adults will all be in one facility you know so many churches especially over these last several years have been trying to figure out what they can do to you know attract young adults to their church our problem is not how to attract them where to put them and uh that's a great problem to have but this family center expansion has gone a long way in helping us where people can conveniently attend sunday school all in one building and they opened up today i hope on your way out if you have a chance you'll walk over and view the new area for all of those age group areas i want to thank mark lavorne and our building and planning development committee ben lavorne who oversaw the project our staff but most of all i want to thank each of you you contributed so generously to make this possible in our mission as reaching as many people for christ as we can as soon as we can now watch this very brief video for just a moment we are so excited to finally host the grand opening of our horner family center expansion in 2020 while many churches closed their doors the first baptist church of dallas not only continued to operate but we continued to grow as we welcome more and more new families who joined our church and completed the construction of our expansion despite the shutdowns only god could have accomplished this today i'm so excited to join with other staff members and members of our planning and development committee to officially welcome you to our expanded and complete horner family center with two additional floors we're ready to welcome members and guests to our new family center where children students college and young married adults can all gather in one building we're ready to welcome even more children as we intentionally teach boys and girls that the bible is real and it is true [Music] we are ready to host pre-teens in their brand new space in the same building as the rest of the children's ministry we're ready for the new students the lord will bring to our ministry in the days ahead we're ready to minister to college students in our new space on floor seven [Music] we're ready to welcome young families and support them in their journey of marriage and parenting we are ready with additional classroom space to reach teach and minister to everyone who comes through the doors of our sunday school we are ready church ready to transform our world with god's word one life at a time we are ready to minister to every person who visits our church thank you for your faithfulness to pray to give and to serve here at first baptist dallas to god be the glory and now mark lavorne the chairman of our planning and development committee leads us in prayer of dedication our gracious heavenly father and lord we as a church with one voice praise you and thank you for what you have done in this place lord so many times in your word you have chosen to show your strength your power your provision to your people your children during times which at first appear the most dire the darkest the most insurmountable lord we remember that during the great recession you chose to bless us with this totally recreated new campus and now during these days of unprecedented pandemic and unrest you have blessed us again with this building expansion a building for our children our teenagers and young families and father as we as a church praise you and thank you we do so with a re-commitment of our own hearts and our lives and as we dedicate this building to you father we rededicate ourselves to the work of spreading and sharing and teaching the good news of jesus christ the gospel with a lost and dying world around us and it's in the saving and wonderful name of our savior that we pray the name of jesus amen [Music] i want to again thank you that are here today those of you who are watching online that played such an important part in making today possible so we wanted you to participate in the grand opening today i want you to stand up wherever you are we're going to do the countdown starting with five everybody ready five four three two 1. thank you church family you are the best and we give all the glory to god for what he has done let's close with our closing song today to god be the glory tyler thank you pastor that's right to god be the glory great things he has done and continues to do let's declare it together [Music] [Music] praise the lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] god bless you church have a great day [Music] hi campus family thank you so much for being here today and joining us in worship we hope that you are blessed by today's service make sure to invite your friends family and loved ones to join you each and every week right here on the first dallas i campus also stay connected with us all week long on our social media channels and join our new icampus global facebook group to know what's going on right here at first baptist dallas we love you guys so much and we'll see you next week you

Channel: First Baptist Dallas

Views: 71,862

Rating: 4.7458825 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: SaUXnQE5wSE

Length: 191min 40sec (11500 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 17 2021