Turn to the book of Luke, please. Luke chapter 20 is where we're going to begin this morning. Keep your Bibles handy because we're going to be turning to several portions of scripture, several references. I want to refer it to you, but I want to begin in Luke chapter 20. The Lord is answering a question that is posed to him. Whether or not these men that asked the question were sincere in their question, it's questionable. They did say the right thing, but I think sometimes it was probably the wrong motive. Stand with me, please. Luke 20, verses 19 and following. We'll read there. You'll recognize this right off, I think. Verse 19 of Luke 20 begins by saying, And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour Saul to lay hands on him, talking about Jesus, of course. And they feared the people, for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. He had just shared some truth. And they watched him. sent forth spies which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor." So they're trying to find something to cause him to say the wrong thing so they can accuse him of wrongdoing. And so they ask him, saying, Master, We know that thou say us and teach us rightly, neither except this vow, the person of any, but teach us the way of God truly, uh, whether or not they really believe that we do not know. It seems like it was somewhat sarcastic. Here's the question. Uh, verse 22, is it lawful for us to give tribute under Caesar or not? But he perceived their craftiness and he said unto them, why tempt ye me? Show me a penny. And he asked, whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. And he said unto them, render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's and unto God the things which be God's. And they could not hold, they could not take hold of his words before the people. And they marveled at his answer and held their peace. Father, thank you for truth. We have truth, not that we are perfect by any means, Lord, but we believe your word has the truth that if we follow your word and follow you, Lord, that we can come to that place of truth and knowledge and the right relationship with you. So calmer hearts, give us the peace that Micah mentioned just moments ago, Lord, that you can give to us so that we can just wait upon you and let you speak to our hearts. Whatever we need this morning, Lord, may you provide it through the scriptures, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Whatever we say, Lord, is not as important as what your word says. And may we be careful to point people to the word and to Christ. May you work in hearts this morning. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. Be seated, please. This question that these people gave to the Lord Jesus was a very political question. At this time in Jewry, in the Jewish nation, there was two opposing parties that had a certain political belief in these areas. According to a gentleman by the name of G. Campbell Morgan in his commentary, there was the Pharisaic party, They, they paid the tribute. This was Jewish. They paid the tribute to the Roman government, uh, affirming, but, but in protest, they said that the Roman government had no right to do that, but they paid it anyway. They, they did not believe it should be paid. The other group, the Sadducee party were in, was in favor of paying the tribute. So Jesus was put in a question, which way are you going to lean if He had said that it's not lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then they would have accused him of sedition and would take him to the governor and say, listen, this guy is rebelling against the government. If he had said, yes, it is lawful, then the Pharisees would have said, well, then where's your claim to be the Messiah of the Jews? So what did Jesus do? He said, give me a penny or denarius. And the ancient coin, I'm told, according to record, says on this penny, this denarius, was the picture, the portrait of Tiberius Caesar. He says, whose picture is on it? And he says, it's Tiberius Caesar. That's who it was. On the backside of that coin was a statement, a phrase saying, Pontifex Maximus, or greatest potentate. So the Lord's holding up this penny, talking to them. He says, okay, you see the penny? You see the denarius? You see the picture? Whose picture is it? It's Caesar. Well, then render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things that be God. What is he saying? According to Mr. Morgan, he says, the Lord is saying, if men live under Caesar's rule, I'm quoting, if they're protected by the legions of Caesar, if they're trafficking with Caesar's money, they're in debt, for the privilege created for them, then they're in debt, excuse me, they're in debt for the privilege created for them, so they should obey the government. Got that? But then he added what? Render to Caesar the things that be of Caesar, but, and that's the key, but render to God the things that be God. So he's establishing God as the ultimate authority. Yes, you may render unto the government that which belongs to the government, but you need to be sure that we're rendering unto God, and the word means to give back or to return. indicating that Jesus Christ and God the Father is the greatest potentate, the savior of the world. Amen. You see the principle there. I have a reason for that. I think there's some problems in our nation, don't you? In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States. In his inaugural speech, he spoke about the dilemma that was facing himself and the nation. There was a great moral debate at stake. This moral debate had the potential of tearing the nation apart. The country was on the brink of a war that would cause not only the separation of states, but families and friends. It would bring great sorrow and tragedy and death to thousands. In that speech, he said, Before entering into upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our national fabric with all its benefits, its members, and its hopes, would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it? It was Lincoln's desired goal and drive throughout his presidency to preserve one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I believe he would approve of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, don't you? I believe he would approve. President Lincoln knew that the nation at that point in history was in trouble. Folks, I believe our nation today is in trouble. I am appalled. I think Brother Fletcher mentioned, I'm appalled as a lot of other Americans are at the political strife that is raging in our country. All the turmoil, the confusion, the hateful words, the name calling, the accusations. But I believe it's an indication of something much deeper. An indication of a very deep spiritual problem within the very heart and souls of men, don't you? There's something serious here. In Lincoln's Gettysburg address a couple of years as he was standing there to commemorate the, uh, the death of those men and men on that battlefield, he says, now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. It's been 153 years since Abraham Lincoln said those words that that war is over, but I believe there's another war raging in America. A war, a conflict between good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness and unrighteousness. And I know this battle has been going on for some time. It's not a brand new battle, but I believe we're on the brink of a war, a conflict morally and spiritually getting more intense, intensifying and getting worse. I'm not trying to be a doomsday person by any means, but the Bible says that evil men are waxing worse and worse, and we see that in our country and in our world. And as Americans continue to move away from God's word and God's truth and things can't get better, it's gotta get worse, right? Turn over to Psalm chapter 33, please. God tells us this in his word. Psalm 33, then we're gonna turn to Proverbs to compare two verses here. Psalms 33 and Proverbs 14, if you want to kind of look at these places quickly. Psalm 33, verse 12, the Bible says, blessed, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Blessed be the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Now, compare that with Proverbs 14, verse 34. Proverbs 14, 34 says, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. I believe the sinfulness of America is a reproach to a holy God. Oh, we can go back and talk about the glory days, but those glory days are gone. Praise God that our country was founded on principles that were biblical and good and moral and so forth. But those days are gone. We live in today. We have to deal with today, right? Can't go back to those days. Some believe that the way to solve this dilemma Is to, uh, the political conflict, the moral dilemma is putting the right people in the key political positions, and they're going to turn America around. Do we really believe that? Do we really believe that someone, anyone who without God's help can actually step into any particular office and influence this nation for righteousness? Do we believe that? No, I don't believe it's going to happen regardless of who is put in elected offices at all. And then we'll talk about that. Now, let me say this. I'm not trying to put down America. Are you? I'm glad to be an American. Are you? I'm glad to be an American. It's a great place to live. Praise the Lord for the liberties, the freedoms that we have as Americans, things that we enjoy in America that, that other people, that other countries don't enjoy. You understand that? We have the freedom to be without, without fear of people breaking in and causing us to stop our meeting. But spiritually, morally, things are not great in America. Spirits and miracles, things are not great. We're our values and our practices just cannot be pleasing to the Lord. Okay. I want to deal with this solution this morning. What's the solution? Well, it begins by understanding the problem. What's the problem? What's the real problem? We may be rendering of the government what belongs to the government, but are we really rendering unto God that which be God's? You know, there are groups of people today who want to leave out the phrase one nation under God. There are people out there with petitions online that you can sign to remove that statement from the Pledge of Allegiance. They're not doing too well. Because 80% of Americans, I'm told by a poll, believes that it's a good statement. They support the phrase. And they believe it's not necessarily religious in nature. It reflects the culture. It's not against the Constitution. It's other places in America as well. But then there are others who say, no, no, it's got to be separate. that the Constitution protects the minority against the majority's will, that the phrase under God is religious, and so on. I don't believe that. Do you? But in reality, those who want to remove the phrase, it's not just the phraseology. You understand? It's deeper than that. What they're wanting to do is exclude God. They want to exclude by moral values. They want to put those aside so they can participate and do certain behaviors that anything they want to do, whatever sinful behavior in place they want to do without feeling guilty. They want to reject God, put God's word aside and replace God's word with humanistic values, worldly principles that cater to man's flesh. That's what's happening, you agree? As believers living in such a nation that rejects the Bible, it seems to be getting worse in times. Praise God for believers. That's the reason we need to be strong. Amen. The reason we need to be bold and stand up, don't hide your faith, stand up for your faith and stand up for what is right. What can we do? Well, I don't think we can become a more political movement whereby we can get this great voting block and vote for who we, I don't think that'll happen to you. We do not advocate civil disobedience, debating our ways, our ideas. We may not have places of authority in the community to influence. Who are we? What can we do? Well, we're loyal Americans. Amen. I didn't hear that. That wasn't very strong. We're loyal Americans, are we not? Don't we love our country? We love our country. We're concerned about our country. We want it to be right. We want it to follow God. But first and foremost, we love God. And we're deeply concerned about pleasing Him first. And we want to please Him first, but at the same time, we want to see our country, we want to see the people of our country turn to God so we can maintain those freedoms and liberties that we have and enjoy the privilege of preaching the gospel and sharing Christ and living a life that's not persecuted by those who are evil. Let me give you three things this morning. What can we do? There's three things we can do. Let me give these to you, please, if you're taking notes, fine. The first thing we need to do, I believe, if we're going to work in the midst of this strife and moral warfare, number one, we need to fear our God. We need to fear our God. The Bible says the beginning, the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs chapter nine, another place, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. If we want to know how to live and respond in today's world, we need to have the wisdom of God. We need to have an awe of God. We need to have such a deep respect for who God is. He is our God. He is our authority, right? We should not belittle him or make fun of him or mock him or set him aside or minimize. He is our God. And we need to fear him, not being scared of him, but have this deep respect for him. Why should I have such a respect for God? Because first of all, he's our savior. Amen. He's our savior. We who were, what, dead in our sins and trespasses, separated from God, enjoying the sins of this world, living in spiritual darkness, having no desire for God, not wanting God, falling short of God's perfection. condemned, hopeless, helpless, on the road to eternal separation from God. God intersected our lives, convicted us of our sins, and brought us to a place where we understood God's Word. And by the grace of God, when we trusted Christ, He gloriously saved us. We who were dead in our trespasses, He indeed has quickened us. Amen? That's who our God is. We should highly respect and fear our God. The question is, why would He do that anyway? Well, I know why He did it. Not because of anything in us, but because God so loved me. And God loved you, and God loved the world. And so in simple faith. That's pretty awesome, isn't it? That God would see fit to save sinners as us. Let me ask you this morning, Have you experienced the awesomeness of salvation? To know that your sins and all your past have been placed under the blood of Christ, and you're trusting Christ as your personal Savior, and you can say without a doubt that, yes, I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, that if I died right now, I'd be in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ because He's my Savior. Is He your Savior? That's pretty awesome, man. Secondly, He's our sovereign. Don't miss this truth. As sovereign, God is in total control. Do you know that? Now, there's several verses here. I think I put them in your notes, but let me read some of these. Romans 13 says, For there be no power but of God. The powers that be, the authorities are ordained of God. Jesus said to Pilate in John chapter 19, as Pilate was questioning the Lord's authority, he says to, to Pilate in verse 11, he says, Jesus says, thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. There's other scriptures there. Our God is in control of all things. God is aware and in control of what's going on in our nation. Things may seem to be out of control, and they are at times it seems. Things may be unpleasant, they may be stressful. We may wonder what in the world is going on in the world and even in our life, but I can assure you that God understands that God is in control. He knows what He's doing and we can trust Him. You understand that? Things may not turn out the way we want, There are going to be some people in America disappointed. I'm going to trust God, aren't you? Now, let me clarify something. God is not the author of evil. He doesn't overlook evil. He doesn't encourage evil. He doesn't tolerate evil at any moment. He allows men to follow the dictates of their sinful heart and make sinful choices that affect people. But regardless, God is sovereign. He's in control. And there be no powers on this earth except God ordains it. He raises up kingdoms. He brings down kingdoms. He raises up kings and leaders, and he takes them down. God is in control. And because God is in control, he's also powerful to do what he wants to do, right? He's going to do what is right for us. Is that pretty awesome? It means there's nothing outside of God's control, whether it's in our personal lives or in our nation as a whole. God is our sovereign. But thirdly, he's also our security. We talk about security, we want to be a secure nation. Kind of fearful out there. There's a lot of things that cause us to feel insecure. But our spiritual, eternal security rests in our salvation. Amen? I don't know what happens. You got it, no matter what. We're safe in Christ. We're secure. Nothing can take that away from us. You see, there are those who proclaim, well, salvation is by works or this or that. No, no, no. If it was that, I'd be losing things. Or it's by perfection. Can't do it. Or it's by the law. No, no, it's by grace through faith. When God gives that gift of salvation, he does not take it. We are secure in Christ. We're in his hand. No one can do what? Pluck us out of his hand. Our emotional security, our physical security, I believe, is in the fact of God's sovereignty. You see, God's sovereignty is so important. He's gonna see us through, folks. He's gonna see America through. He's gonna see you through. God is sovereign. Now, that doesn't mean that we won't get through life without some scratches and some dents and being attacked and persecuted and so forth, but it's okay. God's grace is sufficient, isn't it? Is he gonna see us through, folks? He's our God, He's our Savior, He's our security, He's our sovereign. We can trust Him, fear our God. That's what we need to do as a nation, as individuals, as believers. Number two, we do have a role though. I don't think we as believers are to sit back and do nothing and wait for things to happen and just react to things. I believe we have a role. We need to fulfill our role. We need to fulfill our role. What do we do? In this world of ours, as confused as it is with all the strife morally, politically that's going on, what do we do as we even watch things give us? What do we do? I think there's three key things. Number one, we need to pray always. Pray always. 1 Timothy 2 says, and I'm going to turn and read it. If you can get there before me, that's fine. 1 Timothy 2, verse 1, Paul says, I exhort, therefore, That first of all supplications, listen, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. And then he adds for Kings and for all that are in authority, why that they may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our savior, who will have all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth. Are you praying? We need to be praying specifically. We need to be praying that folks would understand God's word and be saved. Wouldn't that cure a lot of problems, folks? If some of these folks, whoever they are in our world, in our community, would just understand that God is sent the Savior and Jesus is the Christ and Jesus paid for our sins. And he's the only way of salvation. He can change your lives and give them hope and help throughout the world if they just trust Christ. Boy, things would change, wouldn't it? We need to pray that their lives are spiritual, that they would understand and they'd come to a place of understanding and a knowledge of salvation. Pray for people. Pray for leaders. We need to pray that people's eyes would be opened to realize that the real moral values that are needed in this country are really based here in this Bible. Do you understand that? What are the moral values do we have? We don't have just some inherent, inert, some kind of value system within us. The Bible says we're morally corrupt without the Lord Jesus Christ. So we've got to have a standard, that standard of God's Word, that people would understand and begin to see that. And without the moral standard of God's Word, what's going to happen? I'll tell you what's going to happen, chaos. Everybody's going to do their own thing, and when they do their own thing, that's going to cause even greater problems. And we're seeing that in the world, aren't we? Well, I think this is OK. And I think this is OK. Well, I don't know that. And we're just all doing it. Where's the standard? The standard is God's word. We need also be praying that that folks in leadership in our country, which they might be bold, that they might have enough courage to stand for what is right. And I want to see some folks just stand up and say, this is right. Regardless of what's going to happen, this is the right thing to do. This is what we should be doing. We should be praying for that, folks. Can we ever pray enough? Are we praying enough now? I'm not sure we're praying enough now. You see, we cannot change minds, hearts, values, desires. We can't convince people, but we surely can pray and ask God to do it. If we pray this way vertically and ask God to speak to hearts and lives of people where they need salvation in the Lord or they need to change their life, God can do it. Only God can do that. We need to be praying. What else do we need to do? We need to be practicing obedience. Practice obedience. First of all, there must be obedience to God, right? God's Word is given to us not as some kinds of rules and regulations, but principles, commands, instructions, and directions so that we might live a peaceable life, know the Lord Jesus Christ, experience the joy and peace that God has for us. His commands, the Bible says, are not grievous. Are they? Oh, I got to do what God says. That's not what it's all about. These are instructions and guidelines and rules and regulations, not to create a hardship, but to show us the right path to go. Without it, we're going to be all over this world. And let me say this. Obedience is not what we think God wants. Well, I think I'm doing OK. No, no. What does God's word says? It doesn't all go back to this. Do you understand why the world is trying to get rid of God's word? If you throw out the authority of God's Word, you throw out God, there is no standard that's consistent across the board, and people are left to do what they want to. That's the danger, and that's where we're headed. That's where we're going. We're moving down that road already. But not only should we be obedient to God, secondly, we should be obedient to the laws of the land. I didn't hear any amens on that one. When you drove up Thrasher Pike this morning, how fast were you going? Then you're disobedient to God. You're not just disobedient to the authority of this land. You're disobedient to God. That's pretty dangerous. Let me tell you why. Because God's word says, and I quote Romans chapter 13, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. What it says? Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, the authority of man resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. Whoa. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath. Well, I'm going to do it, but I don't like it. That's what he's saying, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. It's the right thing to do for, for, for this cause pay tribute also for they, for they are God's ministers are servants attending continually upon this very thing. Now notice what Paul says, render therefore to all their due tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honor to whom honor. And I believe there's another. Reference I put down in first Peter chapter two, verse 13. Let me turn to that quickly. It says, yes, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be king as supreme or into governors and so forth. So as believers, we are obligated by God's word to obey the laws of the land. So it says. Don't argue with me, that's what God's word says, isn't it? God says that we're to be obedient. Now, we do not advocate, the Bible does not advocate moral, or excuse me, civil disobedience to create some kind of problem in breaking the law in order to get our thoughts, our desires known. Now, praise God in America, we can protest in the right way, can we? Is it okay to protest? Is it sinful to protest? No, it's not. It's okay. Our country has given us that ability to do that in a correct way. And if we don't like what's going on, we can change the laws if we believe they're unfair. If we don't like the people who are making the laws, we can change that, right? But we're commanded to obey the ordinance of man according to God's Word. That's what it says. Whether we like them or not, Whether they're unfair or not, or unjust if you think they're unjust, that's what it says. Now there is an exception, right? It's the exception. The exception is when the laws of the land are contrary or try to usurp the authority of God, that we do what God tells us to do and obey Him rather than man. Now, don't don't don't read it. Well, I think I think that's a bad law. So I think going 45 on Thrasher Pike is a bad law. And I think that's against God's word. I think God wants me to go 80. Show me in the book. Let me where that find where that is, that must be in the book of Hezekiah or something, I can't find it right. If it comes a time that he may write, When it comes to time when the laws of our land, and this happens in some countries, when the laws of our land are contrary to God's word, they usurp God's authority, then we have a higher obligation to obey God rather than man, even if it means disobedience and consequences under the laws of the land. You understand? We don't like that. It hasn't happened, but it surely could. Peter said it this way, for so is the will of God that with well-doing you put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. It's our obedience to God and obedience to the ordinance in the right spirit, even when we protest or think something is wrong, that gives people to see who we are, that we belong to the Lord and we bring God glory. So we need to pray always. We need to practice obedience. And I think the third key and grief for believers in this world of conflict and moral, moral degradation, we need to preach the gospel. When I talk about preaching the gospel, I'm very broad in that sense, not just preaching from a pulpit, but as believers, it is no time to be silent and be quiet and retreat and hide and say, Oh, what are people going to say? Who cares? It is the it is the gospel. There's a power of God into salvation. If there's going to be any substantial changes in our world, in our community, it's got to be through the the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth of God's word. And it's got to get in the ears and hearts of people. And how do they how does that happen is through the boldness of Christians. You can't be silent. Well, they're going to think bad of me. Does it matter? They're not going to befriend me. Does it matter? We've got to stand up for what is right. They'll mock me. They'll persecute me. So be it. This is not time to hide our lights under a bushel child of God. It's time to shine brightly. Do not retreat from the fact that this is God's Word. This is our authority and we can stand on it. Boldly stand on it. Preach the gospel. Share your personal testimony. Tell what God has done for you. Say that I believe this is the standard. Regardless of what happens in the next few months in America, we're going to keep preaching the gospel. Did you know that? Because God is still saving souls, and God wants people to do right, and God's working in people's lives, and God's Word is not hindered because of what's going on in our world, but we need to continue to share Christ with a hope and with a prayer that God will touch lives and souls will be saved, lives will be changed, and our nation somehow can turn, maybe not in mass, but hopefully there'll be people that'll turn to Christ and trust Him. Isn't that our goal? Oh, we're going to be good citizens, and we're going to do the right thing. We're going to preach to God. We're not going to hesitate, are we? We're not going to back up. We're not going to be quiet and be the silent majority back in the corner waiting for everybody else to say something. Let's stand up and be heard. Amen? Let me give you the third one. We need to fear our God. We need to fulfill our role. But then we need to firm our faith. Firm our faith. There are many in America today that are pinning their hope for a better society, a better life, on their choice of a candidate being elected in a particular office. Americans have missed the proverbial boat. We don't believe that, do we? Our hope is not in what's going to happen and being the right person put in the right office or the right laws being enacted or the right Supreme court decision. I'm telling you folks, our hope must be in the Lord. I'm not saying that we don't respond, that we have a role of, of. voting and other things that we have the right to do is as as Americans, then they utilize that, obviously. But our hope is in the Lord, not just some if he hope maybe things that were our hope is in and our God, who is our savior, who is our sovereign, who is our security. Our hope is in him, is it not? My hope, the song says, is in the Lord. And that word hope, again, it means assurance. Now, there's three areas of hope. We have hope, we have assurance, that's the word, assurance in his presence and of his presence. Colossians 127. Let me read that to you, please. Colossians 127 says, yes, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is God in you, the hope of glory. You see, regardless of what happens in our lives, regardless of what happens in this moral strife, this political conflict, even if it intensifies, if persecution gets worse, if bad laws are enacted, if we face impossibility, God will always be there for us. Kind of weak. God will always be there to provide whatever we need to continue forward in his strength and with his help, with his peace, he will be there for us. We hope and we rejoice and we have the assurance of his eternal presence. We don't live in certain countries of our world where they gather in secrecy and hide, afraid of what's going to happen. But they still, those people who do that in certain countries, they still have hope in the Lord. They're looking, God's gonna see them through. Doesn't that confirm your faith? Because of God's presence with us every day, whatever we're going through, he's there, he's there, he's a very present help in trouble, the Bible says. That just encourages our faith and it firms and confirms our faith in the Lord. We not only hope in his presence, we also hope or find assurance in his promises. I like 1 Peter 1 where Peter says what God has done for us, or should it be 2 Peter 1, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through the lusts. We have been given these wonderful promises from God's word over and over again that God is going to be there for us and he's going to be our strength and our hope. We can trust him. You'll see us through over and over. And we sing the song standing on the promises. The promises! There's promises of God's Word to God's children. He's going to be there with us. He's going to see us through. Even when life is dark and there's conflict and we don't think there's any way through it, God promises to be there with us. He'll see us through. Amen? Has He ever let us down in His promises? Has He ever reneged on a promise? Never! Has He ever said something He didn't promise to do that He didn't do? Never! You and I make promises, don't we? Do we always keep our promise? Do we always keep our promise? Sometimes we fail. We don't mean to, maybe, but we do. We do. God help us. We shouldn't be doing that, but we can rely on God's promises. We can rely on His Word. We can rely on His truth. And doesn't that strengthen our faith? Doesn't that help us to walk through these valleys and these dark places and through this turmoil that we see around us and all the conflict and the moral problems? based on His promises. Thirdly, if you're keeping notes, we also hope, let me turn to the verse before I give you the word, we need to hope it is parousia. Got that word? Parousia. Let me spell it for you if you're keeping notes. The word is P-A-R-O-U-S-I-A. It is a word that means coming. It comes from Titus, chapter two, verse 13, which says, looking for that. Blessed what hope and the glorious appearing, that's the word they're appearing is this word parousia, this glorious appearing of our great God and our savior, Jesus Christ. Hey, believers, did you know that one day this will all be over? One day there'll be no more problems, no more tears, no more conflicts. One day the problem will be gone. We'll be with the Lord in heaven and praise God. And either by the rapture or by death, it'll be all past us and behind us. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but we with the Lord. Come on, glory in it. Oh, wait, wait, wait a minute though. But be careful. Don't look at that simply as some way to escape our problems. Oh Lord, just get me out of the problem. I think that's wrong. We're looking for the Lord because He's the Lord. Not because He's gonna deliver us, because He's the Lord. What it means, as for believers, the reality of the Lord's soon coming, His imminent return, means that we are to be motivated to redeem our time and let our light shine and make a difference in this world so this world somehow, someway, can begin moving back toward God. So the Lord's gonna return. We need to be busy, right? Amen. Well, I'm just going to sit here and do nothing until he comes. Shame on you. Wrong. Well, I'm just waiting for him to just to let me run my problems. Wait a minute. He wants you. He wants you experience him now, right now. The experience in heaven will be perfect. But now we have that wonderful experience of knowing him, even in the midst of our difficult and giving him giving us that peace and calmness and joy of soul that that's not ours by natural means. Yes, he's coming. He will deliver us, but we must intensify our efforts as we see the things are happening in our lives, but knowing that God's going to take care of us one day, we'll be okay. We're going to be okay, folks. We have the victory, right? It's already ours. We're just moving through this world on a temporary basis, and then we'll be with the Lord in heaven. So be it. So we suffer a little bit. So there's some problems. So be it. God's going to see us through. Doesn't that strengthen our faith as well? Again, I believe our country's in trouble. What could we do? Well, we need to fear God. Have this awesome respect for God's authority, our Savior, our Lord. He's our sovereign. He's our security. We need to fulfill our role. We do have a role. Don't just sit back and do nothing. Do nothing. Do nothing. Bad English. We need to serve the Lord. We need to be praying. We need to be practicing obedience both to God and of course to our laws or land to show forth that we're the children of God that believe God's going to do it. And we need to preach that gospel. Just get that gospel out there, folks. They need to need to affirm our faith, hope in his presence, hope in his promises, hope in his parousia. What are we going to do with it? You've heard truth. What are you gonna do with it? Well, that was a neat, but there's got to be a response. Are you going to take the challenge and be the kind of Christian that God wants us to be in this world? We live in a world that's really not our own, right? We're going to heaven. That's going to be our ultimate home. But we're here on purpose. God has left us here to have an influence, whatever we can. Let's do what we can by the grace of God. Let's get our eyes off ourselves. We're a bunch of selfish people, right? Nobody wants to say amen to that one, do they? We are a bunch of selfish people. May God deliver us from that so that we can have an impact on this world. We're here for a purpose, not just to enjoy life and to be on cruise control, but to serve God, to pray for people, to lead people to Christ, to tell people about Jesus, to gather together to worship and praise, to make a difference for Christ. Let your light so shine before men They may see your good works, and what? Glorify your Father which is in heaven. That's our world, folks. What are we going to do about it? Would you bow your heads, please? Heads bowed, eyes closed.