Wow. What round is this? Ding, ding. I know we've been going at it, brothers and sisters, and I thank you for your endurance and your perseverance. We do pray that in God's providence, what has been set in motion here will be a benefit to God's kingdom work here in Idaho. Pastor, again, I want to publicly thank you for your hospitality and, honestly, for your courage, brother. Bless you. I really look forward to these times Because one of the fringe benefits of fighting the good fight of faith in this cause is the caliber of Christians that I get to rub shoulders with. And we have this sort of iron sharpening iron kind of deal taking place and I really thank the Lord because I get to run with brothers and sisters who are some of the most loving, some of the most generous, and some of the most sacrificial people I know. And I am grateful to be in this fellowship with you, my brothers and sisters. And I just want to bless each and every one of you in Jesus' name. I know we've We have heard a lot. There has been a download of information and we have covered tremendous territory legally, governmentally, apologetically, biblical worldview. And all of this is needed and necessary to equip us to fight the good fight of faith. in this nation that we find ourselves. And brothers and sisters, I just want to encourage you, sometimes like in our generation, you know, we're kind of limited to our generation, and we always think we're either the best or the worst, or it's never been like this, but how many know this is not the church's first rodeo? How many know there have been great atrocities throughout church history, great genocide. There have been times when evil empires with demonic tyrants target people for destruction. And it's very interesting that during that time that God ordained one institution to take on that evil and take it out, and that is the Church of the Living God. And they were armed with two revelations that fueled their service to God in the midst of atrocious times where great evil was being committed and that is Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father and man is made in the image of God so human beings, there's a sacredness to this human life that gets very cheap once we abandon the God of the Bible. There are certain things that have to happen for a genocide of the magnitude that we're talking about to take place. We must abandon the God of the Bible. And how many know America did that several decades ago? We gave God his official eviction notice, get out of our government, get out of our schools, and leave our children alone. And the problem with that, historically, whenever a nation abandons the knowledge of God in its public life, violence and perversion always replaces him. Always. Nature abhors a vacuum. And if that's not going to be filled with the truth and the love and the righteousness and the holiness and the justice and the compassion and the mercy of God, mark it down. Unprecedented violence and perversion is going to savage your nation. So brothers and sisters, as we are pressing forward in this just cause and how many know this is a just cause remember what before you know David took on Goliath is there not a cause And we are dealing with serious Goliaths in the land of the United States of America. It's like I was sharing with the folks at the abortion mill today. Sometimes you feel like literally like you're like an ant trying to hold back a tidal wave of evil that is just sweeping through the land. And here's the thing you must know. Yes, This evil work, this genocide, this child sacrifice, the shedding of innocent blood, this parading our sin like Sodom is an affront to the holiness of God. And they got the government on their side, and they got the money, and they got the culture, and they got all the legal beagles, they got all this stuff working for them, all this stuff entrenched, propping up this rebellion against Almighty God. And they have all that. But what do we have? We have God Almighty. Amen? Who is on our side when what? When we are on his side. Amen? Now I want to share something with you. As we're pressing forward to end this Holocaust, there's a couple of things we must discern about this battle, and it's not new. It has been with the church for over 2,000 years. And this battle comes down to two issues. In other words, the truth remains the truth in every generation, right? There's the same truth, there's the same lie, there's the same heaven, there's the same hell, there's the same God, there's the same devil, right? But in every generation, the battlefront sort of shifts. Like if you were alive like 150 years ago, what would we be dealing with today? What would we be talking about today? What would be preached from this pulpit today? Slavery. Why? Because it was a national sin bringing national calamity upon the land. The Lord had a contention with the United States of America because 75 years he warned us, let them go free. We stiffened our neck, we hardened our heart, and it cost us 630,000 men to atone for that national sin that brought the judgment of God upon the land. If you were alive over 200-something years ago, what would be preached from this pulpit? What was the battlefront over 250 years ago? What was the United States of America dealing with? Whether we liked it or not, whether we believed it or not, what did we have to deal with? Tyranny. And you're going to hear the Black Grove Regiment tomorrow, how the church and pastors in specific responded to that challenge. Now again, same God, same devil, same truth, same law, same heaven, same hell, but that battle manifests. differently in each generation and there's a point of contact. There's a point of contact. Now the word of God tells us that we are to use the law of God lawfully. And what I want to share with you today is the difference between God's law and man's law. What do we know about God's law? First, did you know the first important reason for God's law is to shut our mouths and make us guilty before God? Did you know that? Do you know how somebody's getting close to the kingdom of God? Is when they shut their mouths and they're found guilty. Do you ever notice that? Like when, like, you know, Cy was talking about presuppositional, you know, apologetics. If you'll watch what happens when you are witnessing to somebody and the Holy Spirit kicks in, guess what? They're not blabbing. They're not talking. They're beginning to quiet themselves down and they're receiving the word of the living God by the power of the Holy Spirit. So God gave his law to shut our mouths. Amen. And to make us guilty, the Bible tells us where there is no law, there is no sin. And if there is no sin, who in their right mind needs a savior? The law is extremely important if we use it lawfully. The law of God is an ally to evangelism. God gave his law as a tutor, as a schoolmaster, to lead men to Christ. And if you study the revivalists and the reformers of old, they're quite opposite to the way we run today in the American church. They preached about 90% law and then 10% grace. Spurgeon said the 10 commandments are 10 cannons aimed at your head, sinner. And why was that important? Because when you study the revivalists and reformers, what they did is they laid bare the sinner before a holy God. Every prop that they had, whether it was religious, secular, or philosophical, they decimated. So they had nothing to stand upon, nowhere to run, except to the mercy seat of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. using the law of God lawfully. Amen? How many know the law of God is also a part of God's sanctification in a believer's life? Amen? If you love me, you'll do what? You'll keep my word, you'll obey my commandments. So we know it has a sanctifying aspect. in the believer's life, in the church's life, amen? But how many know the Ten Commandments are also the blueprint of how God wants men and nations to govern themselves? Do you know that? What? Some in the church don't actually believe that anymore. And it has been a disaster to the health and the soundness of our nation. So as we're pressing forward in this battle, the two vital issues come down to this. Who is Lord, God or man? And whose laws ultimately are to govern in the affairs of men? Is it God Almighty, our creator, the Lord of heaven and earth? Or is it Caesar? a delegated authority that God established for His glory and our benefit. So if you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 17. Now to answer this first question, who is the ultimate sovereign of this universe? This is Romans 13.1 as you're turning to Acts 17. This is the Apostle Paul. Most people, when it comes to Romans 13, people really do not understand the courage of the Apostle Paul. Who was in power in Rome when Paul wrote Romans 13? Who was in power? Nero. I'm talking a man seriously possessed by devils. He was a demoniac, crazed, political tyrant. And Paul pens Romans 13. And I gotta tell you, that took a lot of Holy Ghost courage in that man's soul to pen those words. Now I want you to listen to the first part of this. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God. And the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Now two things are really clear here. You have to understand, like Sai was talking about, we don't have a concept of truth apart from God. We don't have a concept of morality apart from God. We don't have a concept of the scientific method apart from the uniformity of God. We have none of those things if God does not exist. Well, guess what? Man would not even have the concept of authority apart from God. Now watch this. And it's clearly that the Apostle Paul is implying that Almighty God is the supreme authority in which all delegated authorities, including civil government, get their authenticity, their charge, and their commission. Like really important stuff here. So what do we learn from Holy Writ? We learn, and by the way, we learn this not just by God's people. the prophets, and the kings, and those who have gone before us. We even hear this from humbled pagan tyrants. And you know what they learn, some the easy way and some the hard way? That God Almighty rules and reigns in the affairs of men. He sets up kingdoms, He knocks them down. He possesses and dispossesses nations based upon their obedience or disobedience to his covenant law word. And that's why the scriptures in Psalm 2, the great messianic psalm, what is the warning after Christ is set on the holy hill? And he asked his father to possess the nations of the earth. What happens right after that? The warning goes forth. And it's not to the citizens of the land. It's the kings, rulers, and judges. You better bow down. You better kiss the sun. You better worship him because he has a rod in your hand. And if you don't comply, he is going to smash you to bits. And by the way, bless all those who trust in him. And I mean beside me, you're glad you trust in him. The Apostle John in the book of Revelations calls Jesus Christ the ruler of the kings of this earth. Do we get that? So when we say Jesus Christ is king of kings and Lord of lords, do we understand the implication of that? Or is that just some high-sounding theological words? He did not say he's the king of pastors. He did not say he's the lord of bishops. He's the king of kings, the lord of lords. Do you know most of the titles of God are not ecclesiastical? Most of the titles of God are not ecclesiastical, not church related. Yes, he's the great shepherd. Yes, he's the bishop of our souls. But what about Lord? What about king? What about ruler? What about the governor of the nations? Are those church related titles? Or are they political titles? And what amazes me, most of the American church doesn't believe God wants to get political. That he doesn't care about law. He doesn't care how people govern themselves. All he cares about is are you saved, brother? Just say this prayer and you are in. When Jesus Christ said, all authority in heaven and just a little bit on earth, just in that church part, maybe in the family. I may have some authority in there. I may have some if they'll give it to me. If they'll just... No, all authority in heaven and on earth. past tense has been given to me. I hate to break this to you, he's not our soon coming king. He's already been coronated king. He went to the father, the father gave him the kingdom. That all men and all nations should love, serve, and obey him. It's getting quiet in this Presbyterian Church. How to make friends in Inverness, people. So based upon, listen, now based upon God being the supreme sovereign of his universe. How many remember the quote by Abraham Kuyper, former prime minister of the Netherlands? This is what he said. He said, there's not one iota of this universe where Jesus Christ does not claim mine. Mine. If that is true, then whose laws are ultimately binding in the affairs of men? Is it the laws of flawed men with the feet of clay like you and me? Which in many cases, as we're seeing in America today, they're actually codifying evil into law. Or is it the righteous and just laws of God, now listen, that protects the liberty for which Christ died to secure for the sons of men. How many are grateful for the river of life? And how many know that river is freedom? That river is liberty? But how many know that river will become a stinking pond if you remove the embankments? And that's what we have done as a nation. See, America, we still want the fruits of Christianity. See, we love the blessing, we love the prosperity, we love that we're a great people, we're mighty, we got the CIA, we got the military men, we got all this stuff going for us, we love all that stuff! The problem is, we don't love Christ anymore. So how many know it's hard to maintain the fruit of something when you sever the root? And I don't know what I just knocked down here. I just hope it wasn't expensive. Y'all still with me? All right, you had Acts chapter 17. Here's where we find out the essence of the battle. And this is the battle that is raging today. We'll start in verse 5. He says, but when the Jews were not persuaded becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of this pastor. You invited us in. And some brethren to the rulers of the city saying, These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them and these are acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying there is another king, one called Jesus. Remember I told you that this battle and this is how it's manifesting in our day, what are the two issues? Who is the rightful king? Who is the rightful Lord, God or man? And whose laws are ultimately binding in the affairs of men? That was the clear and present danger towards the political tyrants and the religious oppressors of Jesus' day. In other words, Christians weren't hunted down. They weren't persecuted because they went around saying, listen, Jesus loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life. I mean, no, that was not the issue. See, under Roman occupation, you could worship the God of your choice. Every land that Rome conquered, they maintained religious freedom in the lands that they conquered. So how do you know the Jews were free to go to temple, to do all the religious stuff? But you know what happened when the Jews came out of that temple? You better bow your knee and you better confess with your mouth, Caesar is curious, he is Lord. And how do we know the Jews went along with that? How do we know that? What was written on the side of Jesus Christ? What was written there? He is not our king! Then who's your king? Caesar! Caesar is our king! We got religious freedom in America? Do we? Who's king? Supreme Court? Or Jesus Christ? See, the problem with the Christians? The true God-man had come. How many know that was a counterfeit sitting in Rome? That was a counterfeit. That was the emperor cult worship under pagan tyrannical rule. Because Caesar was not just demanding lawful submission to civil authority. He was demanding a pinch of incense. Incense. Is that the right word? Incense? To affirm his deity. And how may know the Christians conscience was bound to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? See, this was the accusation. These Christians are going around in Roman occupied lands saying there's another king. and the way they're acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar. This was an accusation. This is what put them in trouble. And you know the stories, you know what they were threatened with. The whole book of Hebrews, if you want to understand the book of Hebrews, just understand this. These were Jewish Christians. who were born again, but they were losing their homes. They couldn't buy. They couldn't sell. They were being thrown in prison, and some of them were being martyred from the faith. So there was pressure from Judaism. Just renounce him. Deny him. Judaism is a protective religion. Just come back into the fold. You get all your stuff back. This wasn't about just committing any old sin in the flesh. Oh, you're fornicating. You're going to hell. It looks like a place for you. That's not what it's talking about. There was a pressure to deny the lordship of Jesus Christ. And believe me, that pressure is upon us today. No, they have not put a gun to our head and say, deny Jesus Christ or you're dying. But you know what they aren't doing? Deny that baby in the womb was made in the image of God. Deny the fact that government was established to protect their life and stop the shedding of the blood. You deny that. You deny that marriage is between a man and a woman. You now deny that. I don't care what your Bible says. Do you know what they're grooming us for? Are we ready? The battle remains the same, right? There's those two issues. OK. So can I get some water? Can you give me a second here? I'm losing weight. I'm losing my hair. Brothers and sisters, please hear this. If men and nations do not believe and submit to the reality, the biblical reality, that Jesus Christ is the rightful sovereign king over all the earth, you've got two failed options left. Historically failed options. And you know what they are? The state is sovereign. Caesar is Lord. You know where that has gotten us in history, right? Every murderous regime committing manifold atrocities against the very ones they claim to love and to serve as their leaders. That's what happens when men and nations believe the lie. And so if the state is not sovereign, what other failed option do we have? The individual is sovereign. Where does that bring us? Right back to the fall. You don't need the objective truth of God. You can determine for yourself what is good and evil. And by doing that, you're a long gotten to yourself. Welcome to the battle in the United States of America. I'm okay. You're okay. Everybody's okay. My truth may not be your truth, but whatever floats your boat. So we're okay. And yeah, why we're saying that, why is that naked man hanging on the cross and his body being broken? If everybody and everything is okay. Cause it's not okay. There's two realities in this life we must understand. There's the reality of authority and there's the reality of liberty. And Hamino men need both. We do. We do. And this is what you must understand about the beauty of the Christian faith, the beauty of the Christian worldview. Wherever Christianity has been planted and flourished, it has decentralized power, it has put checks and balances upon men and nations. Why? Because the Christian worldview is, apart from Christ, we're all petty tyrants! We're lustful, we're greedy! We will hurt each other to get what we want. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely except for one, God Almighty. He's the only one that can handle it without defecting. People think this Christianity is like freedom from the beast from within. No! It starts there, but Christianity has freed us from the beast from without as well. Part of our heritage. So we have to understand, brothers and sisters, only one nation under God can do two things. On the one hand, it could provide a just social order where you and I can live in peace and harmony. And it provides maximum individual freedom. No other worldview No other faith, no other philosophy can this be had in this fallen world apart from Christianity. That is just true. Historically and biblically true. And we neglect it to our own peril. All right, how much time do I have left? Where am I? Like other people are saying, Get him off the stage! Kill him! Keep going! I really would like to end this. If you can just stay with me a few more minutes. I want to bring up this next presupposition. As I would say, the laws that govern society reveals the gods worshipped. by that society. Pay close attention to what I'm saying here. Any human entity who assumes final authority and is an arbiter of good and evil, that entity, human, has taken upon themselves the status of a deity. Really important stuff here, brothers and sisters. In that sense, all men and nations adopt a theocratic position. How many of you have ever been accused that you're a biblical Christian and you want to establish a theocracy? How many has ever heard that before? Well, I've got news for you. Whether this world likes it or not, there's a theocratic government. You know what theocracy means? God rules. Now what they're talking about is a ecclesiology or ecclesiastical situation where the church runs the government to do its bidding. And how many know our founding fathers rejected that? And rightly so, by the way. But God doesn't give a rip what your governmental structure is. He rules. And if he doesn't like what you're doing in your nation, believe me, he has ways of correcting us. How many of you know God knows how to make us cry? He does. As an individual, I know for sure. So here's the thing. So when you look at the laws of the United States of America, do they reflect the God of the Bible. Some of them still do. But when you have a situation where we're resorting back to the brutal darkness of paganism, and we're sacrificing children and shedding innocent blood, and we're parading our sin like Sodom, is that the God of the Bible? Biblically, who are those gods? They're called Moloch. They're called Baal, Ashtoreth. Remember all those pagan deities back in the Old Testament? Remember those guys? How many know they didn't go away? And this is what's so amazing about us as Americans because we think we're so doggone smart. We got universities. We got technology. We're so sophisticated. We got all this higher learning. And isn't it amazing that we still fall for the ancient evils? So has America done what Israel has done? Built our little golden calf and said, here, America, here is your God. Have we done that? Something to consider. Another notion. How many has ever heard, one cannot legislate morality? How many has ever heard that? Is that true? Brothers and sisters, all law is based upon someone's definition of good and evil. It is a moral foundation that is based in a religion. We cannot escape that underlying premise. If you want to know the gods that nations worship, look at their decrees, look at their public policies, look at their laws. It is morally based upon someone's definition of good and evil. But how do we know? We know according to the scriptures, a nation can descend to the point where good becomes evil, evil becomes good, and then they codify that evil into law, and now guess what? You're living in tyranny. I wish I had more time to go into this. So, will the law be based upon God's righteous, and just moral character as our creator, not only penned in scripture, but also, how many know this is penned in the Declaration of Independence? How many know our founding fathers had a little bit of clue about this? They did. Or will our laws be based on the subjective experience of immoral men? And how many know we need to choose wisely when it comes to these decisions, amen? for close to 2,000 years of Western civilization. Please hear this. Any law that was not based upon God's law was considered no law at all. Do you know that's our heritage? Here's what churchmen believed for 2,000 years. Watch this. When the state commands us to do what God forbids, or forbids us to do what God commands, we are to obey God rather than men. Who are the apostles who taught us to submit to civil government? Who were they, specifically in the Bible? Who were the men who taught us that we were to submit to civil authority? Who were they? Paul and who else? Peter. How did they die? How did they die? Who murdered them? Are they hypocrites? Are they contradicting God's mind and will? Are they saying one thing and doing another thing? No, they understood the sacred truth. So, how many know, first of all, how many know this has to be reclaimed in our day? How many believe that? Honestly, you believe that? Now, here's the thing, brothers and sisters. When I say this, you must understand, some people, when they take this, it's like, well, brother, are you promoting anarchy? Are you promoting lawlessness? Are you promoting civil disobedience? No. No, what we're promoting is biblical obedience. There's a huge difference. How many know, I don't want to be an anarchist. I don't want to be a lawless guy. I'm a Christian. But ultimately, who's defining good and evil? See, when it comes to abortion and homosexuality, you have to understand our government is a lawbreaker. They are the lawless ones. They are the anarchists. They are the ones who have betrayed their sacred trust before Almighty God, and they're now defending the indefensible. We who submit to God and obey Him, we are the law keepers. Now, how do we know this is true? If you have your Bibles, turn to Mark chapter 3. And I'm getting ready to close this down. And everybody say, thank God. Here's the words of our Lord. And how many know our Lord was in some ways like William Wallace in the sense that he was always going about picking a fight? Did you notice that? Seriously, take your American glasses off, read the Gospels. There's a reason why he chose the Sabbath day to prove his deity. Just file that away somewhere. He says to them, now remember, there's a situation where I think there's a man who has a withered arm. Guy's hurting. It's Sabbath day. God has the power to heal him. He knows he's going to upset the religious leaders. And so he does it anyway. And so they get all upset. And this is what he says to them. Then he said to them, now remember, these are the Pharisees. These are the guardians of truth of the God's law. If anybody knows God's law, these are the guys. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill? But they kept silent. Now, how many know that's a rhetorical question? Everybody with a proper functioning conscience knew the self-evident truth that the purpose for law is not to make men good, but to restrain evil. Right? It's like Martin Luther King Jr. said, hey, Law cannot force you to love me, but law can stop you from lynching me. Because the law is a teacher. It's not just punitive, it's a teacher. Amen? And so when it comes to child sacrifice and the shedding of innocent blood, who ultimately is breaking the law? Those who are seeking to save life? are those who are taking innocent life. Who is the lawbreaker? Brothers and sisters, this is like critically important to what we're trying to seek to accomplish in these days. So prayerfully at this conference that we're no longer, as God's people, gonna remain silent. How many of us have this answer? And we know it's true, amen? But here's the challenge, and it was put forth by Francis Schaeffer. Y'all remember Francis Schaeffer? Great Christian brother? Thinker? And that's not an oxymoron, Christian thinker. Sometimes we think it is. It's not. But this is what he said. He said, every abortion mill should have this sign posted on it. open by permission of the local church. How many besides me you want to withdraw your permission? Amen. And what does God called us to do? He's called us to overcome evil by doing what? By doing good. If you study the book of First Peter, And the essence of the book is a wife living in tyranny in an abusive home by a husband that doesn't obey the word of God and Christians living in a culture where they're being politically and religiously oppressed. That is the context of the book of First Peter. And do you know what God commanded the Christians to do? And this is what we have to take heart in our day, brothers and sisters. There's two commands. A, you trust God. And B, you continue to do good. Even though your good would be considered evil and a crime by those who codified evil into law. That is God's command to us. When you are living, and this is what we're living in, make no mistake about it, our government has become tyrannical. Understand that. You really have to understand that. Why? Because they have assumed the powers of deity. They are the final arbiter of what is right and wrong and good and evil in this nation. We're also living in a time where moral anarchy is being fueled by this culture of death. And one feeds the beast, and that beast feeds the other beast. And you and I are in the center of this. So how then shall we live? Trust God. Continue to do good in Jesus' name. God bless you. Thank you.