Children, to be dismissed, I guess that's Selena this morning. Alright. And if you take your Bibles, turn to Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13. We started several weeks ago in Romans 12.

Romans one through 11, Paul is writing explaining in detail our salvation. Why we need it? How we receive it through faith in Christ? So we study those in the first 11 chapter. We get to chapter 12, Paul changes gears.

Okay? Now that the matter of salvation hopefully is settled through faith in Christ. Now, if you are a child of God, if you've been saved by his grace, is that the end? No. That's just the what?

The beginning of our new life in Christ. God has expectations of us moving forward. What what am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to live? What am I supposed to do with my life?

Well, Paul addresses those beginning in Romans chapter 12. How his church should properly live to represent him and do his will in this world. We do so by giving of ourselves in service to our Lord. It is our reasonable service by not conforming ourselves to the ways of the world, but being transformed in our mind by his spirit and his word, by using the gifts that God has given us in his service, by choosing to love one another, our Lord with all our heart in a lost world that needs Christ. And several other attributes that we see in Christ that God wants to see in who?

That wants to see in us. We get to chapter 13. Paul's going to address another issue which was certainly on the minds of some of the believers in this city he's writing. What city are they in? They're in the city of Rome.

This is the book of Romans. It's a letter from Paul to the believers in Rome. Rome was the seat of the Roman government. The people that lived there were very aware of what was going on, maybe more than even some in other places. And persecution was just around the corner as well.

So the Roman government was not a godly one, was not a God honoring one. Roman government in those days did not particularly have the best interest of their people always before them. How were believers to interact with and deal with a a government that was hostile in many ways to their God and didn't have the best interest of them. How are we to deal with an ungodly government? Sadly, most governments are ungodly because they're run by ungodly people.

Therefore, they're all in very many respects ungodly. How do we deal with that? How does Paul tell them to deal with that? So Romans chapter 13 verse one, let's see what Paul has to say. Let every soul be subject under the higher powers for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God.

Stop for a moment. Even Rome? Yes. How about Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon? Yes.

God has a purpose in allowing these powers to have authority in this world. They have a purpose and they have a reason. It was God who ordained government because man needs government to restrict us. People without any government run wild, chaos ensues and so do many other terrible terrible things. Continuing on verse two, whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God.

And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Now the word damnation there is not necessarily speaking of hellfire. It is a strong word for judgment or condemnation. Okay? Verse three, for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil.

That's a general statement. Wilt thou then be not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain.

For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore, you must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake. For low for for for this cause, pay tribute also for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute to do, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you Lord this day. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to to be here today to look into your word. Guide us as we look into it, Lord, as give me the words to say. Pray that it would be rightly divided and explained and that you would give us wisdom by your spirit to apply it to our own lives and situations. Help us, Lord, to truly honor you in all that we do.

We thank you for this opportunity and for Jesus Christ, your son. And pray if there be one here today that is yet to surrender to your authority, to bow the knee before their creator, and to accept their savior who died for them. I pray that they might do that this very day. In Jesus' name we do pray. Amen.

The child of God recognizes that our first citizenship is where? Heaven. Philippians chapter three verse 20. For our conversation, can also be translated citizenship, is in heaven. From whence also we look for the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our citizenship is not of earth. We're just pilgrims, we're just what? Passing through. As children of God, as redeemed in Christ Jesus, our eternal home awaits us. It is being preserved for us.

It is reserved for us according to first Peter. It is our home. He is our king, that is Jesus Christ, and our citizenship is there. Our first allegiance and loyalty is to the king of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. First Corinthians eight six, but to us there is but one God, the father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him.

There is one king, there is one Lord, Jesus Christ our savior. Our first allegiance and our primary allegiance is to him. God is the supreme authority over all his creation. We who know him have also acknowledged his authority over us and humbled ourselves before him as Lord. That thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.

We who are saved has received Jesus Christ as our Lord and as our savior have welcomed him into our life as our Lord. However, sometimes we don't act like it. That is true. Sometimes we struggle to obey it. That is still true.

And sometimes we fail. Praise God, we serve a God of what? Mercy and grace. He's not up there waiting to strike us down when we mess up. He is up there to give us strength and to show us mercy who are his children.

And sometimes we so desperately need it. Praise God for our advocate that sits at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous who gave his life for us. But nonetheless, even though sometimes we fail and struggle, we by faith and in love acknowledge him as our Lord and King above all else, that he might have the preeminence in our lives and in our church. He must have first place. He is the highest authority from whence all other authorities get their power.

When the ways and laws of men therefore demand we disobey the commandments of God, we should be willing to follow who? We should be willing to follow God. He is our what? First and highest authority. Our citizenship is in heaven.

He is our king. So when the laws of men contradict the laws of God, we should be willing to follow God and pay the price if need be to obey that highest authority. Acts five twenty nine. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. What was the circumstance?

The context in which they said that? They had been preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. They were arrested. They were brought in before the ruling council in Jerusalem. They were told to stop telling others about Jesus, to stop preaching that Jesus had risen from the dead.

They were told to keep their mouths shut and quit causing problems in the synagogues and in their religion in Jerusalem. That's how the authority saw it. And Peter and the other apostles said, can't do that. Can't do that. You do what you must do.

We will do what we must do. And what we must do is obey God first. And God has commissioned us to tell others that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and that's what we must do. And did they suffer for it? Yes, they did.

But in many ways, we are sitting here today hearing the gospel, being able to hold God's word in our hands and know Christ as our savior because of these people, men and women who were willing to take the heat for us that we might know Christ today. Thus, Christians go to underground churches in various nations where it is forbidden them to worship in public as the Lord requires. Thus, Christians own and distribute Bibles in places where they're not allowed to have them or distribute them. Thus, Christians tell others about Christ today, neighbors and friends and relatives in places where their life could be in peril, simply for opening their mouth and telling someone that Jesus loves them, that Jesus died for them, and wants to save them. Why do they do that?

Because of their love for who? Because of their love for Christ. Because of Christ's love for us. Because of their love for one another. We have been blessed here not to have to deal much with that.

But sad to say, sometimes we just keep our mouth shut of our own accord when we can freely use it. Thus, Daniel went into the house into his house and he prayed to the Lord as he always did even before a law forbidding his prayers to God had been passed. It was passed and he just kept doing what God had commanded him to do and what was right, which was what? Which was praying to his God. Thus, his three Hebrew friends refused to obey the decree of Nebuchadnezzar and bow before the idol that he had built.

These three Hebrew friends and Daniel were were subjects of Babylon. They were actually involved in the government of Babylon. They obeyed the government of Babylon until the government of Babylon said what? Said you must stop praying to your God or you must bow to another. And that's when they would not cross the line.

Why? Because he must have my first allegiance. We too must be willing to pay the price if necessary, which may come sooner than we think. If so, we will be in good company. Matthew five eleven and twelve.

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. First Peter four thirteen, but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. You're in good company. If we must take a stand for Christ, take the stand.

Let God deal with the consequences. Do you trust him? Do you believe that he is worth it? Do you believe that he is watching out for his children and knows what he's doing? If so, when you must make a choice, choose Jesus.

Secondly, today, however, in most cases, even wicked governments make many laws which do not directly conflict with who? With God. Even bad governments make laws that do not conflict with the commands of God and scripture. Some of those are good and properly enforced. Some of them are good but not always equally enforced.

Some of them are mediocre. Others are quite inconvenient and pose obstacles to our everyday life. Some seek to rob us of freedoms which are rightly ours, and some at times are ridiculous, corrupt, and destructive to society at large. We won't give examples of each one this morning. We don't have time for that, but some may have popped up in your mind as we were going through that list.

Nonetheless, God has given us clear instructions on how to deal with such situations. In short, God's instruction is this, strive to obey them. Strive to obey them. The good ones and the the bad ones. The ones that make sense and the ones that that don't make sense.

I I went to a university called Bob Jones University. It's in Greenville, South Carolina. It's a good school. Still a good school, I think. And when I went there, I got on campus and I started looking at the rules.

And I found out at Bob Jones University, there were a lot of rules. There aren't quite as many rules as there were then and they're not quite as strict as they were then, which my son in particular appreciated when he went, but they still got quite a few. Some of them made good sense. Some of them I didn't think made good sense. And some of them I kind of struggled with.

Well, that doesn't make any sense. I'm not gonna do that. But it occurred to me about two years in of griping and complaining about college that who decided to go there? I did. I'm the one who decided to go to that college with the rules that it had, and therefore, having decided to go there, I needed to what?

I needed to submit and quit fighting. And I was less miserable after I realized. There are some rules that are gonna make sense. There are some that aren't. There are some that don't.

However, our responsibility is to do our best to obey those in authority over us even when we think their commands are dumb or wrong. Jesus said, give unto Caesar the things that are what? Caesar's. Rome was anything but God honoring. Neither was Caesar.

But Jesus said this is the authority under which you have to live. So given to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. In certain realms, has authority. In those realms, do your best to obey that authority. If we only obey those things which we agree or submit with those authorities that we agree to, agree with, we only submit to those authorities that have our best interest at heart, then we will find ourselves constantly fighting the system, A system which God desires us for to minister under.

It's hard to minister under a system when you're all the time focused on what? Fighting the system or griping about the system. God has placed us at this time, at this place that we might minister at this time and in this place and under this authority. Thus, for the sake of our own well-being, as he says here in chapter 13, it does not bear the sword in what? In vain.

In other words, for your own well-being, submit to the authorities over you. Because if you don't, you're likely gonna get what? You're likely going to suffer for it. You're likely to get punished for it. So if it is at all possible, submit.

Number two, for conscience sake. He says that that here in verse verse five, wherefore you must needs to be subject not only for wrath, for your own well-being, but also for conscience sake. Even if you get away with it, who knows that you are dismissing the authority over you? God does and you do. You do.

And when we go against the authorities God has placed over us, we know it and it is going to affect our conscience. It's going to have a negative effect on our conscience and even our fellowship with God. So for your own well-being, obey the authorities over you for your conscience sake, your fellowship with God, for the testimony of your Lord. Do your best to obey. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If you can't do it to the glory of God, you probably shouldn't be what? Doing it. If you can't disobey that law to the glory of God. Now if the law says you can't tell others about Christ, then can you disobey that law to the glory of God? Yes, you can.

But if the law says you can't go a 100 miles an hour down Missouri Avenue, Okay? Can you can you go a 100 miles an hour down Missouri Avenue to the glory of God? I don't think so. I don't think so. Alright?

You see the difference? There are opportunities, however, point number three, particularly in The United States to speak up for what is right in behalf of those who are being mistreated. In the past, those spoke many spoke out against slavery. We have the opportunity to speak out for the unborn that are being killed at still an alarming rate in our country despite having overturned the precedents and set a new one. Many many states are still condoning the murder of innocent unborn children.

We have the opportunity to speak out for those who are being persecuted unfairly, particularly for religious reasons. We have that opportunity. We have a a bill of rights that that states that even in The United States Of America. Too often, Christians, it seems, would rather gripe and complain about society and government than take the opportunities given it to do something about it. I've seen this in my own life.

It's a lot easier just to gripe and complain than it is to speak out and do something about it. And I see that a lot, particularly in Christian circles. We gripe, we complain. But what are you doing? What are you doing about it?

To be salt and light. And yes, that does mean preaching the what? The gospel because that ultimately is what is going to change hearts and minds and lives forever. If we're not doing that, we're not even doing the least that we ought to be doing as salt and light. But not only proclaiming the gospel, but giving the opportune but given the opportunity to participate in society and government to represent the interests of our God.

We should we should take it if we can. To be a light and make a positive contribution, to engage while we still have the chance by speaking up, by voting, and in some cases running for school board or city council or other positions of influence or assisting others who are trying or in the least getting on our knees as Daniel did and what? Pray. There is something you can do. You can be praying.

You can be proclaiming the good news of Christ. You can be opening your mouth and speaking up for God and his interest and for others as Joseph and Daniel and others did in the governments in which they they worked. They were a part. And do you think Pharaoh's government was godly? Certainly, Nebuchadnezzar's wasn't.

We don't. It isn't godly just to sit back and do nothing when we can do what? Something. We can do something. Working inside the system.

Christ himself worked inside the system of his day. He obeyed their laws. He engaged with them. In many cases, those he engaged with were oppressive, destructive, and just plain wrong. But he still spoke out.

Yet Christ who is the king did so to demonstrate to us how we should interact with the authorities of our day. First of all, with humility. With humility. You won't get anywhere if you don't act with what? Humility.

We we've been in Daniel on Sunday nights. Daniel was a captive in the Babylonian empire. He was taken as a youth. He was brought into the palace of Nebuchadnezzar to be trained to serve in the palace, in a pagan palace, and food was set before him that his the laws of Moses did not allow him to eat. And so Daniel thought, he purposed in his heart and his mind, I will not do that, which would be direct directly in opposition to the laws of who?

The laws of God. So he went and told that that terrible guy over him that he was never gonna eat that meat. Is that what he did? Not exactly. What'd he do?

He went to the person in authority over him and he did what? He asked. He made request. He said, I can't do this. Is there some other way?

Maybe consider this, could you let us eat the food we're allowed to for ten days and test us? He came to his authority not in arrogance, not in anger, but how? In humility and it went a long ways. Christ humbled himself, became a man, obediently died on the cross. First Peter two twenty one says this, for even here unto where you called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us what?

An example that we should follow his steps. That's been one of our memory verses for the youth group on Wednesday night. So I hope that's familiar to them. This since the beginning of Joy Club this year. Leaving us an example that we should follow his steps.

He became a man. We beheld the glory as the only begotten of father full of grace and truth. And he lived in this realm, authority the same as we. And he left us an example that we should humble ourselves as he did. To obey the authority of our God and those that God has placed in authority over us.

We should do better than the rest of society in this regard as we recognize that obeying our God ordained authority is not only a matter of submission to them, but also a matter of submission to to him. Jesus made it clear that he came here to do the will of the father. That should also be our attitude, to do his will, which means also submitting to other authorities in our life. There are gray areas. Yes, I acknowledge that.

If we knew the mind of God perfectly, would there be a gray area? The answer is no. But we don't know his mind perfectly in every situation. We sometimes need to ask for wisdom, understanding to try to make the right decision. There are gray areas in life.

There are gray areas in many aspects of life including submitting humbly to authorities over us. Our founders believed they were justified in rebelling against the oppression of Great Britain when the king began to tax the colonists, overtax the colonists to restrict their religious freedom and to give them little say over their governance. And while the morality of their decision most Americans today accept is good and moral, not all agreed at the time. There were divisions about what they should do and some that disagreed did so on what they thought were biblical grounds. Essentially, the colonists did not wish to keep fighting against their government so they wrote Britain a letter that says, we're gonna form our own government.

Britain disagreed and therefore, the fighting began. There are gray areas. We must seek God's wisdom to help us to know what to do in a given situation. I believe many of them did that, and I am thankful. There are certainly times in which we find ourselves in predicaments with the government, but it would seem that God desires for us to on the side of obedience even when it hurts.

The same goes for our parents, if your children, employers, if you have a job, teachers, if you go to school, and church authorities also. Hebrews thirteen seventeen, Very broad statement given here. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you. Authority is not an evil word. To many in our society today, it is.

But to God, it is not. And to us, it shouldn't be. It is given by God for our what? For our good. It would be good for us, in most cases, to humbly submit.

When we must take a stand, you can stand humbly too as Daniel did. Giving to God the allegiance and faith and trust that he is due. Though they may not deserve our obedience or our respect, God does. He deserves our faith, our trust, our love, and our obedience. Have you placed your faith in him to save you from your sin?

No government can do that. Government was instituted to help restrict men from killing each other and those sort of things. The government can't save you, only Jesus can. No governor died for you, Jesus did. And he is the only mediator between God and men.

I'm sad to say there are many today that seem to be looking to government to save them. It can't. It won't. Only Jesus can. Are you trusting in him?

Have you are you trusting him with your eternal soul? I wouldn't trust government with my soul. No. But I am trusting God. Do you love him as you should?

Are you doing your best to obey him in all things even when it's difficult? He did something very difficult for you. He became obedient unto death even the death of the what? The cross. Is he really the king of your life and heart?

Finally, today, where is your citizenship? Is it only on earth or do you have a higher citizenship in heaven? Is your king the governor or the president or is your king Jesus Christ? Which is it? If Jesus Christ is your king and you're doing his will, then we'll know how to act in response to the other authorities.

But if he's not the Lord of your life, maybe a little harder. But most importantly, if he is not the Lord of your life, if he's not your savior and your king, then you're not part of his kingdom. And there you don't have a home yet in heaven, But you can today if you trust him. If you're bowed before him and in your heart by faith accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. We give a hymn of invitation here in just a second.

And if you're here today and you've not yet trusted Christ as the Lord and savior of your life, I plead with you, come as we sing. I'll meet you down here and I'll I'll show you from the Bible how you can be saved. And Christian, if if our views are a little skew skewed on how we deal with God our authority or other authorities in our life, confess that sin as well. Let God help you to humble yourself and to be the testimony in this world, the best one we can be. Let's pray.

Dear God, thank you Lord for your love for us, for your mercy and grace. We thank you Lord for your authority, authorities that you have placed over us for our good. Lord, we do acknowledge that they sometimes are not always doing the very best of jobs. Lord, we can't sometimes influence them so much, but we can do what is right in our own lives. And Lord, I pray that we would start with our own life.

We would look, examine ourselves before we examine everybody else. Lord, we would make sure of our relationship with our father in heaven. Lord, thank you for what you did for us. And, we pray if there's one here today that's yet to receive Christ, they would come as we give this hymn of invitation today. In Jesus' name, we do pray.

Amen.