1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,600 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located in 2 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,120 beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship Ministries 3 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,800 with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, discipleship 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:28,160 and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church and other sermons 5 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,480 from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your host for this 6 00:00:32,480 --> 00:00:37,040 podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing to you and 7 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:50,240 bring you closer to God. Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. My name 8 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:56,160 is David Bigford and I'm the pastor here in Salmon Arm for the Potter's House. We're a new 9 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,160 church plant so we're still building out a community here so if you want to be a part of 10 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:06,880 that please come on out. We meet right above the BMO Bank of Montreal and Downtown Salmon Arm at 11 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:13,920 Sundays 1030. I apologize that it's been so long since we've had one of these podcasts. I've been 12 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,080 trying some different technology out and I kind of got sidetracked through the holidays but we've 13 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:23,760 got some new tech so we're hopefully going to be able to do this and I have started live streaming 14 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:29,280 services on YouTube so I was doing it on Instagram but YouTube's a little bit of a better 15 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:34,560 platform nicer for that and so things will you'll start seeing stuff over there. There's a couple 16 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:40,560 populated already but you'll be seeing a lot more. So again my name is David Bigford and I'm the 17 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:48,640 pastor here and today's message I put together is finances, politics, and religion. The three don'ts. 18 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:55,680 Excuse me. You might see you hear a little more coughing and sneezing and you know stuff that 19 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,840 happens while I put these these messages together now because as we're going to be putting them 20 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:05,120 on YouTube it's a little bit harder to edit that stuff out you know because it's just it's just me 21 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,440 doing a lot of it and I you know want to be able to get the you know content out there for you guys 22 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,600 to be able to hear the sermons, hear the word of God, hear what's on that you know what I'm getting 23 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:19,600 as far as the mind of God for our church and I don't want to have to be editing things endlessly 24 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:27,840 and create another gap in the messages so please forgive me. So money judgment and 25 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,680 redemption denied. I found this illustration when I was putting this message together. 26 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:40,000 It's about a man named George Wilson and he lived in the 1800s so in 1829 a man named George Wilson 27 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:46,640 was arrested for robbery and murder in a U.S. mail heist. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced 28 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:52,400 to death by hanging. Some friends intervened on his behalf and were able to obtain a pardon from 29 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:59,200 President Andrew Jackson but when told of this Wilson refused it saying he wanted to die. 30 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,400 Well the sheriff didn't know what to do. How do you execute a man officially pardoned? So an appeal 31 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:13,440 was made to the president who perplexed turned the matter over to the U.S. Supreme Court. 32 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:21,280 Chief Justice John Marshall gave this ruling. A pardon is a piece of paper the value of which 33 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:27,680 depends on the acceptance by the person implicated. Anyone under the sentence of death would hardly be 34 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:34,560 expected to refuse a pardon but if it is refused it's no pardon. The person who was pardoned was 35 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:42,400 refused it's no pardon. Thus George Wilson was executed while his signed pardon lay on the 36 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:51,360 sheriff's desk. So in the same way you know God has offered his gift of divine purity to every person. 37 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:58,880 A gift that not only provides a pardon for maternal condemnation but offers much much more. 38 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:08,400 However this gift of Christ must be personally appropriated, accepted in order to be personally 39 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:16,320 beneficial. So we come to this idea that you know God has this gift of grace in salvation through 40 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:22,960 faith in him. It is right there in front of every human being on the planet but if we do not accept 41 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:31,120 it then we are already under the condemnation of our sinful lives. So if you're going to follow 42 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:36,480 along in our text today we have Philippians 2 9 through 11 that we'll be using as a jumping off point 43 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,440 and so you can go ahead and if you're following along with your Bible you can turn there. 44 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:49,360 But I want to also bring this idea to you. Avoid avoid avoid. Our whole lives we are taught 45 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:55,200 that we should avoid these three topics like the plague. They should not be discussed at work 46 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:03,120 or anywhere in public. Sometimes these subjects are excluded in church or school altogether. 47 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:10,000 We're supposed to leave so much of this unsaid, untaught and un dealt with. 48 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:17,120 Untaught and un dealt with. We're at risk of becoming a very poor, 49 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:28,160 financially illiterate and uninformed or enslaved society both morally and spiritually weak 50 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:36,640 because we avoid things that are important for us to understand. This last one is of the greatest 51 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:42,880 risk because when we are morally and spiritually weak we are left disconnected from God and our 52 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:49,600 very souls are at risk. Now you might be guessing based off the title of this message what those 53 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:57,600 things are. They are finances, politics and religion. So much of our time is spent trying 54 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:05,200 to avoid these topics even at the cost of our own understanding and wisdom. So let's look at our text 55 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:14,080 in Philippians 2 9 through 11. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name 56 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:19,920 that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth 57 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:28,240 and under earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 58 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:34,320 Amen. Dear Lord God I pray that this message will impact lives wherever it is heard that it'll go 59 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:39,520 that it'll go far and wide through the internet through you know podcasting through YouTube. I 60 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:47,920 pray that this message will find the right audience that it will find the people who need to hear this 61 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:55,760 word of God your word of God Lord at this time and that it will impact their lives and that they will 62 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:04,640 turn to you and accept salvation through grace. Amen. So there are three topics that we're told to 63 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:11,120 avoid as I've mentioned and we're told to avoid these at all costs. It's people will say things 64 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:16,160 like this is not appropriate for work or this is not appropriate for polite conversation. 65 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:23,760 So much of it is is pushing us to ignore the horrendous realities of the lives that we live 66 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:31,120 or even more simply things that we need to know if we are going to be wise according to the word of 67 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:38,160 God. So we'll first look at finances. Are we going to be poor or financially illiterate? 68 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:45,840 In Genesis 13 2 it says now Abram was very rich in livestock and silver and in gold. He wasn't poor 69 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:51,040 he had understood the wisdom of wealth he understood the wisdom of godly wealth 70 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:57,440 and we see this at the very beginning of the word of God in Proverbs 22 6 through 7 it says 71 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:06,000 train up a child train up a child in the way that he should go even when he is old he will not depart 72 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,880 from it the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender. 73 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:19,200 Seems like we have a lot of people today that are slaves to lenders. It's very challenging 74 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:28,560 in our societies today to not be bound by a lender or some sort of debt. The term mortgage stands for 75 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:35,120 you know death grip. When you are mortgaged to the debt like your house if you're lucky enough to 76 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:43,520 have one then you are in a death grip. So it's important for us to understand and to train up 77 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:49,520 all those around us in the way that they should go and part of that is to understand the appropriate 78 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:55,760 place for money. In a survey ING direct learned that many parents are uncomfortable talking to 79 00:08:55,760 --> 00:09:01,600 their children about money. In fact 39 percent of parents are more prepared to talk about alcohol 80 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:07,840 and drugs with their children than about money and finances. 29 would rather talk about dating and 81 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:15,040 sex perhaps most surprisingly is that 95 percent believe financial education should be taught in 82 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:22,480 school. If parents want Christians worldwide for their children or if parents want a Christian 83 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:28,320 worldwide view for their children where money is concerned they need to be sure they teach it to 84 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:34,640 them at home. Christian finance should be part of all the things we teach young believers. 85 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:43,520 Wealth in the Old Testament. There was a covenant relationship that God established with Israel 86 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:49,920 that provides the framework within which we can understand Old Testament attitudes towards wealth. 87 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:56,080 God committed himself to bless Israel if they would continue to live by this covenant. 88 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,200 The blessing promised seemed all-inclusive. 89 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:04,880 An increase in numbers, an increase in wealth and freedom from and freedom from childlessness or 90 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:12,080 disease. We get this from Deuteronomy 7 12 through 15. The basic commitment is often repeated in 91 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:18,880 Deuteronomy 28. The enemies who rise up against you will be defeated. The Lord will send a blessing 92 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,680 on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns 93 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:30,080 and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit 94 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:36,080 of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of the ground. There was also the understanding 95 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:42,160 of an individual understanding of wealth. This commitment to Israel was particularized in the 96 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:50,560 individual. Who could expect the blessing as he or she walked in the path of God? 97 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:57,200 The psalmist says in Psalm 112 1 through 6, praise the Lord blessed is the man who fears the Lord who 98 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:02,080 finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land. Each generation 99 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:07,760 of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house and his righteousness endures 100 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:14,960 forever. Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and the compassionate 101 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:20,640 and the righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his 102 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:26,480 affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken. A righteous man will be remembered forever. 103 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,440 These are important messages that we're getting from the Old Testament. The more you read the 104 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,880 Old Testament, the more you understand the connection to wealth and the ability to serve 105 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:43,920 God in a greater capacity. The psalmist says in Psalm 112 1 through 6, praise the Lord 106 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,480 blessed is the man who fears the Lord who finds great delight in his commands. 107 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:53,440 We're not supposed to seek wealth for wealth's sake, but we're supposed to be willing to be 108 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,320 vessels of wealth so that we can use it for God's sake. So that's an interesting thing that you 109 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:04,400 should think about. Are you a vessel for God's wealth? Does wealth come into your hands so that 110 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:11,600 you can bless others for the sake of the gospel? Or does God hesitate from giving you wealth 111 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,120 something that we all have to ask ourselves, we all have to challenge ourselves with. 112 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:23,360 And that's why we have these warnings against pride in the Bible. Along with the riches are 113 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:28,080 the Lord's blessings for the righteous theme. We get this idea that God is going to bless the 114 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:36,960 righteous, but Deuteronomy warns us of a time when Israel's heart might become proud. When the days 115 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:41,520 of riches come, Moses says, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the love 116 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:48,080 of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8 14, he goes on to say, you may say to yourself, my power and 117 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:54,800 strength in my hand have produced this wealth for me, but remember the Lord your God for it is he 118 00:12:54,800 --> 00:13:01,520 who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant. Verses 17 and 18. 119 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:08,160 So wealth is a blessing from God, but it is wealth can also pose a danger. It can rob a person of 120 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:14,800 humility and sensitivity to the Lord. Oftentimes we'll be working and you may be a windfall of 121 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,520 money will come into our hands or maybe, you know, we get a promotion that we've been fighting for 122 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:30,160 and then we forget we neglect our God. We neglect those of our family that are in need, desperate 123 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:37,520 need, and that rather than lending a hand into someone else's times of trouble, we are puffed 124 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:44,800 up in our own pride. So it's clear then that the Old Testament has no naive view of wealth. Wealth 125 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:50,800 is neither an unmixed blessing nor guaranteed prospect for, you know, people to be godly. 126 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:58,480 In the framework of the covenant, God's people can expect blessing, but then this will often take, 127 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:05,600 you know, the form of riches, but for the believer, riches are never to be the end themselves. So even 128 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:11,840 though we pray that God bring finances into our lives, and I even pray, you know, regularly for 129 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:17,600 God to bring finances into our church here, it is for the expectation that we are a vessel where the 130 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:23,760 money passes through so that we can bless others, so that we can witness more, so that we can bring 131 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:30,720 in impact teams into town to be able to testify and play bands and do different things to reach 132 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:37,200 out to the community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because it's true we need money to be able 133 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:43,600 to do these things, but we need the right spirit to be able to utilize it appropriately. In the New 134 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:53,360 Testament, we see the attitude that is required of the believer when it comes to wealth or riches 135 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:59,680 or finances. Jesus taught about wealth frequently. His primary focus was on the attitude. If the 136 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:06,160 believer trusts God as a loving father, he is freed from the pagan's desperate focus on the 137 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:11,840 necessities of life. We have to be able to put our trust in God, and we have to be able to leave that 138 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:18,480 with him and know that he's going to care for us so we do not need to seek unceasingly for riches 139 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:23,920 in our life. Because wealth is fleeting. The rich man who died found that his wealth had blinded him 140 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:31,280 to the spiritual realities that are all around us. He suffered in torment while a beggar that he had 141 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:38,960 scorned was seen in paradise with Abraham. We get that from Luke 16, 19 through 31. 142 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:46,640 We see Lazarus in heaven, and we see the rich man looking up to him crying out for a reprieve that's 143 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:52,960 not going to come. That's because finances and wealth can be very distracting. The treasures 144 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:59,520 people store up on earth rust and corrode, and they distract us from concentrating all we should, 145 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:05,760 which is God and his righteousness. This is something critical for every believer to understand. 146 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:12,080 Are you searching? Are you seeking riches for your own sake? Because that's what the world does. 147 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:19,200 They seek riches for their own sake. But what's interesting is the most powerful thing 148 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:27,200 is to allow yourself to be just the vessel of those riches for God's sake. Nobody likes the 149 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:32,560 preachers, the churches that hoard their money for their own sake so they can live in gilded 150 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:40,800 palaces of their own. But nobody denies the benevolence of like even a mother Teresa who 151 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,840 had finances that were able to flow through her hands to help those less fortunate. 152 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:50,240 This brings us to the epistles. The epistles speak less of wealth than the gospels. James 153 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:56,400 points out that the rich oppress the poor in James 5, 1 through 6. And the poor and oppressed, 154 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:03,840 there are some warnings about the love of money in Timothy and in Hebrews and in Peter. 155 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,600 Paul's statements on the subject of Christian giving is an exhortation of those who are rich 156 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,760 in this world should use their wealth for their own sake. And the epistles speak less 157 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:22,320 of wealth generously to supply the needs of the saints. So there you go. Again, that's a perfect 158 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:30,560 example. As a pastor, as a missionary, some people who are overseas within our churches, 159 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:36,960 the idea is that when you are giving your all in the service of Christ in the ministry, 160 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:44,240 the reason why God will bring wealthy people into your church is if he knows that he's going to be 161 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:52,640 able to use those people to help fund the mission. And everybody is a part of the mission. It's the 162 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:59,520 great commission of Jesus Christ to spread the gospel to every soul. And so the funneling of 163 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:05,200 wealth for that purpose is the key point in the New Testament and what we get from Paul. 164 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,400 The general attitude of the epistles seems to suggest that riches are irrelevant to the true 165 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:16,400 life, but that one who is rich should take advantage of his condition to serve the saints. 166 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,680 So wealth and riches are blessings from God if they are gained and used in harmony with God's 167 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,800 values. But wealth can war against the soul, distracting us from the really significant 168 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:35,280 issues of life and drawing us away from reliance on God alone. We can thank God if he chooses to 169 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:41,600 give us riches, and then we can use our money in his service. But if he does not choose to enrich 170 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:49,360 us, we need not be concerned. It is godliness with contentment that is the believer's true gain. 171 00:18:53,280 --> 00:19:00,800 In Matthew 28, 20 it says, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, 172 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:06,800 and behold I am with you always to the end of the ages. And then Job 42, 10, 17 says, 173 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,400 and the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. 174 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,720 And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 175 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,760 Then came to him all of his brothers and sisters and all who had been before him and ate bread with 176 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:28,400 him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comfort and comforted him for all the evil that 177 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,280 the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. 178 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:39,040 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 179 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:45,920 6,000 camels, 1,000 yokebox, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters, 180 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:52,320 and he called the name of his first daughter Jemima, and the name of his second, Kazia, 181 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:57,680 and the name of the third, Karen Hapuk. And all in the land there were no women so beautiful as 182 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:02,800 Job's daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this, 183 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:10,480 Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his sons' sons for four generations. And then Job died, 184 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:15,920 an old man full of days. So it's clear from the story of Job that it's not the riches, 185 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:22,080 it's not the wealth, but it's the attitude and the usefulness of those funds for God's purpose. 186 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:28,320 Job went through a horrible ordeal, having lost everything and being judged very harshly by his 187 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:35,680 friends. But in the end, God knew that he could trust Job with more riches than he had had before, 188 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:43,200 because he was faithful to God. So then we come to the next, you know, there's three topics, 189 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:48,080 and they're all considered third rails in society, which the third rail references, 190 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,640 you know, the third rail of a subway line, which is the electrified line, and that the one that if 191 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:59,600 you touch, you're going to die. And so the second of these third rails is politics. Now the Greek 192 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:08,080 word, or where we get the word idiot from, is from the Greek, and it means to be unintelligent 193 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:14,720 or unknowledgeable of things of politics. That's a roughly paraphrased translation. It's someone who 194 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,440 is in the Greek world an idiot is someone who doesn't know anything about politics. 195 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,640 And why that was important for the Greeks is because they were a true straight democracy, 196 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:30,320 and everybody had to be informed and everybody had to understand what was going on, because to be 197 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:38,240 able to vote and not know anything about your society is why they would say, or use that word 198 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:45,280 idiot. And we use it today as a very harsh word. It is a harsh word. Nobody wants to be called that, 199 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:53,280 but when you are uninformed, it is a lot easier for you to be manipulated. And the term we like 200 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:59,760 to use for that today is gaslight. If someone is gaslighting you, they're trying to manipulate 201 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:06,400 your perception based off of oftentimes the, your uninformed nature about a topic. 202 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,600 That's something that's very prevalent today with everything that's going on in the world. 203 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:15,680 When I originally wrote this message, it was quite a while ago, but even today we're dealing with 204 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:21,920 so much in regards to gaslighting from different parts of different governments, everything that's 205 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:30,320 happening between the U.S. and Canada with tariffs. And if I'm going to offend anybody, I promise I 206 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:36,640 want to offend you for Jesus. But the reality is that there's a mix of opinions out there right now, 207 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:41,920 but if you want to say that tariffs are bad, then you have to admit the tariffs you're holding are 208 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:50,720 bad and vice versa. If you want to be a judge of one side's politics, you have to then therefore 209 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:57,600 make sure your side isn't doing the same thing, because that's what we find a lot in society today, 210 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:05,680 is the pot calling the kettle black. So Brian Wicker wrote in January 4th, the 1968 issue of 211 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:11,760 the Manchester Guardian Weekly, an article on selling arms to South Africa entitled, 212 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:17,760 Morality and Politics. All issues of any importance, he wrote, are both political and moral, 213 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:25,600 for the morality is simple and is the simple side, and the politics the outside. 214 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:33,200 Morality is the simple inside and politics the outside. 215 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:40,880 This is a very interesting quote, and then it really does highlight that everybody wants to say 216 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:46,080 keep your religion, we'll get to that to yourself, because that would be where you draw your morality 217 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:52,800 from, which is inside you. But the way you express that morality becomes your politics. 218 00:23:52,800 --> 00:24:00,160 And that's what comes out of you. So whatever you hold in your heart is your truth, your guiding 219 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:06,800 light, is what you're going to espouse should be done or forced onto others. In Romans 13, 1-5, 220 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:11,280 it says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority 221 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:18,400 except from God. And those that exist have been instituted by God, therefore whoever reaches 222 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:23,920 the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who will resist will incur judgment. 223 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:31,520 For rulers are not a tear to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in 224 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:39,440 authority, then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is for he is God's 225 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:46,960 servant for your good. But if you do wrong, God will punish you, and you will be punished. 226 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:52,560 But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of 227 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:58,960 God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, 228 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,200 not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. 229 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,880 So I found this too from Bruce Riley Ashford, Every Square Inch, an Introduction to Cultural 230 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:16,160 Engagement for Christians. As a Christian citizen of the United States, I get the distinct sense 231 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:22,160 that I am living in an increasingly post-Christian country. I think we can all feel that, both in 232 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:28,320 Canada, the United States, Western Europe. The majority of Americans no longer consider traditional 233 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:32,880 Christian doctrine, for example the doctrine of sin or traditional Christian ethics, for example 234 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:40,080 biblical sexual morality, to be plausible in the modern world. Christians who do not abandon these 235 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:47,440 beliefs are labeled intolerant and even hateful. I think we can all resonate with this. Christians 236 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,720 who are given the fact that the United States is a democratic republic, the beliefs of the majority 237 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:59,360 affect the lives of the minority socially, culturally, and politically. And Canada is a 238 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:05,200 representative democracy as well, and it's even more straight-line democracy than the Republic of 239 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:13,280 the United States, so it definitely affects us up here in Canada. This reality makes it increasingly 240 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:18,480 important for Christians to figure out the best way to voice their Christian convictions and enact 241 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:24,640 Christian love in the public square. I use the phrase public square to refer to our public life, 242 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:30,880 the places where we speak, act, debate, dialogue, exchange, ideas about the best ways to organize 243 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:36,560 our community, cities, states, and nations. Certain people, such as politicians, lawyers, and journalists 244 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:42,720 find that their jobs are inherently oriented to the public square. However, those persons are not 245 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:47,760 the only ones who have the opportunity to participate in the public square. Each of us 246 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:53,360 can be actively involved in shaping public life. As Christians, the question that arises immediately 247 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:59,120 concerns the relationship between our religious, personal religious beliefs, and our shared public 248 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:05,760 life. Should we bring our Christianity with us to the public square, or should we leave it at home? 249 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:12,400 It's an interesting question, and I think we all have our own opinions on this, but we do live in 250 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:20,560 a fallen world, and because of that there is a need for a governing authority. The fall that occurred 251 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:31,280 in the garden, it caused God's creation to be corrupted. It caused a predisposition for man 252 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:38,880 to reject God, the entry of sin into the earth. So in the West, we are mostly governed by some form 253 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:45,520 of democracy. This means that we the people have a real say in our government, but still sin persists, 254 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,160 and it is difficult to find consensus. We battle with consensus 255 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:58,240 in all of our countries, and it sometimes feels like we're being blown from one extreme to the 256 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:04,400 other. But in the end, we're seeking redemption. We find ourselves back in the public square 257 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:12,880 calling for the redemption of our fellow citizens, our fellow countrymen, through the redemption of 258 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:20,400 sin in Christ. So in the States, there's this term that's bandied around a lot about separation 259 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:27,120 of church and state. And it's just so you're aware, that's in none of the founding documents, 260 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:32,560 that was in a secondary letter, like a tertiary letter from Jefferson to a leader in a church, 261 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:38,000 and it had more to do about keeping the government of the United States from enacting one 262 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:47,120 faith to follow, like a statewide church, if you will, only Anglicans, or only Protestantism, 263 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:54,000 or Lutheranism, or whatever. That's really what it had to do with. But it talks about in the 264 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:58,400 article that we're reading from, a naked public square. One of the foremost American political 265 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,800 thinkers of the late 20th century was John Rawls, who taught at Harvard University. 266 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,120 His most influential book, A Theory of Justice, addresses many of the questions we're asking 267 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:11,920 about in this chapter. Rawls argues the American citizens should engage in vigorous public 268 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:16,720 discussions about important political issues, but should leave their religious beliefs out of it. 269 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:22,960 He suggests that we hide behind a veil of ignorance. We should pretend to be ignorant 270 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:29,440 of our own religious convictions and of other things that could prejudice us, such as our race 271 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:36,880 or socioeconomic class. Rawls thinks that his views will help citizens achieve a just outcome. 272 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:43,280 Rawls' vision of naked public square is both impossible and unhelpful. All people are religious, 273 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:49,440 and their religions radiate outward into every part of their lives. Rawls' religion was political 274 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:57,040 liberalism, and it deeply influenced his public square reactions. Our religion is Christianity. 275 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:05,600 Our religion is Christianity, and it will and it should influence our interactions in the public 276 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:11,200 square. As believers, we affirm our Christian convictions as the very things that should help 277 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:17,520 us to create a good and just society. We should employ those convictions appropriately as we seek 278 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:23,600 to contribute to the common good. So this is where we get the idea of a convictional public square, 279 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:29,440 where we acknowledge our predisposition. So if you're an atheist, then you're going to have to 280 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:34,880 come to an understanding of your morality and how that morality is going to influence society, 281 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:39,680 whereas the same is going to have to happen for a Buddhist or a Hindu or anybody else, 282 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:45,520 because we'll never be able to come to a working governance if everybody is hiding behind a veil 283 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:53,360 of ignorance. What a crazy idea is to put on ignorance to try to govern. So a convictional 284 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:58,640 religion is a religious religion. So a core biblical teaching is that all humans are worshipers, 285 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:04,080 either of God or of idols. Our worship is located in the heart and it radiates outward in all that 286 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:10,720 we do. People who are not Christians are still worshipers, and whatever or whoever they worship 287 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:17,280 radiates out into everything that they do as well, including their interactions with society. As 288 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:25,360 God of Jesus Christ, because He is the creator and the Lord of all that exists, we seem to bring all 289 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:32,000 our lives, including all of our lives, into the public square and how we interact with our brothers 290 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:41,440 and sisters. Into submission, we're trying to submit to our Lord in everything we do as it says 291 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:47,760 to do in the Word of God. So the question remains, how exactly do we bring our public interactions 292 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:54,800 in line with our Lordship, which is through Christ? Because as Christians, we believe that 293 00:31:54,800 --> 00:32:01,360 Jesus Christ is our King, our Lord, and our Sovereign. How will we bring that in to our 294 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:08,480 interactions in the real world? There's three things we can do as we move forward. We could avoid 295 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:15,040 coercive, actually four things. We could avoid coercive relationships. We could promote the 296 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:22,720 common good, and we can use discernment to articulate our beliefs in public. We could be 297 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:28,400 civil, and we could be realistic. That's where I touched on the idea of tariffs. Well, the realistic 298 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:37,200 thing is that it appears nobody has a problem tariffing when it's their side, and everybody 299 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:43,200 has a problem to tariff when it's the other person's side. So either you have to come to a conclusion 300 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:50,560 that tariffs are either inherently good or inherently bad, and then both sides have to decide together 301 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,560 should they drop tariffs altogether or should they allow tariffs altogether? 302 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:01,520 Because that's what would be civil and that's what would be realistic. It's not realistic 303 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:06,000 to be yelling at one party who's trying to do what another party is doing while telling the other 304 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:11,280 party it's wrong for them to do what the one party is doing. Pretty circular logic, right? 305 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,720 And the reason why we bring this into a church setting again is like I'm not trying to be a 306 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:22,640 politician. I don't ever want to be involved with anything like that, but the gospel does become 307 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:32,000 inherently political because we declare that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Not Caesar, not a president, 308 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:40,400 not a prime minister, only Jesus as king. You can't get much more political than claiming your 309 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:46,160 sovereignty belongs first and foremost to Jesus Christ. We are political in that we provide a 310 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:52,640 contrast to our communities. We say that the way the western world is moving is not the right way 311 00:33:52,640 --> 00:34:03,520 to live. We say that the abortion of millions of children is a horrendous thing. We say that God's 312 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:09,280 way of living according to the word of God is the appropriate way to live. It's going to bring the 313 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:17,520 most joy for the most people. Politics is part of our cultural witness, but only a small part. 314 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:24,080 This is something I have to keep in check in my own life, but our witness should transcend the 315 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:32,400 political. It should transcend the earthly because we do preach about a God that is above all 316 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:39,440 and a savior who died for all of us. In 1st Peter 2 verses 13 and 14 it says, 317 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:46,880 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as 318 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,920 supreme or to the governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who 319 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:58,640 do good. For this is the will of God, and that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance 320 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:05,840 of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, 321 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:12,400 but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 322 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:18,960 This brings me to my final point, which is religion. Morally weak equals not connected to God. 323 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:26,240 In John 3, 16-17 we read a very familiar scripture, For God so loved the world that he gave his only 324 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:31,760 son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his 325 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:36,720 son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 326 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:44,400 The truth of the gospel is very succinct. Christ is the Son of God, the fulfillment of all the 327 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:50,000 Old Testament prophecies and promises. He came to earth to be a sacrifice that we needed, 328 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:57,360 so we could have atonement for all of our sins. He died, he rose from the grave, so that those who 329 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:01,920 believe in him will be saved. And I might add, he was seen by the disciples and he was seen by 330 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:08,240 hundreds of other eyewitnesses in his resurrected state. No other character in history has so much 331 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:17,120 evidence for his even existence as Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2, 9-11, God has highly exalted him 332 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:22,480 and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee should 333 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:28,800 bow in heaven, on earth, and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the 334 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:38,000 glory of God the Father. That's our text tonight, and it is a powerful text. It allows us to stand 335 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:44,960 firmly on the Word of God, and so that anybody talks to us about leaders and kings and presidents 336 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:53,040 and prime ministers, we can say, I bow my knee only to one God, only to one king, and his name is 337 00:36:53,040 --> 00:37:03,680 Jesus. Jesus is our king. Jesus died and rose again so that all might be saved. So it looks, in 338 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:15,200 closing, I pulled up the Nicene Creed. This is one of the earliest of the Church Fathers' creeds, 339 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:22,960 and one of my favorites. So I'm going to read this real quick so that you get a better understanding 340 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:31,200 of what we believe as Christians, but not only that, how inherently political this is, and how 341 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:38,000 relevant it is to us that we're serving the King of Kings, the God of all, the Giver of wealth, 342 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:45,200 but the Contenter of all who are saved by grace. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, 343 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:50,880 Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 344 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,680 the only Son of God, begotten from the fathers before all the ages, God from God, light from 345 00:37:55,680 --> 00:38:02,640 light, true God from true God, begotten not made. Of the same essence of the Father through him, 346 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:07,040 all things were made for us and for our salvation. He came down from heaven, 347 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:14,160 he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified 348 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:20,480 for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, he was buried. The third day he rose according to 349 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:25,680 the scriptures, he ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of the Father. 350 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:32,640 He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end, 351 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:39,040 and we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life. He proceeds from the Father 352 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:44,800 and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the 353 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:51,440 prophets, we believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one vast baptism for 354 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:56,560 the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and to the life in the 355 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:03,200 world to come. Amen. We are emissaries with the mission, so in that creed you heard, 356 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:07,600 we believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church. That term, when it was written, 357 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:12,240 Catholic is not the Catholic church we had visioned today, it just means the universal 358 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:19,040 church of the apostles. So even as Protestants we believe in the universal church of the apostles. 359 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:24,080 That's why we read and we hold such reverence for the epistles of those apostles. 360 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:32,080 And it proves to us that we are emissaries with a mission. Now I close with Matthew 28, 16 through 361 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:36,160 20, the Great Commission. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain 362 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:40,800 to which Jesus had directed them, and when they were there, they were called to the mountain. 363 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:46,960 And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 364 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:51,600 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of 365 00:39:51,600 --> 00:40:02,960 all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 366 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:08,640 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end 367 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:15,200 of the age. So let's bow our heads real quick wherever you are. I just want to give a quick 368 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:21,760 imitation, as I always do. I want to say that if you're not right with God but you want to get your 369 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:26,080 heart right, you can signify that with an uplifted hand right now. I can't see it but God can. 370 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:32,400 And with that I just want you to repeat a prayer after me. Dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner, 371 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:37,440 but I know that you sent your Son Jesus Christ and that he died for me. I repent of my sins 372 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:44,160 and I accept Jesus as my Lord, my Savior, my Sovereign. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 373 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:51,680 If you prayed that prayer and you meant it, and I know you did, then God has granted you his grace 374 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:59,760 and your salvation. I want you to take the next steps, which is to get a Bible, 375 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:08,640 to start reading your Bible. I want you to lock into a church. Again, if you're in the Salmon Arm 376 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:14,800 area, come to church. We're building a community. We're small, but we are on fire for God here. 377 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:24,880 And then also pray. Just cry out to Him. Lean on Him. His yoke is light. So I want to thank 378 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:32,000 you again for listening to this podcast, this YouTube video, or watching if you're on YouTube. 379 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,160 And I just want to thank you again. And I hope that this message has impacted you. 380 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:58,080 And I can't wait for you to come back next time. God bless. 381 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,400 Amen.