A Bible, a guide to survival That's brought me to this place I still believe the Christian Old-time convictions Are the answer for this modern day Old saints are still praying Old sinners who are straying Are receiving God's saving grace Thank you for listening to another Everlasting Truth broadcast, where we give you everlasting truth in an ever-changing world. With Caleb Osteen, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Live Oak, Florida. And now, Brother Caleb. All right, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us here yet again at the Everlasting Truth broadcast, where we give you everlasting truth for this ever-changing world. As always, thank you for being here today. Thank you for giving me just a little bit of your time. I hope this broadcast finds you well. I hope it finds you in service to the Lord. And I know a lot of times that can be a struggle and it can be difficult. There's certainly the onslaughts of hell that are against the child of God in these days and sometimes just a Refreshing word from God's Word is what we need to keep going. So I hope to help you with that today Let's let's continue on in our study and where we've been the last I believe it's last three broadcasts We've been right here in Romans chapter 13 I wanted to deal with all of these subjects before we went through the election period. The Lord apparently had other plans and just didn't see fit. We had some other stuff we covered. And so now here we are post-election. Donald Trump has won the election. And all of that's wonderful, but the truth contained in Romans 13 is important, whether it's election time or not election time, whatever it may be. And I know our political senses and our keenness to what's going on in the government is much more in tune and entailed whenever there's an election coming up, but the principle of obeying the government, being submissive to the government, as taught in Romans 13, is a principle that is eternal. It is not only to be used every four years, it's to be used every day. And so it's good that we're reminded of this. And so let's pick up in Romans 13. We started with the second half of verse one yesterday, three broadcasts still in verse number one. But we want to deal with the last part of verse number one today, Lord willing, and this may be it. We may close out the study on this. We'll see how the Lord sees fit. We'll just see what he wants to do. But anyways, Romans chapter number 13, and let's just read the text and then we will break it down and walk through it. Romans 13, verse number one says, Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive unto themselves damnation. Let's break it down very simple here. Number one, submission. We've already dealt with that. And that's where he says, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. Let every soul be submissive to the higher powers. And then he tells us why we should be submissive and why there's a teaching on submission. It's because of ordination. Verse 1 goes on to say, for the powers that be are ordained of God. There is no power but of God. And so everything, as far as authority is concerned, comes from God. And we talked about that yesterday in Romans 13.1, that God is the source of power. It said there is no power but of God. And here's the simple, biblical, logical deduction, okay? If he is the source of power, Jesus said, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth and all power is in his hands. And he's the King of Kings. He's the Lord of Lords. And he's the Prince of the Kings of the earth. If all these things are true and you see a individual, a man, a human or a woman running around with some sort of power, running around with some sort of authority or something of that nature, where could they have gotten it from? Romans 13 1 makes the case there is no power but of God it has to come from him and since he is the source of power the next thought is he's the establisher of power he is not only the reservoir for all power, authority, control. We talked about what that word power is in the Greek, it's exousiazo and it means authority. Not only is he the reservoir for all power and authority, he's also the one in charge of delegating and distributing that power and authority. So he sets forth the leaders who are in power. If all power and authority under heaven is given to Christ, and we see other people on this earth with power and authority, where could they have got it from? Obviously, they had to get it from the Lord. Now, we talked about this yesterday, but what this tells us is that God is sovereign over who is in leadership and who's not. And I know for some of us, we're afraid of that word sovereign because we're scared we're going to be called Calvinists. But you can't be a Biblicist without believing in the sovereignty of God. Now, we don't believe that that means man doesn't have free will. Man does have free will. We can talk about that another time, but we believe that. God looked at the nation of Israel and he said, why will ye die? God said, I don't want you to die. Why do you want to take this route and live in sin? So we see that God, there's a disconnect necessarily between his will and man's will. So man does have free will, but God is sovereign. Now, man having free will is a result of God's sovereignty. God, in his sovereign, omnipotent authority, has chosen to allow man free will. Those aren't at contradiction. Man's free will and God's sovereignty do not wrestle against each other. They cooperate with one another. And so, but at the end of the day, God is sovereign, and the Bible teaches this truth, and God's not just sovereign in a Romans 8 28 sense, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose. You don't have any problem believing that God is sovereign when it comes to your afflictions and your suffering, but a lot of people have a problem when they, when it comes to God's sovereignty and believing about who's in authority. But the Bible makes the case that God is sovereign over that matter and God raises up kings, God sets them down. And I don't want to just give you my word. I want to give you God's word. Psalm chapter number 75. Look at Psalm 75. Here's an Old Testament reference that backs up the claim that God is the one who raises up rulers and sets them down. And if you're a logical human being, your mind is racing and you're thinking, well, there are some wicked rulers that are completely against the things of God. There's no way God could have put them in power. And my argument would be to you, have you ever heard of a man by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar? Yeah, he's the one that threw the three Hebrew boys in the fire in the book of Daniel. He's the one that erected a large image, a golden statue of himself and commanded people to worship him. That's, that's Nebuchadnezzar. Wicked, pagan, ungodly king. He brought such a harsh bondage upon the Israelites that they've never seen the likes of sorts. Such an affliction when he took them into slavery. He took the entire world captive. He carried out the Israelites out of their homeland and took their own land and made it his own. Do you know that God says he put him in charge? God calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant in the Old Testament. So you may have questions about how can God put certain people in authority? And I probably don't have all the answers, but I do have one answer. God raises up rulers. Psalm 75 in verse number six. I want to throw you a bunch of references in a short amount of time. So hang with me. Psalm 75 verse number six. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another." If you see one ruler go down and you see another one come up, you see somebody promoted in the ranks of politics and rising, rising, rising, where does that promotion come from? Where does that upsetting come from in Psalm 75 7? It comes from the Lord. And you can't argue with that. 1st Chronicles chapter number 28. I want you to look at this 1st Chronicles 28 now I want you to remember the nation of Israel wanted to be like the rest of the world So they asked for a king they begged God God give us a king and we know that Samuel was upset about it And the Lord said Samuel they've not rejected you they rejected me and God didn't want him to have this king and God told him to This king is going to afflict you. This king is going to let you down. It's not going to be what you thought. It's going to be ultimately to your own demise." And they said, we want him anyways. Make us like the rest of the world. And then God hand chose them a king. Even though it wasn't necessarily God's will for the way things were going to go, God sovereignly gave them the king they ended up with. We remember God sent Saul off looking for his father's sheep, and then he ends up finding Samuel, and Samuel finds him, and Samuel tells him and anoints him, he's the king. Solomon, or not Solomon, I'm sorry, Saul. Saul didn't ask for all these things. God chose him. Look at 1 Chronicles 28, verse number 4. Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me, David said, before all the house of my father, to be king over Israel for ever. For he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, he liked me to be king over all Israel. And of all my sons, for the Lord hath given me many sons, he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel." Notice that it says that David says, God chose me in verse number four, but then he says, God chose my son Solomon in verse number five. Now, who is the one choosing and selecting kings in Israel? The Lord is, according to David, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Let's look at another one, Jeremiah chapter number 27. Jeremiah 27. Jeremiah is going to tell us a little bit about this man we already talked about briefly, Nebuchadnezzar. And he's going to say some things that really clarify this thought. As a matter of fact, most of the rest of the text verses that I'll give you as reference to this subject are coming from Jeremiah as well as the book of Daniel. But look at what he says here, Jeremiah chapter number 27 and verse number 5. Actually, back up to verse 4, Jeremiah 27, verse 4. It says, "...and commanded them to say unto their masters, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, thus shall you say unto your masters." So, it's clear God's speaking here. God says, verse 5, "...I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed to meet unto me." God said, I made the earth and I gave the earth to whoever that it seemed fit for me. Whoever I wanted to give it to, I gave it to. Not who you understand and not who you desire, not who you plan and not who you vote for, and not for all those things, but rather God says, I give my earth to who I choose to. And here's the thing, sometimes you're not going to understand why God does what he does and why he chooses who he chooses. And so I know you have questions. But it's not always your job to understand why God does everything that He does. It's simply your job to understand what God does. He told us in Isaiah 55, He said, You're not going to comprehend it. You're not going to understand it. But I do think this does shed a little bit of light on the subject. Now, God said, Jeremiah 27 5, I've given the land unto whom it seemed meet unto me. Now, verse 6, he says, And now have I given all these lands. What are these lands he's talking about? He's talking about the entire world. The entire world is about to be dominated by Nebuchadnezzar, but specifically Israel, Judah, Jerusalem. is being given into the hand, verse number six says, of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. What land? All of it. Given unto what man? Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Now, you have any idea what Babylon is? Babylon started way back in Genesis chapter number 11 at the Tower of what? Babel. Babylon goes to grow out of the land of Babel, where that tower was, where they united against God. And they came together and said, we don't need God. We can build our own tower. Babylon is a place that was rooted, steeped, and grown in rebellion and rejection of God. It was a pagan place where many, many different gods were worshiped. It was not a place where godly people dwelt. It was a pagan, wicked nation. And this is a wicked ruler. And the Bible says, verse number six, I've given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And then look at what God calls him in verse six, my servant, my servant. Now you say, how can God let a man like him be his servant? Well, let me ask you this. How could God let a man or a woman like you be a servant? It's called grace. But I want you to notice God's not going to let Nebuchadnezzar's sin and his ungodliness go unpunished. God is going to use Nebuchadnezzar to bring the nation of Israel to a point of chastisement to where they'll turn back to him. That's the point of the captivity. It's chastisement for their idolatry. It's going to bring them back to God. And Nebuchadnezzar's not some great man. He's just a man that God is going to use. But Nebuchadnezzar is gonna have to answer for his sin too, because after God destroys every nation through the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the Bible says he's gonna raise up his hand against Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuchadnezzar's gonna face judgment for wiping them all out. You see, God is sovereign over this thing. He's in control. And although you may not understand why God chooses wicked rulers, and although Israel may not understand why God is calling Nebuchadnezzar His servant at this time, and I'm sure they didn't, the bottom line is God had a reason for it. And you and I can look back and we could say God gave them a wicked ruler to bring them to a place of repentance, to break them, to afflict them to the point where they would come back to Him. And so if God establishes wicked rulers today, could it be that he's doing it out of chastisement and judgment to bring people unto himself as they go through the afflictions that come with a wicked ruler? That's what he's doing in Israel. But God's setting the wicked ruler up. He calls him my servant. Verse number six, he says, And the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son. You find that in the book of Daniel. Until the very time of his land comes. And then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. So he's going to be doing really well for a little while, but eventually it's going to catch up to him and God's going to judge him, is what it's saying. Verse number eight. And it shall come to pass that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord. with the sword, with the famine, with the pestilence, until I've consumed them by his hand." So, here's a ruler that the Jews assuredly would not agree with. Could you imagine the Pharisees having a conversation, which the Pharisees didn't exist until after captivity, but just for sake of thought, could you imagine the Pharisees or some strict group that was so dedicated to the Torah? In the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, the Law, Moses, the Prophets. Could you imagine an Old Testament Jew this devoted to the Word of God, and yet here they are being put under the control of a pagan king who does not even know they're God? Do you reckon they were happy with that? Absolutely not. This would have outraged the Jew. Their land is being taken by people who don't even serve the God that gave them the land. They must have been outraged over this. But God was doing it for a purpose. And God set him up. You cannot argue with Jeremiah 27. God put Nebuchadnezzar there. He's going to afflict God's people. He's going to chastise them. He's going to enslave God's people. He's going to command them to do ungodly things like worship images. But do you know that God put him there? Because through all of that, God had a sovereign plan. He said, I'm going to let Nebuchadnezzar afflict my people until they realize we need God. We need God. And I will say this, God has been gracious to us and he has spared us the turn of the government we've seen in the last month and God giving us Donald Trump and doing a lot of things in the house and things of that nature and just changing things around. We praise God for that. But if God would have gave us somebody else and God would have gave us somebody who Even though I do not believe Donald Trump to be a saved man, but God would have gave us somebody exponentially worse than him and just an absolute terror to the things of God in this country. God still would have sovereignly chosen, and He would still have a purpose for it, and your job is still submit to Him until they tell you do something that God explicitly says, no, here's what I want you to do in His Word. The only time you have reason to disobey the government, whether it's what you deem to be a godly leader or ungodly leader, is when they specifically tell you to do something that contradicts the Word of God. And I don't want to sound like a broken record. I've covered it in past broadcasts, so I don't want to do it again, but there's several instances in the Old Testament where people disobeyed the government because the government said, do something that goes against God's Word, and they didn't, and God blessed them for it. Daniel in the lion's den, Daniel with the three Hebrew boys with the golden image, and God blessed them, showed up in the fire with them. They disobeyed government there, but God blessed them because it was contradicting the Word of God. But other than that, What's Romans 13 say? The powers that be are ordained of God, right? That's what we find in Jeremiah 27. Nebuchadnezzar ordained of God. And then what's Romans 13 go on to say? After you read that in Romans 13, it says this, and you've got to give me just a minute because I want to flip there and read it to you, but this is important that we follow this trail. Verse 2, Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Isn't that what God told in Jeremiah 27, verse number 8? It shall come to pass the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord. God ordains government. When you resist it, you're resisting God. You better make sure you're a good citizen, you obey the government until they tell you to do something that God said otherwise about. Let me give you a couple instances very quickly that will further support this, and then we'll be out of time for today. Look at the book of Daniel. Some more ideas about this here. Daniel chapter number 2, verse number 21. Notice Daniel's word, and I've got to read these very quickly because we're running out of time very quickly, but Daniel chapter 2 and verse number 21 says this, it says, verse 20 actually, Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons, he removeth kings and setteth up kings. Daniel said, God removed kings and God set up kings. It's clear that the Lord is the one that does this. Luke, look forward a little bit more. Daniel chapter four, verse number 14. You can tell we're rushing here in the last couple of minutes. Daniel chapter four and verse number 14, please. Daniel four and 14 tells us this. He cried aloud. And said thus, Hew down the tree, cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, scatter his fruit, let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. And this is God here humbling Nebuchadnezzar for his sin against God. Verse 16, Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers. and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth over it the basest of men." God raised up Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar got prideful, God humbles him in Daniel chapter number four, and breaks him down, and then he says, here's why I did this, so that the living may know, verse 17 says, that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. Man's authority, man's affairs, man's government, God, the Most High, rules in it. And it says, verse 17, He giveth it to whomsoever He will, and He setteth over it the basis of men. God does all that. Daniel 4, verse 26, And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee. After that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Daniel 4 verse 31, While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. God used Nebuchadnezzar and then he said, I'll give it to somebody else if I want to. It's up to me. I rule in the kingdom of men. Daniel 435, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? God does what he wants to do. God does what he wants to do. And then lastly, Daniel chapter number five, verse number 18. Last reference here. Just want to give you a full case for this. Daniel 518, O thou king, the most high, The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom. How'd Nebuchadnezzar get a kingdom? God gave it to him. And majesty and glory and honor. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he slew. Whom he would, he kept alive. And whom he would, he set up. And whom he would, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over whomsoever he will. If you don't believe God's sovereign over who's the president, you got a lot of Bible to explain. If you don't believe God's sovereign over who's the ruler in other nations, you got a lot of Bible to talk your way out of. Friend, it's here. We can trust God's sovereignty. God's got a reason even when we don't understand it. God's got a reason for why he puts who he puts in charge. Let's just trust the Lord. God bless you, friend. We'll see you next week. A guide to survival that's brought me to this place. I still believe the Christian old-time convictions are the answer for this modern day. Old saints are still praying, old sinners who were straying are receiving God's saving grace. ♪ Yes, the old rugged cross is still saving the lost ♪ ♪ Thank God some things never change ♪ Brother Caleb wants to thank you for listening today to Everlasting Truth. Please send all correspondence to Everlasting Truth, 10886 Florida 51, Live Oak, Florida, 32060. Until next broadcast time, may the Lord richly bless each of you.