Amen. Let us turn then to our scripture reading for this morning from 1st Timothy chapter 2, page 1263. 1,263 in the blue ESV Bibles under the seats. The end of the letters of the Apostle Paul, 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, 1st Timothy chapter two and we are We are at a very appropriate chapter division. It's a little bit of a shorter chapter. But it is this theme of prayer. The first chapter was directly or indirectly addressing the false teachers that Timothy needed to stand against. And now there is a theme change. Now there's a focus on prayer for chapter two. And Lord willing, we'll take this in two weeks. Now we look at the first part of this, and that is verses one to seven. So 1 Timothy chapter two, we begin our scripture reading at verse one. First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings, and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, I am telling the truth, I am not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth." So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. And dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul writing to subjects of the Roman Empire, as a Roman citizen who once appealed to Caesar for his own safety from the Jews in Jerusalem, writes about praying for the emperor and for those in authority under him. The apostle did not know that it would be nearly 300 years before a Roman emperor named Constantine would finally bring about a time of official religious freedom for the early church. Now, brothers and sisters, is it possible that we are in exactly the reverse type of situation? So here is the Apostle Paul not knowing that it will be nearly 300 years before the early church finally has religious freedom. Where are we in a nation that is nearly 300 years old? Are we at a time and a place when we have enjoyed religious freedom for nearly 300 years that may be taken and is already being taken away? Many state laws are being made have been made or even in the process of being made right now which attack the long-held religious freedoms that we have had in this land. Now brothers and sisters this text says much to us about our prayers for the leaders in our land and the reason why we make those prayers and the goals of those prayers and there's more than more than one level to that, there's more than one goal we might say, but ultimately, where does this text end? Ultimately, it points to this, that whether we live in a time of freedom or a time of persecution, there is one truth which always remains, there is one mediator whom we all always need. So by moving in our text from the immediate political situation to the eternal King, the Apostle Paul, keeps our focus where it should always be, whether we are in a time of religious freedom or a time of religious persecution, whether we are those who are living 300 years before religious freedom will come, or whether we are living as those who are at the perhaps end of 300 years of religious freedom. Whatever that immediate context is, the eternal king remains the same. And by moving in that direction, the Apostle Paul speaks to us about our immediate situation while keeping our eyes fixed upon the only eternal King. And so our theme takes that movement. Our theme is this, this morning. Pray for peace in the nations in order to bring all nations to the one Prince of Peace. And our points, if you're looking at the bulletin, are simply this. Pray for peace, verses 1 to 4, and then proclaim the mediator of peace, verses 5 to 7. Well, here we are in chapter two, and it's again this new theme, now the theme of prayer, which dominates this second chapter. And the Apostle Paul begins with this broad charge that we must pray for all people. That's the language at the end of verse one. We're called to pray in various ways by using four different closely related words. The Apostle Paul brings us to mind the different parts of prayer. Supplication, that's a specific part of prayer where you make specific requests for another. Prayers, that's then the general word. Intercessions, that relates to the fact that we're praying to someone, that we're interceding, that we're coming into God's very presence as we pray. And then thanksgivings, that is another specific part of And all of this is made for all people. Now at this point, let's look at where the apostle goes from there. Because after we read pray for all people, we might expect something like this. Pray for those near to you, pray for your family, pray for your church family, pray for your friends. And certainly we are called to pray for our family and our church family and our friends. But it's almost as if the Apostle Paul assumes that. And so after saying, pray for all people, he jumps to a group of people that we might be tempted not to pray for. And what group of people does he jump to? He jumps to government officials, government leaders. He jumps to politicians. So after saying, pray for all people, he doesn't start with those whom hopefully we already are praying for. It's almost as though it's assumed you're praying for your family, for your church family, those close to you. Okay, don't just pray for those. Pray for all people. Pray for political leaders. Pray for those in authority. Don't just pray for people who are like you. Don't just pray for people you like. We are called to pray for all people, including government officials. And as the apostle has given this group of people, he then gives specific reasons why, so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. We see that in verse two. You know, God made all things in peaceful harmony. Before the fall, everything was peaceful harmony. God is delighted to see peaceful harmony when it exists on this earth. And so praying for a peaceful and a quiet life, this is good and pleasing in the sight of God. God is the God of peace. God made the world of peace and harmony. And when there is peaceful and a quiet life, this is pleasing to God. But now the Apostle is going to get more specific. Because we do not just pray for days of peace in order that we may be free from anxiety or worry. That is part of what's going on. That is pleasing to God. God doesn't desire that all people would be living in anxiety and worry. But that's not the end of the matter. No, no, there is an ultimate purpose, a deeper purpose which goes beyond it. So that we might, in times of freedom, be able to most freely proclaim the knowledge of the truth. You see, as the movement continues, it does not stop with peaceful and quiet life. No, what are we to do with that peaceful and quiet life? What are we to do with freedom and peace and harmony, which is good and pleasing in God's sight? We're to use that peace and harmony for a specific purpose, to use that freedom that freedom of expression, freedom of life to freely express the knowledge of the truth. For God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now, I mentioned in our introduction that religious freedom for the early church was not to come for nearly three hundred years after the letter of First Timothy was written. Now that turning point can be easily identified. This is the year 313. It was the Edict of Milan. The first time an emperor professed to be a Christian and his official declaration that the Christians were to be free from persecution. Indeed, some of the recent persecutions were to be reversed such as land that had been taken away from Christians simply because they were Christians was to be returned to them and This this ended 300 years of persecution. It had been more intense and not as intense for different times and it was basically an overnight change. The years leading up to the Edict of Milan were some of the most intense years of persecution. It's something we can pinpoint. It's something which was in some ways an overnight turning point. And this freedom, which came long after the death of the Apostle Paul, it brought peace and quiet life in the Roman Empire in many ways. Gene Edward Veith, when he was writing a brief article for Ligonier Ministries, he once summarized the changes in the Roman Empire after the Edict of Milan with these words, quote, mothers were given rights over their children that formerly were given only to fathers. Marriage was protected with new laws restricting divorce and punishing adultery, infanticide, practice of exposing unwanted babies because they couldn't do it the way they do it now, was forbidden as one of the greatest crimes. The bloody spectator sport of watching gladiators kill each other was halted. Provision was made to care for widows and orphans, the sick and the poor." End of quote. But brothers and sisters, the greatest blessing was this. It's what the Apostle Paul speaks about in verse four. The greatest blessing was that with increased freedom, with the ability to, in some cases, literally walk out of the catacombs, the Christian faith could be freely expressed. And many came to Christ as the gospel message was freely proclaimed without the threat persecution. When the Christian message is unhindered, it may, and it did at that time, bring many to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. Now, seasons of religious freedom do not solve every difficulty. Until we reach the new heavens and the new earth, the church on this earth will always be plagued with different kinds of problems, whether we are persecuted or not. God can use times of persecution as well as times of freedom to draw people to himself. But brothers and sisters, our first prayer is to pray for freedom, is to pray that we would have a peaceful and quiet life, not finally so that we'd be free to live without being in prison and all the other kinds of things that have been done to Christians throughout the ages, that's part of it, but finally so that we would be free to express the truth, that there is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ, that though we are all sinners, as we repent and believe in Him, we are set free from our sin. Now, thankfully, there are some states in our nation which are passing laws that protect religious freedoms, the rights of Christian parents, but may it be possible that we're in that reverse situation? Instead of 300 years of persecution leading to a time of freedom, are we at the end of 300 years of freedom leading into a time of persecution? There are dangerous laws. of being passed in our land. Let's just give one example. And this is literally ongoing. It is past the House. I believe it is past the Liberal Senate. And it is definitely expected to be signed into law by a Liberal governor. And this is in the state of Michigan. It's a bill called Michigan House Bill 4474. Some people have called it the Pronoun Bill. It deals with a lot more than pronouns, but one of the things that it does is that it makes intentional use of a pronoun other than a person's preferred pronoun to be illegal and punishable by law. There are specific lines in the law written to intentionally remove any kind of religious exemption. If this law is enforced, it is very realistic that Christians simply for standing upon their convictions about people being made male and female or such basic truths as these, and it's called the Pronoun Law, but it has broad speaking language that addresses a number of other issues as well. It is very realistic that if these laws are enforced, Christians will be fined or imprisoned in the near future. It is not fear mongering, it is the law of the state of Michigan or will be in the next days as the governor is expected to sign it officially. Brothers and sisters, this is part of the changing times in which we live. This is not the only law passed in the state of Michigan in the month of June that was celebrated by local newspapers with, you know, pride flags as part of the picture to go with the article. We do not know what the future will bring. We pray for religious freedom to continue, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way, able to express basic truths about God's creation and who God has made us, his image bearers, to be. And we do this not so much because we desire to see ourselves and our brothers and sisters stay out of places like prison bars, but especially for this reason, that we can freely express the knowledge of the truth to all those around us. If there's any doubt that the main focus of the Apostle Paul is upon the knowledge of the truth, including the good news of the gospel, well that's exactly where the Apostle continues to go. And that takes us to our second point. Proclaim the mediator of peace. with the words to be saved in the middle of verse four. The apostle is already taking us to the ultimate reason why we want to pray for religious freedom. And then he removes any doubt as he digs into a few of the essential truths of the good news of Jesus Christ in verses five to seven. Why is it so important that we would be able to freely express the knowledge of truth? Because, verse 5, there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. There is only one way of salvation. When the expression, when the free expression of the one way of salvation is hindered, is not protected when it would even be prosecuted by the laws of our land who would say, well, maybe you can use the word Jesus, but not the Jesus of the Bible. You have to redefine it and talk about a Jesus who has a Bible that doesn't say anything about at least these specific sins and all those kinds of things. Whenever the truth of the one mediator and who he is and who he has declared himself to be in his word, whenever that is hindered, then the One God is being clouded. In this way, the declaration of who the One God is cannot be heard. And when we cannot speak freely about the One God, and when the message of the One Mediator, the One Savior, Jesus Christ, cannot be freely heard, then souls remain in darkness. and in their sinful nature. Salvation. Salvation cannot be found apart from the one Mediator, Jesus Christ. If we put point one and point two together, if someone helps another person to flee from a land of tyranny and unrest. That is a noble and good thing. Many of us know at least of an account of brave persons who help others flee from tyranny. That is a beautiful thing. But what is going on is being removed from the land of one terrible tyrant king to the land of a better king who is still just an earthly king. When one person stands in the breach and helps the the tyrannized flea. That is a beautiful thing, but you are just moving from the land of one terrible tyrant to the land of another earthly king. Now it's a very visible thing. Perhaps there have been many tyrants upon this earth, But perhaps if one has European descent, the one that we're most familiar with is the tyranny of the Nazis in World War II. And so let's just, the sight of someone fleeing over the mountains and into Switzerland or into a place of safety, that's a very visible image. We can picture that. We've perhaps seen pictures of that depicted. It's very visible, it's very clear in our minds, and it is a very good thing, but it is not like, it is not comparable to being brought out of the kingdom of Satan and darkness, which man is in by himself, even when living in the most peaceful realms of this land. being taken out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light and into the kingdom of the one true King, the King of Kings, the one whom the prophet Isaiah calls the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. That is a much more glorious and more beautiful transition. It's coming out of the kingdom of Satan and into the kingdom of God. And so that is where the Apostle takes us. Peaceful and quiet life. That is good, but we have to go further. Why is it good? Because it allows us to freely express the transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. to call all of our fellow men to come out of the bondage of sin and say in that, we are all in by ourselves. And repenting of sins to come into the kingdom of great light. There is one Mediator. There is one Savior. We must proclaim this one. And the Apostle Paul had that appointment as a preacher and apostle in a particular way, but it is ultimately a call for each and every one of us to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us, to speak of the fact that we have been brought out of darkness and into light, that we belong to Jesus Christ. There is real comfort in coming out of tyranny and into a more peaceful realm, but it does not compare to the only life and death comfort of being brought out of our sins and into the arms of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And so the Apostle, speaking about his special charge, says, I am telling the truth, I am not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. And with that word Gentiles, The word all used in verse 2 and verse 4 and verse 6 is clarified. The Apostle Paul is not speaking about each and every single individual. When we read that God desires that all people be saved and when we read that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all, it does not mean that Jesus died on the cross for each and every single individual. We are reading about all kinds of people. And that's clarified when the Apostle Paul specifies the group that Jews had a hard time thinking of as being also those whom Christ would draw to himself, the Gentiles. God sent his son to die for Jews and Gentiles, for all kinds of people, for those from every nation. They are all called to come. to the one Prince of Peace. Now, again, putting our seven verses together, if we think about questions like this, will you ever be in prison or at least in danger of being imprisoned because of your faith? Well, that's That's a question that makes us sit up and listen. To put it mildly, it's a question that has practical implications for our day-to-day living. Whether you're in prison or not, that impacts your daily life. And that is part of what the Apostle Paul, who was imprisoned multiple times, is thinking about in this text. Pray for a peaceful and quiet life. But it is not where the text ends. Continue reading, brothers and sisters, and continue proclaiming, whether we have full freedom to do so or not, the knowledge of the truth, the good news of the one mediator, the one Savior, Jesus Christ. That is our call and our goal in times of peace or in times of persecution. It's easier in times of peace. It's freer. That's why we pray for peace. But it is our call in every season, in every situation that we may find ourselves in on this earth. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, our Lord, Lord of Lords, we pray that our lifetime would see peace and quiet. not knowing what the future may bring, we rejoice that there is always one Prince of Peace. And so, at all times,