ALL MY BOAST IS IN JESUS (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Corporate Worship, Baptism, and the Call to Gather

The the members of 12 -5 church the covenant members of 12 -5 thank you so much for serving the Lord because essentially gathering together as the Saints we do this out of love and reverence to what God has called us to do.

Amen. I've got a couple amens out there. Thank you thank you. So thank you thank you. And so as covenant members we're being obedient to what the writer of Hebrew says not to get neglect the gathering together of the Saints.

So when we come together we are bringing our gifts to serve and love one another. So I just want to thank you so much members of 12 -5 church and if you're a guest or regular attender I just want you to know that you are loved too.

And if you get a chance please fill out one of our connect cards. That way if you have any questions we'd love to reach back out to you and answer those. And if you have a prayer request we'd love to pray for you.

And we look forward to getting to know you as well. And so with all that being said our prayer this morning is that we would all grow in the grace and knowledge of our sovereign triune God amen. As we kick off every service we want to take time for praying for another church.

This is really important to us because we want to be ecumenical as much as possible. We want to unite together in partnership with other evangelical churches we are you utilizing this time to say hey there's another church around the corner in the community and we are in partnership with them at least around the gospel on the main thing.

And so this morning I want us to lift up Christ Redeemer Church here in town and so if you would join me in prayer Heavenly Father we just want to lift up Christ Redeemer God. We have so many wonderful brothers and sisters that attend this church and and God just want to thank you for that partnership.

God I pray that this morning that they would herald your truth and that the Saints would be edified God it's been made known to me. They've just asked for prayers of just God you blessing them God that they would steward the people that you have entrusted to them and God.

I just pray that they would focus on spiritual growth and God and you will take care of the rest. Lord I just pray that we as 12 five can continue to be an encouragement to them. Lord we love you and pray all these things in your name.

Last week and God has just been bringing people this way but God is saving people that God is saving some of the children in our midst God is saving adults and bringing them into membership here as a church and so later on at the end of the service we actually have four new members that we will be bringing to the membership and affirmation but right now we have one of two baptisms today.

We're gonna have one at the beginning of the service and we're gonna have one at the end of the service. Kind of sandwich the service together. Right. That's a good. That's a good thing. So Ryan if you wouldn't mind coming on up here but some of y 'all have seen Ryan and and Raeanne.

That's to pronounce it. Right. Right. Sometimes I say it wrong but Ryan and Raeanne have been coming now for a few a few weeks maybe a couple months now. Y 'all have gone through the new membership class and all that goes with it.

But talking with Ryan Ryan is professing Christ as his Savior. He's he is his trust is in Christ and Christ alone and and he has desired to now be baptized as an act of obedience to his Savior that pictures the glorious gospel in which Christ has saved him through.

Is that all correct. I got it all right. Ryan let's step into the waters here. I hope you have a towel up here all. Right. We can bring that on up. Come on up here and go ahead and sit down. Let's scoot up just a touch.

There you go. Well Ryan I'm gonna ask you once again is your faith in Christ and Christ alone is he though the only righteousness that you have. Amen. Well brother I'm excited to be able to baptize you in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit buried with baptism raised to walk in newness of life.

You step out front where the rug is that way you don't slip and all God's people.

Said all right. If you would please stand for our call to worship this morning. This is a time where we want it to be corporate so not just hearing me not just hearing somebody else but we get to engage with this together.

Our call to worship this morning comes from Lamentations starting in chapter 3 verse 21. This I call to mind. And therefore I have hope the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end they are new every morning.

Your faithfulness the Lord is my portion says my soul before I will hope. So if you would let's now begin to prepare our hearts to go to the Lord in a prayer of adoration giving God reverence on high because he is holy.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father thank you so much for your grace and allowing us to be able to gather together and God. Saints all across the world face all kinds of persecutions that we cannot imagine and yet you allow us to be able to gather together in this building that we do not deserve God you you deserve all the glory God.

Please teach us that your grace is sufficient in all things God. I prayed that this morning that you would help us remove all distractions and that we'd be focused on you Jesus Lord we love you. We pray all these things in your name.

Amen.

Grace Is Sufficient in Weakness

Oh foolish pride crucified my soul this morning comes from 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 beautiful passage. This is the.

Passage where the Apostle Paul talks about the thorn in his side but he rests in the grace of God. We begin by reading. Paul says. I must go on boasting though there is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up into the third heaven whether in the body or out of the body I do not know. God knows. I know that this man was caught up into paradise whether in the body or out of the body I don't know.

God knows and he heard things that cannot be told which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I on behalf of this man I will boast but not on my own behalf. I will not boast except of my weaknesses though if I should.

If I were to boast I would not. I would not be a fool for I would be speaking the truth but I refrain from it so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of revelations a thorn was given me in the flesh a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from being conceited three times.

I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me. But he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me for the sake of Christ.

Then I am content with weaknesses insults hardships persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak then I am strong. So I want us to now pray together corporately at confessing our sins before God. But we don't just rest in that confessing our sins and being overwhelmed with how our own heart condemns us.

But we look to Christ. We look to the assurance that for those that are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. Amen. So let's go together to the Lord in prayer. God we go to you to confess our sin.

And we know this truth that you are faithful and just to always forgive God. We have so much sin day in and day out week by week. God many of us call one another and tell us about the sin that creeps into our lives.

God we long for glory one day. God please preserve us please help us as the Apostle Paul said to boast in our weaknesses. God because then we look to you Christ. We look to you and your truth and your word and we understand that God you know all things and you tell us that there's ultimate peace ultimate Shalom restoration in you.

Christ. God please help us to rest in that this morning.

Pray this in your name Jesus amen. In Jesus name this morning Lord. All of our boast is in Jesus. We boast of nothing else. We're so grateful to have this opportunity to come here this morning and gather and sing praises and boast in you all together.

It's so awesome. We're so blessed and we're so thankful Lord. I want to thank you personally for saving my soul so unworthy undeserving yet. I'm so grateful Lord. I pray this morning that you would bless this offering.

We're about to take up Lord and I pray after we take this offering up and pastor Nathan comes and preaches your word boldly this morning Lord. I pray that you would just use him be a mouthpiece Lord. Lord I pray that you would just help us to take in your word this morning Lord and absorb it would love you.

We praise you give you all these praise. I boast in your name in Jesus name and all of God's.

People say as the guys are coming through taking up the offering I point out the fact that many of you know we've been taking a break from our study through the book of Ephesians. We've spent all last year and then the beginning of this year trying to get through Ephesians and we've taken a break but don't worry we're gonna be back into it in April.

We're jumping back in. We're doing a bit of a mini series as I said last week within the bigger series of Ephesians because we want to talk about God's design for the family as we've gotten to that portion in chapter 5 of Ephesians so you'll just have to wait you'll have to come back and be a part of that.

We're looking forward to that series and getting back into that book in the meantime this gives us a chance as as the elders to look at and maybe some texts that that have been on our hearts and minds individually as we've been studying through God's Word and and gleaning from the Lord and from his truth.

And last week we saw Pastor Keith as he preached from Psalm chapter 2 seeing how this was a passage he'd been talking about for quite some time building up. He had been meditating on this text and I for one was greatly encouraged by that exposition.

If you missed last week you can go on online and watch that. I highly encourage you to do that because God speaking through Psalm chapter 2 was a great time last week. I hope it was beneficial for you that were here.

But as for today I would like for us to look at a text that that I've been pondering on in recent days. And I think I've been driven to this text thinking of this text because I am often confronted by my own foolishness.

I'm often confronted by my own arrogance. And though I and and many of you we seek as Christians to turn to the wisdom of God I look around at this world around us and and see that not only do they not want to turn from that foolishness and arrogance they glory in it they boast in it.

And sometimes we look around at their apparent flourishing just like the children of Israel looking at the surrounding nations of that day. And we long to be like them because it seems as though things are going well for them and we want what they have.

We become influenced just like the children of Israel even adopting their idols and taking on their worldview becoming like them. We see it in the church today. We don't just see it in our personal lives.

We see it in the corporate life of the body adopting business practices that the world uses within the church pragmatic wisdom that goes against God's Word. Because because to us sometimes the end seems to justify the means doesn't it.

And so we are drawn to what seems to be working. After all the church needs a senior pastor. Right. Every earthly entity needs a CEO needs a president. Someone at the helm forgetting that we already have one.

I mentioned it all the time. Christ Jesus he's King. He's the head of the church. We don't need a senior pastor. We don't need someone at the helm. Christ is at the helm. We need under shepherds that are obedient to the Good Shepherd.

But we see the world functioning and thriving and we imitate them. We avoid speaking truth because we have a lot of guests today. That's a temptation of many churches. Let's avoid hard things. Let's not say it directly.

Let's let's kind of soften the blow. Because after all we want them to come back. We can compromise on hard topics. We want them to return. So we take on the world's wisdom and the world's insight into how to approach these things.

And you may say well come on pastor. One little compromise isn't gonna hurt us. It's not gonna hurt the church. Just compromise here. You don't have to say everything that's on your mind. Really to me I'm sorry but that sounds an awful lot.

Like did God really say. You see the people of Israel fell prey to this time and time again as we see the life of of God's people in the Old Testament. And in the days of Jeremiah that compromise had had compounded to the point that they were indistinguishable from the other nations.

As a matter of fact open up your copy of God's Word. If you've got a copy of God's Word with you we're gonna be a Jeremiah 9 the Old Testament a book of Jeremiah chapter 9. And and our primary text is going to be verses 23 and 24 of Jeremiah 9.

As you're turning there Jeremiah he is a priest in the final decades of the southern Judah. This is roughly 800 years before Christ. And he was called by God to be a prophet to call Israel out on their idolatry.

Because as I said they had become like the surrounding nations. They had compromised. They had taken on that worldview and that that physical understanding. And in chapter 7 of Jeremiah he essentially preaches a sermon.

He stands outside of the of the house of worship. And he and he preaches this sermon. And he's warning of the judgment of God that is coming upon the people of Israel. What they didn't realize is there was actually a neighboring army that was at that very moment preparing themselves to take siege of the people of God.

And God was actually going to use that army as judgment upon his rebellious people. And by the time we get to chapter 9 he is just he is reprimanded the people of God. He's he's showing his his frustration.

And you see you see imagery of God's frustration in the midst of all of it. And so when we get to verse 23 look at look at what he says. He says thus says the Lord let not the wise man boast in his wisdom but not the mighty man boast in his might.

Let not the rich man boast in his riches but let him who boasts boast in this that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love justice and righteousness in the earth. For these things I delight declares the Lord.

This is the reading of God's holy inspired word. Please bow with me in a moment. Let us pray. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds to his truth. Oh Lord we come before you humbly and we acknowledge our frailty.

We acknowledge that we often read ourselves into the text. We often see the text as we long to see it. But your word is true and clear. It is precise. Your word is the only truth. And if we try and bring our version of truth and overlap over that truth we distort it.

So I ask. I ask that you would help us not to do so. Lord guard my lips from error. Lord I pray that that the the Saints in this room would be able to hear and understand the words of truth and that we would not just be hearers but we would be doers of the word.

Sanctify us. Your word is truth. Christ's name. Amen. I want us to see a few things in this text that that I pray can help us as a people not to be like those foolish Israelites. And the first thing that I want us to see I think I have it up on the screen is trusting in the wrong God.

Trusting in the Wrong God

Trusting in the wrong God. Look there at verse 23 again. What does Jeremiah say. He says thus says the Lord. Now notice. Stop there for a second notice. Jeremiah isn't speaking on his own accord. This is important.

Jeremiah has no wisdom of his own. He is purely a mouthpiece for the all-wise Almighty Creator. Right. He can't speak anything to the people of Israel that is of any value or substance to them whatsoever.

Only God's words have any wisdom about them as a matter of fact so much so that if a prophet back then what was to say. Thus saith the Lord. And then speak his own words. And that prophecy not be true and it not be God's words.

He was to be killed. That's how serious God took this. I wish we would take it a little more seriously today. But here Jeremiah is speaking the very words that God told him to say. We have it in Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Amen. And and what does God say. This isn't Jeremiah's words. Right. God says this. He's quoting God right here. Thus says the Lord. Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might.

Let not the rich man boast in his riches. You see this word boast in the Hebrews Hallel. Some of your translations say glory. Right. Do not glory in your riches. It's a good translation. And other places in Scripture this word Hallel in the Hebrew actually is translated praise.

This is essentially worship. Let not. Let not the wise man worship his wisdom. Essentially this is speaking of idolatry. Isn't it. It's idolatry. Everyone is worshiping something. Isn't that. Right. After all we were created to worship.

Did you realize that every single human being was created for the very purpose of worship every single human. And because of that we're constantly worshiping something. Every single one of us and all things that you look around and see in the entirety of the universe were created as tools and as gifts to better help us in that sacred act of worshiping because we were called to worship the creator of those tools and those gifts.

Yet what happened. Sin. Adam disobeyed God ate of the fruit of the tree. And in that moment he died his spirit died. He no longer was in communion with God. He was enslaved to sin. And now each and every one of us are stillborn in sin.

And because of that we worship the creature rather than the creator. We boast in the gifts and not the gift giver. And we're trusting in the wrong God. We're boasting in the wrong thing. You see the people of Israel had done this very thing.

They like the pagan nations around them began to trust in the creature rather than the creator. These pagan nations they had used their own riches to build cities. You realize that right. They'd use their own riches their own wealth to build cities.

They had used their might to build mighty armies. They had used their own wisdom to build dynasties. We see them rise and fall all throughout history. And in their arrogance they truly thought that they were the ones doing this.

They forgot that God's the one that places Kings and removes Kings. They didn't realize this. And foolish Israel looking on fell to that same deception as those pagan nations. Every culture is susceptible to this.

Aren't we. We all look to those among us who seem wise. We're looking to those who seem to have the answers to our questions and our concerns. We see this today as a matter of fact. The foolishness of feminism has led our culture that we're looking around in today into an epidemic of manhood.

Hasn't it. Even the world knows that even the world is looking at our young men going. This is a problem. Like what are we gonna do here. They see there's an issue. It's led to an epidemic. Young men are grasping for straws.

They don't know what it means to be a man. And they're looking to anyone and everything that might have might power wisdom or riches to be able to give them answers. They look to men like Jordan Peterson and his pseudo wisdom.

It seems like he has answers. Doesn't it. You listen to him and you go. Well that guy has. He's got it figured out. And these young men are drawn to this. Young men within the church. They're being drawn.

You had to realize to ministries that pretend to have answers. Young men within the church. Good godly Christian young men being deceived because they're grasping for straws. They've been affected by the worldview and the world's wisdom.

And now they're trying to find something. And these other ministries. They're trying to convince these young men and young women that how they can take back the nation with an aggressive harsh cowboy type of ministry.

The gospel isn't enough. We need new laws. We need to take over. This is nothing but worldly wisdom. It's just like the people of Israel we seek man's wisdom because it promises the outcome that we want.

Let's be honest after all that's what we're worshiping. Isn't it ourselves our view of comfort. Some of us in here long for a nation that we have romanticized from 50 years ago. And we want that for our kids.

And that has become our driving motive to what we worship. Notice something though that version of wisdom is always predicated on the power of our own might. Earthly wisdom is always built upon the concept of our own might.

We can do this. We can take control. No the church does this very thing. Guys this isn't just me pointing at the world. I'm pointing at the world saying this is what they do. Now look within. We're. We're just recreating it.

The world declares that that. That probably we do. We try to Christian eyes it. Right. The world declares it. And we just take the thing. And we Christian eyes it with Christian ease words making it seem like that we are ultimately trusting in God.

But but we don't. We don't. We're trusting in something else. The proof is in the pudding deep down inside. We're resting in our own power and in our own riches. This is the antithesis of what Christ exemplified.

We long for power. Look at what we see when we see a giant denomination and it has money and it has influence and has power. We think man if that fails what's the kingdom of God gonna do. We see big ministries and we think that that is how God is working.

It's not how God works. That's the wisdom of man. That's the might of man. That's the riches of man. And we boast in it and we rest in it. Turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter one's right. Keep your finger there in Jeremiah.

But turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. We're gonna start in verse 26 see the church at Corinth had been compromising leading these people to this type of worldly thinking. It had distorted their understanding of what the call of the church truly was.

And Paul there in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 starting in verse 26 he says. For consider your calling brothers. But not many of you were wise according to the worldly standards. This seems insulting. Doesn't it.

Imagine Paul writing to us at 12 5 going hey not many of your wise according to worldly standards. The world looks on. He goes. That's a bunch of foolish people. Right. This is what Paul saying. Not many of you were wise according to these worldly standards.

Not many were powerful. Not many were noble of noble birth. This is us today. Isn't it. Look around. There's not many of us in this room that have any real power in this world. Do we if God chose something different.

Look at verse 27. He answers this he says. But God chose what is foolish in the world. For what reason. Look what he says. To shame the wise he chose the foolish. To shame the wise God chose what is weak in the world.

Why. To shame the strong God chose what is low and despised in the world. Even things that are not again to bring to nothing things that are you see there's no doubt that earthly wisdom might and riches produce something.

Isn't it. Look around. Look around you. They are flourishing in this world. Might power riches and wisdom accomplish something. Why do you think we're so drawn to it. It's the things that are that Paul is talking about here.

It's our current reality. We are so drawn to it because it's real. It's there's substance to it. And this is what he says. He says to bring to nothing things that are this reality that you see it actually produces the outcome that we want.

But Christ is building something different something vastly different than the outcome that we want from earthly wisdom power and riches. The kingdom of God is far superior to those things. And what Paul is saying is is that God is showing us the fruitlessness of those things the futility of those things.

Paul says that he has chosen the weak and despised things to bring this current reality to nothing to bring it to its knees and show you there's a there's no value in it. You don't need it. And why would he do this.

Why would God choose the foolish. Why would God choose the weak and despise things. Why not choose the strong and the mighty. I mean that's the way we perceive it. We're like man if if that professional athlete could just get saved imagine what the kingdom would do.

What if that. What if Taylor Swift was to be saved into Christian music. The kingdom of God would take over the world. Right. In our minds we we think of these things from the wisdom power and riches of the world.

And we overlap it over the church. And Christ is doing something vastly different. And why. Look at verse 29. So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. God will not share his glory with any other.

He has no desire to use the world's wisdom riches and power to accomplish his task. Because he doesn't need it. He is worthy of all praise boast and worship. We are to boast in him alone. This is what he's called us to.

This is very different than thinking the way the world thinks. The second thing I want us to see here is trusting in the one true God. Trusting in the one true God. Keep your place there in first Corinthians.

We're gonna go back to it here in just a but look back at Jeremiah 9. Jeremiah 9 look at verse 24. God says. But you know instead instead of boasting in wisdom boasting in might boasting in riches. Let him who boasts boast in this that he understands that knows me.

There's a boasting going on. Right. Like I said a moment ago we were created to worship. There is a worship going on. There's a praise that will take place. And God says. Let him boast in me. Let him praise me.

Let him worship me. You see these pagan nations they were in total darkness. They did not know God. The only thing they could boast in was themselves. The only thing they can boast in is the creature because they are in total utter darkness and have no light of the Creator whatsoever.

And even if they did they would fundamentally reject him. According to the Apostle Paul if we were to boast if we were to glory and praise in anything we must boast in the one true God. But not only that we were to boast in the fact that we actually understand and know that one true God.

Unlike the pagan nations of that day we actually know God. We understand God of all peoples. Israel had reason to boast. Those other nations may have built dynasties but here is Israel a seemingly insignificant people who have stood the test of time time and time again have been delivered by the mighty hand of the one true God of anyone.

They had something to boast in just as the passage of Pastor Jeremiah read in 2nd Corinthians a moment ago. And Paul says. I have something to boast in. He had proven himself defeated mighty armies given given them his law and his precepts.

He'd greatly cared and loved for them. Yet they continued to chase after lesser things. They continued to boast in the very things that the pagans who did not know or understand God boasted in. Boy. That sounds familiar.

Doesn't it does for me so often. I boast wisdom. Might. I want to be the. I want to be the big strong man. Right. I'm the tough guy. I want to be the guy that's good with his money wise shrewd at business.

I want to be the guy that has more money than the next guy. I don't want to keep up with the Joneses. I want the Joneses to keep up with me. That's what our flesh desires. Isn't it. We go back to this and we're driven back to this and we want everyone to see us as something something special.

But here's the people of Israel that had the perfect right there. They had this beautiful picture of the law of God and being the people of God. And they squandered it and they sought after lesser things.

Matter of fact I told you to keep your finger in first Corinthians. Look back there with me. I think Paul addresses this. They're back in first Corinthians 1. We could look again at verse 29. We read that a moment ago so that no being no human being might boast in the presence of God.

But first. Third. And because of him who who's to him God. Right. You are in Christ Jesus. Hold on. How do you. And I know God. How do we understand God. That's what he said. Back there in Jeremiah is what God said.

Isn't it you boast boast in this that you understand and know the Lord. How do we know the Lord through Jesus Christ. That's the only way we know the Lord. We know him because of the second person of the Godhead revealing himself through his man.

And and what do we see there. Look. You continue to look on there verse 30. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus. Who. Christ Jesus is the who became to us wisdom from God true wisdom righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

So now not only would do we know God we are known by God. We of all people have reason to boast but to boast in the right thing. Right. We can better understand the Prophet Jeremiah's words as the Apostle Paul quotes our very text in Jeremiah.

Right here look at verse 31. This is a direct quote from Jeremiah's words in chapter 9. He says. So that. Right. So now he's confirming what Jeremiah. Jeremiah's words from God really mean. He says as it is written let the one who boasts boast in the Lord because of Jesus Christ.

You see those people in Israel at that time not all of Israel are of Israel just because they were circumcised. And they did all of the ceremonies didn't mean they were actually God's people only the ones who had faith in a coming Messiah and knew what those ceremonies and those rituals were pointing to.

God had an elect from every tribe nation and tongue even then and particularly the nation of Israel. And so those people those people only knew and understood God because of the coming Messiah and that being revealed to them through faith we are redeemed people.

We've been delivered from the fruitless futility of earthly wisdom might riches and brought into true wisdom true wisdom ultimate might and unending riches through this glorious inheritance that we've seen in Ephesians over the past year.

Right. This beautiful inheritance as sons and heirs of this kingdom of God something far greater and bigger than anything in this world. There's a question I I think for myself and I I want to present to you and I want you to truly think about this for a second.

Why. Why are we so easily enticed by this anthill called earth when we reside in the grand palace of the owner and creator of of every galaxy universe and beyond. We're in King Jesus sets in throne declaring us heirs and joint heirs.

Why are we so drawn to lesser things earthly wisdom power and riches. It's a drop in the ocean of the glorious inheritance that is yours in Christ Jesus. Or we know him. He knows us and he's given us his wisdom the power of his might and the riches of his eternal kingdom.

The Fruit of Trusting the One True God

Finally I want us to see the fruit of trusting the one true God the fruit of trusting the one true God. How do we know when we are boasting in him and not other things. How do we know when I'm boasting earthly wisdom might and riches.

Or I'm boasting in Christ in Christ alone. Well look look at our passage here in Jeremiah that verse 24 that we just read. But let him who boasts boast in this. But he understands and knows me. He says that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love justice and righteousness in the earth.

For in these things I delight declares the Lord. You see earthly wisdom might and riches always always produce hate injustice and unrighteousness every single time. Have you ever noticed that the the only laws of any nation throughout all of history that are just are the ones that are derived from the moral law of God.

And anytime those nations deviate from that moral law of God those very laws become unjust every single time they become grossly unjust. Earthly wisdom always tells us to look out after number one. Look out after ourselves.

Look out just after our family. If you think about it even within even communities that we build that seem to be communal like this we're church work. This is communal. We have perfect unity in the spirit in here if we're in Christ right.

But the world out there they have entities. They have country clubs. They have cities. They have states. They have countries. They have entities. But every single one of them they set under laws under rules and under regulations.

But it all stems from a selfish motives for safety and self-preservation always leads to hate unjust and unrighteousness. Earthly might and power always produces bullies. Always even when it's used to protect others.

It gets distorted and abused every single time. Look at all the abuse that's seen within big powerful denominations. Ever notice that because they're looking to earthly power. Earthly my earthly riches not to the kingdom of heaven.