Session 4 Sermon- Dan Self

We go. I got a big head and it's just holding it farther away from my mouth. So when I was tasked to speak on the government, I got a little glimmer in my eye as one of the things that Reformed Presbyterians love to talk about is government.

We do so because we have some distinctives that make us different from the rest of Presbyterians. Not that we're all that much different, but one of the things is the government and how it relates to Christ.

So when I got to thinking about the government, I had many, many questions. And it's called me crazy, but one of the most important, not important, but one of the weight on my mind, the heaviest, was who shot John Fitzgerald Kennedy?

I kind of want to know. And so I got to looking at it and studying it and trying to look into the different theories on who shot Kennedy. Came to the conclusion that it was the U .S. Treasury and the Mint that killed John Kennedy.

I have a $5 bill in my wallet to prove it. Kind of. Now, there's a couple pieces of evidence that led me to that conclusion. One being the year that Kennedy died. And next, the event surrounding his death.

I'm losing this. Now, just because I had those two pieces of information on me doesn't mean that I came to a right conclusion. And that's the case with a lot of conspiracies. Conspiracies can go left, right, up, down, and usually they operate on the broken clock principle.

Where there's a couple things that are right, but then they're taken way out of context to where you don't understand really where you came from or where you went. And you just end up being wrong. Some of my favorite of these conspiracies are this.

Did you know that birds are not real? Birds are nothing more than government drones sent out to spy on the people of America. You knew it? Amen. Did you know, and this was a little bit more far-fetched, but did you know that there's a crater on the moon that has a dragon-shaped mining craft from a different planet that is nine times the size of Manhattan that is slowly hollowing out our moon and sending the materials back to the home planet?

If you didn't know, now you do. And here's one that caused me to stop and think, and we'll get a little bit more serious after this. Did you know that our government is controlled by reptilian shapeshifters?

That the people in the highest levels of our government are actually reptiles from a different planet that shapeshifted into the form of men to work behind the scenes to subvert mankind and watch us fall?

It is the broken clock principle here because there are two points of information in that that are somewhat accurate. Number one, that there is shapeshifting reptilians. Now, hold on a second. I'm stretching for this one, but we're going to get there.

Remember back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3, you have Lucifer, Satan, who is the most beautiful of all angels, coming to Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent and deceiving them, wanting to see them fall, wanting to see everything that was good and glorious about God's creation taken down and eradicated.

He wanted to see it ruined, and that made me stop and think. Is there a point in our heart where sin is not cut? And the answer is no. Is there a place where Satan is not trying to ruin what God has created?

Also, no. He wishes to see it destroyed inside and out. He wants to see the church torn apart and destroyed. He wants to see the family ripped apart. He wants to see individuals decimated. Not only that, maybe I do have a big head, he would very much like to see the government of men bound together to serve his purposes instead of Christ.

There is a push today by the men and women in our government to eradicate God from our country. And it comes under something that we as Christians used to say all the time, and they've taken this phrase and twisted it, the separation of church and state.

Now the separation of church and state is a very good principle. There are two separate spheres. There is the church and there is the state. The state does not have power over the church, and the church does not have power over the state, because that is not how God has set things up.

He has not given ministers of the gospel, officers in the church, the power to enact laws in this country. Nor has he given the officers of our country power to make laws and rules in the church. And yet, when you hear separation of church and state now, what is really meant is there needs to be a separation of God and state.

You might have noticed my Bible has been closed so far. This is the first topical message I've ever preached. So I'm going to, I hope you have your running fingers on, because we're going all over the scriptures now.

We're going to start in Psalm 110. We've already there this morning, so this is going to be very brief, and we're going to move on to a lot of different places. But I want to show you something that Claude brought out so wonderfully this morning, because if we're going to look at and understand the government, we have to first look at and understand the world in which we live.

We can't do that unless we look at the Christ who is Lord over everything. Look here. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your foot. So who is in charge? It's God.

And who is called Christ? It's the Trinity. God, in all of his wonder and glory, has called Christ to come and be ruler, because he is really a creator over this entire world. The people freely offer themselves on the day of power.

Holy government, and speaking of salvation here, Christ has come and died on the cross in order to eradicate sin from the world, in order to save mankind, in order to bring a people to himself, in order to be Lord over all.

And he goes on even farther, because this is not just about salvation, though it is about salvation. Look at where else this goes. Look at verse 5, because our brother said something very right this morning.

I believe the scepter is the gospel. But listen to what he says in verse 5. The Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses.

He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. Our God is coming. Our Christ is returning. Jesus will come back one day, and not just individuals, but nations themselves will have to answer for how they have lived in this world.

How have we constituted ourselves as a nation? God will judge us for how we've done that. How have we, how have our rulers ruled over us? And that is a frightening, frightening thing. Listen with me to Matthew 28.

You've probably heard that a thousand times while you've been here, and for good reason. It's kind of the theme of the conference. Look at Matthew 28. We'll start off in verse 17. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted him.

And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ. I don't know if there's any other realms beside heaven and earth, but I venture to say that if there is, Christ has authority over those as well.

Because all things in heaven and on earth are Christ. And with that understanding, we can now look to what it means for a government to exist in God's world. Now back in the 1600s, the Scottish covenanters struck a deal, not struck a deal, signed a covenant with the English Parliament for the nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

And it read like this, a solemn league and covenant for the reformation and defense of religion. They, the government and the church came together to covenant between themselves and the side of God for these purposes.

For reformation and defense of religion, the honor and happiness of the king, and peace and safety of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. They go on to say that we, the noblemen, barons, knights, gentlemen, citizens, burgesses, ministers of the gospel, and commons of all sorts of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland.

I don't know if you know anything about their hierarchy over there, but that pretty much covers it. That the folks who live in those three nations, they said this, that by the providence of God, living under one king, and being of one reformed religion, having before our eyes, having in front of our eyes, having the focus of what we're about to do, being the glory of God, the advancement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as well as the honor and happiness of the king's majesty and his posterity, and the true public liberty, safety, and peace of the kingdom.

They were endeavoring, they were covenanting together that the church and government would, in their own spheres, work together to defend Christ's religion, defend Christ's gospel, to see it go out across the earth, that the church would tell its people to listen to God through the ministers of the state, who were to then enact laws and rules and to reign in ways that was honoring to Christ, to seek the liberty and prosperity of all those folks who are living in those three kingdoms.

And it says this, according to the example of God's people in other nations, and upon mature deliberation, resolved and determined to enter into a mutual and solemn league. Now that means a military alliance and covenant, wherein all subscribe, and each one of us for himself, with hands lifted up to the Most High God.

This is an act of worship. And they swore six things. To preserve the true religion. To recognize Christ as a rightful head of the church. To recognize God as a rightful head of government, and for the people of those nations to submit to it.

To not tolerate those who would subvert a proper king who is ruling as God has called him to do. To keep the league and covenant for the benefit of their children, and above all, to seek God's power in order for them to do it.

That doesn't sound anything like America. That doesn't sound anything like England, Scotland, and Ireland went back on their word and pulled out. They no longer wanted to be in covenant with God to do things His way.

So if we're going to think about how we should interact with government, and how government interacts with God in His world, sometimes it's best to just burn it down and start over. Now, I am not saying to literally burn it down and start over.

Not what I'm saying. One thing is, perhaps we should take down some preconceived notions. Maybe some things that we thought before we should unthink. Perhaps some things that we know that we should have been trusting in and believing in, we take and put in the forefront.

And sometimes that's going to mean that we just need to quit acting like cowards. Now, one of the distinctives of the Reformed Presbyterian Church is the belief in the mediatorial kingship of Christ. The mediatorial kingship of Christ is, you know, some of them big words, but maybe not kingship.

Mediatorial, you can kind of figure it out. But together, what does that mean? I don't think many would disagree. Run with me to 1 Timothy chapter 2. Look at verses 1 through 7. And I'm not used to people saying stuff, so if y 'all get there and say amen, we'll be okay.

First of all, then I urge supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. For kings, and all in high position, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

So it starts off, I'm going to pray for all people. For kings, people in high positions, why? For the benefit of all of us, that we may all live in a land that is at peace. Number one, pray for your leaders.

We'll come back to that a little bit later. But I just want to say, pray for your leaders. He says, this is good in verse 3. It is pleasing in the sight of our God and Savior, who desires all people to be saved, to come to a 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, and telling the truth.

I am not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man. What our brother said this morning is absolutely right. Jesus is Lord. And because he is Lord, we are responsible to him for breathing his air and living on his planet.

And because we breathe his air and live on his planet, we have to go before him, sins and all, and we have to stand and take the judgment that is coming our way. We cannot stand before a holy God with that sin that is laid upon us.

And the only way that we can go before a holy God is to have Christ stand in the gap. To take what was dirty and sinful and wicked and make it holy. And the way he did that was by taking the sins of men, putting them upon himself, and dying a death upon the cross.

Laying in the grave and then rising again three days later to stand and then sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven as King and Lord over all. And he takes that wonderful, blessed salvation that he has procured through his death and burial and resurrection and giving it to men through faith in Jesus Christ.

To that end, we must pray for our leaders. We must pray for those who are in charge of us, those who enact laws in our nation. God desires presidents and senators, county commissioners down the road. We just passed, I don't know where it is, somewhere over there.

Catawba County building. He desires folks like that to be saved. To live in his world and rule and reign in such a way that it honors and glorifies Christ. That is what it means for Christ to be a mediator.

To go in between those who are sinful and the one who is holy seated upon a throne in heaven. Then the word kingship. Matthew 28, that I already read, says all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Then he tells us to go and make disciples. Well, go through Psalm 2. Psalm 2 says this as well, only in different words. He asks the question about nations and governments of the world. Why do they fight against God?

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointing. That is Christ saying, let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.

We don't want Christ to rule us. We don't want God to be in control of us. We want to do things our own way. We want the knowledge of good and evil for ourselves. We're going to eat the fruit. We don't care what happens.

And yet, what does God do? Verse 4, he who sits in the heavens laughs. Could you imagine? I don't know, maybe this may hit home for some folks, but could you imagine having a whole bunch of little kids, my kids age, have them try to revolt against you?

They're in there plotting and scheming. Oh, they're going to get it. They're going to destroy every piece of furniture we have in the house. They're going to eat up all the snacks. I'm going to sit in my chair at home, hearing them talk this over.

I'm going to laugh. It's just as silly for the nations of the earth to look at the world in which they live, to breathe the air that God has provided for them, to live on the ground, to watch the sun as it goes up and down in the sky, and to think that they can do anything other than what Christ has commanded them to do.

They cannot. Because he laughs. And not only does he laugh, he says, you kings have to listen, because not only that, but I have set my own king. Look at verse 6. As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.

I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Then he says, ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, or your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them into pieces like a potter's vessel. And remember what Christ said in Matthew, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. It's not like he didn't ask for these nations.

These are his. Because when Christ paid for sin, he paid to have it eradicated from his world. And like the book of Hebrews says, at this point we don't see everything put under his feet, but what we do see is Christ seated upon the throne, and it's in that that we trust.

You all like Christmas, don't you? Christmas? Christmas is great. Run over to Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9 is beautiful. You know what's great about Isaiah 9? This was right after Isaiah 8. Isaiah 8 tells us that these are a nation of Israel who is struggling.

They don't trust in the Lord. They have broken covenant with God. And God is sending someone to punish them, the Assyrian army, to take them off into exile. And as the Assyrian army is there to take them away into exile, they're given a hope.

In the face of one of the mightiest nations on the face of the planet at the time, we hear this. This is their hope. Verse 6 of Isaiah 9. With justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

And how is he going to do it? The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The domain of Christ's kingdom is the entirety of heaven and earth. Put those two words that we're talking about together. Mediatorial.

Christ going in between and saving a people from their sin and kingship. Christ is king over all. His kingdom stretches through heaven and earth. Heaven, angels, demons, those who have departed. The spiritual realm.

Christ is king. The earth, the animals, the humans, those who are sinners, those who are unrepentant, those who have repented and found salvation. Families, church, and earthly government. The mediatorial kingship of Christ says this in scriptural terms.

Romans 8. I told you to get your running fingers ready. Romans 8. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. How many things?

All things. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. All things, all things work together for Christ's purposes. One of which, right here, he says, is to see us conformed to the image of his Son.

The ruling and reigning of Christ in the world furthers, serves, places an emphasis upon his salvation of mankind. He rules and reigns to see his purposes met. We'll continue on. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?

Verse 33. I'll back up into 31. I miss a whole bunch of good stuff. Back up here into verse 30. Verse 29. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son in order that he might be called the firstborn among many brothers.

Think of adoption. Brothers of Christ and sons and daughters of God. Brought into the royal family in order to be princes, princesses. Not because of anything we've done, but because of his own good pleasure.

And those whom he predestined, he also called. To those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things if God is for us, who can be against us?

Definitely not Catawba County or Delaware County or whatever county we're from or the United States of America or anybody else. But God desires even those people to repent of their sins and believe in him.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who is raised. Who is at the right hand of the Father, who is indeed interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ or tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sore?

None of them. Not a single one. Because everything that goes on in this world is serving Christ's purposes. And that is a hard statement. A hard statement. Because it's easy to read and it's easy to even believe that Christ would be telling the truth.

But when you look at the things that happen in the world, it kind of makes you go... makes you wonder. But even when we wonder, we trust that Christ lives in here. In the book of Genesis, there's a young man named Joseph, who through no fault of his own, well, I don't know, maybe he was a brat.

Anyway, kicked off his brothers, was sold into slavery, went down into Egypt. He had every right to be super upset with his brothers, to hate them. Except from Christ's perspective. He had no right to hate them from Christ's perspective.

But humanly speaking, I would be upset. I would be very, very angry. And yet, when his father died, his brothers come to him and say, please don't kill us. We know that you have the authority to kill us now and we will probably deserve it.

He says, no. What you have meant for evil, God has meant for good. Even the evil actions of men on this planet are serving the good and glorious purposes of our God in heaven. Think of Acts 2 .23. It says that this Jesus that was delivered up to you by the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified.

There was a people who, of their own volition, crucified a Christ that they hated. And yet, this all occurred according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The kingship of Christ, his ruling and reigning over the earth, makes sure that his salvation goes where it should.

That it is spoken where he wants it spoken. That it accomplishes everything that he wants accomplished. Because Christ is king, the rulers of this world need to beware. It's easy for us to think that Christ is king over his kingdom and then restrict his kingdom to the church.

It's easy to think of it that way because you come over, this may be the furthest a Presbyterian has ever walked away from a podium. It's easy to think that Christ is Lord over his church. And he can speak to pastors and deacons and speak to those who are in the realm of the church.

It's easy to think of it there. But since Christ is Lord over, and we've gone over this many times, Lord over everything, all. When we come over to this sphere, and we look at the governments of this earth.

They have to follow Christ exactly as much as these folks over here do. As the church does, as we do when we come to worship Christ on Sunday morning. When we set up our churches with elders and deacons.

When we preach the word, when we administer the sacraments, ordinances, sacraments. These folks need the gospel. But they do, they need the gospel. And why is that? Because just as much as Christ is the head of the church, Christ is the head of all earthly government as well.

And so as we look at America, what do we have going on here? We've got donkeys and pachyderms fighting it out, and it's ridiculous. Because not a single one of them is doing what is right. Think of Proverbs 12, 10.

Even the mercies of the wicked are cruel. Even when our party, whatever that might mean. Whatever our party does something that is right, but does what we think is right, but does it outside the confines of scripture.

The mercy that they believe they're giving to us, the mercy we think we might be finding in the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is cruelty. Because it doesn't lead us towards Christ. It's dangerous for us to think that we can restrict ourselves to the realm of the church when Christ is Lord over all.

He didn't say go in and make disciples of some random nameless, faceless people. He said, go to the nation. Disciple the nation and teach them all that I have commanded. Oh my. Let's put some legs on it.

Number one, what should we do? When you leave here, when you walk out of here, what do you do knowing that Christ is King? That Christ is working everything out through the counsel of His own will. That He is bringing salvation to the nations.

What do we do? Number one, in regards to our government, number one, pray for your leaders. Pray for your leaders that things may go well with you. Pray for your leaders because your leaders are one day going to have to stand before a holy God and answer for what they've done.

We see President Biden and President Harris doing things in office that I am absolutely terrified for them. Pray for your leaders. That brings me to my second point. Do not mock your leaders. Let's Mr. Sanders talk about the honoring of father and mother, not just your father and your mother, but honoring all who have right and just authority given by God over you.

If we know that these people will stand before a holy God and be judged one day, why are we clapping, I did that stickers on gas pump. Why are we having signs over here somewhere that say Biden sucks.

Why did we chant from the stadiums of America, let's go brand new. When these people will stand before a holy God one day and give an account for what they've done. Pray for their souls. Pray that they would know the God that we worship each and every Sunday.

And pray that for their benefit and your own. And also do not let them have a free pass. When they do something that is wicked, tell them about it. Tell them about it to someone who has prayed for their soul.

But tell them about it. You should know your county commissioners. You should know the mayors of your local town. You should be able to set up a meeting and go talk with them and say, I'm on your side.

I want you to succeed. I want everything that you do to be wonderful and glorious. I want to see you do great things in government. But you will not be able to do great things in government if you neglect the God who has given you the authority to enact laws.

And find out how to help them. Not everything that's done in government is done by a statute or an act. Some of it is just getting out there and getting people to change their minds. Hey guys, there's already a no littering sign.

Let's go clean up the river. That's a little simple thing. But still, just start small. Start somewhere. Go find your leaders and say, what can I do to help? If it's in accordance with the Word of God, do it.

If I had to boil down everything I said into one thing, it would be this. I didn't even put notes on this one. Oh well. If I had to boil it all down, it would be this. I would echo what our brother said this morning.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord over everything. Because He is Lord over everything, you trust in Him. And you trust in Him not just in your church sphere. You trust in Him in the sphere of the state as well.

You pray for your leaders. You recognize that He is mediating salvation. That Christ is going between God and man. And He is ruling and reigning from a place of honor and power. And you trust in Him and you speak to your leaders and you pray for them.

Because they are men like us. Men in need of the Savior. So I don't know if that muddied anything or cleared it up or whatever. But Christ is King. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Let's pray.

Dear Heavenly Father. King of kings and Lord of lords. God we thank you for your great and wonderful majesty. We thank you for your grace towards us in Christ. That you have taken sin that is ours. And laid it upon your son.

And you brought salvation to a people who don't deserve it. God we pray that as we look to the public sphere. To the government of our nation. Or a town of our county. That we would look at it knowing that you are sovereign.

That you have given those rulers their ministry. To be the sword in the world. That we pray for them to do so righteously. We pray for us to not look at our world flippantly. But to remember who you are.

And to praise you in every aspect of our lives. In Christ's name we pray.