Our Christian Duty to Our Government’s Leaders (Part 1)

Thank you, Mainline. Good job.

It's been a tough week for conservative Americans and Bible-believing Christians.

How have you responded?

How will you respond?

Today I want us to look at one of the ways that God wants us as His people to respond

to our government's leaders regardless of who they are.

And as we look at this, I want us to note this is not a suggestion.

It's not an option.

It is a responsibility. It's a part of our Christian duty.

We're going to look at one thing today from 1 Timothy chapter 2.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

It is our Christian duty to pray for our government's leaders.

I want you to look with me.

1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 1 through 5.

1 Timothy 2:1–5

Paul is writing to Timothy who is the leader of the church in Ephesus.

He says,

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.

As we go through this passage, I want us to think

in terms of what's going on in our country today.

I want us to try to see how this might apply to our prayers for our current and future leaders.

First thing I want us to note is very, very simple.

We are to pray for our government's leaders.

Now Paul begins with a real general statement about prayer.

Look at this.

First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings

be made for all people.

He uses four different words to describe prayer.

Sort of an unusual thing for him to do.

The first three, supplications, prayers, and intercessions,

are talking about making requests generally.

The third one, or the fourth one, real obvious, thanksgiving,

giving thanks to God.

Why would he do that?

Why would he sort of lump together four words?

Well, evidently, he's emphasizing that we need to make prayer a priority.

All kinds of prayers.

Prayer ought to be a priority for every Christian, period.

And by using these different words,

he would be emphasizing that we need to make all kinds of prayers.

We do need to ask God for things.

We do need to intercede on behalf of other people,

making specific requests,

as we're going to see in a minute, government leaders.

He also says we should pray for all people.

Do you do that?

You pray for everybody in the world?

You pray for everybody you know?

Well, no one.

You couldn't.

That would be impossible.

That helps us to understand that Paul is speaking generally here.

No one can pray for all people,

even all people that we know.

So he's telling us generally.

We need to be people who pray.

We need to pray all kinds of prayers.

And we need to pray for all kinds of people,

not just ourselves and our immediate family,

or maybe even our church family.

But we need to pray for all kinds of leaders,

or all kinds of people.

And he goes on in verse 2 to talk about government leaders.

Note that we're specifically called to pray for our government leaders.

He says, for kings and all who are in high positions.

Now in Paul's day,

most people lived under the authority of the Roman emperor.

And that was not good.

Paul is a Christian,

writing to Christians.

And when he was writing those words,

he knew Nero, the Roman emperor,

was a persecutor of Christians,

responsible for Christians being put to death

because of their faith.

It was not easy to write something like that.

But also in that day,

there were still kings under the emperor.

Some should come to your mind,

as a Christian,

King Herod,

King Agrippa.

Paul appeared before him

in Acts chapter 25,

Acts 25 · chapter mention

we read about.

Paul is calling attention to Christians.

Pray.

Pray for all kinds of people.

And pray for those who are our leaders,

our kings,

for all who are in,

or any kind of authority over us.

Today,

the highest position of leadership in our government

is the president of the United States.

So we need to pray for our president.

We need to pray for others in high positions,

for congressmen,

for governors,

for all of our local and state leaders,

all kinds of leaders.

We should make it a matter of prayer,

a part of our regular prayer lives

to lift up these people.

Now,

let's be more specific.

It appears that Joe Biden

has been elected

our next president.

Now,

I know that

lawsuits have been filed

and will continue to be filed

challenging the legitimacy

of this election

in some states.

But as it stands right now,

Joe Biden

is our president-elect

because he has unofficially

over 270 electoral college votes.

There are

the leading conservative news organization

in this country,

Fox News,

they're already calling him

president-elect.

one of President Trump's

most staunchest

evangelical supporters,

Robert Jeffries,

the pastor

at First Baptist Church of Dallas.

He's called Biden

president-elect.

Now,

the Supreme Court

may intervene in some way.

There may be things

that happen in states

where ballots are thrown out,

invalidated,

or more ballots are counted.

Things could change.

We do not know

for a fact today.

But it looks like

Joe Biden

will be our nation's

46th president.

And we've got to start praying for him

if that's true.

And if we are wise,

we will pray

that he will turn out

to be a great president

for our country,

for all people,

including those of us

who did not vote for him.

Now,

I remember when Obama

was elected,

I made a statement

on Wednesday night

similar to that,

citing this passage

and some others.

And it was a smaller group,

but I could see

the obvious eye rolls

and the size

and the anger

that I would even say

something like that.

But doesn't it make sense

that if whoever

is our president,

we would want him

to be successful

for our good,

I'm talking about?

That's biblical.

Remember how God

told the people of Israel,

think about this.

They had been captured

by the Babylonians,

taken into exile,

taken from their land

to Babylon,

forced to live there,

a foreign land,

foreign culture,

foreign pagan leaders.

But God spoke

through the prophet Jeremiah,

you know this,

we've looked at it before,

and told them,

look at this,

Jeremiah 29, 7,

but seek the welfare

of the city

where I have sent you

into exile,

and pray to the Lord

on its behalf,

for in its welfare

you will find

your welfare.

I want our country

to prosper.

I want whoever

is in the White House,

whoever is in Congress,

whoever is in Columbia,

whoever is the mayor

of Pickens,

I want them

to be good leaders.

I want them

to help us

as people

in this country,

in this state,

in this town,

to make life

better for us.

We should pray

that way.

That's how God

told His people,

His conquered people,

living in exile,

to pray

for in its welfare,

the city you're living in,

the place you're living,

with the leaders

that you have,

that you did not choose,

you will find

your welfare.

Now that's basically

what Paul says next

about how we should pray

for our leaders

in this passage.

Look at this.

We are to pray

for our leaders

to lead in such a way

that we are able

to live a peaceable

and godly life.

Look at it specifically.

The last part

of verse 2 and 3.

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.

We need to pray

for our leaders

to lead wisely

and justly.

And that includes

Joe Biden

if he becomes president

on January the 20th.

We need to pray

that he and those

who will be

in his administration

fill his cabinet spots,

that they will lead

with wisdom

for our benefit,

that they will lead

justly,

do the right thing.

We need to ask God

to give our leaders

on every level

of government

wisdom and strength

to stop

the lawlessness,

the anarchy even

that's taking place

all across our country

right now

in some of our

major cities.

We need to ask God

to so work

through our current

leaders

and our future

leaders

to bring an end

to this

craziness,

violence,

unrestraint

lawlessness

that's taking place.

We need to ask God

to protect our

law enforcement

officers,

keep them safe

as they're trying

to keep the peace,

trying to keep it

as confined

as they can

in these places.

We also need to pray

that God would open

people's eyes

to the fact

that these law enforcement

officers are not

the enemy.

They're not the problem.

Rather,

they are a

valuable friend

of law-abiding

citizens

and

they're a force

for good

in this country.

They're agents

even

of the government

to enforce

the law,

to keep

us safe.

We need to pray

that our new

leaders

will respect

religious liberty

and not persecute

Christians who seek

to live in obedience

to the truth

of God's word.

For an example,

right now,

many Democrats

in places

of leadership

across this country,

governors and mayors

in particular,

some of them

have targeted

churches

or church

gatherings

as one of the

major spreaders

of COVID-19

with no evidence

to support this.

Some of these

Democratic leaders

in some states

and cities

have either

tried to stop

in-person

worship services

altogether

or they place

such ridiculous

limits

on the numbers

that can gather

that the churches

really cannot gather.

We need to pray

that Joe Biden,

if he becomes

our president,

will not single

out churches

like this

in his attempt

to deal

with the coronavirus.

He said

this is going to be

one of his major

first initiatives

dealing with the

coronavirus.

We need to pray

that God

will give him

wisdom

about what

not to do

as well as

what to do.

And we need to pray

that God

will help him

to understand

that Christians

gathering together

are an essential

part of American

life.

It's essential

for our

spiritual well-being.

It's essential

for many things

that benefit

our country.

We need to pray

for President-elect

Biden.

If he truly is

going to be

our next president,

that he will be

wise in dealing

with this pandemic.

We also need to pray

that our new leaders

will see

clearly

the failures

of socialism

every place

on this planet

that has ever

been practiced.

We need to pray

that Biden

will not be

led further

left

and lead

our country

to adopt

more socialistic

programs

and policies.

Now,

in light of what

we know about

Joe Biden's

positions on

such issues

and the stated

platform of

the Democratic

Party,

we should pray

that God

would change

Biden's mind

on these issues

of major

importance.

I'm not trying

to be,

I'm trying

to be

anti-political.

I'm trying

to tone

things down

this morning.

I want you

to understand

that.

But I must

say,

if you've

looked at any

of the history

of Joe Biden,

he's changed

his mind

a lot.

He's flipped

a lot more

than you flip

most hamburgers

when you grill.

He is not

above changing

his positions

on anything.

So,

seriously,

we as

Christians

should pray

that God

will so

work in

him and

put around

him people

who will

influence him

to cause

him to

change his

mind and

approach to

dealing with

the lawlessness

in this

country.

To change

his mind

on dealing

with religious

liberty.

and to

cause him

to totally

reject

socialism.

We should

also pray

that God

will work

in his

mind and

heart

to cause

him to

see that

life is

sacred.

Life is a

sacred gift

from God

that must

be protected

from the

life of

the baby

in the

mother's

womb

to the

life of

the elderly

Alzheimer's

patient

in a

nursing

home

or any

home.

life is

sacred

and must

be protected.

We need

to pray

like this

now.

We need

to pray

like this

if he

becomes our

actual

president.

And we

need to

pray like

this the

whole time

he is in

office.

We should

be praying

for our

president

now.

Should have

been always.

But we're

looking now

at where we

are in light

of the

election this

week.

It's important

that we

understand that

one of the

major reasons

Paul wanted

us to pray

like this.

Paul's not

just talking

about just

having a

peaceful and

tranquil life.

Look at this.

We're to pray

for our leaders

to lead in

such a way

that our

ability to

share the

gospel is

not hindered.

Look again

at the

scripture.

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.

New Testament

commentator Tommy

Lee.

He taught at

Southwestern Seminary

when I was

there.

He makes an

important,

point about

one of the

purposes of

our prayers

for our

leaders.

Look at what

he said.

Freedom from

anarchy,

persecution,

and economic

hardship can

facilitate the

spread of the

gospel.

Wise rulers

can provide

sound, solid

leadership to

accomplish these

goals.

Paul benefited

by the

leadership of

Rome.

even the

persecuting

Emperor Nero.

Paul benefited

by the

freedom he

was accorded

to travel,

to preach,

to start

churches, to

do all the

things that he

did.

Paul benefited

by a

government that

kept peace and

order, didn't

allow anarchy,

allowed economic

flourishing.

It benefited the

spread of the

gospel.

people.

We must

never lose

sight of the

fact that we

have a

responsibility to

be witnesses of

the Lord's.

Understand that.

All of us in this

room right now who

claim to be

Christians, we are

responsible for how

we live in this

world.

We are to be

faithful, positive

witnesses of the

Lord's by the way

that we live, and

we have the

responsibility to

share the gospel,

to help people to

understand that

alone, on their

own, they are

separated from God

by their sin, and

the penalty for that

sin is death.

But the good news of

the Bible is that God

has provided a way of

salvation through

Jesus Christ that

whoever would turn

from their sin and

trust him can be

forgiven, made

children of God, and

prepared to live in

fellowship with God

forever.

forever.

That's part of our

responsibility as

Christians in this

world.

We need to pray that

our new president will

not do anything to

interfere in our

ability to live as

faithful followers of

Jesus and to

actively share the

gospel with people

who are not

Christians, people who

don't care even about

their relationship with

God.

We also need to pray

that Joe Biden, if

he is elected

president, will be

convicted to live like

a Christian if he is

truly a child of God, or

that he'll be saved if

he is not a Christian.

Now, he claims to be a

Christian.

He is a member of the

Roman Catholic Church.

But the real test of a

person's faith, Joe

Biden, Donald Trump, you

and me, the real test of

our faith is found in the

way that we live.

Not the church we're a

member of or anything like

that.

Jesus would say it like

this from time to time.

We're known by the fruit

that we bear.

Our fruit give evidence of

the root within us.

There's one point in this

passage we must not miss

this morning because it

applies to all of us.

I've just alluded to that.

It does matter how you and

I live.

Look at verses two and

three again.

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.

Now, Paul said something

similar to this in his

first letter to the

Thessalonians.

Look at it.

Make it your ambition to

lead a quiet life.

You should mind your own

business and work with your

hands, just as we told you,

so that your daily life may

win the respect of

outsiders.

Thomas Lee made an important

point about why Paul would

have said this.

Talking about why it matters

how we live.

Look at what he said.

Paul desired that believers

live peaceful and quiet lives.

He may not have intended that

this quiet life be free of all

conflict and persecution because

Paul said if we truly live the

Christian life we will be

persecuted at times.

Perhaps strife and discord in

the church caused outsiders to

scoff at the religion of the

Ephesian Christians.

Paul wanted his readers to live an

orderly life free of strife and

discord so as to convince

unbelievers that Christianity was

worthy of their attention.

Here's how I want to apply this.

For the past four years there have

been thousands upon thousands of

Trump haters in this country who

have whined, complained, screamed,

shouted, cursed, did everything they

could do to show their hatred and

displeasure of Donald Trump.

Many of them said things like they

refused to acknowledge him as

their president.

They did everything they could to

disrespect the man, to put him

down, show him no honor as the

president of this country.

We as God's people cannot, must not,

act that way toward a President

Biden no matter what.

In fact, it would be better for you to

renounce your faith, don't call

yourself a Christian, than to become a

Biden hater like so many have been

Trump haters and lived the opposite

life of what God calls us to live as a

Christian.

Now, make no mistake, we can disagree

with liberal and unbiblical policies all

day long.

We've got to do it the right way.

We can work for change the right way with

all that is within us.

But we must as Christians now, and it's,

being a Christian is a higher calling than

being an American.

Our ultimate and final citizenship is in

heaven, not the United States of America.

We have the responsibility to show a

watching world that Jesus Christ does make a

difference in how we live.

He has an effect on our attitudes, our

words, and our actions, whether we win or

lose in politics, regardless of who's in

the White House.

As I said at the beginning, it's been a

tough week for conservative Americans and

Bible-believing Christians.

The election did not turn out like we wanted

it to, or at least it has not to this point.

But what we must never lose sight of, God is

still on the throne.

God is still in charge of this world and this

country.

God is sovereign.

And He can be trusted.

We can trust Him.

And if we trust Him, we'll obey Him.

And what I am emphasizing only this morning, we need to

pray for our leaders.

It's just simple.

We need to pray for President Trump because he is

still our president and will be for another few months

unless the election results are changed.

We need to pray for our leaders.

We need to pray for our leaders.

We need to pray that he will be a wise leader at this time.

That he will do the right things the right way.

If Joe Biden is to be our president, we must pray that he will do the same.

That he will surround himself with the right kind of people.

We also need to pray for ourselves.

We need to pray that we will do the right things, the right ways, for the right reasons.

And I want us to note, when we do things like this, look again at the verse.

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.

Bottom line, if we're Christians and God is our Father, our greatest desire should be to please Him.

And one of the ways we can please Him is by praying for our government leaders.

Let's pray together.