Church Order: Discipline, Enemies, and Institutional Faithfulness

How Enemies Attack Part 1 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Church Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-03-07

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds Ezra 4:1-3 to show that the first way enemies attack God's work is by seeking to corrupt through compromise. He identifies the adversaries as syncretistic Samaritans who offered to help rebuild the temple while mixing pagan worship with the worship of Jehovah. Zerubbabel's refusal to yoke with unbelievers is presented as the biblical principle of separation. Weaver applies this to modern churches, arguing that incorporation and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status represent a compromise that places the church under state control rather than under the headship of Christ.

[John Weaver] All right, let's open our Bible's day to the book of Ezra chapter four, Ezra chapter four. You've got first and second Chronicles and you've got Ezra. Then you've got Nehemiah Ezra chapter four. I'm going to be preaching a message today that I will finish next week, Lord willing, and the week after I will be away. And when I return, I've got a message that I want to be sharing with you. And I want you to just think about this. The message that I'm going to be bringing Lord willing on the 13th of March is the rebels prayer. So maybe you can do a little bit of thinking on that and see if you can come up with a text that I'm going to be using.

[John Weaver] And of course, I'll explain that when we get there. But today we're going to be looking at Ezra chapter 4 and the title of the message for this week and next week is how enemies attack or I have a subtitle, how the work of God is corrupted. And interestingly enough, Henry was telling me he woke up this morning at 4 o'clock with something on his mind and the message that I'm going to be bringing today and next week are going to fit right in with what Henry woke up and thought about it for this morning. So maybe after I get through preaching, he'll be able to sleep till at least six the next several mornings before he wakes up and thinks about the subject again. So Ezra chapter four, and let's begin. And let's only read the first three verses because that's as far as we'll get today. Anyhow, Ezra chapter four, beginning with verse one.

[John Weaver] Now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard. that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel. Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Asher, which brought us up thither. But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel as King Cyrus, the King of Persia, hath commanded us.

[John Weaver] I want you to stop and think about how enemies attack. Everyone has enemies. Often people become our enemies simply because of our own lack of communication, lack of respect, misinterpretations, saying things the wrong way, and sometimes for a lack of common decency. Those are our enemies and by that I mean they are our enemies because they are enemies of our own making. They were not enemies previously necessarily but they are enemies now simply because of our ignorance and our conduct.

[John Weaver] All of us are sinners and consequently we do that which sinners do most frequently, we sin. We're not perfect and we cannot be perfect in this life. Therefore, there are times that when each of us irritate. Upset and anger others, and they become our enemies just simply because of our sins. However, we may be reconciled to these enemies through repentance and forgiveness. And they once again become our friends, but those are not the type of enemies that I'm talking about today. The enemies that I'm referring to today are those that are our enemies simply because we are Christians and simply because we belong to Christ and they are the enemies of Christ and the gospel. I want you to hold Ezra for because we will be expounding that passage momentarily but look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 15 and notice what our Lord says and here are exactly the type of enemies that I'm going to be talking about today in John chapter 15 beginning there with verse 18. John 15 and verse 18.

[John Weaver] Note what our Lord says. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were off the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you. Now watch. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.

[John Weaver] If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will also keep yours. So notice if you would, our Lord says, if you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you're not in the world, therefore the world hates you. In other words, it hates us because it hates Jesus Christ. And if the world persecuted Jesus Christ, then he said, rest assured, they're going to try to persecute you as well. Without turning there, but in 1st John 3 and verse 13, John also wrote, marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. He says, don't be surprised. In fact, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1st John chapter 2. And let me show you another statement that our Lord made. 1st John chapter 2. Notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 15. Now, I want you to understand this passage very clearly because he said in 1 John 2 and verse 15, love not the world.

[John Weaver] Now, when he talks about loving not the world, he is not referring to his creation. He's certainly not referring to the world of Christians. He's referring to the world system and everything that is opposed to him, just like he said in John 15, if the world hate you, He's referring to the world of the ungodly. So he says, love, not the world. Watch carefully. Neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. Now he tells you which world he's talking about for all that is in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father, but of the world and the world that is that type of world passed away. and the lust thereof, but he that do it, the will of God abided forever. Now, let me just put it very plainly. We have enemies. Our Lord has enemies. We may not know who all of the enemies of the Lord are, but you may rest assured of one thing.

[John Weaver] He knows exactly who his enemies are. And I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21. And I want you to look at verse 8. Note this particular verse. Psalm 21 and verse 8. In fact, I preached two messages on this passage several years ago. But look in Psalm 21 and verse 8 at what is said. I love this passage. Psalm 21 verse 8. Referring to God, the psalmist said, Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. So we may not know who God's enemies are, but God does.

[John Weaver] There are many times that individuals present themselves as friends of Christ and friends of God's people, when in reality, they're nothing less than spies and nothing less than individuals who have infiltrated to wreak havoc and ruin. Inevitably, those who are the enemies of God will display their hatred of God by attacking either the messengers of God or the work of God.

[John Weaver] Now, before I get started on the message from Ezra, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah And we're going to begin with Jeremiah 18, because I want to show you something. And this is going to be seen not only this week, but Lord willing, next week as well. Because oftentimes, the enemies of Christ attack the work of God exactly the way they attack the messengers of God. What happened to Jeremiah? Of course you know Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He preached to a people who did not want to hear. They did not want to listen. They did not want to repent. And so they attacked Jeremiah first of all verbally. Look in Jeremiah 18 in verse 18. Then said they come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah for the law shall not perish from the priest nor counsel from the wise nor the word from the prophet, come and let us smite him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words."

[John Weaver] We're not going to listen to him. We will smite him with the tongue. We will verbally abuse him. We will verbally attack him. So they attacked him verbally and of course that did not stop Jeremiah from preaching. Although they said, let us not give heed to any of his words. So since the verbal attacks did not stop him. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 10, they go a step farther. Jeremiah 19 verse 10, I believe it is, let's see. I may have a wrong verse there. Jeremiah 19 and verse, well, here where he said, I have it, that's a bad verse.

[John Weaver] I thought it was 19. It must have been 20. Jeremiah 20. Jeremiah 20 verse 10. Watch carefully. He said, For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Reports say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Prayer infantry will be enticed. and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him. Note what they say. Reports say they, and we will report it. In other words, we'll report him to the authorities. We'll stop him. Our verbal attacks did not stop him, but we'll report him to the authorities.

[John Weaver] Maybe they can handle him. Well, of course, Jeremiah was reported to the authorities. And if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 38, And there's plenty of other places, but this one will be sufficient. Look in Jeremiah 38 in verse 6 at what they did to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 38 verse 6. So, since verbal abuse and reporting him did not necessarily stop him, then they threw him in prison, so to speak. Notice Jeremiah 38 in verse 6, Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malachi the son of Hamilech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire. So they were going to stop him one way or the other.

[John Weaver] First of all, they said we're not going to listen to him, we'll attack him verbally. Then we're going to report him, that's not going to stop him.

[John Weaver] Now they put him in prison, they put him in a dungeon. And guess what? That still didn't stop Jeremiah. Because Jeremiah had an amanuasis, that is he had a scribe by the name of Baruch. And so Jeremiah from the dungeon spoke the words of God and Baruch wrote them down and then Baruch went to the temple and read them. And if you will turn and look to Jeremiah 38, I think it is, let me see if that's it in verse 16.

[John Weaver] Here was the ultimate solution. So Zedekiah the king swears secretly unto Jeremiah saying, as the Lord liveth that made this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee in hand of these men that seek thy life. So there were men who were seeking to kill Jeremiah just simply because He's preaching and teaching the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, a little reason I pointed this out is that these tactics that were used against the messengers of God are oftentimes used against the work of God as well, because the main aim of the enemies of God is always to stop, to thwart, and to hinder, and to overthrow the work of God. So this is the aspect that I want to deal with today. So I want you to go back in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Ezra chapter 4, and let's look at verse 1 momentarily. Look in Ezra 4 and verse 1. Here's a very interesting introduction to this chapter, for he begins now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity built at the temple of the Lord God of Israel, note if you would, he begins by calling them adversaries.

[John Weaver] Now the word adversaries here literally means an enemy, a foe, an oppressor, an adversary, one who is against. So all of these people now that are coming to Zerubbabel, to Yeshua, and the chief of the fathers, they are the enemies, the oppressors, the adversaries, they are against the people of God. Okay? I want you to watch this. Verse 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, let us build with you for we seek your God as you do.

[John Weaver] And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Asher, which brought us up hither. Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They have already been identified as the enemies of God's people. And what do they do? They come and they say to God's people, let us build with you. For we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhad and king of Asher which brought us up hither.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to stop and think just for a moment. Ezra is concerned with rebuilding the temple. There were a limited number of individuals who returned with both Ezra and Nehemiah. Consequently, those who returned from the captivity were undoubtedly short on what you and I would call cash and materials. Moreover, they were few in number and obviously help was needed. So here are some people coming to the builders of the temple and they're saying, wow, we worship your God the way you do. We seek him.

[John Weaver] Let us build with you. Now here is an offer for help. And here is this offer from people who profess to be believers.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. As you're thinking about this, what would the answer be of the modern day preacher and the modern day church? The answer would be, wow, they say they're Christians too. Let's take them in. We can use them. They'll help us build the work. We'll have more money. We can enlarge our building program. We can get a new sound system. We can do all of these things. And moreover, listen, even if they're not genuinely saved, that really doesn't matter because we can use this as a means of evangelism as we use them in the work and as we work with them, we'll witness to them. Is that not the idea of the modern day church and the modern day preaching? In other words, the attitude of the modern day church is this, they will help us build a great work. Now let me ask you a question.

[John Weaver] I'm going to show you in just a moment how Zerubbabel of course turned them down. But who were these people? that are described as the adversaries. And how did Zerubbabel and Yeshua know that they were not genuine and true believers? Well, I want you to hold Ezra 4, but I want you to turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17. 2 Kings chapter 17. And let's begin looking first of all at verses 5 and 6.

[John Weaver] Because the northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. And, of course, they were carried away into captivity. So watch this, 2 Kings 17, verse 5. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. So it took him three years to besiege it. And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria. and carried Israel away into Assyria and placed them in Hala and Habor by the rivers of Gozan and the cities of the Medes. Now watch what he did. He depopulated the area of northern Israelites. He took them away into Assyria. But that's not all. Skip back down now to verse 24 in 2nd Kings 17. After he had taken the Israelites out of the land, verse 24, and the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Qata, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel.

[John Weaver] Now stop and listen and think about this. Not every Israelite was taken out of the land. The poor were left in the land. Okay, the poor were left in the land. Now watch what happens. And they, that is all these heathen, possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof. So it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord. So they did not fear the one true of the living God. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them which slew some of them. Watch carefully. Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria saying, The nations, which thou has removed and placed in the cities of Samaria, no, not the manner of the God of the land.

[John Weaver] Isn't that an amazing statement. They know not the manner of the God of the land. You see, they did not understand the omnipresence of God because every heathen had his local gods and the gods that they had was just over a certain area. So, he says, they know not the manner of the God of the land. Now watch. Therefore he had sent lions among them, verse 26, and behold, they slay them because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from Thence, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.

[John Weaver] Now let me stop and remind you of something. Why did God take Israel into captivity into Assyria to begin with because of idolatry. You remember the two calves at Dan and Bethel that Jeroboam had made and they were worshiping these golden calves? Now watch. Verse 28, then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

[John Weaver] Oh, how effective was his teaching? Watch. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the Samaritans had made every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, and the men of Kuth made Nirgal, and the men of Hamath made Eshema, and the Avites made Nimhaz and Tartac, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Enamelech, the gods of Sepharvon.

[John Weaver] So they feared the Lord. Watch this. So they feared the Lord and made unto themselves the lowest of them priests of the high places which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. That is for those golden calves. Watch verse 33. They feared the Lord and served their own gods after the men of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day They do after the former manners, here's the final conclusion, they feared not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, nor after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.

[John Weaver] So what has happened now is these Samaritans are a mixed breed. The very mention of Esarhaddon If you go back to the book of Ezra there and look in verse two, uh, Ezra chapter four and verse two, what do they say? Then came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, let us build with you for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice them since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Asher or Assyria. Now Esarhaddon reigned.

[John Weaver] from 681 to 668 BC. The Samaritans are talking about something that has taken place at least 130 years previously. There had been at least three colonizations in Samaria by the kings of Assyria. The first is mentioned in 2 Kings 17 verse 24, which we just read. Later in his reign, Sargon added to these an Arabian element, And then some 30 or 40 years later, Esarhaddon then, his grandson, augmented the population there from people from the southeast parts of his kingdom. Thus, these Samaritans were just mixed.

[John Weaver] They had anything and everything in them. So, I want you to watch what happens. Go back to Ezra chapter 4 and verse 2. Look carefully now. Then they came to Zerubbabel, remember now they're already identified as adversaries. Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said to him, let us build with you for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice on him since the days of Esau had and king of Asher.

[John Weaver] Yes, they sacrificed him to the golden calves. to the corruption, to the perversion, but they also sacrificed all their other gods as well, because the Lord God of heaven and earth was just another god to them. He was on a par maybe with their gods, but no greater. So they said, we seek him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Asher, which brought us up thither. Watch the answer, look in verse three. But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us."

[John Weaver] Note, if you would, what he said to these adversaries. You have nothing to do to build with us. Here's the principle. I told you, and this is the only point I'm covering today. The very first way the enemy always seeks to attack, whether it's a messenger, whether it's the work of God, it doesn't matter. They always seek to corrupt by compromise. And the principle that is being enunciated in Ezra 4 and verse 3 is that the work of God is not to be compromised by yoking up with the ungodly. When you stop and think about this, the standards of the ungodly are not God's standards. The thoughts of the ungodly are not God's thoughts. The practices of the ungodly are not God's practices.

[John Weaver] As Christians, we're supposed to be biblicists. That is, we're to be people of the word. The ungodly are not biblicists, they are pragmatists. They do whatever works. I mean, yeah, we will add God to our sacrifice and our worship if it will keep the lions off of us. I mean, it's what worked. And they were happy with that.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. How can the work of God be a pure work? If it is corrupted and compromised with the heathen and with the pagan and with unbiblical and ungodly practices. I want you to hold Ezra for, but I want you to look in your Bibles. First of all, the second Corinthians chapter six, I want you to see the apostle Paul teaches the same exact principle. Look in second Corinthians chapter six. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 14, look at the questions that the apostle asked second Corinthians six, verse 14. First, he says this be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship have righteousness with unrighteousness. That's a pretty good question. He says, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath the righteous with unrighteousness? The answer is none. Or what communion hath light with darkness? The answer is none. And what concord hath Christ with Belial or the devil? The answer is none. What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

[John Weaver] The answer is none. And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? the answer is none for he says for you are the temple of the living God as God had said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people wherefore come out from among them and be you separate said the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and I'll be a father unto you and you shall be my sons and my daughters said the Lord God Almighty now note if you would he tells us that we're not to be unequally yoked together This is exactly the same principle that Ezra is dealing with back in Ezra chapter 4.

[John Weaver] Now, turn right over in your Bibles to 3rd John. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. I should not have to tell you the chapter because you'll find out 3rd John only has one chapter. And if you'll begin looking there at verse 5. 3rd John verse 5. I want you to note particularly one verse here, but we're going to read several. Third, John verse five, John writes, beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, which have borne witness of by charity before the church, whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well. So he's encouraging the elder Gaius to bring certain of the brethren on their journey well, and look what he says about these godly preachers, verse 7, because that for his name's sake, that is for Christ's sake, they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, we therefore to receive such that we might be

[John Weaver] fellow helpers of the truth. What? They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, or literally taking nothing of the nations or taking nothing of the unsaved. In other words, in the Bible, it is godly people who do a godly work. And you do not corrupt or compromise that godly work by yoking up with unbelievers. Which brings me to the application. I want you to listen. You'll remember it was President Bush who began what he called his faith-based initiatives. You remember that?

[John Weaver] Where the federal government was going to hook up with churches and religious organizations to do a greater good. Well, here's a question. It's a long one. but I want you to think about it. What possible connection, help, or encouragement could a government that promotes sodomy, aborticide, fraud, Marxism, and communism, and denies the sovereignty of God, the sufficiency of scriptures, and the authority of God's law, and promotes hundreds of others unbiblical attitudes and programs What possible connection could that have toward a biblical understanding and a biblical work with people who really want to glorify God and honor Him according to the Word of God? What possible connection? And yet, hundreds of preachers and churches flocked to the faith-based initiatives. Now watch this. I want to read to you an article. This article was published on February the 9th, 2010, so it's just been one year.

[John Weaver] So this means the president now is no longer George Bush. It's now Obama, supposedly. Here's the article written by Todd J. Gilman from the Dallas Morning News. I want you to listen. It blows my mind, but I... Washington. President Obama devoted much of his Thursday to faith. He spoke of his path to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast. By the way, there are no paths to Christianity.

[John Weaver] You get to be a Christian by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It's not a path, it's a work. But anyhow, he spoke of his paths to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual rite observed by every predecessor since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. He also established his own White House office dedicated to tapping the energy and goodness of the nation's faithful while observing those tricky church-state boundaries the founders set forth a couple of centuries back.

[John Weaver] Faith has always been a guiding force in our family's life, he told a few thousand praying breakfasters at Hilton Ballroom. He quoted a Hadith from the Muslim Koran and a passage from the Jewish Torah to underscore his point about the universality of the Golden Rule. He gave approving shout-outs to Buddhists, Hindus, the followers of Confucius, and humanists. He even recognized agnostics. He called religious and faith-based groups such as Catholic charities uniquely qualified to step in at a time of great need. Few are closer to what's happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods as these organizations.

[John Weaver] Obama said at the breakfast, people trust them, communities rely upon them, and we will help them. After breakfast, Obama met in the Oval Office with a neglected group of 15 religious leaders tapped to advise his White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a rare idea from his predecessor that Obama has embraced. Critics complained that the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives blurred the line between government and religion and was created to funnel tax dollars to church-run programs. Hang on. Groups that were critical of the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives included the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way, they issued statements Thursday expressing disappointment in the Obama version. All said that by failing to repeal the Bush policies, the White House will allow participating religious groups to continue discrimination in hiring. Obama said he will review the rules that let churches discriminate in hiring. But the thrust is generally the same, getting help to the needy.

[John Weaver] Ah, did you hear this? Obama said he will review the rules that let the churches discriminate in hiring. So what they're saying is this, those who dip into the governmental trough must hire sodomites, lesbians, transsexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts. In other words, if you are going to be a recipient of monies from these faith-based initiatives, You are going to be controlled. You're going to be corrupted. You're going to be compromised. You're going to do exactly what they tell you to do or there is no money.

[John Weaver] There is an old proverb. It goes like this. Come shekels, come shackles. And that's a fact, folks. Whenever the government gives shackles, you can mark it down, there are always shackles. Because the aim of the enemies of God is to entice and to entrap God's people into compromise so that the work of God may not only be corrupted but controlled. Go back to those Samaritans just for a moment. You remember I read how they worship all these false gods and they tied all this in with the worship of Jehovah, the one true God. So the Samaritans then had a synchristic religion that is they combine the pagan worship supposedly along with the worship of Jehovah. They were willing to take Jehovah if they could knock him down to the same size of their pagan gods. They're willing to recognize him. If they could just simply manipulate him and control him.

[John Weaver] Why did they want him to begin with? The lions were attacking them. We just want him to take care of our lion problem. We'll throw a few shekels and we'll give a little sacrifice every now and then. We can control him. And we can get him to do what we want him to do by just simply sacrificing to him every now and then. Now, I want you to go back to Ezra chapter 4. I want you to watch this. With all this background in mind, I want you to look at it.

[John Weaver] Remember verse 1 says now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin came. Watch what they said when they came, verse 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto him, let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice on him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Asher, who brought us a pit thither. But Zerubbabel and Yeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto him, you have nothing to do with us. Wow.

[John Weaver] You know, that is almost exactly what Peter told Simon the sorcerer in Acts chapter 8. When he wanted to buy the power of the Holy Ghost, Peter said to Simon the sorcerer, you have neither part nor lot in this matter. You have nothing to do with it. Let me ask you a question. Was a ruble bull being too hard, too rough, too ungracious, too unkind when he said, that you have nothing to do with us. Was that being unkind? No. What was he saying? He's saying you're heathen. You're pagans.

[John Weaver] We don't worship the way you worship. We don't believe like you believe. We have nothing in common. And to prove he was right, hold your finger on Ezra 4, turn over in your Bibles, to John chapter 4. I want you to see this. Everyone in this room remembers the story of the woman at the well. You remember that? But do you remember she was a Samaritan? Look if you would please, John 4 verse 4.

[John Weaver] And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

[John Weaver] Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. And Jesus said unto her, and you know the whole conversation, skip down, if you would, please. Verse 19, the woman gets religious upon him. The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, that is Samaria, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.

[John Weaver] Watch what he tells her. You worship you know not what. We know what we worshiped for salvation is of the Jews or the Judahites because that's where the temple, that's where the tabernacle was, that's where the law was, that's where the teaching priests were. What did he tell her? You worship you know not what? You don't know who or what you're worshiping. You're pagans. So, our Lord just simply confirmed what Zerubbabel said.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Ezra chapter 4. Look at Ezra chapter 4, verse 3. But Zerubbabel and Yeshua, the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, you have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. Let's finish it. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord our God of Israel as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us." It was Cyrus who let the people go back and to rebuild. So here's what Zerubbabel is saying.

[John Weaver] You have no part in this. We're the ones who love him. We're the ones who worship him. We're the ones who recognize him. We will build the temple ourselves and we will build it by his grace and by his power and we will do whatever needs to be done. You may not participate with us in any way whatsoever. I hope you're following me thus far. Here's my question. If Zerubbabel and the fathers believed it would be a corrupt compromise to allow the heathen and the pagans to build with them and to worship with them and ultimately corrupt and or have control over the temple.

[John Weaver] Would not the same principle apply today to the Church of Jesus Christ?

[John Weaver] Yes. If the heathen had come in and built, and let's suppose, out of curiosity, or just for an example, let's say it took $20 million to build that temple in money. And the heathen put in 15 million. Who do you think is going to control the temple?

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask one other question, then I'm going to answer it for you. How has the church compromised and corrupted itself and allowed the heathen to control the work and the worship of God. So there's my question. How has the Church of Jesus Christ corrupted itself, compromised itself, and put itself in a position where the heathen can control the work of God? Here are my two questions.

[John Weaver] Have you ever Heard of church incorporation And the 501 c3 tax-exempt status Let me say something first do you realize in reality in truth? The Church of Jesus Christ is really the only true incorporation Because the word incorporation actually means the body continues. And truly it's only the church through divine grace and power and mercy that has been given eternal life. And we will continue, the body will continue and if we have reality Why would we need artificiality?

[John Weaver] Did you know that a corporation is an artificial entity? It is not real. It is a legal fiction. It only exists in legal land. I want to give you two definitions. The first one is from the 1839 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. He's defining Corporation, and he says this, an artificial being created by law and composed by individuals who subsist as a body politic under a special denomination with the capacity of perpetual succession and of acting within the scope of its charter as a natural person. But it begins an artificial being. It's not real. It's a fiction. Here's the free dictionary. Listen carefully now. This is very important. an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business or other activities which can sue or be sued and unless it is a non-profit can issue shares of stock to raise funds with which to start a business or increases capital. But notice an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person. Bradley has some artificial dogs back there.

[John Weaver] Yeah. You know what an artificial dog is? It's a stuffed animal. It's not real. I'm serious. It's not real. Linda has a real dog. Well, such as it is. I'm teasing. But you see, let me tell you. I want you to listen. I'm going to read a Supreme Court case. Just two paragraphs. Hale versus Hinkle. And I want you to listen to what the Supreme Court says is the distinction between a natural person or a real person and a corporation.

[John Weaver] So my question is this. If we as a church are real, genuine people and individuals, have a real existence already, why would we need an artificial existence? Here it is. Supreme Court, Hale versus Hinkle. The individual, he's talking about individuals now, the individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He's entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the state or to his neighbors to divulge his business or to open his doors to an investigation so far as it may tend to criminate him. He owes no such duty to the state since he receives nothing there from beyond the protection of life and property.

[John Weaver] His rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the state and can only be taken from him by due process of law in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights. So as an individual, as a real life, living, genuine person, I have rights.

[John Weaver] The Supreme Court goes on. Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives special privileges and franchises and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation.

[John Weaver] There is a reserved right in the legislature to investigate its contracts. and to find out whether it has exceeded its powers. It would be a strange anomaly to hold that a state having chartered a corporation to make use of certain franchises could not, in the exercise of its sovereignty, inquire how these franchises have been employed and whether they had been abused and demand the production of the corporate books and papers for that purpose." So what does the Supreme Court say about a corporation?

[John Weaver] First of all, it's an artificial entity. It is a creature of the state. You get certain privileges. You get certain rights. But you are controlled and the state has the absolute right to come in and demand to see your books and your papers. And once you incorporate as a church, you become a governmentally approved church with the state as your and everything you do is subject to the laws of the state because your existence is now determined by the state. You lose any and all constitutional protection and you are bound, you are bound to obey the laws, rules, and regulations of your creator, the state.

[John Weaver] Now let me give you an illustration. The State Street Baptist Church was founded in 1844. It existed 129 years without incorporating until 1973. In 1973, the State Street Baptist Church incorporated. After it incorporated, There arose a dispute in the church over church discipline. And so those who were dissatisfied went to court and sued the church. The church's position was this. The government has no right to interfere. This is church business, so to speak. Only it relates to the church. It does not relate to the government. In the court case, Hollins versus Edmonds, the Court of Appeals, it went all the way to the Appeals Court. The Court of Appeals in Kentucky, the court said this. Listen carefully.

[John Weaver] These are not my words. This is what the court said. Once the church determined to enter into the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. What? You lived 129 years without being incorporated. Now you've got incorporated. And the court said, once you entered into the realm of Caesar, we have you. Now you must abide by the laws and the rules and the regulations that we give you. And the case Gibson versus Munson. Here's what the court rule. Listen carefully. The church, any church has the absolute unfettered right to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences.

[John Weaver] so long as they do not trespass upon the rights of others. Having elected to incorporate under the laws of the state, they should be required to conform to the consequences of their voluntary act. Incorporating obviously was not done for the reasons of religious belief. So what the court say? Once you incorporate, you are obligated, you are duty bound to obey the laws of the state.

[John Weaver] Now what that means is simple. If the laws of Jesus Christ conflict with the laws of the state, since the state is now your head and your creator, whose law comes first? In the corporation, the state law comes first. Let me go one step further and I'm going to tie this together for you. You see, the churches not only got corrupted and compromised through incorporation, they got further corrupted and compromised through obtaining a 501c3 tax-exempt status from the IRS.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen to what the IRS Publication 557 states. Listen carefully. Churches. Although a church It's integrated auxiliaries or a convention or association of churches is not required to file a 1023 to be exempt from federal income taxes or to receive tax deductible contributions. Let me stop right there. Did you just hear what I read? The IRS says a church is not required to obtain any type of tax exemption in order to receive tax deductible contributions. What? Because it's a church. The government doesn't have any power, any authority over the church.

[John Weaver] Now, let me go further. Listen carefully. Although a church's integrated auxiliaries or a convention or association of churches is not required to file Form 1023 to be exempt from federal income tax or to receive tax-deductible contributions, the organization may find it advantageous to obtain recognition of exemption. Well, now, wait a minute. If you don't need it, why would you find it advantageous to get it? Unless you just want governmental approval and governmental control. Let me read. Listen carefully. In this event, that is, if you decide you want this advantage of being a governmental control church, in this event, you should submit information showing that your organization is a church, synagogue, association or convention of churches, religious order, religious organization, that is an integral part of a church, and that is engaged in carrying out the functions of a church. In other words, you've got to prove your church. In determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church, now listen, in determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church, the IRS does not accept every assertion that an organization is a church.

[John Weaver] Because beliefs and practices vary so widely, There is no single definition of the word church for tax purposes. Wow. The IRS considers the facts and the circumstances of each organization applying for church status. Are you listening? To determine whether an organization meets the religious purposes test for Section 501C3, The IRS maintains two basic guidelines. So if you want a 501c3 tax exempt status, you must acknowledge and submit to these two guidelines in order to be approved by the IRS. Number one, here's their first guideline, that the particular religious beliefs of the organization are truly and sincerely held.

[John Weaver] Well, who's going to argue with that? I mean, I don't care if you're a pagan. I mean, whatever you believe, you ought to believe sincerely and genuinely. You may be sincerely and genuinely wrong, but I mean, you know, you can be sincere in your error. So the first one is that the particular religious beliefs or organization are truly and sincerely held. Number two, that the practices and rituals associated with the organization's religious belief or creed are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy. Sodomy is public policy in this country. Abortion is public policy. Marxism is public policy. Socialism is public policy. So when you sign to get your 501c3 tax exempt status, you are agreeing that you are not going to oppose any clearly defined public policy. I'm still reading. Therefore, your group or organization may not qualify for treatment as an exempt religious organization for tax purposes if its actions, as contrasted with its beliefs, are contrary to the well-established and clearly defined public policy. If there's a clear showing that the beliefs or doctrines are sincerely held by those professing them, the IRS will not question the religious nature of those beliefs.

[John Weaver] We won't question your religious nature. No, no, no, no. But if you preach contrary to our public policies, you're not getting our approval. This came from the website irs.gov. Go there and you may read it for yourself.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm making is simple. The churches as a whole in America are so entangled and so corrupted and so compromised, it is impossible for them to be free and to live under the Lordship and the Headship of Jesus Christ. I've had preachers tell me, well, they start telling me what I can and cannot preach, boy, I'm going to draw my line in the sand. They already told you what you can and cannot preach when you got your 501c3 tax exempt status and you agreed to it. They already told you what you could and could not do when you incorporated and you agreed to it. What it boils down to is this, either Jesus Christ is head of the church or the state is head of the church.

[John Weaver] And our Lord said it very clearly in Matthew 6 in verse 22, For when he said this, no man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God in mammon. No man can serve two masters. We need today a whole host of Zerubbabel's who will say to the heathen, no, you shall not build with us.

[John Weaver] You have neither part nor lot in this matter. We're not going to be corrupted. We're not going to be compromised. What Winston Churchill said about Americans could be said concerning Christians with equal authority. Winston Churchill said this concerning Americans. He said, quote, Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after they've tried everything else. And Christians can be counted on to do the right thing too after they've tried everything else and suffered the judgment of God.

[John Weaver] Then we wake up and learn Once we get a good dose of the rod of judgment, we think, well, we might better start doing things biblically. I want you to think about this. If Jehovah God is the God of Israel. He is not the God of those of this or hadn't sent into the land. If Jesus Christ is our head, if Jesus Christ is our God, if His law is our supreme authority, then those who worship government and obey government more than God, more than our Lord Jesus Christ, they do not belong to Him. For our Lord said, if you love Me, Keep my commandments. Our Lord said, why call you me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I said unto you.

[John Weaver] So there is a difference. And what Ezra was doing is what Paul demanded in 2nd Corinthians. What John said, there must be a difference and we must keep that difference and we must maintain that difference without compromise. So if the God of the Bible is true, The God of government is false. And our enemies always attack us first by seeking to get us to compromise in order that they may corrupt us and control us.

[John Weaver] Let me put it to you like this. A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry. Where are our Zerubbabel's today? Where are the pastors in the pulpit says, we're fed up with this stuff. If we want our country back, we must get our pulpits back. And we must come once again under the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word.

[John Weaver] For He only is God and beside Him, there are no others. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, for your mercy, for your kindness to us. Lord, I pray that you would help us to not corrupt ourselves and not compromise ourselves. And Lord, those churches and those pastors that have done so, I pray that you'd convict them, dear Lord, and enlighten them, illuminate them, lead them, give them mercy, show them, Lord, your word and your will, and then give them grace to repent and to renounce their corruptions and to serve thee and thee only in an unfettered and free ministry. Acknowledging only Jesus Christ as Lord and Jesus Christ as Head. In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.

How Enemies Attack Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	55cSYdAu5YI
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Discipline, Enemies, and Institutional Faithfulness
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-03-07
Dictation Name
Book	Book 154: How Enemies Attack — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	83

Formatted Transcript

Opening

All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Ezra chapter 4, Ezra chapter 4. You've got 1st and 2nd Chronicles and you've got Ezra. Then you've got Nehemiah. Ezra chapter 4. I'm going to be preaching a message today that I will finish next week, Lord willing, and the week after I will be away. And when I return, I've got a message that I want to be sharing with you. And I want you to just think about this. The message that I'm going to be bringing, Lord willing, on the 13th of March is "The Rebel's Prayer." So maybe you can do a little bit of thinking on that and see if you can come up with a text that I'm going to be using.

And of course, I'll explain that when we get there. But today we're going to be looking at Ezra chapter 4 and the title of the message for this week and next week is "How Enemies Attack," or I have a subtitle, "How the Work of God Is Corrupted." And interestingly enough, Henry was telling me he woke up this morning at 4 o'clock with something on his mind and the message that I'm going to be bringing today and next week are going to fit right in with what Henry woke up and thought about for this morning. So maybe after I get through preaching, he'll be able to sleep till at least six the next several mornings before he wakes up and thinks about the subject again. So Ezra chapter 4, and let's begin. And let's only read the first three verses because that's as far as we'll get today anyhow. Ezra chapter 4, beginning with verse 1.

"Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us."

Introduction: Identifying the True Enemies

Weaver distinguishes between enemies we make through our own sin and those who are enemies because we belong to Christ. He cites John 15:18-20 and 1 John 3:13 to show that the world hates Christians because it hated Christ first.

I want you to stop and think about how enemies attack. Everyone has enemies. Often people become our enemies simply because of our own lack of communication, lack of respect, misinterpretations, saying things the wrong way, and sometimes for a lack of common decency. Those are our enemies, and by that I mean they are our enemies because they are enemies of our own making. They were not enemies previously necessarily, but they are enemies now simply because of our ignorance and our conduct. All of us are sinners and consequently we do that which sinners do most frequently: we sin. We're not perfect and we cannot be perfect in this life. Therefore, there are times when each of us irritate, upset, and anger others, and they become our enemies just simply because of our sins. However, we may be reconciled to these enemies through repentance and forgiveness, and they once again become our friends. But those are not the type of enemies that I'm talking about today. The enemies that I'm referring to today are those that are our enemies simply because we are Christians and simply because we belong to Christ and they are the enemies of Christ and the gospel. I want you to hold Ezra 4 because we will be expounding that passage momentarily, but look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 15 and notice what our Lord says. And here are exactly the type of enemies that I'm going to be talking about today. In John chapter 15, beginning there with verse 18. John 15 and verse 18.

Note what our Lord says:

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord." "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will also keep yours."

So notice if you would, our Lord says, if you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you're not of the world, therefore the world hates you. In other words, it hates us because it hates Jesus Christ. And if the world persecuted Jesus Christ, then He said, rest assured, they're going to try to persecute you as well. Without turning there, but in 1st John 3 and verse 13, John also wrote,

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you."

He says, don't be surprised. In fact, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1st John chapter 2, and let me show you another statement that our Lord made. 1st John chapter 2. Notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 15. Now, I want you to understand this passage very clearly because he said in 1 John 2 and verse 15, "Love not the world."

The World System Defined

Using 1 John 2:15-17, Weaver clarifies that 'the world' refers to the ungodly system characterized by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, not creation or Christians.

Now, when he talks about loving not the world, he is not referring to his creation. He's certainly not referring to the world of Christians. He's referring to the world system and everything that is opposed to him, just like he said in John 15, "If the world hate you." He's referring to the world of the ungodly. So he says, "Love not the world." Watch carefully. "Neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Now he tells you which world he's talking about: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world that is that type of world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Now, let me just put it very plainly. We have enemies. Our Lord has enemies. We may not know who all of the enemies of the Lord are, but you may rest assured of one thing.

God Knows His Enemies

Psalm 21:8 assures that God's hand will find out all His enemies, even those who pretend to be friends. Enemies often infiltrate to wreak havoc.

He knows exactly who his enemies are. And I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21. And I want you to look at verse 8. Note this particular verse. Psalm 21 and verse 8. In fact, I preached two messages on this passage several years ago. But look in Psalm 21 and verse 8 at what is said. I love this passage. Psalm 21 verse 8. Referring to God, the psalmist said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 21:8

"Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee."

So we may not know who God's enemies are, but God does.

There are many times that individuals present themselves as friends of Christ and friends of God's people, when in reality, they're nothing less than spies and nothing less than individuals who have infiltrated to wreak havoc and ruin. Inevitably, those who are the enemies of God will display their hatred of God by attacking either the messengers of God or the work of God.

Pattern of Attack on God's Messengers: Jeremiah

Weaver traces how Jeremiah's enemies attacked him verbally (Jeremiah 18:18), reported him to authorities (Jeremiah 20:10), imprisoned him (Jeremiah 38:6), and sought his life (Jeremiah 38:16). This pattern mirrors attacks on God's work.

We're not going to listen to him. We will smite him with the tongue. We will verbally abuse him. We will verbally attack him. So they attacked him verbally and of course that did not stop Jeremiah from preaching. Although they said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 18:18

"Let us not give heed to any of his words."

So since the verbal attacks did not stop him, if you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 10, they go a step farther. Jeremiah 19 verse 10, I believe it is, let's see. I may have a wrong verse there. Jeremiah 19 and verse, well, here where he said, I have it, that's a bad verse.

I thought it was 19. It must have been 20. Jeremiah 20. Jeremiah 20 verse 10. Watch carefully. He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:10

"For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him."

Note what they say.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:10

"Report, say they, and we will report it."

In other words, we'll report him to the authorities. We'll stop him. Our verbal attacks did not stop him, but we'll report him to the authorities.

Maybe they can handle him. Well, of course, Jeremiah was reported to the authorities. And if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 38, and there's plenty of other places, but this one will be sufficient. Look in Jeremiah 38 in verse 6 at what they did to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 38 verse 6. So, since verbal abuse and reporting him did not necessarily stop him, then they threw him in prison, so to speak. Notice Jeremiah 38 in verse 6, "Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire." So they were going to stop him one way or the other.

First of all, they said we're not going to listen to him, we'll attack him verbally. Then we're going to report him, that's not going to stop him. Now they put him in prison, they put him in a dungeon. And guess what? That still didn't stop Jeremiah. Because Jeremiah had an amanuensis, that is he had a scribe by the name of Baruch. And so Jeremiah from the dungeon spoke the words of God and Baruch wrote them down and then Baruch went to the temple and read them. And if you will turn and look to Jeremiah 38, I think it is, let me see if that's it in verse 16.

Here was the ultimate solution. "So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah saying, As the Lord liveth that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee in hand of these men that seek thy life." So there were men who were seeking to kill Jeremiah just simply because he's preaching and teaching the truth. Now, a little reason I pointed this out is that these tactics that were used against the messengers of God are oftentimes used against the work of God as well, because the main aim of the enemies of God is always to stop, to thwart, and to hinder, and to overthrow the work of God. So this is the aspect that I want to deal with today. So I want you to go back in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Ezra chapter 4, and let's look at verse 1 momentarily. Look in Ezra 4 and verse 1. Here's a very interesting introduction to this chapter, for he begins, "Now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple of the Lord God of Israel," note if you would, he begins by calling them adversaries.

Ezra 4:1-3: The Adversaries' Offer

The adversaries, identified as enemies, come to Zerubbabel offering to help build the temple, claiming they seek the same God and have sacrificed to Him since Esarhaddon. This is an attempt to corrupt by compromise.

Now the word "adversaries" here literally means an enemy, a foe, an oppressor, an adversary, one who is against. So all of these people now that are coming to Zerubbabel, to Yeshua, and the chief of the fathers, they are the enemies, the oppressors, the adversaries, they are against the people of God. Okay? I want you to watch this. Verse 2. "Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do." "And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither." Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They have already been identified as the enemies of God's people. And what do they do? They come and they say to God's people, "Let us build with you. For we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither."

Now I want you to stop and think just for a moment. Ezra is concerned with rebuilding the temple. There were a limited number of individuals who returned with both Ezra and Nehemiah. Consequently, those who returned from the captivity were undoubtedly short on what you and I would call cash and materials. Moreover, they were few in number and obviously help was needed. So here are some people coming to the builders of the temple and they're saying, "Wow, we worship your God the way you do. We seek him."

"Let us build with you." Now here is an offer for help. And here is this offer from people who profess to be believers.

Historical Background of the Samaritans

From 2 Kings 17, Weaver explains that after Assyria conquered the northern kingdom, they imported pagan peoples who mixed their idolatry with a superficial fear of Jehovah, creating a syncretistic religion. The Samaritans were a mixed breed who feared the Lord but served their own gods.

I'm going to show you in just a moment how Zerubbabel of course turned them down. But who were these people that are described as the adversaries? And how did Zerubbabel and Yeshua know that they were not genuine and true believers? Well, I want you to hold Ezra 4, but I want you to turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17. 2 Kings chapter 17. And let's begin looking first of all at verses 5 and 6. Because the northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. And, of course, they were carried away into captivity. So watch this, 2 Kings 17, verse 5.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years."

So it took him three years to besiege it.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and Habor by the rivers of Gozan and the cities of the Medes."

Now watch what he did. He depopulated the area of northern Israelites. He took them away into Assyria. But that's not all. Skip back down now to verse 24 in 2nd Kings 17. After he had taken the Israelites out of the land, verse 24,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel."

Now stop and listen and think about this. Not every Israelite was taken out of the land. The poor were left in the land. Okay, the poor were left in the land. Now watch what happens. "And they," that is all these heathen, "possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof. So it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord." So they did not fear the one true living God. "Therefore the Lord sent lions among them which slew some of them." Watch carefully. "Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria saying, The nations, which thou hast removed and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land."

Isn't that an amazing statement? "They know not the manner of the God of the land." You see, they did not understand the omnipresence of God because every heathen had his local gods and the gods that they had was just over a certain area. So, he says, "They know not the manner of the God of the land." Now watch. "Therefore he had sent lions among them," verse 26, "and behold, they slay them because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land."

Now let me stop and remind you of something. Why did God take Israel into captivity into Assyria to begin with? Because of idolatry. You remember the two calves at Dan and Bethel that Jeroboam had made and they were worshiping these golden calves? Now watch. Verse 28, "Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord." Oh, how effective was his teaching? Watch. "Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the Samaritans had made every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim."

"So they feared the Lord." Watch this. "So they feared the Lord and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places." That is for those golden calves. Watch verse 33. "They feared the Lord and served their own gods after the men of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after the former manners." Here's the final conclusion: "They feared not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, nor after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel."

So what has happened now is these Samaritans are a mixed breed. The very mention of Esarhaddon. If you go back to the book of Ezra there and look in verse 2, Ezra chapter 4 and verse 2, what do they say? "Then came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria." Now Esarhaddon reigned

Zerubbabel's Refusal and the Principle of Separation

Zerubbabel, Yeshua, and the chiefs refuse the offer, declaring 'You have nothing to do with us.' This enforces the principle that God's work must not be yoked with unbelievers, as echoed in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 3 John 7.

Yes, they sacrificed unto him to the golden calves, to the corruption, to the perversion, but they also sacrificed to all their other gods as well, because the Lord God of heaven and earth was just another god to them. He was on a par maybe with their gods, but no greater. So they said, "We seek him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither." Watch the answer, look in verse 3. "But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us." Note, if you would, what he said to these adversaries. "You have nothing to do to build with us." Here's the principle. I told you, and this is the only point I'm covering today. The very first way the enemy always seeks to attack, whether it's a messenger, whether it's the work of God, it doesn't matter. They always seek to corrupt by compromise. And the principle that is being enunciated in Ezra 4 and verse 3 is that the work of God is not to be compromised by yoking up with the ungodly. When you stop and think about this, the standards of the ungodly are not God's standards. The thoughts of the ungodly are not God's thoughts. The practices of the ungodly are not God's practices.

As Christians, we're supposed to be biblicists. That is, we're to be people of the Word. The ungodly are not biblicists, they are pragmatists. They do whatever works. I mean, yeah, we will add God to our sacrifice and our worship if it will keep the lions off of us. I mean, it's what worked. And they were happy with that.

Now let me ask you a question. How can the work of God be a pure work if it is corrupted and compromised with the heathen and with the pagan and with unbiblical and ungodly practices? I want you to hold Ezra 4, but I want you to look in your Bibles. First of all, 2 Corinthians chapter 6. I want you to see the apostle Paul teaches the same exact principle. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 14, look at the questions that the apostle asked. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. First, he says this:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"

That's a pretty good question. He says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath the righteous with unrighteousness?"

The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Or what communion hath light with darkness?"

The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"And what concord hath Christ with Belial?"

or the devil? The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"

The answer is none. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" The answer is none, for he says, "For you are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and my daughters, saith the Lord God Almighty." Now note if you would, he tells us that we're not to be unequally yoked together. This is exactly the same principle that Ezra is dealing with back in Ezra chapter 4.

Now, turn right over in your Bibles to 3rd John. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. I should not have to tell you the chapter because you'll find out 3rd John only has one chapter. And if you'll begin looking there at verse 5. 3rd John verse 5. I want you to note particularly one verse here, but we're going to read several. 3rd John verse 5, John writes, "Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, which have borne witness of thy charity before the church, whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well." So he's encouraging the elder Gaius to bring certain of the brethren on their journey well, and look what he says about these godly preachers, verse 7, "Because that for his name's sake," that is for Christ's sake, "they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, we therefore to receive such that we might be

fellow helpers of the truth." What? They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, or literally taking nothing of the nations or taking nothing of the unsaved. In other words, in the Bible, it is godly people who do a godly work. And you do not corrupt or compromise that godly work by yoking up with unbelievers. Which brings me to the application. I want you to listen. You'll remember it was President Bush who began what he called his faith-based initiatives. You remember that?

Modern Application: Faith-Based Initiatives

Weaver critiques the Bush and Obama faith-based initiatives, arguing that government partnership with churches leads to control and compromise, forcing churches to accept unbiblical hiring practices and policies.

Where the federal government was going to hook up with churches and religious organizations to do a greater good. Well, here's a question. It's a long one, but I want you to think about it. What possible connection, help, or encouragement could a government that promotes sodomy, aborticide, fraud, Marxism, and communism, and denies the sovereignty of God, the sufficiency of scriptures, and the authority of God's law, and promotes hundreds of other unbiblical attitudes and programs—what possible connection could that have toward a biblical understanding and a biblical work with people who really want to glorify God and honor Him according to the Word of God? What possible connection? And yet, hundreds of preachers and churches flocked to the faith-based initiatives. Now watch this. I want to read to you an article. This article was published on February the 9th, 2010, so it's just been one year.

So this means the president now is no longer George Bush. It's now Obama, supposedly. Here's the article written by Todd J. Gillman from the Dallas Morning News. I want you to listen. It blows my mind, but I... Washington. "President Obama devoted much of his Thursday to faith. He spoke of his path to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast." By the way, there are no paths to Christianity.

You get to be a Christian by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It's not a path, it's a work. But anyhow, "He spoke of his paths to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual rite observed by every predecessor since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. He also established his own White House office dedicated to tapping the energy and goodness of the nation's faithful while observing those tricky church-state boundaries the founders set forth a couple of centuries back." "Faith has always been a guiding force in our family's life," he told a few thousand praying breakfasters at Hilton Ballroom. He quoted a Hadith from the Muslim Koran and a passage from the Jewish Torah to underscore his point about the universality of the Golden Rule. He gave approving shout-outs to Buddhists, Hindus, the followers of Confucius, and humanists. He even recognized agnostics. He called religious and faith-based groups such as Catholic charities uniquely qualified to step in at a time of great need. "Few are closer to what's happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods as these organizations."

"Obama said at the breakfast, 'People trust them, communities rely upon them, and we will help them.' After breakfast, Obama met in the Oval Office with a neglected group of 15 religious leaders tapped to advise his White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a rare idea from his predecessor that Obama has embraced. Critics complained that the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives blurred the line between government and religion and was created to funnel tax dollars to church-run programs." Hang on. "Groups that were critical of the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives included the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way. They issued statements Thursday expressing disappointment in the Obama version. All said that by failing to repeal the Bush policies, the White House will allow participating religious groups to continue discrimination in hiring. Obama said he will review the rules that let churches discriminate in hiring. But the thrust is generally the same, getting help to the needy."

Ah, did you hear this? Obama said he will review the rules that let the churches discriminate in hiring. So what they're saying is this: those who dip into the governmental trough must hire sodomites, lesbians, transsexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts. In other words, if you are going to be a recipient of monies from these faith-based initiatives, you are going to be controlled. You're going to be corrupted. You're going to be compromised. You're going to do exactly what they tell you to do or there is no money.

The Danger of Government Money

The proverb 'Come shekels, come shackles' illustrates that government funding brings government control. The Samaritans' syncretism is compared to modern churches that accept state oversight.

There is an old proverb. It goes like this: "Come shekels, come shackles." And that's a fact, folks. Whenever the government gives shekels, you can mark it down, there are always shackles. Because the aim of the enemies of God is to entice and to entrap God's people into compromise so that the work of God may not only be corrupted but controlled. Go back to those Samaritans just for a moment. You remember I read how they worship all these false gods and they tied all this in with the worship of Jehovah, the one true God. So the Samaritans then had a syncretistic religion, that is they combine the pagan worship supposedly along with the worship of Jehovah. They were willing to take Jehovah if they could knock him down to the same size of their pagan gods. They're willing to recognize him if they could just simply manipulate him and control him.

Why did they want him to begin with? The lions were attacking them. We just want him to take care of our lion problem. We'll throw a few shekels and we'll give a little sacrifice every now and then. We can control him. And we can get him to do what we want him to do by just simply sacrificing to him every now and then. Now, I want you to go back to Ezra chapter 4. I want you to watch this. With all this background in mind, I want you to look at it.

Jesus Confirms the Samaritan Error

In John 4:22, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, 'You worship you know not what,' confirming that the Samaritans' worship was not true worship of God.

We don't worship the way you worship. We don't believe like you believe. We have nothing in common. And to prove he was right, hold your finger on Ezra 4, turn over in your Bibles to John chapter 4. I want you to see this. Everyone in this room remembers the story of the woman at the well. You remember that? But do you remember she was a Samaritan? Look if you would please, John 4 verse 4.

"And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph." "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. And Jesus said unto her," and you know the whole conversation, skip down, if you would, please. Verse 19, the woman gets religious upon him. "The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain," that is Samaria, "and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father."

Watch what he tells her. "You worship you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews," or the Judahites, because that's where the temple, that's where the tabernacle was, that's where the law was, that's where the teaching priests were. What did he tell her? "You worship you know not what." You don't know who or what you're worshiping. You're pagans. So, our Lord just simply confirmed what Zerubbabel said.

Church Incorporation and 501(c)(3) Status

Weaver argues that church incorporation makes the church an artificial entity, a creature of the state, subject to state laws. The 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status further compromises the church by requiring agreement not to oppose public policy, effectively placing the state as head over Christ.

Have you ever heard of church incorporation and the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status? Let me say something first. Do you realize in reality, in truth, the Church of Jesus Christ is really the only true incorporation? Because the word "incorporation" actually means the body continues. And truly it's only the church through divine grace and power and mercy that has been given eternal life. And we will continue, the body will continue. And if we have reality, why would we need artificiality?

Did you know that a corporation is an artificial entity? It is not real. It is a legal fiction. It only exists in legal land. I want to give you two definitions. The first one is from the 1839 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. He's defining "corporation," and he says this: "An artificial being created by law and composed by individuals who subsist as a body politic under a special denomination with the capacity of perpetual succession and of acting within the scope of its charter as a natural person." But it begins "an artificial being." It's not real. It's a fiction. Here's the free dictionary. Listen carefully now. This is very important. "An organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business or other activities which can sue or be sued and unless it is a non-profit can issue shares of stock to raise funds with which to start a business or increase capital." But notice "an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person." Bradley has some artificial dogs back there.

Yeah. You know what an artificial dog is? It's a stuffed animal. It's not real. I'm serious. It's not real. Linda has a real dog. Well, such as it is. I'm teasing. But you see, let me tell you. I want you to listen. I'm going to read a Supreme Court case. Just two paragraphs. Hale versus Hinkle. And I want you to listen to what the Supreme Court says is the distinction between a natural person or a real person and a corporation.

So my question is this. If we as a church are real, genuine people and individuals, have a real existence already, why would we need an artificial existence? Here it is. Supreme Court, Hale versus Hinkle. "The individual," he's talking about individuals now, "the individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He's entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the state or to his neighbors to divulge his business or to open his doors to an investigation so far as it may tend to criminate him. He owes no such duty to the state since he receives nothing therefrom beyond the protection of life and property."

"His rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the state and can only be taken from him by due process of law in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights." So as an individual, as a real life, living, genuine person, I have rights. The Supreme Court goes on. "Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives special privileges and franchises and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation."

"There is a reserved right in the legislature to investigate its contracts and to find out whether it has exceeded its powers. It would be a strange anomaly to hold that a state having chartered a corporation to make use of certain franchises could not, in the exercise of its sovereignty, inquire how these franchises have been employed and whether they had been abused and demand the production of the corporate books and papers for that purpose." So what does the Supreme Court say about a corporation? First of all, it's an artificial entity. It is a creature of the state. You get certain privileges. You get certain rights. But you are controlled and the state has the absolute right to come in and demand to see your books and your papers. And once you incorporate as a church, you become a governmentally approved church with the state as your head, and everything you do is subject to the laws of the state because your existence is now determined by the state. You lose any and all constitutional protection and you are bound, you are bound to obey the laws, rules, and regulations of your creator, the state.

Now let me give you an illustration. The State Street Baptist Church was founded in 1844. It existed 129 years without incorporating until 1973. In 1973, the State Street Baptist Church incorporated. After it incorporated, there arose a dispute in the church over church discipline. And so those who were dissatisfied went to court and sued the church. The church's position was this: the government has no right to interfere. This is church business, so to speak. Only it relates to the church. It does not relate to the government. In the court case, Hollins versus Edmonds, the Court of Appeals, it went all the way to the Appeals Court. The Court of Appeals in Kentucky, the court said this. Listen carefully.

These are not my words. This is what the court said. "Once the church determined to enter into the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." What? You lived 129 years without being incorporated. Now you've got incorporated. And the court said, once you entered into the realm of Caesar, we have you. Now you must abide by the laws and the rules and the regulations that we give you. And the case Gibson versus Munson. Here's what the court ruled. Listen carefully. "The church, any church, has the absolute unfettered right to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences,

so long as they do not trespass upon the rights of others. Having elected to incorporate under the laws of the state, they should be required to conform to the consequences of their voluntary act. Incorporating obviously was not done for the reasons of religious belief." So what did the court say? Once you incorporate, you are obligated, you are duty bound to obey the laws of the state.

Now what that means is simple. If the laws of Jesus Christ conflict with the laws of the state, since the state is now your head and your creator, whose law comes first? In the corporation, the state law comes first. Let me go one step further and I'm going to tie this together for you. You see, the churches not only got corrupted and compromised through incorporation, they got further corrupted and compromised through obtaining a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS.

Now I want you to listen to what the IRS Publication 557 states. Listen carefully. "Churches. Although a church, its integrated auxiliaries, or a convention or association of churches is not required to file a 1023 to be exempt from federal income taxes or to receive tax deductible contributions." Let me stop right there. Did you just hear what I read? The IRS says a church is not required to obtain any type of tax exemption in order to receive tax deductible contributions. What? Because it's a church. The government doesn't have any power, any authority over the church.

Now, let me go further. Listen carefully. "Although a church, its integrated auxiliaries, or a convention or association of churches is not required to file Form 1023 to be exempt from federal income tax or to receive tax-deductible contributions, the organization may find it advantageous to obtain recognition of exemption." Well, now, wait a minute. If you don't need it, why would you find it advantageous to get it? Unless you just want governmental approval and governmental control. Let me read. Listen carefully. "In this event," that is, if you decide you want this advantage of being a governmentally controlled church, "in this event, you should submit information showing that your organization is a church, synagogue, association or convention of churches, religious order, religious organization, that is an integral part of a church, and that is engaged in carrying out the functions of a church." In other words, you've got to prove your church. "In determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church," now listen, "in determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church, the IRS does not accept every assertion that an organization is a church."

"Because beliefs and practices vary so widely, there is no single definition of the word 'church' for tax purposes." Wow. "The IRS considers the facts and the circumstances of each organization applying for church status." Are you listening? "To determine whether an organization meets the religious purposes test for Section 501(c)(3), the IRS maintains two basic guidelines." So if you want a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, you must acknowledge and submit to these two guidelines in order to be approved by the IRS. Number one, here's their first guideline, "that the particular religious beliefs of the organization are truly and sincerely held." Well, who's going to argue with that? I mean, I don't care if you're a pagan. I mean, whatever you believe, you ought to believe sincerely and genuinely. You may be sincerely and genuinely wrong, but I mean, you know, you can be sincere in your error. So the first one is that the particular religious beliefs of the organization are truly and sincerely held. Number two, "that the practices and rituals associated with the organization's religious belief or creed are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy." Sodomy is public policy in this country. Abortion is public policy. Marxism is public policy. Socialism is public policy. So when you sign to get your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, you are agreeing that you are not going to oppose any clearly defined public policy. I'm still reading. "Therefore, your group or organization may not qualify for treatment as an exempt religious organization for tax purposes if its actions, as contrasted with its beliefs, are contrary to the well-established and clearly defined public policy. If there's a clear showing that the beliefs or doctrines are sincerely held by those professing them, the IRS will not question the religious nature of those beliefs."

We won't question your religious nature. No, no, no, no. But if you preach contrary to our public policies, you're not getting our approval. This came from the website irs.gov. Go there and you may read it for yourself.

Now, the point I'm making is simple. The churches as a whole in America are so entangled and so corrupted and so compromised, it is impossible for them to be free and to live under the Lordship and the Headship of Jesus Christ. I've had preachers tell me, "Well, they start telling me what I can and cannot preach, boy, I'm going to draw my line in the sand." They already told you what you can and cannot preach when you got your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status and you agreed to it. They already told you what you could and could not do when you incorporated and you agreed to it. What it boils down to is this: either Jesus Christ is head of the church or the state is head of the church.

Conclusion: Call for Uncompromised Pulpits

Weaver calls for pastors to be like Zerubbabel, refusing to yoke with the ungodly, and to return to the sole headship of Christ. He warns that a compromised ministry is a corrupted and controlled ministry.

And our Lord said it very clearly in Matthew 6 in verse 24, for when he said this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:24

"No man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

No man can serve two masters. We need today a whole host of Zerubbabels who will say to the heathen, "No, you shall not build with us." You have neither part nor lot in this matter. We're not going to be corrupted. We're not going to be compromised. What Winston Churchill said about Americans could be said concerning Christians with equal authority. Winston Churchill said this concerning Americans. He said, quote, "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after they've tried everything else." And Christians can be counted on to do the right thing too after they've tried everything else and suffered the judgment of God.

Then we wake up and learn. Once we get a good dose of the rod of judgment, we think, "Well, we might better start doing things biblically." I want you to think about this. If Jehovah God is the God of Israel, He is not the God of those of Esarhaddon sent into the land. If Jesus Christ is our head, if Jesus Christ is our God, if His law is our supreme authority, then those who worship government and obey government more than God, more than our Lord Jesus Christ, they do not belong to Him. For our Lord said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Our Lord said, "Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I said unto you?"

So there is a difference. And what Ezra was doing is what Paul demanded in 2nd Corinthians. What John said, there must be a difference and we must keep that difference and we must maintain that difference without compromise. So if the God of the Bible is true, the God of government is false. And our enemies always attack us first by seeking to get us to compromise in order that they may corrupt us and control us. Let me put it to you like this. A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry. Where are our Zerubbabels today? Where are the pastors in the pulpit who say, "We're fed up with this stuff. If we want our country back, we must get our pulpits back. And we must come once again under the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word."

For He only is God and beside Him, there are no others. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, for your mercy, for your kindness to us. Lord, I pray that you would help us to not corrupt ourselves and not compromise ourselves. And Lord, those churches and those pastors that have done so, I pray that you'd convict them, dear Lord, and enlighten them, illuminate them, lead them, give them mercy, show them, Lord, your word and your will, and then give them grace to repent and to renounce their corruptions and to serve thee and thee only in an unfettered and free ministry. Acknowledging only Jesus Christ as Lord and Jesus Christ as Head. In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Corruption through Compromise

Summary: The primary method enemies use to attack God's work is to offer help that leads to compromise, thereby corrupting the purity of the work.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise.' (15:02.3-15:47.3)

Separation from Unbelievers

Summary: God's people must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers in the work of God, as commanded in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'The principle that is being enunciated in Ezra 4 and verse 3 is that the work of God is not to be compromised by yoking up with the ungodly.' (26:02.2-26:59.3)

Syncretism as False Worship

Summary: The Samaritans mixed worship of Jehovah with pagan gods, which is not true worship. Jesus confirmed they worshiped what they did not know.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'They feared the Lord and served their own gods... the Lord God of heaven and earth was just another god to them.' (22:38.9-23:23.9, 25:14.6-26:00.9)

The Headship of Christ vs. State Control

Summary: Churches that incorporate or seek 501(c)(3) status place themselves under the state's authority, making the state their head instead of Christ.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'Once you incorporate as a church, you become a governmentally approved church with the state as your head... either Jesus Christ is head of the church or the state is head of the church.' (52:57.3-53:49.3, 1:03:33.9-1:04:07.4)

The Pattern of Enemy Attacks

Summary: Enemies attack God's messengers and work through verbal abuse, legal reporting, imprisonment, and ultimately seeking to kill, as seen in Jeremiah's life.

Evidence: Weaver traces Jeremiah's persecution: verbal attacks (Jer 18:18), reporting (Jer 20:10), imprisonment (Jer 38:6), and death threats (Jer 38:16). (09:56.4-13:25.1)

The Danger of Government Funding

Summary: Accepting government money through faith-based initiatives leads to control and forces churches to comply with unbiblical policies.

Evidence: Weaver quotes the proverb 'Come shekels, come shackles' and discusses Obama's faith-based office requiring non-discrimination in hiring. (37:42.9-39:06.1)

The Call for Uncompromised Ministry

Summary: Pastors must refuse to compromise with the world and return to the full authority of Christ and Scripture, rejecting state entanglement.

Evidence: Weaver concludes: 'A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry.' (1:06:43.6-1:07:29.9)

Key Arguments

Enemies of God attack by offering help that leads to compromise.

Summary: The adversaries in Ezra 4 came offering to build, but their intent was to corrupt the work by introducing syncretism.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise.' (15:02.3-15:47.3)

The Samaritans' worship was false because it mixed paganism with Jehovah.

Summary: Historical background from 2 Kings 17 shows the Samaritans feared the Lord but served their own gods, making their offer insincere.

Evidence: Weaver reads 2 Kings 17:33: 'They feared the Lord, and served their own gods.' (22:38.9-23:23.9)

Zerubbabel's refusal was biblical and necessary.

Summary: Zerubbabel's statement 'You have nothing to do with us' aligns with New Testament commands to be separate from unbelievers.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 3 John 7 to support the principle of not yoking with unbelievers. (28:52.6-30:48.5)

Modern faith-based initiatives are a form of compromise.

Summary: Government partnerships with churches force acceptance of unbiblical policies like hiring sodomites, corrupting the church's witness.

Evidence: Weaver reads an article about Obama's faith-based office and notes: 'those who dip into the governmental trough must hire sodomites, lesbians, transsexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts.' (36:54.5-37:40.2)

Church incorporation makes the church a creature of the state.

Summary: Incorporation creates an artificial entity subject to state laws, losing constitutional protections and placing the state as head over the church.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Hale v. Hinkle: 'the corporation is a creature of the state... Its powers are limited by law.' (51:38.8-52:20.0)

501(c)(3) status requires agreement not to oppose public policy.

Summary: IRS guidelines state that tax-exempt organizations must not have practices contrary to clearly defined public policy, muzzling biblical preaching on issues like sodomy and abortion.

Evidence: Weaver reads IRS Publication 557: 'the practices and rituals... are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy.' (1:00:43.9-1:02:16.6)

A compromised ministry is a controlled ministry.

Summary: Once churches accept state entanglement, they lose the freedom to follow Christ alone and become controlled by the state's demands.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry.' (1:06:43.6-1:07:29.9)

Scripture References

Ezra 4:1-3

Context: The primary text: adversaries offer to help build the temple, but Zerubbabel refuses.

John 15:18-20

Context: Jesus warns that the world will hate His followers because it hated Him first.

1 John 3:13

Context: John tells believers not to marvel if the world hates them.

1 John 2:15-17

Context: Defines the world as the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, which is opposed to God.

Psalm 21:8

Context: God's hand will find out all His enemies.

Jeremiah 18:18

Context: Jeremiah's enemies plot to attack him with the tongue.

Jeremiah 20:10

Context: Jeremiah's enemies plan to report him to authorities.

Jeremiah 38:6

Context: Jeremiah is cast into a dungeon.

Jeremiah 38:16

Context: King Zedekiah swears not to put Jeremiah to death, but men seek his life.

2 Kings 17:5-6

Context: Assyria conquers the northern kingdom and carries Israel away.

2 Kings 17:24-33

Context: Assyria imports pagan peoples into Samaria; they fear the Lord but serve their own gods.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Context: Paul commands believers not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and to come out from among them.

3 John 5-8

Context: John commends Gaius for supporting traveling preachers who took nothing from the Gentiles (unbelievers).

Acts 8:21

Context: Peter tells Simon the sorcerer he has neither part nor lot in the matter, similar to Zerubbabel's refusal.

John 4:4-22

Context: Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, 'You worship you know not what,' confirming the falseness of Samaritan worship.

Matthew 6:24

Context: No man can serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon.

John 14:15

Context: If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Luke 6:46

Context: Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Historical References

Assyrian conquest of northern kingdom (722 BC)

Context: The Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II conquered Samaria and deported Israelites, then imported pagan peoples, leading to the mixed Samaritan religion.

Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (681-668 BC)

Context: Esarhaddon augmented the population of Samaria with people from the southeast parts of his kingdom, mentioned by the adversaries in Ezra 4:2.

President George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives

Context: Bush established the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives to partner with religious organizations, which Weaver criticizes as compromising the church.

President Barack Obama's faith-based office (2010)

Context: Obama continued and expanded faith-based partnerships, with rules that Weaver says force churches to hire those practicing sodomy and other sins.

State Street Baptist Church incorporation (1973)

Context: A church that existed 129 years without incorporating, then incorporated in 1973 and later faced a lawsuit where the court ruled it must abide by state laws.

Hollins v. Edmonds (Kentucky Court of Appeals)

Context: The court ruled that once a church incorporates, it enters the realm of Caesar and must abide by state statutes.

Gibson v. Munson

Context: The court ruled that a church that incorporates must conform to the consequences of its voluntary act and is subject to state laws.

Hale v. Hinkle (U.S. Supreme Court)

Context: The Supreme Court distinguished between natural persons with constitutional rights and corporations as creatures of the state subject to state control.

IRS Publication 557

Context: IRS guidelines stating that churches are not required to file for 501(c)(3) status but may find it advantageous, and that tax-exempt organizations must not have practices contrary to public policy.

Winston Churchill quote about Americans

Context: Weaver quotes Churchill: 'Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after they've tried everything else,' applying it to Christians.

Important Quotes

Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise.

Significance: This is the central thesis of the sermon, identifying the primary tactic of enemies against God's work.

You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us.

Significance: Zerubbabel's refusal is the biblical model for separation from unbelievers in God's work.

Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?

Significance: Paul's command in 2 Corinthians 6:14 is the New Testament parallel to Ezra's principle.

Come shekels, come shackles.

Significance: This proverb encapsulates the danger of accepting government money, which brings control.

You worship you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Significance: Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman confirm that the Samaritans' syncretistic worship was false.

Once the church determined to enter into the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Significance: This court ruling illustrates the legal consequence of church incorporation: submission to state authority.

A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry.

Significance: Weaver's concluding warning that compromise leads to corruption and loss of Christ's headship.

No man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Significance: Jesus' teaching on exclusive loyalty is applied to the choice between Christ and the state as head of the church.

Discussion Questions

What are the differences between enemies we create through our own sin and enemies who oppose us because of Christ? How should we respond to each?

Context: Weaver distinguishes between personal enemies and enemies of the gospel in the introduction.

How does the example of Jeremiah's persecution illustrate the tactics enemies use against God's work today?

Context: Weaver traces the escalation from verbal attacks to death threats against Jeremiah.

In what ways might modern churches be tempted to accept help from 'adversaries' who claim to seek God but hold unbiblical beliefs?

Context: The Samaritans offered to help build the temple while practicing syncretism.

What does 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 teach about partnerships with unbelievers, and how does it apply to church-state relations?

Context: Weaver uses this passage to support Zerubbabel's refusal.

How does the history of the Samaritans in 2 Kings 17 warn against syncretism in worship?

Context: The Samaritans feared the Lord but served their own gods, a pattern Weaver sees in modern compromise.

What are the spiritual dangers of a church accepting government funding or tax-exempt status?

Context: Weaver argues that 501(c)(3) status and incorporation place the church under state control.

How can pastors and churches today emulate Zerubbabel's boldness in refusing compromise?

Context: Weaver calls for a host of Zerubbabels who will say 'No' to the heathen.

What does it mean for Christ to be the sole head of the church, and how does entanglement with the state undermine that?

Context: Weaver concludes that either Christ or the state is head; there is no middle ground.

Applications

Refuse to yoke with unbelievers in God's work.

Summary: Believers must not accept help or partnership from those who do not truly worship God, even if they profess faith, to avoid corruption.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'the work of God is not to be compromised by yoking up with the ungodly.' (26:02.2-26:59.3)

Examine church practices for unbiblical entanglements.

Summary: Churches should evaluate whether incorporation or 501(c)(3) status places them under state authority rather than Christ's headship.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'either Jesus Christ is head of the church or the state is head of the church.' (1:03:33.9-1:04:07.4)

Reject government funding that comes with strings attached.

Summary: Accepting money from faith-based initiatives or other government programs leads to control and compromise of biblical principles.

Evidence: Weaver warns: 'Come shekels, come shackles... the aim of the enemies of God is to entice and to entrap God's people into compromise.' (37:42.9-39:06.1)

Maintain biblical separation from the world system.

Summary: Christians are called to come out from among unbelievers and be separate, not loving the world's lusts and pride.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 6:17: 'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.' (28:52.6-29:35.1)

Preach the whole counsel of God without fear of state reprisal.

Summary: Pastors must not allow government restrictions to muzzle preaching on issues like sodomy and abortion, even if it risks tax-exempt status.

Evidence: Weaver notes that 501(c)(3) guidelines require not opposing public policy, which conflicts with biblical preaching. (1:00:43.9-1:02:16.6)

Trust God's provision rather than worldly resources.

Summary: Zerubbabel's determination to build with their own resources, relying on God's grace, is a model for the church today.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We will build the temple ourselves and we will build it by his grace and by his power.' (43:58.1-44:52.1)

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:49:40Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:08:26Z

Clean Transcript

How Enemies Attack Part 1 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Ezra chapter 4, Ezra chapter 4. You've got 1st and 2nd Chronicles and you've got Ezra. Then you've got Nehemiah. Ezra chapter 4. I'm going to be preaching a message today that I will finish next week, Lord willing, and the week after I will be away. And when I return, I've got a message that I want to be sharing with you. And I want you to just think about this. The message that I'm going to be bringing, Lord willing, on the 13th of March is "The Rebel's Prayer." So maybe you can do a little bit of thinking on that and see if you can come up with a text that I'm going to be using.
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And of course, I'll explain that when we get there. But today we're going to be looking at Ezra chapter 4 and the title of the message for this week and next week is "How Enemies Attack," or I have a subtitle, "How the Work of God Is Corrupted." And interestingly enough, Henry was telling me he woke up this morning at 4 o'clock with something on his mind and the message that I'm going to be bringing today and next week are going to fit right in with what Henry woke up and thought about for this morning. So maybe after I get through preaching, he'll be able to sleep till at least six the next several mornings before he wakes up and thinks about the subject again. So Ezra chapter 4, and let's begin. And let's only read the first three verses because that's as far as we'll get today anyhow. Ezra chapter 4, beginning with verse 1.
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"Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us."
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I want you to stop and think about how enemies attack. Everyone has enemies. Often people become our enemies simply because of our own lack of communication, lack of respect, misinterpretations, saying things the wrong way, and sometimes for a lack of common decency. Those are our enemies, and by that I mean they are our enemies because they are enemies of our own making. They were not enemies previously necessarily, but they are enemies now simply because of our ignorance and our conduct.
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All of us are sinners and consequently we do that which sinners do most frequently: we sin. We're not perfect and we cannot be perfect in this life. Therefore, there are times when each of us irritate, upset, and anger others, and they become our enemies just simply because of our sins. However, we may be reconciled to these enemies through repentance and forgiveness, and they once again become our friends. But those are not the type of enemies that I'm talking about today. The enemies that I'm referring to today are those that are our enemies simply because we are Christians and simply because we belong to Christ and they are the enemies of Christ and the gospel. I want you to hold Ezra 4 because we will be expounding that passage momentarily, but look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 15 and notice what our Lord says. And here are exactly the type of enemies that I'm going to be talking about today. In John chapter 15, beginning there with verse 18. John 15 and verse 18.
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Note what our Lord says: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you." Now watch. "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord."
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"If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will also keep yours." So notice if you would, our Lord says, if you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you're not of the world, therefore the world hates you. In other words, it hates us because it hates Jesus Christ. And if the world persecuted Jesus Christ, then He said, rest assured, they're going to try to persecute you as well. Without turning there, but in 1st John 3 and verse 13, John also wrote, "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." He says, don't be surprised. In fact, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1st John chapter 2, and let me show you another statement that our Lord made. 1st John chapter 2. Notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 15. Now, I want you to understand this passage very clearly because he said in 1 John 2 and verse 15, "Love not the world."
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Now, when he talks about loving not the world, he is not referring to his creation. He's certainly not referring to the world of Christians. He's referring to the world system and everything that is opposed to him, just like he said in John 15, "If the world hate you." He's referring to the world of the ungodly. So he says, "Love not the world." Watch carefully. "Neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Now he tells you which world he's talking about: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world that is that type of world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Now, let me just put it very plainly. We have enemies. Our Lord has enemies. We may not know who all of the enemies of the Lord are, but you may rest assured of one thing.
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He knows exactly who his enemies are. And I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 21. Psalm 21. And I want you to look at verse 8. Note this particular verse. Psalm 21 and verse 8. In fact, I preached two messages on this passage several years ago. But look in Psalm 21 and verse 8 at what is said. I love this passage. Psalm 21 verse 8. Referring to God, the psalmist said, "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee." So we may not know who God's enemies are, but God does.
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There are many times that individuals present themselves as friends of Christ and friends of God's people, when in reality, they're nothing less than spies and nothing less than individuals who have infiltrated to wreak havoc and ruin. Inevitably, those who are the enemies of God will display their hatred of God by attacking either the messengers of God or the work of God.
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Now, before I get started on the message from Ezra, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. And we're going to begin with Jeremiah 18, because I want to show you something. And this is going to be seen not only this week, but Lord willing, next week as well. Because oftentimes, the enemies of Christ attack the work of God exactly the way they attack the messengers of God. What happened to Jeremiah? Of course you know Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He preached to a people who did not want to hear. They did not want to listen. They did not want to repent. And so they attacked Jeremiah first of all verbally. Look in Jeremiah 18 in verse 18. "Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words."
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We're not going to listen to him. We will smite him with the tongue. We will verbally abuse him. We will verbally attack him. So they attacked him verbally and of course that did not stop Jeremiah from preaching. Although they said, "Let us not give heed to any of his words." So since the verbal attacks did not stop him, if you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 10, they go a step farther. Jeremiah 19 verse 10, I believe it is, let's see. I may have a wrong verse there. Jeremiah 19 and verse, well, here where he said, I have it, that's a bad verse.
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I thought it was 19. It must have been 20. Jeremiah 20. Jeremiah 20 verse 10. Watch carefully. He said, "For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him." Note what they say. "Report, say they, and we will report it." In other words, we'll report him to the authorities. We'll stop him. Our verbal attacks did not stop him, but we'll report him to the authorities.
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Maybe they can handle him. Well, of course, Jeremiah was reported to the authorities. And if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 38, and there's plenty of other places, but this one will be sufficient. Look in Jeremiah 38 in verse 6 at what they did to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 38 verse 6. So, since verbal abuse and reporting him did not necessarily stop him, then they threw him in prison, so to speak. Notice Jeremiah 38 in verse 6, "Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire." So they were going to stop him one way or the other.
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First of all, they said we're not going to listen to him, we'll attack him verbally. Then we're going to report him, that's not going to stop him.
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Now they put him in prison, they put him in a dungeon. And guess what? That still didn't stop Jeremiah. Because Jeremiah had an amanuensis, that is he had a scribe by the name of Baruch. And so Jeremiah from the dungeon spoke the words of God and Baruch wrote them down and then Baruch went to the temple and read them. And if you will turn and look to Jeremiah 38, I think it is, let me see if that's it in verse 16.
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Here was the ultimate solution. "So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah saying, As the Lord liveth that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee in hand of these men that seek thy life." So there were men who were seeking to kill Jeremiah just simply because he's preaching and teaching the truth.
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Now, a little reason I pointed this out is that these tactics that were used against the messengers of God are oftentimes used against the work of God as well, because the main aim of the enemies of God is always to stop, to thwart, and to hinder, and to overthrow the work of God. So this is the aspect that I want to deal with today. So I want you to go back in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Ezra chapter 4, and let's look at verse 1 momentarily. Look in Ezra 4 and verse 1. Here's a very interesting introduction to this chapter, for he begins, "Now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple of the Lord God of Israel," note if you would, he begins by calling them adversaries.
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Now the word "adversaries" here literally means an enemy, a foe, an oppressor, an adversary, one who is against. So all of these people now that are coming to Zerubbabel, to Yeshua, and the chief of the fathers, they are the enemies, the oppressors, the adversaries, they are against the people of God. Okay? I want you to watch this. Verse 2. "Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do."
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"And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither." Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They seek to corrupt by compromise. They have already been identified as the enemies of God's people. And what do they do? They come and they say to God's people, "Let us build with you. For we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither."
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Now I want you to stop and think just for a moment. Ezra is concerned with rebuilding the temple. There were a limited number of individuals who returned with both Ezra and Nehemiah. Consequently, those who returned from the captivity were undoubtedly short on what you and I would call cash and materials. Moreover, they were few in number and obviously help was needed. So here are some people coming to the builders of the temple and they're saying, "Wow, we worship your God the way you do. We seek him."
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"Let us build with you." Now here is an offer for help. And here is this offer from people who profess to be believers.
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Now let me ask you a question. As you're thinking about this, what would the answer be of the modern day preacher and the modern day church? The answer would be, "Wow, they say they're Christians too. Let's take them in. We can use them. They'll help us build the work. We'll have more money. We can enlarge our building program. We can get a new sound system. We can do all of these things." And moreover, listen, even if they're not genuinely saved, that really doesn't matter because we can use this as a means of evangelism as we use them in the work and as we work with them, we'll witness to them. Is that not the idea of the modern day church and the modern day preaching? In other words, the attitude of the modern day church is this: they will help us build a great work. Now let me ask you a question.
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I'm going to show you in just a moment how Zerubbabel of course turned them down. But who were these people that are described as the adversaries? And how did Zerubbabel and Yeshua know that they were not genuine and true believers? Well, I want you to hold Ezra 4, but I want you to turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17. 2 Kings chapter 17. And let's begin looking first of all at verses 5 and 6.
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Because the northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. And, of course, they were carried away into captivity. So watch this, 2 Kings 17, verse 5. "Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years." So it took him three years to besiege it. "And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and Habor by the rivers of Gozan and the cities of the Medes." Now watch what he did. He depopulated the area of northern Israelites. He took them away into Assyria. But that's not all. Skip back down now to verse 24 in 2nd Kings 17. After he had taken the Israelites out of the land, verse 24, "And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel."
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Now stop and listen and think about this. Not every Israelite was taken out of the land. The poor were left in the land. Okay, the poor were left in the land. Now watch what happens. "And they," that is all these heathen, "possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof. So it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord." So they did not fear the one true living God. "Therefore the Lord sent lions among them which slew some of them." Watch carefully. "Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria saying, The nations, which thou hast removed and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land."
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Isn't that an amazing statement? "They know not the manner of the God of the land." You see, they did not understand the omnipresence of God because every heathen had his local gods and the gods that they had was just over a certain area. So, he says, "They know not the manner of the God of the land." Now watch. "Therefore he had sent lions among them," verse 26, "and behold, they slay them because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land."
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Now let me stop and remind you of something. Why did God take Israel into captivity into Assyria to begin with? Because of idolatry. You remember the two calves at Dan and Bethel that Jeroboam had made and they were worshiping these golden calves? Now watch. Verse 28, "Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord."
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Oh, how effective was his teaching? Watch. "Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the Samaritans had made every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim."
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"So they feared the Lord." Watch this. "So they feared the Lord and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places." That is for those golden calves. Watch verse 33. "They feared the Lord and served their own gods after the men of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after the former manners." Here's the final conclusion: "They feared not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, nor after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel."
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So what has happened now is these Samaritans are a mixed breed. The very mention of Esarhaddon. If you go back to the book of Ezra there and look in verse 2, Ezra chapter 4 and verse 2, what do they say? "Then came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria." Now Esarhaddon reigned
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from 681 to 668 BC. The Samaritans are talking about something that has taken place at least 130 years previously. There had been at least three colonizations in Samaria by the kings of Assyria. The first is mentioned in 2 Kings 17 verse 24, which we just read. Later in his reign, Sargon added to these an Arabian element, and then some 30 or 40 years later, Esarhaddon then, his grandson, augmented the population there from people from the southeast parts of his kingdom. Thus, these Samaritans were just mixed.
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They had anything and everything in them. So, I want you to watch what happens. Go back to Ezra chapter 4 and verse 2. Look carefully now. "Then they came to Zerubbabel," remember now they're already identified as adversaries. "Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said to him, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria."
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Yes, they sacrificed unto him to the golden calves, to the corruption, to the perversion, but they also sacrificed to all their other gods as well, because the Lord God of heaven and earth was just another god to them. He was on a par maybe with their gods, but no greater. So they said, "We seek him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, which brought us up hither." Watch the answer, look in verse 3. "But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us."
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Note, if you would, what he said to these adversaries. "You have nothing to do to build with us." Here's the principle. I told you, and this is the only point I'm covering today. The very first way the enemy always seeks to attack, whether it's a messenger, whether it's the work of God, it doesn't matter. They always seek to corrupt by compromise. And the principle that is being enunciated in Ezra 4 and verse 3 is that the work of God is not to be compromised by yoking up with the ungodly. When you stop and think about this, the standards of the ungodly are not God's standards. The thoughts of the ungodly are not God's thoughts. The practices of the ungodly are not God's practices.
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As Christians, we're supposed to be biblicists. That is, we're to be people of the Word. The ungodly are not biblicists, they are pragmatists. They do whatever works. I mean, yeah, we will add God to our sacrifice and our worship if it will keep the lions off of us. I mean, it's what worked. And they were happy with that.
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Now let me ask you a question. How can the work of God be a pure work if it is corrupted and compromised with the heathen and with the pagan and with unbiblical and ungodly practices? I want you to hold Ezra 4, but I want you to look in your Bibles. First of all, 2 Corinthians chapter 6. I want you to see the apostle Paul teaches the same exact principle. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 14, look at the questions that the apostle asked. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. First, he says this: "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" That's a pretty good question. He says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath the righteous with unrighteousness?" The answer is none. "Or what communion hath light with darkness?" The answer is none. "And what concord hath Christ with Belial?" or the devil? The answer is none. "What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"
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The answer is none. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" The answer is none, for he says, "For you are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and my daughters, saith the Lord God Almighty." Now note if you would, he tells us that we're not to be unequally yoked together. This is exactly the same principle that Ezra is dealing with back in Ezra chapter 4.
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Now, turn right over in your Bibles to 3rd John. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. I should not have to tell you the chapter because you'll find out 3rd John only has one chapter. And if you'll begin looking there at verse 5. 3rd John verse 5. I want you to note particularly one verse here, but we're going to read several. 3rd John verse 5, John writes, "Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, which have borne witness of thy charity before the church, whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well." So he's encouraging the elder Gaius to bring certain of the brethren on their journey well, and look what he says about these godly preachers, verse 7, "Because that for his name's sake," that is for Christ's sake, "they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, we therefore to receive such that we might be
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fellow helpers of the truth." What? They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, or literally taking nothing of the nations or taking nothing of the unsaved. In other words, in the Bible, it is godly people who do a godly work. And you do not corrupt or compromise that godly work by yoking up with unbelievers. Which brings me to the application. I want you to listen. You'll remember it was President Bush who began what he called his faith-based initiatives. You remember that?
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Where the federal government was going to hook up with churches and religious organizations to do a greater good. Well, here's a question. It's a long one, but I want you to think about it. What possible connection, help, or encouragement could a government that promotes sodomy, aborticide, fraud, Marxism, and communism, and denies the sovereignty of God, the sufficiency of scriptures, and the authority of God's law, and promotes hundreds of other unbiblical attitudes and programs—what possible connection could that have toward a biblical understanding and a biblical work with people who really want to glorify God and honor Him according to the Word of God? What possible connection? And yet, hundreds of preachers and churches flocked to the faith-based initiatives. Now watch this. I want to read to you an article. This article was published on February the 9th, 2010, so it's just been one year.
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So this means the president now is no longer George Bush. It's now Obama, supposedly. Here's the article written by Todd J. Gillman from the Dallas Morning News. I want you to listen. It blows my mind, but I... Washington. "President Obama devoted much of his Thursday to faith. He spoke of his path to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast." By the way, there are no paths to Christianity.
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You get to be a Christian by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It's not a path, it's a work. But anyhow, "He spoke of his paths to Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual rite observed by every predecessor since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. He also established his own White House office dedicated to tapping the energy and goodness of the nation's faithful while observing those tricky church-state boundaries the founders set forth a couple of centuries back."
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"Faith has always been a guiding force in our family's life," he told a few thousand praying breakfasters at Hilton Ballroom. He quoted a Hadith from the Muslim Koran and a passage from the Jewish Torah to underscore his point about the universality of the Golden Rule. He gave approving shout-outs to Buddhists, Hindus, the followers of Confucius, and humanists. He even recognized agnostics. He called religious and faith-based groups such as Catholic charities uniquely qualified to step in at a time of great need. "Few are closer to what's happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods as these organizations."
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"Obama said at the breakfast, 'People trust them, communities rely upon them, and we will help them.' After breakfast, Obama met in the Oval Office with a neglected group of 15 religious leaders tapped to advise his White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a rare idea from his predecessor that Obama has embraced. Critics complained that the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives blurred the line between government and religion and was created to funnel tax dollars to church-run programs." Hang on. "Groups that were critical of the Bush-era Office of Faith-Based Initiatives included the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way. They issued statements Thursday expressing disappointment in the Obama version. All said that by failing to repeal the Bush policies, the White House will allow participating religious groups to continue discrimination in hiring. Obama said he will review the rules that let churches discriminate in hiring. But the thrust is generally the same, getting help to the needy."
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Ah, did you hear this? Obama said he will review the rules that let the churches discriminate in hiring. So what they're saying is this: those who dip into the governmental trough must hire sodomites, lesbians, transsexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts. In other words, if you are going to be a recipient of monies from these faith-based initiatives, you are going to be controlled. You're going to be corrupted. You're going to be compromised. You're going to do exactly what they tell you to do or there is no money.
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There is an old proverb. It goes like this: "Come shekels, come shackles." And that's a fact, folks. Whenever the government gives shekels, you can mark it down, there are always shackles. Because the aim of the enemies of God is to entice and to entrap God's people into compromise so that the work of God may not only be corrupted but controlled. Go back to those Samaritans just for a moment. You remember I read how they worship all these false gods and they tied all this in with the worship of Jehovah, the one true God. So the Samaritans then had a syncretistic religion, that is they combine the pagan worship supposedly along with the worship of Jehovah. They were willing to take Jehovah if they could knock him down to the same size of their pagan gods. They're willing to recognize him if they could just simply manipulate him and control him.
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Why did they want him to begin with? The lions were attacking them. We just want him to take care of our lion problem. We'll throw a few shekels and we'll give a little sacrifice every now and then. We can control him. And we can get him to do what we want him to do by just simply sacrificing to him every now and then. Now, I want you to go back to Ezra chapter 4. I want you to watch this. With all this background in mind, I want you to look at it.
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Remember verse 1 says, "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin came." Watch what they said when they came, verse 2. "Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers and said unto him, Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do. And we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel and Yeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto him, You have nothing to do with us." Wow.
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You know, that is almost exactly what Peter told Simon the sorcerer in Acts chapter 8. When he wanted to buy the power of the Holy Ghost, Peter said to Simon the sorcerer, "You have neither part nor lot in this matter." You have nothing to do with it. Let me ask you a question. Was Zerubbabel being too hard, too rough, too ungracious, too unkind when he said that you have nothing to do with us? Was that being unkind? No. What was he saying? He's saying you're heathen. You're pagans.
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We don't worship the way you worship. We don't believe like you believe. We have nothing in common. And to prove he was right, hold your finger on Ezra 4, turn over in your Bibles to John chapter 4. I want you to see this. Everyone in this room remembers the story of the woman at the well. You remember that? But do you remember she was a Samaritan? Look if you would please, John 4 verse 4.
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"And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph."
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"Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. And Jesus said unto her," and you know the whole conversation, skip down, if you would, please. Verse 19, the woman gets religious upon him. "The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain," that is Samaria, "and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father."
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Watch what he tells her. "You worship you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews," or the Judahites, because that's where the temple, that's where the tabernacle was, that's where the law was, that's where the teaching priests were. What did he tell her? "You worship you know not what." You don't know who or what you're worshiping. You're pagans. So, our Lord just simply confirmed what Zerubbabel said.
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Now, go back to Ezra chapter 4. Look at Ezra chapter 4, verse 3. "But Zerubbabel and Yeshua, the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God." Let's finish it. "But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord our God of Israel as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us." It was Cyrus who let the people go back and to rebuild. So here's what Zerubbabel is saying.
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You have no part in this. We're the ones who love him. We're the ones who worship him. We're the ones who recognize him. We will build the temple ourselves and we will build it by his grace and by his power and we will do whatever needs to be done. You may not participate with us in any way whatsoever. I hope you're following me thus far. Here's my question. If Zerubbabel and the fathers believed it would be a corrupt compromise to allow the heathen and the pagans to build with them and to worship with them and ultimately corrupt and or have control over the temple,
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would not the same principle apply today to the Church of Jesus Christ?
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Yes. If the heathen had come in and built, and let's suppose, out of curiosity, or just for an example, let's say it took $20 million to build that temple in money. And the heathen put in 15 million. Who do you think is going to control the temple?
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Now, let me ask one other question, then I'm going to answer it for you. How has the church compromised and corrupted itself and allowed the heathen to control the work and the worship of God? So there's my question. How has the Church of Jesus Christ corrupted itself, compromised itself, and put itself in a position where the heathen can control the work of God? Here are my two questions.
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Have you ever heard of church incorporation and the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status? Let me say something first. Do you realize in reality, in truth, the Church of Jesus Christ is really the only true incorporation? Because the word "incorporation" actually means the body continues. And truly it's only the church through divine grace and power and mercy that has been given eternal life. And we will continue, the body will continue. And if we have reality, why would we need artificiality?
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Did you know that a corporation is an artificial entity? It is not real. It is a legal fiction. It only exists in legal land. I want to give you two definitions. The first one is from the 1839 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. He's defining "corporation," and he says this: "An artificial being created by law and composed by individuals who subsist as a body politic under a special denomination with the capacity of perpetual succession and of acting within the scope of its charter as a natural person." But it begins "an artificial being." It's not real. It's a fiction. Here's the free dictionary. Listen carefully now. This is very important. "An organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business or other activities which can sue or be sued and unless it is a non-profit can issue shares of stock to raise funds with which to start a business or increase capital." But notice "an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person." Bradley has some artificial dogs back there.
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Yeah. You know what an artificial dog is? It's a stuffed animal. It's not real. I'm serious. It's not real. Linda has a real dog. Well, such as it is. I'm teasing. But you see, let me tell you. I want you to listen. I'm going to read a Supreme Court case. Just two paragraphs. Hale versus Hinkle. And I want you to listen to what the Supreme Court says is the distinction between a natural person or a real person and a corporation.
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So my question is this. If we as a church are real, genuine people and individuals, have a real existence already, why would we need an artificial existence? Here it is. Supreme Court, Hale versus Hinkle. "The individual," he's talking about individuals now, "the individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He's entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the state or to his neighbors to divulge his business or to open his doors to an investigation so far as it may tend to criminate him. He owes no such duty to the state since he receives nothing therefrom beyond the protection of life and property."
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"His rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the state and can only be taken from him by due process of law in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights." So as an individual, as a real life, living, genuine person, I have rights.
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The Supreme Court goes on. "Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives special privileges and franchises and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation."
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"There is a reserved right in the legislature to investigate its contracts and to find out whether it has exceeded its powers. It would be a strange anomaly to hold that a state having chartered a corporation to make use of certain franchises could not, in the exercise of its sovereignty, inquire how these franchises have been employed and whether they had been abused and demand the production of the corporate books and papers for that purpose." So what does the Supreme Court say about a corporation?
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First of all, it's an artificial entity. It is a creature of the state. You get certain privileges. You get certain rights. But you are controlled and the state has the absolute right to come in and demand to see your books and your papers. And once you incorporate as a church, you become a governmentally approved church with the state as your head, and everything you do is subject to the laws of the state because your existence is now determined by the state. You lose any and all constitutional protection and you are bound, you are bound to obey the laws, rules, and regulations of your creator, the state.
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Now let me give you an illustration. The State Street Baptist Church was founded in 1844. It existed 129 years without incorporating until 1973. In 1973, the State Street Baptist Church incorporated. After it incorporated, there arose a dispute in the church over church discipline. And so those who were dissatisfied went to court and sued the church. The church's position was this: the government has no right to interfere. This is church business, so to speak. Only it relates to the church. It does not relate to the government. In the court case, Hollins versus Edmonds, the Court of Appeals, it went all the way to the Appeals Court. The Court of Appeals in Kentucky, the court said this. Listen carefully.
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These are not my words. This is what the court said. "Once the church determined to enter into the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." What? You lived 129 years without being incorporated. Now you've got incorporated. And the court said, once you entered into the realm of Caesar, we have you. Now you must abide by the laws and the rules and the regulations that we give you. And the case Gibson versus Munson. Here's what the court ruled. Listen carefully. "The church, any church, has the absolute unfettered right to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences,
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so long as they do not trespass upon the rights of others. Having elected to incorporate under the laws of the state, they should be required to conform to the consequences of their voluntary act. Incorporating obviously was not done for the reasons of religious belief." So what did the court say? Once you incorporate, you are obligated, you are duty bound to obey the laws of the state.
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Now what that means is simple. If the laws of Jesus Christ conflict with the laws of the state, since the state is now your head and your creator, whose law comes first? In the corporation, the state law comes first. Let me go one step further and I'm going to tie this together for you. You see, the churches not only got corrupted and compromised through incorporation, they got further corrupted and compromised through obtaining a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS.
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Now I want you to listen to what the IRS Publication 557 states. Listen carefully. "Churches. Although a church, its integrated auxiliaries, or a convention or association of churches is not required to file a 1023 to be exempt from federal income taxes or to receive tax deductible contributions." Let me stop right there. Did you just hear what I read? The IRS says a church is not required to obtain any type of tax exemption in order to receive tax deductible contributions. What? Because it's a church. The government doesn't have any power, any authority over the church.
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Now, let me go further. Listen carefully. "Although a church, its integrated auxiliaries, or a convention or association of churches is not required to file Form 1023 to be exempt from federal income tax or to receive tax-deductible contributions, the organization may find it advantageous to obtain recognition of exemption." Well, now, wait a minute. If you don't need it, why would you find it advantageous to get it? Unless you just want governmental approval and governmental control. Let me read. Listen carefully. "In this event," that is, if you decide you want this advantage of being a governmentally controlled church, "in this event, you should submit information showing that your organization is a church, synagogue, association or convention of churches, religious order, religious organization, that is an integral part of a church, and that is engaged in carrying out the functions of a church." In other words, you've got to prove your church. "In determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church," now listen, "in determining whether an admittedly religious organization is also a church, the IRS does not accept every assertion that an organization is a church."
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"Because beliefs and practices vary so widely, there is no single definition of the word 'church' for tax purposes." Wow. "The IRS considers the facts and the circumstances of each organization applying for church status." Are you listening? "To determine whether an organization meets the religious purposes test for Section 501(c)(3), the IRS maintains two basic guidelines." So if you want a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, you must acknowledge and submit to these two guidelines in order to be approved by the IRS. Number one, here's their first guideline, "that the particular religious beliefs of the organization are truly and sincerely held."
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Well, who's going to argue with that? I mean, I don't care if you're a pagan. I mean, whatever you believe, you ought to believe sincerely and genuinely. You may be sincerely and genuinely wrong, but I mean, you know, you can be sincere in your error. So the first one is that the particular religious beliefs of the organization are truly and sincerely held. Number two, "that the practices and rituals associated with the organization's religious belief or creed are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy." Sodomy is public policy in this country. Abortion is public policy. Marxism is public policy. Socialism is public policy. So when you sign to get your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, you are agreeing that you are not going to oppose any clearly defined public policy. I'm still reading. "Therefore, your group or organization may not qualify for treatment as an exempt religious organization for tax purposes if its actions, as contrasted with its beliefs, are contrary to the well-established and clearly defined public policy. If there's a clear showing that the beliefs or doctrines are sincerely held by those professing them, the IRS will not question the religious nature of those beliefs."
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We won't question your religious nature. No, no, no, no. But if you preach contrary to our public policies, you're not getting our approval. This came from the website irs.gov. Go there and you may read it for yourself.
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Now, the point I'm making is simple. The churches as a whole in America are so entangled and so corrupted and so compromised, it is impossible for them to be free and to live under the Lordship and the Headship of Jesus Christ. I've had preachers tell me, "Well, they start telling me what I can and cannot preach, boy, I'm going to draw my line in the sand." They already told you what you can and cannot preach when you got your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status and you agreed to it. They already told you what you could and could not do when you incorporated and you agreed to it. What it boils down to is this: either Jesus Christ is head of the church or the state is head of the church.
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And our Lord said it very clearly in Matthew 6 in verse 24, for when he said this, "No man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." No man can serve two masters. We need today a whole host of Zerubbabels who will say to the heathen, "No, you shall not build with us."
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You have neither part nor lot in this matter. We're not going to be corrupted. We're not going to be compromised. What Winston Churchill said about Americans could be said concerning Christians with equal authority. Winston Churchill said this concerning Americans. He said, quote, "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after they've tried everything else." And Christians can be counted on to do the right thing too after they've tried everything else and suffered the judgment of God.
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Then we wake up and learn. Once we get a good dose of the rod of judgment, we think, "Well, we might better start doing things biblically." I want you to think about this. If Jehovah God is the God of Israel, He is not the God of those of Esarhaddon sent into the land. If Jesus Christ is our head, if Jesus Christ is our God, if His law is our supreme authority, then those who worship government and obey government more than God, more than our Lord Jesus Christ, they do not belong to Him. For our Lord said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Our Lord said, "Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I said unto you?"
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So there is a difference. And what Ezra was doing is what Paul demanded in 2nd Corinthians. What John said, there must be a difference and we must keep that difference and we must maintain that difference without compromise. So if the God of the Bible is true, the God of government is false. And our enemies always attack us first by seeking to get us to compromise in order that they may corrupt us and control us.
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Let me put it to you like this. A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry. Where are our Zerubbabels today? Where are the pastors in the pulpit who say, "We're fed up with this stuff. If we want our country back, we must get our pulpits back. And we must come once again under the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word."
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For He only is God and beside Him, there are no others. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, for your mercy, for your kindness to us. Lord, I pray that you would help us to not corrupt ourselves and not compromise ourselves. And Lord, those churches and those pastors that have done so, I pray that you'd convict them, dear Lord, and enlighten them, illuminate them, lead them, give them mercy, show them, Lord, your word and your will, and then give them grace to repent and to renounce their corruptions and to serve thee and thee only in an unfettered and free ministry. Acknowledging only Jesus Christ as Lord and Jesus Christ as Head. In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:49:40Z

How Enemies Attack Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds Ezra 4:1-3 to show that the first way enemies attack God's work is by seeking to corrupt through compromise. He identifies the adversaries as syncretistic Samaritans who offered to help rebuild the temple while mixing pagan worship with the worship of Jehovah. Zerubbabel's refusal to yoke with unbelievers is presented as the biblical principle of separation. Weaver applies this to modern churches, arguing that incorporation and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status represent a compromise that places the church under state control rather than under the headship of Christ.

Opening

Introduction: Identifying the True Enemies

Note what our Lord says:

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord." "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will also keep yours."

Scripture Reading — John 15:18-20

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you."

The World System Defined

Using 1 John 2:15-17, Weaver clarifies that 'the world' refers to the ungodly system characterized by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, not creation or Christians.

God Knows His Enemies

Psalm 21:8 assures that God's hand will find out all His enemies, even those who pretend to be friends. Enemies often infiltrate to wreak havoc.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 21:8

"Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee."

So we may not know who God's enemies are, but God does.

Pattern of Attack on God's Messengers: Jeremiah

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 18:18

"Let us not give heed to any of his words."

I thought it was 19. It must have been 20. Jeremiah 20. Jeremiah 20 verse 10. Watch carefully. He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:10

"For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him."

Note what they say.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:10

"Report, say they, and we will report it."

In other words, we'll report him to the authorities. We'll stop him. Our verbal attacks did not stop him, but we'll report him to the authorities.

Ezra 4:1-3: The Adversaries' Offer

"Let us build with you." Now here is an offer for help. And here is this offer from people who profess to be believers.

Historical Background of the Samaritans

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years."

So it took him three years to besiege it.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and Habor by the rivers of Gozan and the cities of the Medes."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:5-6

"And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel."

Zerubbabel's Refusal and the Principle of Separation

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"

That's a pretty good question. He says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath the righteous with unrighteousness?"

The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"Or what communion hath light with darkness?"

The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"And what concord hath Christ with Belial?"

or the devil? The answer is none.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"

Modern Application: Faith-Based Initiatives

The Danger of Government Money

The proverb 'Come shekels, come shackles' illustrates that government funding brings government control. The Samaritans' syncretism is compared to modern churches that accept state oversight.

Jesus Confirms the Samaritan Error

In John 4:22, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, 'You worship you know not what,' confirming that the Samaritans' worship was not true worship of God.

Church Incorporation and 501(c)(3) Status

Conclusion: Call for Uncompromised Pulpits

And our Lord said it very clearly in Matthew 6 in verse 24, for when he said this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:24

"No man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

How Enemies Attack Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	55cSYdAu5YI
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Discipline, Enemies, and Institutional Faithfulness
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-03-07
Dictation Name
Book	Book 154: How Enemies Attack — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	83

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Identifying the True Enemies: Weaver distinguishes between enemies we make through our own sin and those who are enemies because we belong to Christ. He cites John 15:18-20 and 1 John 3:13 to show that the world hates Christians because it hated Christ first.
The World System Defined: Using 1 John 2:15-17, Weaver clarifies that 'the world' refers to the ungodly system characterized by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, not creation or Christians.
God Knows His Enemies: Psalm 21:8 assures that God's hand will find out all His enemies, even those who pretend to be friends. Enemies often infiltrate to wreak havoc.
Pattern of Attack on God's Messengers: Jeremiah: Weaver traces how Jeremiah's enemies attacked him verbally (Jeremiah 18:18), reported him to authorities (Jeremiah 20:10), imprisoned him (Jeremiah 38:6), and sought his life (Jeremiah 38:16). This pattern mirrors attacks on God's work.
Ezra 4:1-3: The Adversaries' Offer: The adversaries, identified as enemies, come to Zerubbabel offering to help build the temple, claiming they seek the same God and have sacrificed to Him since Esarhaddon. This is an attempt to corrupt by compromise.
Historical Background of the Samaritans: From 2 Kings 17, Weaver explains that after Assyria conquered the northern kingdom, they imported pagan peoples who mixed their idolatry with a superficial fear of Jehovah, creating a syncretistic religion. The Samaritans were a mixed breed who feared the Lord but served their own gods.
Zerubbabel's Refusal and the Principle of Separation: Zerubbabel, Yeshua, and the chiefs refuse the offer, declaring 'You have nothing to do with us.' This enforces the principle that God's work must not be yoked with unbelievers, as echoed in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 3 John 7.
Modern Application: Faith-Based Initiatives: Weaver critiques the Bush and Obama faith-based initiatives, arguing that government partnership with churches leads to control and compromise, forcing churches to accept unbiblical hiring practices and policies.
The Danger of Government Money: The proverb 'Come shekels, come shackles' illustrates that government funding brings government control. The Samaritans' syncretism is compared to modern churches that accept state oversight.
Jesus Confirms the Samaritan Error: In John 4:22, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, 'You worship you know not what,' confirming that the Samaritans' worship was not true worship of God.
Church Incorporation and 501(c)(3) Status: Weaver argues that church incorporation makes the church an artificial entity, a creature of the state, subject to state laws. The 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status further compromises the church by requiring agreement not to oppose public policy, effectively placing the state as head over Christ.
Conclusion: Call for Uncompromised Pulpits: Weaver calls for pastors to be like Zerubbabel, refusing to yoke with the ungodly, and to return to the sole headship of Christ. He warns that a compromised ministry is a corrupted and controlled ministry.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Enemies of God attack by offering help that leads to compromise.

The adversaries in Ezra 4 came offering to build, but their intent was to corrupt the work by introducing syncretism.

Weaver says: 'Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise.' (15:02.3-15:47.3)

The Samaritans' worship was false because it mixed paganism with Jehovah.

Historical background from 2 Kings 17 shows the Samaritans feared the Lord but served their own gods, making their offer insincere.

Weaver reads 2 Kings 17:33: 'They feared the Lord, and served their own gods.' (22:38.9-23:23.9)

Zerubbabel's refusal was biblical and necessary.

Zerubbabel's statement 'You have nothing to do with us' aligns with New Testament commands to be separate from unbelievers.

Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 3 John 7 to support the principle of not yoking with unbelievers. (28:52.6-30:48.5)

Modern faith-based initiatives are a form of compromise.

Government partnerships with churches force acceptance of unbiblical policies like hiring sodomites, corrupting the church's witness.

Weaver reads an article about Obama's faith-based office and notes: 'those who dip into the governmental trough must hire sodomites, lesbians, transsexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts.' (36:54.5-37:40.2)

Church incorporation makes the church a creature of the state.

Incorporation creates an artificial entity subject to state laws, losing constitutional protections and placing the state as head over the church.

Weaver quotes Hale v. Hinkle: 'the corporation is a creature of the state... Its powers are limited by law.' (51:38.8-52:20.0)

501(c)(3) status requires agreement not to oppose public policy.

IRS guidelines state that tax-exempt organizations must not have practices contrary to clearly defined public policy, muzzling biblical preaching on issues like sodomy and abortion.

Weaver reads IRS Publication 557: 'the practices and rituals... are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy.' (1:00:43.9-1:02:16.6)

A compromised ministry is a controlled ministry.

Once churches accept state entanglement, they lose the freedom to follow Christ alone and become controlled by the state's demands.

Weaver states: 'A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry.' (1:06:43.6-1:07:29.9)

Scripture References

Ezra 4:1-3: The primary text: adversaries offer to help build the temple, but Zerubbabel refuses.
John 15:18-20: Jesus warns that the world will hate His followers because it hated Him first.
1 John 3:13: John tells believers not to marvel if the world hates them.
1 John 2:15-17: Defines the world as the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, which is opposed to God.
Psalm 21:8: God's hand will find out all His enemies.
Jeremiah 18:18: Jeremiah's enemies plot to attack him with the tongue.
Jeremiah 20:10: Jeremiah's enemies plan to report him to authorities.
Jeremiah 38:6: Jeremiah is cast into a dungeon.
Jeremiah 38:16: King Zedekiah swears not to put Jeremiah to death, but men seek his life.
2 Kings 17:5-6: Assyria conquers the northern kingdom and carries Israel away.
2 Kings 17:24-33: Assyria imports pagan peoples into Samaria; they fear the Lord but serve their own gods.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18: Paul commands believers not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and to come out from among them.
3 John 5-8: John commends Gaius for supporting traveling preachers who took nothing from the Gentiles (unbelievers).
Acts 8:21: Peter tells Simon the sorcerer he has neither part nor lot in the matter, similar to Zerubbabel's refusal.
John 4:4-22: Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, 'You worship you know not what,' confirming the falseness of Samaritan worship.
Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon.
John 14:15: If you love Me, keep My commandments.
Luke 6:46: Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Historical References

Assyrian conquest of northern kingdom (722 BC): The Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II conquered Samaria and deported Israelites, then imported pagan peoples, leading to the mixed Samaritan religion.
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (681-668 BC): Esarhaddon augmented the population of Samaria with people from the southeast parts of his kingdom, mentioned by the adversaries in Ezra 4:2.
President George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives: Bush established the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives to partner with religious organizations, which Weaver criticizes as compromising the church.
President Barack Obama's faith-based office (2010): Obama continued and expanded faith-based partnerships, with rules that Weaver says force churches to hire those practicing sodomy and other sins.
State Street Baptist Church incorporation (1973): A church that existed 129 years without incorporating, then incorporated in 1973 and later faced a lawsuit where the court ruled it must abide by state laws.
Hollins v. Edmonds (Kentucky Court of Appeals): The court ruled that once a church incorporates, it enters the realm of Caesar and must abide by state statutes.
Gibson v. Munson: The court ruled that a church that incorporates must conform to the consequences of its voluntary act and is subject to state laws.
Hale v. Hinkle (U.S. Supreme Court): The Supreme Court distinguished between natural persons with constitutional rights and corporations as creatures of the state subject to state control.
IRS Publication 557: IRS guidelines stating that churches are not required to file for 501(c)(3) status but may find it advantageous, and that tax-exempt organizations must not have practices contrary to public policy.
Winston Churchill quote about Americans: Weaver quotes Churchill: 'Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after they've tried everything else,' applying it to Christians.

Important Quotes

Here's the first way the enemies always attack. They seek to corrupt by compromise.

This is the central thesis of the sermon, identifying the primary tactic of enemies against God's work.

You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us.

Zerubbabel's refusal is the biblical model for separation from unbelievers in God's work.

Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?

Paul's command in 2 Corinthians 6:14 is the New Testament parallel to Ezra's principle.

Come shekels, come shackles.

This proverb encapsulates the danger of accepting government money, which brings control.

You worship you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman confirm that the Samaritans' syncretistic worship was false.

Once the church determined to enter into the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

This court ruling illustrates the legal consequence of church incorporation: submission to state authority.

A compromised ministry is a corrupted ministry. And a compromised ministry is always a controlled ministry.

Weaver's concluding warning that compromise leads to corruption and loss of Christ's headship.

No man can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Jesus' teaching on exclusive loyalty is applied to the choice between Christ and the state as head of the church.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are the differences between enemies we create through our own sin and enemies who oppose us because of Christ? How should we respond to each?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes between personal enemies and enemies of the gospel in the introduction.

[Question]

How does the example of Jeremiah's persecution illustrate the tactics enemies use against God's work today?

[Context]

Weaver traces the escalation from verbal attacks to death threats against Jeremiah.

[Question]

In what ways might modern churches be tempted to accept help from 'adversaries' who claim to seek God but hold unbiblical beliefs?

[Context]

The Samaritans offered to help build the temple while practicing syncretism.

[Question]

What does 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 teach about partnerships with unbelievers, and how does it apply to church-state relations?

[Context]

Weaver uses this passage to support Zerubbabel's refusal.

[Question]

How does the history of the Samaritans in 2 Kings 17 warn against syncretism in worship?

[Context]

The Samaritans feared the Lord but served their own gods, a pattern Weaver sees in modern compromise.

[Question]

What are the spiritual dangers of a church accepting government funding or tax-exempt status?

[Context]

Weaver argues that 501(c)(3) status and incorporation place the church under state control.

[Question]

How can pastors and churches today emulate Zerubbabel's boldness in refusing compromise?

[Context]

Weaver calls for a host of Zerubbabels who will say 'No' to the heathen.

[Question]

What does it mean for Christ to be the sole head of the church, and how does entanglement with the state undermine that?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that either Christ or the state is head; there is no middle ground.

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