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The Evil Power of Government Part 1

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• I want to begin a message today which I will probably finish next Sunday. I have a preacher friend who said that his sermons were like bologna. You could just cut them off anywhere. Well, mine's not quite like that. I will have to find a logical stopping point where I can begin logically again next Sunday. So, 1 Kings chapter 14, verse 16, and I want to bring a message which I've entitled, "The Evil Power of Government." So I want you to think with me the evil power of government. Look in 1st Kings chapter 14 and verse 16. The Word of God says, "And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin." So the Bible is saying in verse 16 that He, God, shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. Everyone understands that government is power.

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• Lord Acton of England said, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Now that statement may be true in relationship to man, but it certainly is not true in relationship to God. God is sovereign, He is supreme, He has absolute power, and He is absolutely holy, righteous, and just. All power belongs to God. Psalm 62 and verse 11 declares, "God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God." We're told in Psalm 66 and verse 7, "He ruleth by His power forever; His eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves." And yet, not only are we told that God rules by His power, we're also told in the Bible that there is none as holy as the Lord. He is holiness personified. Absolute power does not corrupt the incorruptible God. Now power does corrupt those that abuse and misuse it. It makes the abusers more corrupt. In reality, it is not power that corrupts. It is corrupt people that use power wrongly and thus they corrupt the power. They are equally corrupt and equally depraved and therefore they use power unlawfully.

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• Let me just stop right here and say this: when I use the word "power" today, I'm actually—I want you to understand that the Greek word that is used for power refers to power, authority, and jurisdiction. So when I say the word "power," I want you to also think "authority," and sometimes I'm going to be using those terms interchangeably. So power may be used lawfully or it may be used unlawfully. When power or authority is used lawfully, it is a blessing. When power is used unlawfully, it is a curse. When power or authority is used lawfully, there is freedom. When power or authority is used unlawfully, there is tyranny, despotism, and totalitarianism. You see, a husband and a father may use his power lawfully and thus be an educator, a disciplinarian, a provider, and a protector of his family. But then a husband and a father also may use his power or authority unlawfully and divide and destroy his family. So the problem then is not really the power. It is the abuse and misuse of that power that destroys.

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• Think of it like this: power is simply a tool to accomplish a certain end. Tools are neither good nor bad in and of themselves. One may take a hammer and build a house for a widow woman. That's a good use of a tool. Or one may take that same hammer and bludgeon someone to death. That is a bad and an unlawful use of that tool. But the tool is not the problem. It's the one wielding the tool that is the problem. So the lawful or unlawful use of the tool is dependent upon the one using the tool. So we could also state it like this: power is a tool of government. It is impossible to govern without power. God rules by His power.

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• We just read that from the scripture. The father must have power to order his house. The pastor must have power in order to order the church under Christ. Civil government must have power to fulfill the purpose for which it was established by God. So we have to come to this one simple understanding: all government is from God. All power, all authority is from God. God alone is sovereign. God alone is supreme. God alone has absolute power. And any and other power is delegated power. So as a father and a husband, the power and the authority that I have is delegated. As a pastor, the authority and the power that I have is delegated. As civil government, the power that they have is delegated.

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• Now, I want to take just a few minutes and review very briefly certain principles of Scripture. I know most people in here understand these principles. But I'm going to go over these principles for those who have never grasped them, and of course for those who listen as well. I want you to turn in your Bibles. First of all, hold this passage in 1 Kings 14, but turn in your Bibles to Psalm 75, if you would please, at verses 6 and 7. Psalm 75, verses 6 and 7. And I want you to look what the scripture says very plainly. Then we'll turn over to the book of Daniel. Notice Psalm 75 and look at verse 6.

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• God says this: "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another." So all power belongs to God. All kings, all presidents, all husbands, all fathers, all pastors, anyone who has any authority, it comes from God and God is the one who puts one up and He is the one who takes one down.

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• Now if you'll turn in your Bibles to the book of Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2 and notice if you would please beginning there with verse 21. Daniel 2 and verse 21. Watch carefully. Daniel 2 verse 21. And let's begin reading with verse 20 just so that you can see that God is in the context. Daniel 2 verse 20. "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His." Now watch what God does. "And He," God, "changes the times and the seasons."

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• "He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding." Note what God does. God removes kings, and God sets up kings. So if you'll turn over to Daniel chapter 4, and look if you would please at verse 25. Daniel 4, verse 25. Here's what Daniel is telling King Nebuchadnezzar, the arrogant, haughty, proud monarch of Babylon. So in Daniel 4, verse 25, Daniel said, "...that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times," or seven years, "shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." Obviously, God is the one who sets up kings and God is the one who removes kings. Now, turn right over to the book of Romans chapter 13. I want to make just a few comments on this before we go.

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• Watch, if you would, Romans chapter 13 and we'll read verses 1 and 2. Romans 13, beginning there with verse 1. Look what the Bible says. Romans 13 and verse 1. The Bible says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation," or condemnation. Now the Bible plainly states that there is no power but of God. So God then is the ultimate, He is the supreme, and He is the sovereign. We are also told that the powers that be are ordained of God. In this sense of the word, stop and think, God has only ordained three institutions.

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• He ordained the family, which is a ministry of education; the church, which is a ministry of grace; and the state, which is a ministry of justice. So God, who is sovereign then, has delegated certain power and certain authority to these three institutions. God then has set the limits, He has set the boundaries and the functions of each sphere. Moreover, He has also set the qualifications for each one to exercise power or authority in his proper sphere. It is God who tells the father what he may and may not do. It is God who tells the pastor what he may or may not do. It is God who tells the state or the civil ruler what he may or may not do.

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• Now, since we're discussing this, I want you to look in verses 3 and 4 to see very quickly the reason why God set up civil government. Look in verse 3. He says, "For rulers," so we're talking about civil rulers now, "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid."

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• "For he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." The purpose of civil government based upon the Word of God is simply twofold. Civil government has been ordained to protect the righteous and to punish the wicked. Now, listen carefully. God has never ordained civil government to be a minister of education. That's the responsibility of the family. God has never ordained civil government to be a ministry of welfare. That's the ministry of the individual, the family, and even the church. God has never even instituted civil government to be a minister of economics.

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• Stop and think about that. God is the one that created the silver and the gold. Do you realize in the founding of this country, and for years after this country was founded, if you found gold and silver on your farm, on your land, after the US Mint was set up, do you realize you could have your own gold, your own silver, and you could take it to the U.S. Mint and they'd coin it for you and hand it back to you? They'd mint it for you.

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• Government is not a ministry of education, welfare, or anything else. It is a ministry of justice. 1 Peter 2 and verse 14 tells us again that God ordained civil government for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well. We have to understand that abused and misused power is not of God. God has never ordained tyranny. Ah, listen to me. God has not ordained tyranny in the home, in the church, or in civil government. Tyranny, despotism, and totalitarianism are not God-ordained forms of government. All government, whether family, church, or civil, is ordained for our good. Look back in verse 4. "For he," the civil ruler here, "is a minister of God to thee for good." By the way, loss of life and loss of liberty are not good. The word "good" here refers to that which is good, pleasant, agreeable, and beneficial. Life and liberty are good. Death and slavery are not good, pleasant, agreeable, or beneficial. Now listen carefully. When civil government leaves its God-ordained sphere of protection and punishment, it ceases to be the ordinance of God, since God has not ordained it for any other purpose.

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• When government—when civil government ceases to function as God ordained it, it becomes then tyrannical. And therefore, it may be lawfully resisted. It is only as one resists God's lawful ordinance of government that he's brought under condemnation or damnation. But if government becomes something other than that which God ordained, then therefore it may be lawfully resisted. It is not God. Stop and think about this. Does God require any wife to live with an abusive and murderous husband? Does God require you as a Christian to sit under a ministry of an abusive and Bible-denying and tyrannical pastor? No. What do you think God requires you there for? To sit under abusive and tyrannical and despotic civil government without resisting it?

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• And the answer is absolutely no. Civil governments that seek to enslave people and destroy their rights, liberties, and freedoms may be lawfully resisted. I saw a young lady with a t-shirt on the other day and I thought, how true, how true. And all she had written on her t-shirt was this: "Our founding fathers would be shooting by now." I thought, well that's the truth. Can you imagine what Patrick Henry or George Mason or George Washington or Richard Henry Lee or any of those people that were responsible for founding our government that resisted George III and his tyranny?

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• What do you think they'd be doing today? In fact, they probably would have been shooting a long time ago.

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• Now, I want you to listen. Civil government that transgresses the law of God and ceases to function as God has ordained it, not only becomes tyrannical and therefore resistible, it also becomes the enemy of God and therefore it must be resisted. I'll show you that from the Bible. Look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 94. Psalm 94, and look at verses 20 and 21. Psalm 94, verse 20 and 21. Then I'll give you a quote. Psalm 94, verses 20 and 21. Look what the Bible says. Here's the question, Psalm 94, verse 20, and I've explained this verse before, but I'll do it one more time. "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?" Now note the word "throne." So we're talking about civil power. We're talking about government. Now God calls it a throne of iniquity. So that means it is a wicked civil government. So here's the question. Shall a wicked civil government, watch carefully, have fellowship with God which frames mischief by law? In the Bible, the word "mischief" is another word for sin.

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• So here is what it is asking. Shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with God which makes sin legal? And the answer is obviously no. Watch verse 21. Here's what wicked civil rulers do. "They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood." What do you think has been happening in our country for years? What do you think has been happening in every tyrannical, totalitarian, despotic government around the globe? They're gathering themselves together against the blood of the innocent. They're pillaging, taxing, stealing, murdering. And God says, "It's no friend of mine, does not have fellowship with me." In fact, the Bible says, let me just quote this, in Hosea 5 and verse 10, "The princes," we're talking about civil government, "the princes of Judah were like them that removed the bound." That is, they removed the boundaries that God placed. And therefore, God says, "I will pour out my wrath upon them like water." Water pours very liberally and very freely and very easily. God said, "I'm going to pour my wrath out upon these wicked civil rulers who removed the bounds that I set for them."

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• Now, when government becomes the enemy of God, it becomes subjected to the curse and judgment of God, and therefore, it becomes a danger to the people under that government. And here's a sad truth, but yet it's true. Governments do not immediately lose their power when they transgress God's law. But that power, therefore, does become evil, and it is used for the destruction and the enslavement of the people.

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• If I were to start beating up Alice daily—only once a week now is sufficient, but now I'm teasing. But if I were to start beating her up on a daily basis, do you think she has a responsibility to stay with me and let me continue to beat her every day until possibly I might beat her to death? No. Now watch this. Just because I start beating her, I may be abusing my authority and I may be abusing my power, but I have not ceased to become her husband. I'm still her husband. I'm just now an abusive and murderous husband. You follow me?

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• So when a government, therefore, begins to transgress God's law, it does not necessarily instantly and immediately lose its power, but now all of that power becomes an evil power, and it's used for evil instead of good. So the message today that I'm beginning, which hopefully I'll finish next week, concerns the dangers involved in acquiescing to the evil power of civil government.

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• Now, I was reading recently through 1 Kings and 2 Kings, and I was impressed with this one statement that occurs over and over and over. It was occurring so many times, and I had seen it so many times before, but this time it impressed me so greatly that I had to stop and consider again. Now, the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 14, our text, I want you to look at it, at verse 16, here's what the Bible says.

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• "For He," God, "gave Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, who made Israel to sin." That's our text. Do you realize that this verse, or this statement concerning Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, this statement occurs 19 times in the Bible.

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• Now, it really occurs more than that with a different wording, which I'll show you just momentarily. But let me just show you 9 of the 19 passages. We're in 1 Kings 14 verse 16. I'm not going to read it again. We just read it. But look in 1 Kings 15 and verse 26. 1 Kings 15 and verse 26. And here we're reading about Nadab, who happens to be the son of Jeroboam.

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• "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin." That's the second time the Bible said he made Israel to sin. Look in 1 Kings 15 and verse 30. "Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger." Look in verse 34 of the same chapter. "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin." We're being told over and over that Jeroboam made Israel to sin. Look in 1 Kings 16 and verse 2. "Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins." Look in verse 13. "For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities."

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• Skip down if you would please to verse 26. "For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities." Look in 2nd Kings chapter 10 and verse 29. 2nd Kings chapter 10 and verse 29. Here it is, 2nd Kings 10 verse 29. "Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan." Look in verse 31. "But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin." So over and over now we're being told it was Jeroboam who made Israel to sin. Now there are a few other kings who made Israel to sin as well. Now, there are ten other passages which say this, but I want you to turn to 2 Kings 17, and let me just show you another passage that teaches the same truth, but does not use the same exact words.

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• Watch it. 2 Kings, chapter 17, at verses 20 and 21. Watch. 2 Kings 17, verse 20. The Bible says, "And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight. For He rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave," not "made" here, but "drave," "Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin." So here the word "drave" and here the word "made" are used together. Now let me tell you something about this word "drave." The Hebrew word is "nadach," which literally means to drive, to thrust, to impel, to push, or to make. Now Keil and Delitzsch renders this word as "he called to depart away from the Lord." But let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse 5. You remember Deuteronomy 13 deals with seduction in the sense that here people are trying to seduce people away from worshiping the one true and the living God.

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• And in verse 5 of Deuteronomy 13, he is talking about a false prophet. But look if you would, I want to show you the exact same Hebrew word that is translated as "drave" in 2nd Kings 17. Deuteronomy 13 in verse 5, "And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee." Note the word "thrust." Now if Robert is standing up here by me and I thrust him away, I push him usually violently.

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• I force him to leave. I take care of him in that sense of the word.

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• Now the Bible says, obviously, that Jeroboam has made Israel to sin. So the question has to be asked, how did Jeroboam make Israel to sin? Well, how did he drive them or thrust them away from following the Lord? How did he use the evil power of government to destroy his people? You say, "I sure wish you would talk about something that was relative to our world today." Okay.

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• What has happened to America? Well, have we been driven away from the Lord? Have we been thrust away from the foundations upon which our country was built? You see, the answers are the same to all the questions. Depravity has not changed. Corruption has not changed. Politicians have not changed, and the evil power of government has not changed.

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• Now, in order to answer this question, how did Jeroboam make Israel sin? I want you to turn back in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12, and we're going to start on this passage and go as far as we can go, and then we will stop. Continue next Sunday. There will be no way I can finish it. But let's begin reading 1 Kings chapter 12 and let's begin reading there verse 25 and we'll read through verse 33. Then we'll come back and start. Watch 1 Kings 12 verse 25. "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."

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• "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi."

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• "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense." Now, here's the first point, and I will not even probably get to finish this today, in trying to answer how did Jeroboam make Israel sin?

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• How did he drive them? How did he force them into idolatry? Here's the answer. First, he promoted a politically correct state religion which was instituted for his own benefit.

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• Now stop and think about this. He promoted a politically correct state religion which was instituted for his own benefit. Now watch. What did he do? He left the covenant foundation upon which Israel was built. The covenant was with God and God's law. So he is disparaging God's law and the foundational agreement between God and the people. He's putting it aside and he is instituting a politically correct religion.

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• Now, let me make a statement. And I want you to listen carefully because I'm going to show it to you from the Scripture. Jeroboam did not believe in the Lord God of Israel, and he did not trust His promises. How can I make such a statement? And how do I know that? And the answer is because he did not act upon the Word of God that was given to him by the prophet Ahijah.

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• Look back in your Bibles to 1 Kings 11, just over one chapter, and verse 38. Here is the promise that God gave to Jeroboam when he separated the ten tribes from the other two. Watch. 1 Kings 11 and verse 38. And he's saying this through the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam. "And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee." What? God said to Jeroboam, "If you will worship me, if you will obey me, I will build you a sure house, I will give Israel to you." What did Jeroboam do? He instantly turned his back upon God and God's promises.

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• Now, here is something very important. It is vital to understand that in order to turn the people to idolatry, Jeroboam must first turn them away from the true worship of God. In order to turn America into something other than it was ordained to be or set up to be by our founding fathers, our rulers must first turn us away from our Christian heritage and our biblical foundations. How many school children today are taught of the biblical and Christian heritage of America? None. Zilch. Zero. None. So, you know, we older people, it's kind of hard for them to turn us away because we were taught a little differently.

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• Or at least we read, at least we studied some. But the younger people know nothing. And I've heard people say, "Well, I'll teach my child at home." And I'm not talking about homeschooling now, but "I'll teach my child right at home." Go ahead. What are you going to do one hour a week trying to teach your child at home when you're sending him to government schools for 40 hours a week? Who do you think he's going to listen to?

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• I'm just simply saying, in order for this country to be turned into a politically correct state religion, we must be turned from our historical Christian foundation. And that's exactly what Jeroboam began to do. You've got to remember this. I want you to look at this. Go back to 1 Kings chapter 12, and look if you would please at verse 26. "And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David."

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• In other words, he didn't believe God. "If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." Now notice if you would, he talks about the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. In other words, we must not allow them to return to Jerusalem. Why? The temple was in Jerusalem. The political—or the Levitical priesthood was in Jerusalem. The offerings and the sacrifices were in Jerusalem. In fact, no sacrifice could be made unto God except that in Jerusalem. The reading of the law was carried out in Jerusalem.

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• So what was he saying? We've got to turn the people away from all this. We cannot allow them to keep going back there and hearing the truth, if we want them to worship the calves at Dan and Bethel. Not only were all the sacrifices in Jerusalem, but did you know that God demanded that three times a year—three times a year—every male in Israel had to appear before Him in Jerusalem, and they could not appear empty. Now, the women and children often came as well, but every male was required to. You're going to find out exactly why He set up His own feasts. He did not want those people going down to Jerusalem. Why? Because if you're going to turn someone to idolatry, the first thing you have to do is turn them away from the Lord. Why was he so concerned about the people going to Jerusalem?

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• You've got to remember that Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and the grandson of David. You do remember the Davidic Covenant? Where God had promised David that his sons would sit upon the throne. Jeroboam was not of the lineage of David. And he said, "I can't allow that to happen." Of course, I hope you understand and know that the true seed of David, just like the true seed of Abraham, is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Okay?

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• Now watch this if you would please. Jeroboam knew he was not in the Davidic line. So he said, "I cannot allow anybody to go down and worship there." Here's why. Watch verse 27, the last part, "and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." In other words, the politically correct religion of Jeroboam was not about truth. It was not about worship. It was not even for the good or the benefit of the people.

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• It was all about preserving him, his life, his rule, his power, his family, and his kingdom. That's what it was about. Politicians have not changed. If you think for one instant that any of our politicians today are really and truly interested in serving we, the people, you've had your head in a hole for a long time. A politician is interested in two things: election and re-election. And once he's in, he's concerned about money, power, and control. The point I'm trying to make is very obvious, just like it was with Jeroboam, so it is with politicians today.

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• Likewise, the politically correct religion of statism, which endorses, upholds, sustains, subsidizes wickedness and sin, disobedience and irresponsibility and idolatry, is only for the benefit of the state. Why do you think—I just heard, let me think, someone just told me about a pastor that was rebuked and kicked off the radio because he made a politically incorrect statement. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? You see, today you're free to speak as long as it's politically correct.

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• By the way, it was funny. I don't care—by, I don't like Don Rickles. Never have liked him. I mean, I don't like his sense of humor. I don't think cutting people down is funny. But I did get tickled at one thing he just said. He said, "I know I'm not supposed to say anything against black people." He said, "but President Obama is a personal friend of mine. He said he was over at my house just recently."

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• "But he didn't stay long before his mop broke." Now, you just stop and think about that.

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• Now, the point that I'm trying to make is this. Why would it be politically incorrect to make a statement about someone who's obviously a socialist, a communist, a Marxist, and he's doing everything he can to destroy America? See? Yeah. Just politically incorrect to say it. So, how in the world do we have a politically correct government that will subsidize sodomy and abortion and irresponsibility? You see, a politically state religion seeks to control the people by license and by licentiousness. When people have a license to sin from the government, how can they complain when the government sins? Wickedness in the government begets wickedness in the people. The Bible in the book of Hosea 7 verse 3 says this, "They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies." How do they make the king glad with their wickedness? Well, if the people are wicked, they can't say anything about wickedness in the government. Let me ask you, how could David—King David—how could King David complain about Joab murdering Abner and Amasa when he had murdered Uriah?

  #52 | 41:27 to 43:06 | cleaned

• How could he condemn Joab without condemning himself? How could he condemn Joab without condemning his own son Absalom who had murdered his own brother Amnon? I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. I want you to see something. If you have not seen it yet, look at it very carefully. Look in verse 28, the first part. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold."

  #53 | 43:09 to 43:44 | cleaned

• You must understand that Jeroboam's politically correct religion was deliberately planned. He took counsel. Nothing happens in politics by accident. If it happens, it was planned. There's a purpose for it. The king took counsel. Undoubtedly, he took counsel from those men that he had chosen to aid him in continuance and in the furtherance of his kingdom. The counsel may have been ungodly, it may have been unbiblical, yet humanistically speaking, it was the right counsel in order to solidify the government and his control over the people. The counsel that these men gave to Jeroboam was much like the counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom. You do remember the counsel that Ahithophel gave to Absalom? When Absalom had come back—or had come back into Jerusalem, after his father had been run off the throne, Ahithophel said unto Absalom, "Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father."

  #54 | 43:46 to 45:07 | cleaned

• "Then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong." Well, what Absalom was about to do was not only immoral, not only unbiblical and ungodly, it was an insult to his father. How could Ahithophel give such counsel? Because obviously, anyone who followed Absalom would now understand that Absalom had broken all ties with his father, and he was either going to kill his father or his father was going to kill him.

  #55 | 45:08 to 45:38 | cleaned

• In other words, it was a fight to the death. And you see, a king's son can be forgiven, but those who follow him could not. And they knew that this was basically an unpardonable sin, so to speak. Bad counsel, ungodly counsel, but it was good counsel in the sense that it would solidify those men under Absalom. Same thing here. It would solidify Jeroboam's control over the people and solidify his government.

  #56 | 45:39 to 46:10 | cleaned

• So Jeroboam's religion was designated and designed for his own benefit and for the perpetuation of his kingdom. Neither God nor the people figured into his plans. Yet he's going to say the opposite. Does that sound like a modern day politician? If they were truthful, they would say, "Do not listen to what I tell you, watch what I do." Well, I want you to notice how Jeroboam made the people sin, not only by instituting a politically correct state religion, but how he endeavored to make the people think that it was for their benefit, that he's just thinking of them, of their ease and their comfort. Look in verse 28. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."

  #57 | 46:11 to 47:13 | cleaned

• "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Notice, "It's too much, it's too difficult. You don't need to drive three hours one way. You don't need to drive to—that's too difficult. No, no, no, no. You have to ride a donkey all the way to Jerusalem or you have to walk all the way. It's too much for you to bear. It's a heavy yoke laid upon you. You really do not need to go to Jerusalem to worship."

  #58 | 47:14 to 47:44 | cleaned

• "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm just thinking of you. I'm going to provide for your devotion at home. I will be the guardian of your spirituality. You trust me, the civil ruler, and I will provide all of your means and all of your needs." That was the message he was conveying. May I ask you, is that not the message that comes from Washington D.C. today? "Trust me, we'll take care of you. You just give us all your money, all your allegiance, all your devotion, and we'll take care of you. And when it comes time to die, we'll learn from the Eskimos and we'll put you out on an ice floe and we'll let you freeze to death or let the polar bears get you. Just trust me."

  #59 | 47:44 to 48:32 | cleaned

• "After I've taken everything I've got from you, I don't need you anymore." Well, that's what happens, but that's not exactly what they say. What they're saying is, "Just trust me, we'll take care."

  #60 | 48:34 to 48:51 | cleaned

• Now, in order to prove that he was genuinely concerned about their spirituality, he set up two golden calves. One in Dan, which is in the northernmost section of the country, and one in Bethel, which is the southernmost section, closest to Judah and Jerusalem. Evidently, these two calves were probably supposed to be the guardians of his kingdom or something like that. You must remember that the Egyptians worshipped Apis the bull.

  #61 | 48:52 to 49:19 | cleaned

• It was the similitude of this bull or calf that Aaron had made for the children of Israel in the wilderness there in Exodus chapter 32. So he made these two calves, probably after the order of Apis. He put one in Bethel, which probably would draw away all of those people from Judah and Jerusalem who were susceptible to idolatry. And he put one in Dan as well. Evidently, the one in Dan was placed first, for look in verse 30. "And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan." Do you realize that Dan, the tribe of Dan, was the northernmost tribe in the land? The northernmost territory.

  #62 | 49:20 to 50:20 | cleaned

• Now I want you to notice what he said. "It's too much for you to go to Jerusalem." Too much for you to go to Jerusalem. But you need to come up here in Dan and worship. Have you ever noticed, and this is absolutely true, in going to Dan they were probably going twice or three times as far to worship before that calf as they would had they gone down to Jerusalem or actually gone up to Jerusalem. Every time you read in the Bible about going to Jerusalem, it's always up.

  #63 | 50:21 to 50:48 | cleaned

• No matter if you're south of it or where, it doesn't matter. Or north of it. You go up, you don't go down. Although south is down to us and north is up. But it's too much to go there. But they went twice as far, three times as far to worship according to their own inventions than they did in the way which God has ordained. Have you ever noticed that men are always willing to sacrifice more and to spend more and do more in their own interest than they are in God's interest?

  #64 | 50:48 to 51:20 | cleaned

• Now let me ask you a question. Why do you think He would put the calf first in Dan? Say it again? Yeah, but there's another reason. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 18. The book of Judges, chapter 18. Judges 18. And notice if you would please there, verses 30 and 31. Judges 18, verses 30 and 31. You see the children of Dan were already used to idolatry. Look in Judges chapter 18 verse 30, "And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh." So idolatry had already taken place in Dan. They had this graven image. Why not go ahead and set it up there? You see, although Jeroboam professed to worship Jehovah, he set up these golden calves.

  #65 | 51:23 to 53:00 | cleaned

• And what he did, although he professed to worship Jehovah, he tried to worship him according to the designs and the desires of his own heart. What Jeroboam was doing was much like that which Cain did. When Cain brought his own offering, he didn't care that God required a blood sacrifice or a blood atonement. No, no, no. He just bring the fruit of the field. That was sufficient. So Jeroboam now is refusing to worship God in the way that God has ordained. He's going to worship God in the way that he has ordained. So Jeroboam actually believes now that his way of worship is equal to God's way of worship.

  #66 | 53:03 to 53:44 | cleaned

• And there were two calves. You see, the two calves would basically be a denial of the unity of God, or the unity of the Godhead. And Jeroboam was actually, by the two calves, teaching the polytheism of the pagans. There are two gods, two separate gods, not one God. You can go to either one. And thus what he was doing, listen carefully, was turning the people away from the law of God and making them follow his own law, turning them from the worship of the one true and the living God to the worship of the calves. Thus, his law became totally anarchistic in the sense that he made it up. I want you to listen to one quote.

  #67 | 53:48 to 54:47 | cleaned

• This came from the Supreme Court, Olmstead versus the United States. Please hold your laughter until after I finish. I do not like the use of one word here. The word "omnipresent" is used. That is a theological term and it only applies to God. Only God is omnipresent. Only God is in every place at one time with the fullness of His being. But listen to this quote. "In a government of laws, the existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher."

  #68 | 54:48 to 55:31 | cleaned

• "For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law. It invites every man to become a law unto himself. It invites anarchy." Wow! Do we have today a government of law? No. What was it Alcee Hastings, the congressman, says? "We make up the rules as we go along." And that's exactly what Jeroboam was doing. He's kind of just making up the rules as he goes along.

  #69 | 55:32 to 56:14 | cleaned

• I'll stop here, but listen to this. A tyrant always, always talks about the interest of the people. But he always serves himself. He always talks about the good of the people, but he's always establishing his politically correct religion. A tyrant is only interested in one thing: himself and his rule. That's all. That's all. What Jeroboam did to Israel, if you observe it enough, you can see that Washington D.C.

  #70 | 56:17 to 57:14 | cleaned

• is doing to America, has done to America, and will continue to do to America until it stops. The evil power of government. Government may use power lawfully or unlawfully. By the way, did you know there are several definitions of a tyrant? But one of the definitions is this: a tyrant is an individual who uses lawful power unlawfully. And that's exactly what we have in this country. Lawful power being used unlawfully. Let's pray.

  #71 | 57:15 to 58:02 | cleaned

• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, help us to be, as You've said, wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Help us, Lord, to see and understand and to know where we are, where we have been and where we're being carried, so that we may apply ourselves to Thy word and by law and bring our lives into conformity to Your word so that we may serve Thee and Thee only, and not a politically correct religion. Give us grace, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

  #72 | 58:02 to 58:39 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:46:13Z