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The Evil Power of Government Part 2 of 2

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• 1 Kings chapter 14 and verse 16. We will take a little bit to review simply because this is the second part of the message that I began last week. You remember the title is "The Evil Power of Government." And if you look in 1 Kings chapter 14 and verse 16, we read this concerning God: "And He shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin." And I pointed out last week that 19 times in the Bible we're told specifically it was Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin. Now there are other times that are mentioned about Jeroboam but not necessarily in those exact words. But 19 times those words are used exactly, that Jeroboam was the one who made Israel to sin. And so we're pointing out the fact that Jeroboam was indeed the individual who personified wickedness and who made Israel sin. Now if you look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 12 and let me review this passage because this is actually the passage we were expounding.

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• Notice if you would beginning with 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: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

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• "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. 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."

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• Now, we must understand that whenever government ceases to function according to the ordinance of God, it ceases to be the ordinance of God, and therefore it becomes resistible. Jeroboam is the classic example of government gone bad, so to speak. In such an instance, we are responsible, according to Acts 5 and verse 29, to do what the apostles did. For when they were commanded to violate the law of God, they answered like this: "We ought to obey God rather than men." And so when government then ceases to function the way God ordained it to function, it also becomes the enemy of God according to Psalm 94 verses 20 through 21, which we covered last week. So Jeroboam then is an excellent example of the evil power of government. The Bible says that Jeroboam used his power to drive or to thrust or to push or to force Israel into sin, into idolatry. So, I want you to understand that when governments go bad, they do not lose their power instantly. It just becomes an evil power.

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• And you remember last week I illustrated this by not only family government, but church government and civil government as well. So, if I were to begin abusing Alice and beating her up on a daily basis, I would not necessarily cease to become her husband. I would still be her husband. But the power and authority that God has given me would now be used in an evil manner instead of a good and positive and righteous manner. And so that power then, instead of being a blessing, would become a curse. The same is true with civil government. It's just like when Saul sinned against God and was rejected by God. Saul still reigned another 20 years or so after God rejected him. And yet his power then was used in an evil way. And the very first thing that Jeroboam did, and we covered this last week, but we did not finish this point, which I will finish today and hopefully a second point as well. The very first thing that Jeroboam did was he instituted a politically correct religion, which was for his own benefit.

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• Everything that Jeroboam did that we read in 1 Kings chapter 12, he did for his person, his life, his power, his kingdom, everything was for his benefit. So, therefore, in verse 27, if you look at it, Jeroboam said, "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."

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• So, he understood that he was not in the lineage of David. He understood, obviously, that if they went back to Jerusalem, sooner or later they would go back to Rehoboam and so he had to do something. So this politically correct religion that Jeroboam set up was not about truth. It was not about worship. It was not about... or even for the good or the benefit of the people. It was all about Jeroboam. Likewise, the political correctness of this day is not concerned with truth. Political correctness is concerned only with the power and the prestige and the program and the party of those who are in control at this particular point.

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• As I pointed out last week, politicians have not changed. It's still all about money and control and power. As it was with Jeroboam, so it is today. There is not a real concern over principle and truth and history and heritage or actually what is best for the people. An evil government is only concerned with preserving itself. Now Jeroboam, as I pointed out last week, understood one simple principle, and that is this. In order to turn the people into an idolatrous state, he had to first turn them from the true worship of God and from the Word of God. Thus he would not allow them to return to Jerusalem to worship.

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• I hope that you have noticed in our own present-day government how Christ, Christianity, the Bible, and even our founding fathers are mocked, ridiculed, degraded, and derided by the powers that be. The systematic dismantling of Christianity has gone on for a long time, for a number of years. In fact, legislatively, executively, judicially, you'll find that every branch of our government basically is now anti-Christ and anti-Bible. And they're doing everything within their power to destroy biblical Christianity and to reduce everyone to one monolithic state religion, so to speak.

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• Now, Jeroboam pretended that his main concern was for the comfort, ease, and welfare of the people. For instance, look in verse 28. He says, "Whereupon the king took counsel," and I pointed out this was deliberate, it was no accident, "and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Notice what he said, "It's too much for you to do this." So Jeroboam then instituted what we would call a provider government. He wanted people to look to him to provide their needs. Likewise, instead of the limited government that our founding fathers set up, instead of the limited government that they visualized and instituted, we now have an unlimited, uncontrolled federal government. And it's turned into a provider government. For instance, the federal government in 2006 spent $92 billion dollars in direct and indirect subsidies to businesses in the private sector. This is called corporate welfare.

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• That does not count the trillions of dollars later on that has been given to various banks, the bank bailouts. Let me just give you a little bit of this. Citigroup got 2.5 trillion dollars. Morgan Stanley, 2.41 trillion. Merrill Lynch, 1.9 trillion. Barclays, 868 billion. Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Scotland, all of these banks, I've got a whole list here, received trillions and billions of dollars. Corporate bailout.

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• That does not include the individual welfare, such as free housing, free food, free cell phones, free cars, WIC, EBT, food stamps, schooling, summer programs. Do you realize in our day and time, under our governmental welfare system, it is possible for a couple to have a child and never ever be responsible for that child for one day? You say, how can that be? Well, they can be getting food stamps, they can be getting WIC, they can be getting Head Start, they can—everything the government provides, medically, dentally, scholastically, economically. So what began as a limited government has become a provider government. That's exactly what Jeroboam began in 1 Kings chapter 12. Now, how far did Jeroboam go? Well, look in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12 and verse 29, and the Bible says very clearly about these two calves that he made, that he put one in Bethel and the other put he in Dan. Look if you would now, the Bible says verse 31, "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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• Watch if you would. He, Jeroboam the king, made a house of high places, that is, he made his own temple, and he made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. So the king then was over the department of religion. He appointed the ministers. He believed that he had the authority to make priests. He paid their wages. Therefore, they were obligated to him for their power, their position, and profit. They represented the king. They would instruct the people in the new way. They would instruct the people in the new feast days, which I will point out just a little bit. They would make sure that the people were submissive and compliant.

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• Does that ring a bell? Do you remember during Hurricane Katrina, a number of 501(c)(3) state preachers began reinterpreting Romans 13 as unlimited submission to the government, and those preachers were trained by the federal government to quell the people and to keep the people in submission. Let me put it like this: yes, Virginia, there are statist preachers. And there have been many that have been trained by the government.

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• In other words, they're going to make sure, just like in Jeroboam's day, that everyone submits unconditionally. Now, the interesting thing is we read in the Bible, the Levites, who were the true priests, the Levites did not accept Jeroboam's innovations and consequently they were driven from office. I'm going to show you this from the Bible, just a moment. They were driven from office. In fact, Jeroboam was not hindered at all by the true priests of God being driven from office.

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• He probably considered it a real boon. How can I say that? Well, he could now legally or at least morally in his own mind, confiscate their houses, lands, and suburbs, and add all of that to the king's treasuries and possessions. Jeroboam not only assumed the power to make priests, he undertook the priesthood himself. He offered upon the altar, and no doubt considered himself the chief priest or the high priest, or let me use a term that you might recognize, Pontifex Maximus. The highest priest, the chief priest, by the way, I hope you know that's the title of the Pope, Pontifex Maximus. Undoubtedly, Jeroboam believed himself and the people under him believed that they were holy and godly because of all of their altars that they had built under this new state religion.

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• Let me point something out. God does not look upon the work of man the way man looks upon his own work. God saw those altars, and God saw that humanistic religion, and God counted it as sin and rebellion. He said in Hosea 8 and verse 11, "Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin." So everything that Jeroboam had done was sin. Now, in order to demonstrate Jeroboam's absolute control over this new religion, I want you to consider the fact that he transferred the date of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month, a month which he devised of his own heart. Look in verses 32 and 33. "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."

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• "And he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense." So he made Israel to sin. How did he do so? He seduced them from the worship of God and pushed them into idolatry and forced them to worship the calves that he had set up in Dan and in Bethel.

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• Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever considered our English word "holiday"? Have you ever noticed that that is a corruption of "holy day"? And have you thought about how many secular holidays that we're given by the government? What has happened to all of the Christian and the historical holidays? Do you realize that in the French Revolution the French tried to destroy everything that was Christian and in fact erected a statue of a prostitute to be worshipped and they even changed the days of the week? They wanted to make sure that they were not Christian at all.

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• So Jeroboam now has compounded his sin because he has not only turned the people from the true worship of God into the worship of his own state religion, he is now considering himself the chief priest, the head of the church, the head of religion. Basically what he has done is this: he has dethroned God and enthroned himself. And by the way, all of his descendants followed in his steps. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold if you would 1 Kings, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Amos chapter 7 and let me show you what came to pass under Jeroboam II. Look in the book of Amos chapter 7. In Amos chapter 7, Amos has gone up to Israel to prophesy against Israel because of their sins, their wickedness, and their ungodliness. And so as he's there, Amaziah, who happens to be a state preacher, look what the state preacher tells him. In Amos chapter 7, look in verse 12. "Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there."

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• In other words, go back where you came from, and you may eat your bread there, and you may preach all you want to there. Watch verse 13. "But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court." What has happened? The king now has become the head of the church and the head of state. This is exactly what Jeroboam I was doing.

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• I hope you understand that this is a denial of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I hope you also remember that in Rome, people were not put to death for being Christians. You say, but many Christians were put to death. Yes, they were, but they were not put to death just simply because they were Christians. In Rome, you could believe whatever you wanted to believe. If you wanted to worship Aphrodite, go for it. If you wanted to worship Zeus, have at it. If you wanted to worship Jesus Christ, you may do so.

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• The only problem was this. Once every year, you had to swear allegiance to Caesar and you had to say, "Caesar is Lord." The word "Caesar" is the one that gives me the privilege and the right to believe whatever I want to believe, and Christians refused to say that Caesar is Lord. Christians said Jesus Christ is Lord, and hence they were put to death not just simply because they were Christians but because they were considered traitors and treasonous to the Emperor cult.

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• May I remind you that Henry VIII claimed to be the head of the state and the head of the church. It was under Henry VIII that the Anglican Church was begun. So here, Jeroboam is doing the same. Those who follow are doing the same. As it was in Jeroboam's day, so it is in our day. Government and religion have mixed together. However, it is not government and the Christian religion, it is government and humanism which is the religion of fallen man.

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• And the truth of the matter is, we have forsaken God, we have forsaken the Bible, we have forsaken our history and our heritage, and we were warned of this by none other than James Madison himself. You remember James Madison was considered the father of the Constitution because he was secretary at the Constitutional Convention. I want you to listen to what James Madison said. "If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, under the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands. And they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public treasury. They may take into their own hands the education of children, public schools, establishing in like manner schools throughout the union. They may assume the provisions of the poor, welfare. They may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post roads. In short, everything from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police would be thrown under the power of Congress."

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• "Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations and transmute the very nature of limited government established by the people of America." Isn't that amazing? Everything that he has said and warned against, we have become. So the very first thing that Jeroboam did, he instituted a politically correct state religion, which was basically for his own benefit. Here's the second thing I want to cover today. He persecuted those who refused to participate in his religion. You've got to understand that when power becomes evil, it will always be used in an evil and insidious way. And Jeroboam was no different from any other tyrant. Jeroboam made it absolutely impossible for the priests and the Levites to stay in Israel. He drove them out.

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• He planned on starving them out. Thankfully, a great many of them, along with some other folks, had enough conviction and sense to get out. They fled to Judah so that they could worship God according to His law. Moreover, many people also left and went to Judah because they saw the handwriting on the wall. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 11. Let me show you this. 2 Chronicles chapter 11 and let's begin reading there with verse 13. 2 Chronicles 11 and verse 13. In fact, we'll look at a number of passages in 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 11, beginning there in verse 13.

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• Watch this if you would, please. Here's what Jeroboam did. 2 Chronicles 11, verse 13. "And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him," that is to Rehoboam, "out of all their coasts. For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the Lord."

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• "And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers." Note if you would, the Bible says specifically that he, Jeroboam and his sons, cast them off from executing the priest's office.

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• In other words, he kicked them out. Now, the interesting thing is, I want you to skip down to verse 17. "So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon." So all of these priests and Levites, now that have been kicked out, have come down to Rehoboam. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles chapter 13 and verse 9. 2 Chronicles 13 and verse 9. Watch.

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• Here's what was asked of Jeroboam. "Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods." So what did he do? He kicked out the real genuine priests, the sons of Aaron, all the Levites, and anybody who came with the proper amount of money, anybody who wanted to be a priest, who brought the proper offerings, could be made a priest.

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• Did not matter what his life was. Did not matter whether he was God-called or God-ordained or not. I hope you remember how that Ahab and Jezebel persecuted the prophets of God. Obadiah, you remember, hid a number of them in a cave and fed them with bread and water while the priests of Baal feasted at the tables of Ahab and Jezebel. So Ahab basically ran off, persecuted and killed all the prophets of God that he could, and at the same time he exalted the prophets of Baal. Here's what I want you to understand, according to 1 Kings chapter 12, and these passages in 2 Chronicles, where he's kicked out the true priests of God, and the true Levites, and he's made anyone and everyone who brings the proper offering a priest.

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• I want you to notice the reduction of religion to its lowest order or its lowest level. Anytime civil government claims the right and the power to control religion, even the Christian religion, it will always be reduced to the lowest common denominator. Civil government is going to make sure that everyone is saved or that everyone is recognized on an equal footing even though their lives are completely contrary to what God has ordained and what God demands.

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• I hope you remember that egalitarianism was a word used frequently during the French Revolution. All that means is everyone is equal. Everyone is on a level. That's why you will hear said today that Christianity is just another religion. In other words, those in power think that Islam and Christianity and Buddhism and Hinduism and Shintoism, they're just all on the same level. They're just all equal. And that's basically what Jeroboam was doing. He was reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator so that anyone who wanted to be a priest could be a priest.

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• One of my favorite stories which I know that most of you are familiar with, is George Orwell's "Animal Farm." If you've never read "Animal Farm," I trust that you will. You remember how the two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, had basically taken over the farmer's house. They were living inside, all the other animals were outside. And you remember that there had been a set of rules posted, and one of the rules said this: "All animals are equal." Well, when the other animals got to complaining that Napoleon and Snowball were living in the house while they were living in the barn, Napoleon and Snowball told them to go back and read the rules. And they did. And it said, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

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• So while everyone by the government is put supposedly on an equal footing, that does not apply to the elite. Who does the ruling? So all are equal, but not as equal as others. That's like I've had so many cops pass me flying down the road, 85, 90 miles an hour, no blue lights, no siren. Why can't they do that? Because they're cops. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. If you did that, they'd put you under the jail.

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• I'm just simply saying, this is what Jeroboam was doing. He was equalizing everyone with the exception of the ruling class. Humanistic governments, governments that exercise their power in an evil manner, never like to be rebuked. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Chronicles chapter 25. I hope you notice that when Obama has made his statement that he's going to legalize all of these illegal aliens just in time to vote in November, by the way, although they're not capable of voting legally.

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• But when a reporter tried to ask him questions, he got upset and said he wasn't answering any questions, turned around, walked away. Hmm. Well, I understand that. Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 25. And let's begin reading there verse 14. 2 Chronicles 25 verse 14. Amaziah was one of those arrogant reprobates as well. Look what happened. 2 Chronicles 25 verse 14. "Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them." Can you imagine someone being so stupid as getting the gods of a people that he just defeated? If the gods had any power, they would have protected their own people.

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• But he didn't think like that. Watch verse 15. "Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel." Watch. "Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee." Wow! "Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not hearkened to my counsel." What did the king say?

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• "Are you one of my counselors?" Well, of course he was not. And he said, "You better shut up lest you be smitten." The prophet said, "Okay, because I understand that God has decreed to destroy you." You see, a few tyrants will put on a good show for a few years in order that they may deceive the people, biding their time until conditions are right, until their power is consolidated, and then they will demonstrate their true colors.

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• I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 11 and look at verse 17. We read this just a moment ago, but I want you to see it in light of another verse I want to give. Watch, if you would, 2 Chronicles chapter 11 and verse 17. You remember now Jeroboam has driven all of these priests and Levites and a lot of the people out of Israel, they've gone down to Rehoboam. Look what happens. "So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon." Well, what happened after three years? Look in chapter 12, verse 1. "And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him." Isn't that amazing? After three years, when he said, "I've got it made now. I don't need God. I don't need the people. I'm in control." Rehoboam just simply used God and his law and his people for one purpose.

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• He used them to consolidate his kingdom and to gain his power and after he got that he forsook God and the people. It's not enough to start out right. One must continue right and in right as well. It's not enough to start out in the faith, you must continue in the faith and end in the faith. And that is not only true concerning individuals, that is also true concerning civil rulers.

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• This should explain to you, I hope you understand now, why practically every politician that has ever run for office claims to be a Christian. What are they doing? They're using God, and they're using the people of God to get into office. And then what you do is this. You don't listen to what they say. You watch what they do. And all of those men and women who claim to have been Christian, then begin to promulgate laws that are anti-Christian, anti-God, anti-Bible, and destroying the liberty and the freedom of the people. Never listen to what a politician says. Watch what he does. Do you realize that even a good king, let me even say it like this, even a good ruler can abuse his power and authority. Just because you have a civil ruler that happens to be good for a while, does not mean that he cannot abuse that power and authority every now and then. Look in your Bibles. 2 Chronicles chapter 16 beginning there with verse 6. Asa basically was a good king and yet he abused his power and authority and he was rebuked by the prophet Hanani. Look if you would 2 Chronicles 16 verse 7. "And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand."

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• Now he reminds him of another fact. He says, "Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand."

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• "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." Now, watch verse 10. "Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time." Isn't that amazing? So here was a man who was a good king who got angry because he was rebuked by the prophet of God. He put the prophet in prison and then turned around because of his anger and then oppressed some of the people of God.

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• I hope you're beginning to understand why the center verse of the Bible is very important. If you don't know what the center verse of the Bible is, I will give it to you. The verse right after it is likewise very informative. But the center verse of the Bible is Psalm 118 and verse 8, where the scripture says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." And the verse right under it says this, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." And that's certainly true. Anytime you put confidence in man, you're going to be disappointed.

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• Well, let me ask you this question. We've been looking at Jeroboam and making applications to our time today. But here's another question. How bad can it get? So, I travel all over and I hear people say, "I don't think it can get any worse." Believe me, it can. And it will. But let me show you how much worse it can become. Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 33 and verse 9. 2 Chronicles 33 and verse 9.

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• This refers to Manasseh, who was the most wicked king of Judah. Look what the Bible says, 2 Chronicles chapter 33 and verse 9. The Bible says, "So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel." Wow! He not only drove them into idolatry, that's bad enough, but he made them do worse than the heathen that God drove out of the land because of their sins.

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• Let me point something out. Do you realize a civil ruler does not have to be blatantly wicked in order to lead the people astray? We talk about wicked rulers and they're bad in and of themselves. But you can have a decent civil ruler who still does not do right in some areas and he can still lead the people astray. Uzziah was a good king. Uzziah reigned for 52 years.

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• But he sinned against God in that he went into the temple where no one but the priests were to go. And he attempted to offer incense to God himself. And Azariah and some of the other priests confronted Uzziah and told him to get out. "This is not going to be for your honor. Get out." And Uzziah was enraged. "I'm the king. I can just about do what I want," you know. It's what he thought. And the Bible says that God instantly smote him with leprosy in his forehead. And as the priests were to drive him out, yea, he himself hastened to go out.

  #50 | 41:23 to 42:03 | cleaned

• And from that time forth until the day he died, he had to live in a separate house because he was a leper until the day he died. Well, since God smote him with leprosy, and he had to live separate, Jotham, his son, became the ruler. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 27, and notice if you would please verses 1 and 2. Now Jotham was a decent king. But I want you to notice what he did not do and caused the people to sin. 2 Chronicles 27 verse 1, "Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem."

  #51 | 42:04 to 42:47 | cleaned

• "His mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the Lord. And the people did yet corruptly." Jotham said, "I'm not going to the house of God. I mean, I know what happened to my father." So instead of obeying God and doing what he should do to go there to sacrifice and worship, he just stayed out. And therefore, the influence of Jotham led the people still to do corruptly.

  #52 | 42:48 to 43:27 | cleaned

• Now, let me ask this question and try to answer it and put everything together for us. How did Jeroboam make Israel sin? Let's rephrase that and ask it like this. How does any civil ruler make a people sin and make a people go into idolatry? Because that's what Jeroboam did. Let me summarize it for you. First of all, he removed Israel from their foundation and covenant way of life. He removed Israel from their foundation and covenant way of life. Any civil ruler who wants to push America into idolatry, all he has to do is to remove us from the Bible, from our godly covenant, and from the Constitution, from our history, from our heritage, and we'll be driven into idolatry. First, he removed Israel from their foundation and covenant way of life.

  #53 | 43:29 to 44:36 | cleaned

• Secondly, he made it easy to follow his idolatrous religion and difficult to follow the way of the Lord and His Word and the way of worship. He made it easy. "Come on to Dan. Come on to Bethel. That's an easy thing to do. We've got plenty of priests. We've got plenty of things." But let me tell you, he drove the priests and the Levites, and he drove anyone else that believed in the Lord God out of Israel. So he made it easy to follow his state religion, his politically correct religion, and he made it difficult for anyone to be biblical and godly. Thirdly, he changed the object of worship. Think about that. He diverted the worship of the one true and the living God to the worship of the calves. Fourthly, he changed the place of worship.

  #54 | 44:41 to 45:36 | cleaned

• You don't have to go down to Jerusalem. You can either worship in Dan or Bethel. They're equal to Jerusalem according to Jeroboam. So he changed the place of worship. He changed the way of worship. You no longer had to worship God according to His Word. Now you had to worship God, Jeroboam's God, according to his word. He changed the priesthood. He changed the feast days. He began a feast which he devised of his own heart.

  #55 | 45:37 to 46:13 | cleaned

• And eighthly, he persecuted the true believers and he elevated the wicked and the ungodly. He required submission or else.

  #56 | 46:16 to 46:26 | cleaned

• Now, there's one question that yet remains to be answered. What eventually happens to all Jeroboams and their false religions? Think about that question. What eventually happens? Well, let's turn in our Bibles, if you would please, to 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23. I don't have time to read all of this. I wish I did. 2 Kings chapter 23. But look if you would please at verse 15.

  #57 | 46:31 to 47:06 | cleaned

• Of course it was prophesied that Josiah would be born and Josiah would do this. So in 2 Kings chapter 23, verse 15, of course God killed Jeroboam and his family. He had them totally wiped out. But in 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 15, "Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove."

  #58 | 47:06 to 47:47 | cleaned

• Watch verse 16. "And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words." So what happens to the Jeroboams and their religions?

  #59 | 47:47 to 48:10 | cleaned

• They're totally, completely destroyed and overthrown. Let me show you something else. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 24. What happens to their kingdom? What happens to their rule? In 2 Chronicles chapter 24, let's begin reading there in verse 23. 2 Chronicles chapter 24, and look if you would please at verse 23. 2 Chronicles 24 verse 23, the Bible says this, and this is done to Joash.

  #60 | 48:10 to 48:48 | cleaned

• "And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers." What happened to the kingdoms of those who forsake God? They're destroyed.

  #61 | 48:49 to 49:26 | cleaned

• Turn over, if you would, to 2 Chronicles 28. And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 19. 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19. Here it is. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 19. "For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord. And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel." Anytime you turn your back upon the one true and the living God of Israel, you're going to find that you, your family, your kingdom, everything that you have will be destroyed.

  #62 | 49:28 to 50:50 | cleaned

• You know, our Lord said it very plainly and very truthfully in Proverbs 8 verses 35 and verse 36. Two of my favorite verses. Our Lord said, "Whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." That is true. Whoever finds Jesus Christ, finds life, and finds favor of the Father. But listen to verse 36. "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

  #63 | 50:51 to 51:26 | cleaned

• Let me tell you something. That is true individually. That is true societally. That is true nationally. All that hate Jesus Christ love death. If you die unsaved, if you live a life unsaved, if you live a life disregarding, despising and hating Jesus Christ, you love death and that's exactly what you're going to get, eternal death. But that is not only true individually, that is true in our society. Our society will die without God, without His laws. Our nation will die without God, without His laws.

  #64 | 51:28 to 52:29 | cleaned

• You can talk about the power of the Bilderbergers, the Warbirds, the elite, all you want. But I will tell you this, their power will come to naught. And death will be their due. Because Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the victor. He is the conqueror. And our trust, and our life, and our faith is in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.

  #65 | 52:33 to 53:22 | cleaned

• We thank You for Your love. We thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. We pray, Lord, that You would indeed teach us, build us up in the most holy faith, help us, dear Lord, to love Thee and to live for Thee and to stand true to Thee in the face of every obstacle and circumstance. In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.

  #66 | 53:23 to 53:45 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:59:23Z