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Episode 147 - Jesus And Governments · End-Time Revival Ministries, USA

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  Speaker 1: I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to
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  Speaker 1: be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemy.
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  Speaker 2: I love the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: He heard my cry and he has pitied every groan.
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  Speaker 1: So as long as I live, I will, with every breath,
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  Speaker 1: with every day, with every moment, with every consciousness that
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  Speaker 1: is within me, remember that God is my refuge and
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  Speaker 1: my strength. God is my very present help. And so
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  Speaker 1: I will call upon the Lord, who again is worthy
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  Speaker 1: to be praised. Well, welcome you once again to this
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  Speaker 1: another edition of End Time Revival Ministers you as a podcast.
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  Speaker 1: For those of you who are listening to us by
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  Speaker 1: way of our audio version of our podcast, which can
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  Speaker 1: be found through multiple streaming outlets. With a simple search
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  Speaker 1: End Time Revival Ministries USA Podcasts, you will locate it.
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  Speaker 1: We welcome you to become a subscriber, and certainly please,
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  Speaker 1: by all means share it with someone else. We also
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  Speaker 1: welcome those of you who are viewing us by way
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  Speaker 1: of our YouTube channel entitle One Voice in the Wilderness
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  Speaker 1: the handle With a simple search at one VIITW at
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  Speaker 1: one VITW, you should locate amen our YouTube channel One
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  Speaker 1: Voice in the Wilderness. Of course, we simulcast each week
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  Speaker 1: by the grace of God, with the help of God,
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  Speaker 1: with the intent, with the purpose, a man of a
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  Speaker 1: man disseminating the word of God in truth, Amen, and
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  Speaker 1: without compromise, a man. We're living in the last of
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  Speaker 1: the last Day. And God has Amen, his people, he
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  Speaker 1: has his church. He set upon this rock. I'll build
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  Speaker 1: my church in the gates of hell shall not prevail.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And so we are a man, living witnesses, living testimonies.
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  Speaker 1: We are ambassadors of Christ. We have been called for
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  Speaker 1: this purpose.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And I am indeed honored a man to be called
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  Speaker 1: of God, to be entrusted by God. Amen, to be
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  Speaker 1: a spokesman, a man for his truth, his truth by
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  Speaker 1: the way that will not will not pass away, his
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  Speaker 1: word that will not fade away. A man say heaven
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  Speaker 1: and earth. Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away.
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  Speaker 1: But my word Amen. The word of God is eternal,
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  Speaker 1: because God himself is eternal, and his word is inseparable
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  Speaker 1: from him. And we can have confidence, faith and the
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  Speaker 1: blessed assurance to know that everything that God has spoken Amen,
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  Speaker 1: that is yet to come to pass, it shall come
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  Speaker 1: to pass.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: So in this we have our rest, hope, peace and confidence. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Today we continue in our series on God, government,
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  Speaker 1: Church and State. God government, Church and state. And as
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  Speaker 1: we have asserted from the very outset that there is
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  Speaker 1: no separation a man of God from the governments of
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  Speaker 1: this world. Amen. There is no separation. God rules in
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  Speaker 1: the kingdom of Men as everything, as of the Great
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  Speaker 1: King of Babylon found out. God rules in the Kingdom
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  Speaker 1: of Men, and he sets up over it the governments
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  Speaker 1: of this world, whom he desires to have in power. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And today I want to just focus in a little bit,
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  Speaker 1: and we will continue this in our next session. God
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  Speaker 1: willing in the life of Jesus, as he a man,
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  Speaker 1: came down to this earth in his visitation, a man,
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  Speaker 1: how he encountered the governments of this world. People think
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  Speaker 1: that God is separated again or antithetical government, or uninvolved
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  Speaker 1: or aloof but no.
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  Speaker 2: No, no, no, contrayre.
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  Speaker 1: And I want to and we're going to look at
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  Speaker 1: a couple of passages of scriptures in the Gospels today
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  Speaker 1: show how that the governments of our world today, even
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  Speaker 1: though a man, they did not want and still do
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  Speaker 1: not want, by the way, Jesus the Christ to be here,
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  Speaker 1: his church to be here, because we are now the
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  Speaker 1: represented representatives, if you will, the ambassadors of Christ, bolts
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  Speaker 1: people for Christ today, I mean the body of Christ today.
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  Speaker 1: That is the church I'm talking about, the true Church
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: The world does not want Jesus, the world does not
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  Speaker 1: want his church. Amen. But nevertheless, they are powerless. They
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  Speaker 1: are powerless, Amen, to overthrow what God has already decreed
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  Speaker 1: shall be, and it shall be because God has spoken it.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Before we begin, let's take just a quick moment, Amen,
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  Speaker 1: for a word of prayer. Fall again. We're just so
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  Speaker 1: grateful for the breath of life that is in us.
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  Speaker 1: We know it emanates from you. Without you, apart from you,
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  Speaker 1: we can do nothing. We are nothing, and you we live,
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  Speaker 1: move and have our being so blessed. Now your word
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  Speaker 1: that proceeds Amen, out of our mouths, O Lord, that
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  Speaker 1: it might be fruitful, and it may multiply, and that
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  Speaker 1: someone somewhere will hear the voice the Savior, become pricked
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  Speaker 1: in their hearts and come to know that you are
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  Speaker 1: the only true and living God, the hope of salvation
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  Speaker 1: be glorified in Jesus' name, We pray, Amen and Amen.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Governments, governments of this world. I mean, I
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  Speaker 1: do mean, even of this present world in which we're
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  Speaker 1: in right now. They're not at all against religion government,
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  Speaker 1: Make no mistake about it. Governments are not against religion.
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  Speaker 1: They're not opposed to religion.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, the governments of this world themselves are very
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  Speaker 1: much under the influence of religion, that is idolatrous religions
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  Speaker 1: that are opposed to the rule of the God of creation,
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  Speaker 1: that are opposed to Jesus, to Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Reigning over them.
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  Speaker 1: Amen, they are very much religious, because religion is simply
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  Speaker 1: man's attempt to reach up.
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  Speaker 2: But salvation.
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  Speaker 1: What God did is God coming down, and that's what
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  Speaker 1: he did, came down in the person of Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: to save us. Christianity is not a religion, even though
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  Speaker 1: the people of the world may call it a religion,
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  Speaker 1: and it is not a religion. It is God's salvation
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  Speaker 1: that he has brought down a man to man, and
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  Speaker 1: so the governments of mankind throughout history have fallen in
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  Speaker 1: line with a man this expression, if you will, that
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  Speaker 1: has found the words a man, the prophetic word, if
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  Speaker 1: you will, even now in Psalm number two. And it
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  Speaker 1: is all rooted in their rebellious desire to wholly reject
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  Speaker 1: God as the one to whom they will bow, the
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  Speaker 1: one to whom they owe their allegiance, their owe their existence. Again,
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  Speaker 1: it is in Him we live, move and have our being.
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  Speaker 1: And for those, by the way, who are sitting in
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  Speaker 1: seats of power, who reign and rule in governments, leaders
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  Speaker 1: of industries or whatever. Amen, you are there because God
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  Speaker 1: raised you up, God put you there. Amen. God allows
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  Speaker 1: you to be there.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And so some number two, I just want to read
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  Speaker 1: the first three verses here and some number two. Amen
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  Speaker 1: to a man set the tone, if you will, for
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  Speaker 1: a man the attitude, the thinking, the logic, the reasoning
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  Speaker 1: that is in the hearts of rebel men. The Bible
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  Speaker 1: says in verse number one, why do the nations rage?
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  Speaker 1: Notice all of the nations of this world, every single
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  Speaker 1: one of them, all of the nations of this world,
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  Speaker 1: with their idolatrous governments, with their idolatrous religions, they oppose
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  Speaker 1: the rule of God. Why do they rage? And the
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  Speaker 1: people plot a vain thing? What are they plotting?
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  Speaker 2: They want to overthrow God.
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  Speaker 1: They want to a man cast him out, They want
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  Speaker 1: him out of their minds, out of their hearts, out
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  Speaker 1: of their a man very existence. They want that, but
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  Speaker 1: they sadly don't understand that they cannot do that, no
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  Speaker 1: matter how much they in their minds want to believe.
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  Speaker 1: Try to persuade themselves, try to convince themselves that there
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  Speaker 1: is no God, or that the God of the Bible
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  Speaker 1: is not who he is or what the Bible clearly
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  Speaker 1: describes him, or in the self revelation of God, a
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  Speaker 1: man clearly gives to us who he is. They insist
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  Speaker 1: that a man they want to again do as they please,
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  Speaker 1: act as they please, walk as they please, in order
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  Speaker 1: not to a man be in obedience to God. So
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  Speaker 1: this is what a man rage is all about. It's
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  Speaker 1: all about a man getting God out of their minds, hearts,
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  Speaker 1: and out of their lifestyle, if you will, So the
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  Speaker 1: Bible says in verse number two, the kings of the
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  Speaker 1: earth they set themselves. Who are the kings of the earth,
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  Speaker 1: the rulers the governments. Kings represent governments. So the kings,
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  Speaker 1: or if you will, the governments of the earth, they
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  Speaker 1: set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord.
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  Speaker 1: And against his anointed, saying, let us break their bonds
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  Speaker 1: in pieces and cast away their cords from a simply
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  Speaker 1: meaning they don't want want the restraints, if you will.
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  Speaker 1: They don't want the commandments. They don't want to be obligated.
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  Speaker 1: They don't want to answer to this higher power, God,
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  Speaker 1: the God of creation, the only true in living God,
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  Speaker 1: a man who does indeed reign and rule sovereignly over
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  Speaker 1: all of the kingdoms of this world.
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  Speaker 2: And this, by the way, is a.
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  Speaker 1: Premeditated determine, feudal plotting and planning of the kings of
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  Speaker 1: this earth, the rulers of this earth, a man, the
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  Speaker 1: governments of this earth. They deliberately oppose a man the sovereign,
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  Speaker 1: rightful rain and rule of God. This is deliberate. This
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  Speaker 1: is deliberate in their minds, in their hearts. This is
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  Speaker 1: not something that's incidental or accidental. No, they purpose, because
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  Speaker 1: they know the Bible says, when they knew God, they
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  Speaker 1: glorified him, not as God, but became what vain in
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  Speaker 1: their imaginations, and their foolish heart becomes darkened. But nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: in spite of this feudal opposition of these mere mortal men,
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  Speaker 1: who who sit in their seats of authority, by the way,
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  Speaker 1: because of and and and and and through the power
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  Speaker 1: of God, the authority God Uh, that that grants to
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  Speaker 1: them their temporary seats of power, their temporary status as
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  Speaker 1: presidents and prime ministers and governors and mayors and and
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  Speaker 1: and and and whatever councilman's or whatever they are a man,
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  Speaker 1: God granted it to them. God allowed them to temporarily
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  Speaker 1: and never forget it. It's temporary sit in these seats
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  Speaker 1: of power. But even though again there they uphols, they
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  Speaker 1: are in opposition. They uphose the will of God, the
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  Speaker 1: rule of God. They may God through their willful opposition
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  Speaker 1: to them, through their own choices, through their and by
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  Speaker 1: their own devices. He nevertheless uses their choices, their decisions,
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  Speaker 1: their rules, their decrees so called, and so forth. He
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  Speaker 1: uses them to work out His predetermined purpose and plan
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  Speaker 1: of redemption of a people for His namesake and to
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  Speaker 1: his glory and honor. And we can see this in
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  Speaker 1: the scriptures again when it comes to Jesus. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what we want to show a couple of examples today.
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  Speaker 1: And we can take examination, if you will, from a
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  Speaker 1: man Uh. The time when Christ first came into the world,
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  Speaker 1: government was involved. They they they they threw their actions
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  Speaker 1: actually fulfilled prophecies of the scriptures.
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  Speaker 2: Unbeknownst to them.
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  Speaker 1: Now they fulfilled prophecies of the scriptures which were spoken
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  Speaker 1: long ago concerning the Christ child. And example number one,
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  Speaker 1: we'll look at there's nothing necessarily that was nefarious, nothing
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  Speaker 1: that from from a perspective of evil intent on the
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  Speaker 1: part of of the this decree that was issued in
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  Speaker 1: the sense that it was endangering to the Christ, to
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  Speaker 1: the to the the baby that was to be born.
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  Speaker 2: Uh.
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  Speaker 1: But we look at this example of what I'll call
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  Speaker 1: Caesar's census, Caesar's census. They said, Luke, chapter number two.
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  Speaker 1: I'm gonna begin reading at verse number one, Luke, Chapter two,
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  Speaker 1: Caesar's Census. The Bible says it came to pass in
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  Speaker 1: those days that there went out a decree from Caesar
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  Speaker 1: Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this
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  Speaker 1: taxing was first made when Sirenius was governor of Syria,
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  Speaker 1: and all went to be taxed, every one into his
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  Speaker 1: own city. And Joseph verse number four, also went up
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  Speaker 1: from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea,
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  Speaker 1: onto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. Because
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  Speaker 1: he was of the house and lineage of David. And
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  Speaker 1: so it was that while they were there. Notice now again,
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  Speaker 1: Joseph was, as all of the people, were forced as
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  Speaker 1: you as if you will, to go back to his
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  Speaker 1: amen home town, so to speak, or place of lineage.
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  Speaker 1: Because of this census. He was of the tribe of Judah,
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  Speaker 1: of the house of David. And so he along with
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  Speaker 1: his wife Mary, a man who was, the Bible says
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  Speaker 1: in verse number five, great with child. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: she was near the time of giving birth. And so
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  Speaker 1: it was verse number six that while they were there,
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  Speaker 1: the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and
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  Speaker 1: she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in
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  Speaker 1: swallowing clothes, lady in a manger, because there was no
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  Speaker 1: room for them in the end. Now, what in the
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  Speaker 1: world does this have to do with the government of
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  Speaker 1: the Roman Empire. Well, ladies and gentlemen, if we examine this,
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  Speaker 1: of course we'll see that prophecy of Scripture comes into
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  Speaker 1: play here. So this decree by the government of Rome,
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  Speaker 1: it forced Joseph to take his wife Mary and return
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  Speaker 1: to Bethlehem.
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  Speaker 2: Just at the time.
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  Speaker 1: When she was ready to give birth, the birth of Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: Please understand, according to the scriptures had to take place
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  Speaker 1: in the city where it was foretold in the scriptures
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  Speaker 1: by the prophet, and God used the government, this census,
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  Speaker 1: this decree that was issued by Augustus Caesar to fulfill
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  Speaker 1: what his word had already spoken. So the government issues
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  Speaker 1: a decree, the government puts out a mandate. Joseph had
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  Speaker 1: to obey this mandate. And there's here's a very interesting
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  Speaker 1: thing that I read about this whole decree, and I
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  Speaker 1: guess I'll get to that a little bit later, because
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  Speaker 1: in the normal sense of these censuses, if you will,
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  Speaker 1: that were taken, or the taxation and all, even though
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  Speaker 1: the Jews were under taxation, it was just everything that
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  Speaker 1: coincided with this time and season, the conquering and the
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  Speaker 1: subduing of the Jewish people. Are them now being subjected
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  Speaker 1: to this new decree that was issued. All of it
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  Speaker 1: worked together again the government. These are this see a
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  Speaker 1: lot of times when the government does certain things, even
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  Speaker 1: though it may be a hardship, even though it may
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  Speaker 1: be something that we may not want to comply with,
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  Speaker 1: even though it may be something that we don't necessarily
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  Speaker 1: agree with, God can steal and does even in all
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  Speaker 1: of that. Again, so far away and above and beyond
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  Speaker 1: our understanding, our way of contemplating and comprehending. God uses
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  Speaker 1: even these kinds of seemingly insignificant events to work his
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  Speaker 1: purpose and plan. And so again, according to what God
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  Speaker 1: had already purposed, what God had already decreed, what God
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  Speaker 1: had already A man spoken through the mouth of his
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  Speaker 1: prophet out of Bethlehem, this is where the Christ was
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  Speaker 1: to be born.
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  Speaker 2: But Joseph and Mary were not there. What brought them.
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  Speaker 1: There a government decreed, a government decree. Now again, Caesar
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  Speaker 1: had no idea, he had no he had I mean,
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  Speaker 1: he knew nothing of what his decree was bringing about.
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  Speaker 1: But that decree issued by the government Amen, brought Joseph
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  Speaker 1: and Mary to Bethlehem, to the place, to the House
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  Speaker 1: of Bread. That's what Bethlehem is referred to as the
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  Speaker 1: House of Bread, so that the bread that comes, Oh
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  Speaker 1: help us Jesus, the bread that comes down from Heaven,
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  Speaker 1: would be born in the place in the house. At
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  Speaker 1: the House of Bread. God moves in mysterious ways, the
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  Speaker 1: Bible says, his wonders to perform. Then let me show
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  Speaker 1: you also one other example that I want to cover
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  Speaker 1: today that happened also early on in the life of Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: if you will, as he was in a baby, literally
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  Speaker 1: a toddler. There was Herod's genocide that took place Herod's genocide.
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  Speaker 1: And for this we go to Matthew chapter number two,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm gonna pick it up at verse number seven.
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  Speaker 1: These wise men, of course had come seeking the Christ child.
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  Speaker 1: They had seen his star in the east, and they
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  Speaker 1: came knowing the time in the season. Is so sad
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  Speaker 1: that many of us still do not, even in the church,
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  Speaker 1: know the time in the season that we're in. And
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  Speaker 1: this is to our this this, this is this is really,
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  Speaker 1: this is really disappointing. It's really disappointing in light of
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  Speaker 1: the fact that we have all of the scriptures, all
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  Speaker 1: of the revelation of God that he's pleased to give
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  Speaker 1: to man. Uh. We don't have partial revelation as many
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  Speaker 1: of the prophets of old had. We don't have partial
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  Speaker 1: knowledge and understanding, even as some of the disciples had.
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  Speaker 1: We don't.
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  Speaker 2: We've got we've.
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  Speaker 1: Got God's full revelation that he's pleased to give to us.
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  Speaker 1: We don't know everything about God. We'll never know everything
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  Speaker 1: about God. We'll never know every everything about the mind
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  Speaker 1: of God. But what God has pleased to reveal to us,
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  Speaker 1: we have all that we need. It's in the Word
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  Speaker 1: of God. We furthermore have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: And we have the Church of Jesus Christ that He
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  Speaker 1: has established and given gifts to the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors,
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  Speaker 1: and teachers. The Bible says for the perfection of the saints,
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  Speaker 1: for the edifying of the ministry, till we all come
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  Speaker 1: into the knowledge, into the fullness, into what God has
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  Speaker 1: for us. We are without excuse. And the Bible says,
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  Speaker 1: to whom much is given, much is required. Oh help us, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: Help us Jesus. But a man in this example of
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  Speaker 1: a man, these wise men that we're looking at coming
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  Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, they had enough knowledge, They had enough a
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  Speaker 1: man fear of God. They had enough expectation of Jesus
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  Speaker 1: the Christ, the Messiah, coming to travel from Afar, to
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  Speaker 1: come to the place where the Christ would be, to
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  Speaker 1: seek him out, Amen to come for the purpose of worship.
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  Speaker 1: And so when Herod got wind of these wise men,
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  Speaker 1: these magi, who had come seeking for the Christ, seeking
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  Speaker 1: for the Amen the Messiah, the king. They said, where
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  Speaker 1: is he who is born king? He's not made king,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: he's not proun crowned the king. He was born the king.
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  Speaker 1: He is the king. And so when Herod man got
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: word of this, he pretended to want to also come
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  Speaker 1: and worship. And so the Bible says in verse number seven,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: he privately, as it were, called the wise men, and
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: he inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: He wanted to know this so that he would be
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: able to ascertain the age of this baby, who this
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: king was. He was a madman, and he I don't
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  Speaker 1: even want to go into all of the history of
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: this Herod, but he was a murderer, and he was
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: fearful of anyone taking his authority, as it were, and
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  Speaker 1: not knowing that again, the very one who was born,
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: the king of the Jews, the king of the world,
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  Speaker 1: was the one who frankly raised him up and gave
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: him his power. Nevertheless, the Bible says in verse number eight,
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  Speaker 1: Herod then sent to Bethlehem, or sent them rather, these
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: wise men, to Bethlehem, and said, go and search diligently
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: for the young child, and when you have found him,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: bring me word again that I may come and worship him. Also,
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  Speaker 1: when they heard the king, the Bible said, they departed
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: and lowered. The star, which they saw in the east,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: went before them until it came and stood a where
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: the young child was. When they saw the star, they
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they had come
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: into the house, they saw the young child with Mary,
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  Speaker 1: his mother, and look at this, the Bible says, they
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: their treasure, they presented unto him gifts gold and frankinsense
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: and mirror.
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: And being warned by God.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: In a dream help us Jesus that they should not
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: And when they had departed, behold the Angel of the
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, arise and
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: and be thou there until I bring thee word, for
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Herod
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  Speaker 1: is the government. Herod represents the government. He's the head
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: of that region, if you will, of the Roman Empire,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: and in his jealous zeal to protect his temporary rule,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: and authority over his earthly kingdom, Herod unknowingly with evil intent.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: By the way, all of this is what comes out
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: of the heart of man. The Bible speaks and testifies
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: of the heart of man, that it is desperately wicked.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Evil comes out of the heart. Jesus would later testify
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: as well. Herod unknowingly fulfilled what had already again been
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: spoken by the prophet, in this case Jeremiah, concerning the murder,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the killing, the carnage of Rachel's children in Raymah in Bethlehem.
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  Speaker 1: Herod when he saw you can read this later in
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: the texts, that the wise men did not return, and
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: that he was, as the text says, mocked by the
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: wise men. He sent throughout all of the region to
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: have every young male child two years old and under murdered.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: And this was again foretold in the scriptures. However, again,
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: please understand that the actions of government, these government leaders
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  Speaker 1: in particular, they were not accidental. They were not of
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: mere coincidence. The decree, particularly of Augustus Caesar, was newly written.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: As we were talking about earlier, This was a newly
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: written decree that now included the Jews who had been
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: previously excluded from the census because the Jews were exempted
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: from serving in the Roman army, and this census that
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: they would normally take was necessary or being carried out
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: by the Roman government in order to ascertain those men
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: who would be of military age. And because again the
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: Jews were normally exempted from the census, this new this
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: new decree that was issued included the Jews, which again
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: forced Joseph to have to travel to Bethlehem to be there.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: And again it wasn't a coincidence that he was there.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Mary was there for the birth of the Christ to
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: take place in Bethlehem. This government decision by Augustus was
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: by the providential sovereignty of God again, who reigns and
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: rules in the kingdom of men. Now, when we look
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: at again, if you will, at the actions of Herod
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: and his design in his design to eliminate this in
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: his mind, that if you will newly perceive threat to
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: his throne and and and and even though it was
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: of evil intent to shed innocent blood, like for example,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: the Pharaoh of Egypt in the days of Moses, at
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: the time when he would be born. Nevertheless, let's take
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: from this, let's see in this that God, in his
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: foreign knowledge, God, in his sovereign providential a man orchestrating
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: of all of a man the affairs of the rulers
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: of this world.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: Even when men of this.
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: Kind of of of of of murderous spirit is sitting
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: in seats of authority, Even when governments and rulers engage in.
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: This kind of genocide, God still reigns and rules. God
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: is still the savior. God is still the keeper. And
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: even in our world today, ladies and gentlemen, even though
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: our government has been participating, has been sanctioning.
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  Speaker 2: The unwanted slaughter of millions.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Of babies over the past few decades, Nevertheless God still saves,
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: God still delivered. God still a man, preserves a man
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: and protects those, just as he did with Moses, just
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: as he did with Jesus the Christ.
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: He protects them from the decrees, from the laws, from
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: the intent, from the evil desires and designs of government,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: of leaders, of rulers of the people of this world
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: who are in rebellion against His word. And may we,
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  Speaker 1: as the people of God Old Church of the Living God,
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: may we never forget even now in our modern day,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: our modern day of upheaval when we have what we
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: have happening now, the shifting and shaking up of leaders
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: of governments and industries worldwide. May we, as the people
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: of God, as the Church of the Living God, may
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: we never forget that it is the same sovereign God
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: of yesterday.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: It's the same.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: God who ruled then. He rules even now he is
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: orchestrating even now. Never forget it that God rules in
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Men, and any action, any creed, any rule,
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: any law of any government nefarious, though it may be. God,
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: in his sovereignty over rules, override, and he does and
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: will always bring about his purpose, his plan, his redemption,
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: his salvation for his people, both now and forever. More so,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: rest in it. Rest in it with a blessed assurance. Father,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: help us today, thank you that you still reign and
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: rule in the Kingdom of Men, and that you are
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: a sovereign and that you are in control. And may
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: we be at peace and be at rest in our
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: minds and hearts, and let not our hearts be troubled.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: As we believe in you, as we believe in your promises,
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: as we stand fast on your word. In Jesus' name, Amen,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: and amen.