Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.
His authority is unrivaled, his power has no limits, and his sovereignty is without end. Why am I telling you this? Relax. Just relax. You see, there's no need to be angry. I get why they're angry out there. I get that, because that's all they have. You see, that's all they have. Meaning, purpose, and all that, that's all they have. But what you and I have is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in our life. Relax.
He's not abdicating the throne. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. The King became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. All right, I'll kill you all.
That's amazing. They're all going to die. Verse 14, then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, he said, the captain of the king's bodyguard who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. And he said to Arioch, the king's commander, for what reason is the decree from the king so urgent? And then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
Now, something really between the lines here that's pretty neat about Daniel. He didn't want those men to die. He didn't want to murder all the magician, all the soothsayers, all the counselors. He didn't want them murdered. He said, why is it so urgent?
You give me a little time. So that's exactly what happens. So in verse 19, it says, then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. And then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. God tells Daniel directly what the dream is and how to interpret it. Then Daniel speaks here when he's addressing. He says this, let the name of God be blessed forever and ever for wisdom and power belong to him.
And then this verse. It is he who changes the times in the epochs. He removes kings and he establishes kings and he gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is he who reveals the profound and hidden things.
He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him to you. Oh, God, my of my fathers, I give thanks and praise for you have given me wisdom and power. Even now you have made known to me what we requested of you, for you have made known to us the kings matter.
Verse 21 is an interesting verse. He says it is he who changes the time in epochs. He removes kings and he establishes kings. We mean kings. Yeah, I remove kings, I establish kings. I remove kings and I establish kings. I remove emperors and I establish emperors. I remove prime ministers and I establish prime ministers. I remove presidents and I establish presidents. I do that. No, no, I think we do that. He said I do that.
Why? I'm sovereign. Over all the affairs of man, this is Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king. As pagan as a man could be, he said, yeah, I do that. But there's something else there that's really important for you to see that we often overlook in this verse.
It is he who changes the times in the epochs. I've been saying the last few weeks that America is changing. You see, and what we want to say, you know why it's changing? Because of them out there. That's why. Because of him up there. He's in complete control of this.
Absolute complete control. He said I change the times in the epochs. And I want you to think about this maybe from a little bit different perspective here. When you come to the times, what if this is the beginning of the end times? Some of you ask me that all the time. You always get the same answers.
Those who have known me long enough never ask anymore because you're going to get the same answer. I have no idea. But is this the end times? Is this the beginning of the end times? What if it is the beginning of the end times? Okay, let's just assume that for a moment. Now, if you know your prophecy at all or eschatology at all, when you read about the end times, tell me everything you read in the Bible about America. Nothing, right?
Absolutely nothing. Now, there's a couple possibilities here. Some people would say, well, but America could be part of the European Union, the old Roman Empire. Certainly possible. It's getting a little less probable as time goes on. Remember, when Americans first started saying that, it was because guess where everybody that was in America was from?
Europe. Is that the way it's going now? No. So is it possible that America could be in steep decline?
Is that possible? Yes. And by the way, someone told me between services, and I think he was right. And you add to that, take the rapture of the church and the church leaves America, what is the standing of America now?
What is the culture like? Could be terrible. All I'm saying is what if this is the end times? Are you going to stop that when you go to the voting booth? We'll stop it. We can stop it.
Really? You're going to stop God? You're not. What if this? What if God is going to restore America? What if there's going to be a revival in America?
Okay. Same thing though. Are we going to do that politically? If we make the right political choices, then God will do something. Not necessarily. But God's going to do what God's going to do.
That's the point. God is going to do what God is going to do. And I got to be honest, I'm fine with that.
And so should you be. He's God. He controls the times and the epochs.
He controls the kings. His power has no limits. Abraham Cooper said this, there's not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ who is sovereign over all does not cry out, mine. It's mine. The whole creation's mine. The whole world is mine.
I'm sovereign over it all. Elton Trueblood said this. He said, the Christian is joyful not because he is blind in justice and suffering, but because he is convinced that these in light of the divine sovereignty are never the ultimate end. The Christian can be sad and often perplexed, but he is never really worried because he knows that the purpose of God is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, Jesus Christ.
He's right. Marshall Segal said, no power in this world, however powerful, acts outside the sovereign reign and plan of the God who died for us. That's who Jesus Christ is. He's in charge of this. His glory is unparalleled. His authority is unrivaled. His power is without limits. He is infinite. In Revelation 1, he says, I am the Alpha and the Omega.
Why does he say that? I was there before there was a there, and I'm the last thing that exists. I'm the beginning and the end.
I am infinite. Billy Sunday, who was the precursor to Billy Graham as a great evangelist in America, said this years ago. There are 256 names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because he was infinitely beyond all that any one name could ever express. That's who he is. You see, name after name given to him. His glory is unparalleled. His authority is unrivaled.
His power has no limits, and his sovereignty is without end. Why am I telling you this? Relax. Just relax. You see, there's no need to be angry. I get why they're angry out there. I get that, because that's all they have. You see, that's all they have. Meaning, purpose, and all that, that's all they have. But what you and I have is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in our life.
Relax. He's not abdicating the throne. He is so much more than a savior. He didn't come just so that one day you and I can go to heaven.
He came so that he can bring heaven here, and he does. So I want to look at one more passage. I want to look at 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. This is one of the truly great chapters in any of the epistles. And what Peter writes here is interesting. He starts this chapter out by telling us who we are.
And then he'll tell us how we should be. The Bible does that often. Paul does that almost every epistle he writes. First half of the epistle, who are we? Second half of the epistle, now act this way.
Peter does it in this chapter. He says, who are we? So he says in verse 5, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The first thing he tells us, and you've got to understand how the Jews felt about this, we are a holy priesthood, not just Levites, all of us.
All believers are priests. All of us make offerings to God. All of us offer up praise and thanksgiving to God.
That's just what we did this morning. You see, that's why God reads our heart. He likes that. We offer to him our praise, and we offer to him our thanksgiving. We are a holy priesthood.
Then he goes down in verse 9. He says this, but you are a chosen race. That's God's part in our salvation. Our part is believing. God's part is choosing. The Bible says that we are chosen by God, that we are the elect. God does his part.
We do ours through faith. He said you are a chosen race. And then he says you are a royal priesthood.
That's a huge word. The Jews watch the gasp. You see, in Judaism, how many royal priests are there? One, Melchizedek, the king priest of Salem, all the way back in Genesis.
I believe that's a theophany of the Son of God. And he said, yeah, that's what you are. You are a royal priest. You are a king priest. How can I be a king priest? Because I'm in the king priest. Christ is in me, and I am in him. He says, don't you understand how special that is? My relationship. He says you are a holy nation.
A people group. He said you're a holy people. What's that mean? You've been set apart by God, called holy. He doesn't mean everything we do is holy. That's clearly not what the Bible teaches.
But set apart by God as holy because of Christ. And then he says you are a people for God's own possession. What he would say when he looks at all of us together, you're mine.
Now, I don't know about you, but if you're looking for security somewhere, you're not going to find that in the American political system. But when God Almighty says to you, you're mine, how does that make you feel? I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
How does that make you feel? Then he says, so that. Why are all these things ours? So that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. For once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, he said, once you had not received mercy, and now you receive mercy. I want you to proclaim it.
Everything you are, I want you to tell others about that. He's back to the Great Commission, Matthew 28. Now that I gave you all this, I want you to proclaim this.
That's what I'd like you to do. Then he changes and he says this, beloved. I love that when Scripture calls us that. Beloved, that's who we are. I urge you as aliens and strangers. That's God's description of you as an American. You're an alien and a stranger to this world. God says, yeah, because you're my people. In fact, another place in Scripture says, you and I are citizens of heaven. He said, yeah, you're aliens and strangers.
You're here. Now notice what he isn't saying. He's saying you're here, so separate yourself from here.
Not at all. He said, you've got to be in the world, but not of the world. How do you proclaim the excellencies of him who saved me if I'm not in the world? See, the whole point of it is, Jesus said we're to be salt and light.
That's our job. We're representing God. We are his ambassadors, the Scripture says.
He says, yeah, he says, I urge you as alien strangers to abstain from fleshy lust that wage war against your soul. Don't live in sin. See, when you live in sin, you lose your testimony. You're not going to lose your salvation, but you're going to lose your testimony. How do you tell people how great it is to have Christ in your life when they look at your life and it's not so great? You mean if I become one of you, I can be just like you? Just as sinful, just as nervous, just as anxious, just as worrisome, just as fearful? I can be just like you? How does that draw people?
It doesn't. He said, keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, the unbelievers. Keep your behavior excellent. Why? So that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, that they may, because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
That's why. You see, it's not just that the idea that he said, what I want you to do is to keep your behavior excellent. I want it to be different. If we're in a culture right now that is extremely angry and anxious, and boy, we are, then just imagine a whole group of people that aren't anxious but have peace, aren't angry but have joy, aren't fearful but have hope. Just imagine if that's us. Somebody's going to say to you that runs into you, how in the world do you do that? How can you be like that?
Look what's going on. One answer, Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. That's why. So he goes on and he says, verse 13, submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right, for such is the will of God that by doing right, you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Human government decreed by God. It's an institution decreed by God.
Why? Because we're sinners and the earth is cursed and left to ourselves, it goes from bad to worse. It always does. So what is one of the ways you can curtail the sin that's in all of us, human government? In fact, what you find when human government falls apart, let's go to the great tribulation, when all human government falls apart, how's the world? Better than ever, right? It's never been so good. Total anarchy.
It's always been like that. The question, how good is human government? Not very. How many great human governments have there been? Couple, maybe, a few. How many bad human governments have there been? Multitudes. How many absolutely terrifying human governments have there been?
Tons. He said, yeah, but human government is still there to have some sense of order. You submit to it. He said, rather to a king or a governor.
Oh, by the way, who was king, who was emperor when Peter wrote it? Nero. He's insane. He murders Christians. He's insane. He said, yeah, you submit to him.
Wow. When do I not submit? When it directly violates me submitting to my Lord. Peter and John are out, remember, they're out preaching the word of God.
The authorities bring them in and say, okay, now, we're going to let you out, but no more preaching. He said, we're sorry. We have to obey God rather than man.
He told us to go and proclaim the word, so we're going to proclaim the word. You can do with us what you want, but we're not stopping. You see, that's human government. I don't submit to it that way. Human governments in a government like ours, you can abort any baby you want.
Now, in some states, almost any time you want. I don't want to. I will not. What if the government said you have to abort babies? That happened in China.
How many children you can have? What do you say? I won't.
Do with me as you want, but I won't. See, those are those kind of issues. Those are big issues, but he says outside of that, you submit.
Hmm. You see, his whole point is this. He said, act as free men. Do not use your freedom for covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. That's who I'm bond slaves of. All people, that's everybody.
That's on each side of the aisle. Any religious faith, agnostic, atheist, I honor everybody. Love the brotherhood, that's us, in the body of Christ. Fear God, honor the king.
See, that's what I want from you. Because ultimately, none of that really matters. I'm a child of God. I'm part of God's household. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has glory that's unparalleled. He has power that's unrivaled.
He has, I mean, without limits, he has authority that's unrivaled, and he has sovereignty that'll never end. My Lord and yours is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. That's where my loyalty is.
The reason I'm saying all that is just back to the same word. Relax. Just relax, get as involved in the process as your conscious wants you to be involved. It's a privilege. But relax. Let me close with the words of Stu Weber. I love what he says. He said, I must follow my Lord no matter what. It is his voice that I must listen to, not the voices of those around me. However strident, however persuasive, it is his word that must govern my life, not the word of others.
That's what I'd like for you and for me. Let his word govern your life. Let's pray. Father, I believe that we live in a country that has so much media.
We're so overexposed to it constantly that we sometimes lose sight of who we are and even more so we lose sight of who Jesus Christ is. We thank you for the privilege in this country that we have to vote our conscience. We thank you for that we can be part of the process. We pray for the benefit of our entire country that things would go in a better direction. But ultimately, Father, we trust you. We trust our Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, everything will be in subjection to him. His plan is a plan that will never change.
It's a plan that is unwavering and it was set in place long before we ever existed. We should get comfort in that and we should be able to relax. Father, thank you for the greatness of Jesus Christ our Lord. In his name we pray.
Amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.
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