Skip to content ReVersed - Chapter 40 - Non-Essential Churches: Knowing What Is Essential Jun 10 · 7 min ...more
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Dr. Jim Garlow is a lifelong pastor who most recently served in San Diego, California, and now leads Well Versed, a ministry dedicated to bringing biblical
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Obeying God Over Government When Necessary 0:10 Welcome to chapter 40 of the book Reversed from Culturally Woke to biblically awake. Chapter title, his nonessential churches knowing what is essential.0:22 In 2003, a fire swept through San Diego where I live. And over the course of 4 days, 2800 homes burned down. At 1 point, we had to evacuate the area where we lived.0:34 And my wife was gone, my younger daughter was gone, and my youngest son was with me. The older kids were gone and married. And so I had my elderly mother with me and my youngest son.0:47 And, I had to decide what do we take with us? I could load my SUV as much as I could. And I had0:56 to make a decision. I looked around the house and0:58 I said, what what's really essential? And that's the kind of question we're asking in this bigger question. What is essential? Our government during the time of COVID1:10 decided that the church was not essential. Strip joints were essential. Marijuana places dispensaries were essential. Bars were essential according to the government.1:23 But churches were not essential. As a result in our Picker community, pastors across the country actually rose up and said we are essential.1:34 What we're offering is essential. It's even more essential during the time of crisis. We need the church and the message of the church. And how did the government respond to those pastors in many1:46 places? They threaten them with heavy fines and even with prison time. Now the fact is God is the creator of government. God is the creator of the church.1:58 Both the church and the government are subject to God. That being the case, what does scripture have to say about this topic? If you would go to page if you have the book reversed with2:10 you go to page 3 30 where it says obedience to government. Christians are not to disobey the government. That's a true statement. Christians are not to2:22 disobey the government according to Romans 13 and 1st Peter 2. Unless. What is the unless? Unless specifically ordered by2:34 government to disobey God. An example would be to stop proclaiming the gospel as we find in Acts chapter 4 and Acts chapter 5. It's an interesting thing that2:46 happened as we published this book. When this book came out, when it 1st came out, I'm always concerned, anytime we this is my I get 21 books, I believe, I've written. And I'm always concerned that there's errors that2:58 slip by as we proofread them, proofread them. Have so many people check for everything. But sure enough, there's errors that have gotten by, several of them. And so in future editions, we had to correct those mistakes as3:10 we found them. Well, 1 of the most glaring errors that got through in the 1st edition of this book was in the next sentence. The next sentence said on that page, it said, the government is always good.3:22 It was supposed to say the government is not always good. What a tragic error that was when it said the government is always good. I wish that was the case. The government3:34 is not always good. Now what does Romans 13 say? Romans 13 says that the government is the minister3:48 of God. So if the government is supposed to be the minister of God, what does that mean? The word there is diakonos4:01 in the Greek. It's the minister or the servant of God. Now if you're living where there's a king, there's a monarchy, or if you're4:12 living with an oligarchy, you don't have much control of the government. But if you're in a constitutional republic, then we the people are4:24 the government. So it's our task to make certain that the government lives up to its purpose to be the minister of God. So if a4:36 government is violating its purpose for existence, we the people must rise up and bring correction and make sure its functions for the purpose for which it was created. Rightful government4:48 functions as a minister, a a diakonos, a servant of God. Honor him in doing his way and his will. So do we obey government? Of course we5:00 do. But that's when the government is functioning for the purpose for which it was created. The government, if it's functioning properly, is to be the minister or servant of God.5:13 Who is the government in a constitutional republic? We the people. That means you are obligated. You are the people. We the people in a constitutional republic are obligated to rise up and help5:24 the government function for the purpose for which it was created. And that moves us from being culturally woke to biblically awake.5:35 Let us pray. Heavenly father, prosper your essential churches. We ask that you guide our leaders, empowering them with wisdom and grace to leadWe the People: Biblical Awakening 5:47 us in your ways. Help each member to grow in faith, love, and a desire to serve you. May our church be a beacon of hope and a place of healing and a5:59 force for good in our community. May we be united in spirit, the Holy Spirit, and in your purpose. May we work together to6:11 fulfill your missions. We pray for your blessing upon our churches that we may flourish and bring glory to your name. Pour out your holy spirit upon us6:23 again, father. Enable us and empower us with the light of your truth to bring in the harvest. We thank you for6:35 sending your revival. In Jesus' name, amen.6:40 We hope you enjoyed the video. Thank you so much for watching. Hey. Don't forget to check out this discussion questions that are attached. Have a fun time studying, and we will see you in the next chapter.In this video 0:00 Obeying God Over Government When Necessary5:38 We the People: Biblical Awakening
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