Government By The People?

by Apostle Phil

Government by the people, or anyone else, other than God and His laws was not God’s plan! We have civil governments of all kinds, and at all levels of society, to establish some sort of order and to maintain the peace. The Bible says that these governments and civil authorities are to be obeyed because “[t]he authorities that exist have been established by God”, and that “there is no authority except that which God has established”. Romans 13:1 (NIV). But while we must submit to these authorities, so long as doing so does not violate God’s laws, we must also remember that civil government by man was not God’s choice for establishing His authority, order and peace in the earth. Government, as it is today, was man’s idea; which explains why it doesn’t work. God never intended government to work without Him.

The Israelites in the Old Testament were God’s chosen people to model for the whole world what the governance of mankind was supposed to look like. It was supposed to be government, order and peace based on God’s covenant commands and promises. But the Israelites cried: “Give us a king to lead us . . . . We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles”. 1 Samuel 8:6, 19-20 (NIV) (emphasis added). Really! The Lord was offended. It was not that they wanted a king that offended Him. There is nothing inherently evil about having a king. It was that they wanted one “like all the other nations”. Who were these other nations? Pagan, Canaanite nations with no covenant relationship with the Lord. So, what they were really saying was “we want government without the burden of doing it God’s way”. Sound familiar?

Then they had the nerve to suggest that their form of government could “fight [their] battles” better than God; the same God who brought them up out of Egypt! “[T]hey have rejected me as their king”, God declared. 1 Samuel 8:7 (NIV). God then warned them that government like the pagans do it, without Him, would come with heavy baggage, resulting in them “cry[ing] out for relief from the king [they had] chosen”. 1 Samuel 8:18 (NIV). Then God gave them what they asked for.

We choose a new “king” every four years in this country and a new king’s “court” (Congress) every two years,  all on the promise that somehow they will “fight our battles”. Only to be disappointed shortly thereafter when the promises of these “kings” fall short of full satisfaction. Government without God will never work. It was never meant to work. Expecting it to work without God is an exercise in absolute insanity. God warned us that there would be baggage, and every election year we “cry out for relief from the king we’ve chosen”. That’s the wonderful thing about democracy, you never have to wonder who’s at fault, it’s the people who are at fault. We choose, we the people!

We choose and depend on mere men to “go out before us and fight our battles” rather than God, just like the other nations. And to get the vote of those Americans who still value God in the whole process, politicians all claim to be following God. They all claim to be God’s man, Democrats and Republicans. But the Bible says: “[b]y their fruit you will recognize them”. Matthew 7:20 (NIV). When a man supports laws that legalize or endorse something that God hates, he’s not God’s man. When a man makes decisions that marginalize the most vulnerable and needy in our country, he’s not God’s man. When a man lies to his constituents to get elected, he’s not God’s man. I could go on and on. This is not about Democrats versus Republicans. A “pagan” democrat will give you the same results as a “pagan” Republican, six of one and a half-dozen of the other. This is about man versus God in this country. Every election men and women run against God, ignoring His precepts and his right to govern people, and the people follow them. Who are you voting for in this country, God or man? Remember, after all it’s government “by the people”. We get to choose, right?

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America, Repent Or Die!

by Apostle Phil

John the Baptist came screaming out of the wilderness preaching “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  Matt. 3:2 (NIV).  The prophet Isaiah describes John’s ministry as preparing  the way for the Lord by making straight paths for him, lifting up low places, bringing down high places, and making crooked and rough places straight and smooth.  Luke 3: 4-5 (NIV).  All of this was so “all mankind [could] see God’s salvation.”  Luke 3:6 (NIV).  John’s harshest words were reserved for leaders, who he referred to as snakes!  Matt.  3:7 (NIV).  They were the ones principally responsible for keeping mankind from “seeing God’s salvation.”  And so it is today.

There is an epidemic of sin and unrighteousness at all levels of leadership in America.  Corporate leaders lie and steal, leaving thousands of Americans jobless and homeless.  Political leaders prostitute themselves to the electorate, pandering to every kind of evil just to get elected.  All of this while many in America’s pulpits, at best, sit idly by, tacitly endorsing the blurring of the lines between right and wrong.  At worst, they engage in the same compromising behavior: lying, cheating, stealing, and living like whores.  All of this has made it hard for Americans to see the salvation of the Lord, repent and be saved.

It’s time to elevate the lowly, disadvantaged and exploited.  It’s time to bring those in high places back down where they belong, and straighten out that which is “crooked” and out of line.  When those who heard John’s message asked “What should we do then?”  John said, stop lying and stealing!  Luke 3:10-14 (NIV).  The ungodly behavior of America’s leaders is blinding the people from being able to see truth.  Anytime congregants in a major American church think it’s okay to keep a pedophile in the pulpit and further fund his ministry, we are blind.  When we knowingly tolerate the steady stream of filth pouring into our children through the mainstream media and music industry, we are blind.  When we run after and support politicians and preachers whose motivation is wealth and power at the expense of honest, hard-working Americans, we are blind.  Paul says “[t]he god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  2 Cor. 4:4 (NIV).  Satan’s efforts to “blind” have been furthered in America by unscrupulous leaders who are willing to compromise us with their compromised lives.

The sun is about to set in America.  The glory is fading.  We are about to lose everything we love, reaping the consequences of sin at the very highest levels of our nation.  “[T]he wages of sin is death,” (Rom. 6:23, NIV) and if the church doesn’t repent and risk getting “salty” again, we will not be able to preserve this great nation.  Wake up America, repent or you will surely die!

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