Romans 13:1-7 (#49.2026.05.31)

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

Hi.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

If you're looking for greater hope, assurance and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the Bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the Bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website@beholdingbibletruth.com and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:46

We try and stay fit. Fit. Body, soul and spirit. Spirit, soul, body. That's all of us and all of us into the Lord, right? For the long haul here. For the long haul. I always say, if you're still here, the Lord has work for you. And while you're here, you want to be in shape to do the work that he has called you to do.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:08

So for we kind of fall away from strength training and know as you get older how important that is. And we kept saying, oh, we're going to do this, we're going to do this. How we're going to do this? We just did get back to it. So Beth said, you know what you need to do? You need to get a coach. Well, that's not surprising. We're in the coaching and training business, right? Yeah, duh. And I kept, I tried a couple of times and I kept putting it off. And she said, what's up with that? And I said, I don't really want that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:41

See, some, some people enjoy working out. You know, those people, like Tunch was like that. You just love to work out. Other people say, you know, when you work out, you get that endorphin rush. It feels good after a while. I have neither. Neither like to work out nor get a rush ever. I get a rush when it's done right.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:59

I just do it because it's right. It's good. It's good for you to do, you know. So I don't know. It was. Finally I said, all right, all right, we got to do something. So I, I did a search for some at home because we have equipment at home. I said, we're not going to go anywhere because that'll get.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:16

We'll never get there. So anyway, I called the first place. The guy answered, he's the owner. He said, well, I'm never available like this. Oh, dang. He said, yes. Okay, I'll find somebody. He said he called back within two hours.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:32

He said, I've got a guy who can come. We go on Monday, Wednesday and, and Friday, 6:30 in the morning. Yes, he can come. We'll check. Blah, blah, blah. He said, and he was a retired Marine, the owner of the business. So I connected. My dad was a Marine.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:46

And he said this. I said, this guy a Marine? No, but he served in. He work the FBI for a couple years. His name's Josh, like your son. So I said, all right, Lord, we're going. So he shows up and we're now, I guess into our. Our second week and. Or first week.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:04

And he said, yeah, Josh is your son? Josh or Joshua? And I said, he's Joshua, you know, the Lord. The Lord is salvation, the Lord saves. And he. Yeah, and he had a cross on. And Beth said something about the Lord that didn't really say anything, but good, good guy. And we're working out, you know, so he plays drums in a band. We're talking about the band. We love music.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:25

So as we're working out, we're talking about. And he said something about playing at church because, you know, when you play in a band, it's different. So he said, oh, where do you play? Where do you worship? And he said, you ever heard a place called the Bible Chapel? Yeah, we heard maybe about 38 years or whatever. He said, well, you ever seen a drum run that does this? I said, I think I've seen you. You know, the hair fly. Yeah, yeah. So his name is Josh. He plays drums here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:04

So generally in those situations, I prefer for an unbeliever, because it's a great opportunity to integrate with somebody you don't know. But to just. You see the Lord's hand in all the details. Yes, all the details, both timing and connection. And, you know, all. All of that, I'm sure you, in a way that are saying, well, you know, how the Lord, how does the Lord do all that? Is God really sovereign in all the details? So when we see that, we're. We're reminded. It's like I'm reminded that God is sovereign in all details.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:39

So we go through Romans and we see God is sovereign in righteousness, he's sovereign in election, he's sovereign in predestination. And we're going like, I don't understand and I don't necessarily agree, and I don't get it, and all that. And then we step out of that doctrine. And now we look at. Okay, so what does that look Like God's sovereignty in the way that we operate. It's surrender. Surrender to his sovereignty. Trusting in his sovereignty.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:09

Trusting in his sovereignty and how we operate with others. And now how we operate with governing authorities. Dang. So stand with me, Will. Let's read his word out of reverence for him. Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there's no authority except from God. And those which exist are established by God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:41

Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God. And they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do it as good. You have praise for the saint, for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, you'll be afraid. For it does not bear the sword for nothing. For it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

Scott Keffer [: 00:06:20

And therefore it's necessary be in subjection, not only because of that, but also for conscious things. Because of this, you also pay taxes. Rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them tax, to whom tax is due. Custom, to whom custom fear, to whom fear Honor, to whom honor the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. So the transition moves out of Romans 11 to Romans 12. And he really calls to us, by the mercies of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:11

By the mercies of God. I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to surrender. Right. So grace transforms. Grace transforms. And grace transforms us to surrender. Say that out loud with me. Surrender.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:35

Oh, do you notice that thing inside of you that says no way? Right. Not me. That's. The old man. Does not want to surrender. Does not want to surrender. So we need God's grace to surrender. And he says, when his grace transforms us, we can surrender.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:57

It's the fruit of grace. It's the fruit of grace. I would surrender. And therefore our service turns into worship. Our service turns into worship. It's your spiritual service of worship. It says, we surrender. We serve the Lord.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:18

Our service is worship, not just serving. We're. We're worshiping the Lord God Almighty. And it transforms our relationships with others. And he's saying now it transforms our relationship with governance authorities, with governing authorities. And I remind myself, this is fruit of grace in our life. It's the fruit of grace. This is Christ in you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:51

The hope of what? Glory. Glory. His glory. The hope of glory. So this is about surrendering. If You've been in here for a while. You know, the thing that God has laid on my heart to always be about. Is God, sovereignty, God, sovereign rain tea.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:23

So we're surrendering to God's sovereign rain tea in governing authorities. Well, it's hard enough when we looked at brokenness in personal relationships. Now we're going to look at government. So what are we supposed to do? Means to stand under. Stand under. It's translated being subjection. But it means to stand right under. Under what? He's saying governing authorities.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:19

Stand under them. Yes, stand under them. In order to stand under them, I need to under stand why I should stand under them. So John Calvin says, there, there, there are indeed always some tumultuous spirits who believe that the kingdom of Christ cannot be sufficiently elevated unless all earthly powers be abolished and that they cannot enjoy the liberty given to them except they shake off every yoke of human subjection. I agree with that. And if you're an American, of course you agree with that. We are, we are a country of protesters. No, to understand that's.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:00

That's who came here and established our country. That's our nature. That's where we are Protestants. We are. Right. It's our. It is our nature. The.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:11

We came here for freedom. It says. This error, however, possessed the minds of Jews above all others. Because per Jew, it was anathema to pay a pagan group. Right, Pagan leader. It was anathema to share as anathema to obey them. Right, because they were pagan. So it says.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:35

It possessed the minds of Jews above all others. For it seemed to them disgraceful that the offspring of Abraham, whose kingdom flourished before the Redeemer's coming, should now, after his appearance, continue in submission to another power. Does that make sense that to Jews it didn't make sense at all? And of course, then the Lord's bringing in Gentiles into it and to us doesn't make sense either. Why? Because I want to be free. I want to be king of my own kingdom. I want to be captain of my own destiny. I want to be the Lord of my own ship. Right? So the disciples after Christ, it says, toward the civil power, they maintained an attitude of absolute submission.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:23

They refused to avail themselves of the elements of fanaticism which existed wherever there were Jews and at the head of which they might easily have placed themselves. So they were of course, being Jews. They. They had to overcome, so he says in. In 12, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You have to, you know, change your thinking about how to operate it said, instead of this, they chose to suffer and die, and their sufferings did what force could never have done. They leavened and Christianized the world. They leavened the world through their submission.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:09

And of course, the. The idea that we live in a country where you can have some impact on leadership, we can vote. Is not common in the world, in most of the world and most of time, that you can really have any impact. And who's in leadership? Right? Leadership comes and goes. So he says he has to remind us there's a reason that we can stand under governing authorities because we understand that God is the authority. So the Lord himself is sovereign, and he is the authority overall, as Scripture says, he is the dispenser of authority. He is the authority overall, and he's also the dispenser of authority. In Daniel, it says, he who changes the times and epics, he removes kings and establishes in order that the living may know.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:30

What might they know? That the Most High. Huh? The Lord is. In other. In other words, is there any authority over him? No, he is the Most High. There is no most over Him. He is the Most High. Well, they might know what. He's the most High.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:00

He is also the ruler over the realm of mankind, right? Is the ruler over the realm of mankind. And. Sto. He bestows it on whomever he wishes. So he is the ruler over the realm of. This is the realm of mankind, Right? He rules over here. And he bestows. He bestows it, dispenses it, if you will, on he who he wishes and sets it over whoever lowliest of men.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:49

And so Nebuchadnezzar stands up on his balcony. He looks over his kingdom. He says, hey, pretty amazing. Look at what my hands have made. The Lord says, okay, you're going to eat grass for seven years. Do you figure out until you. He says, do you understand that the Most High is the ruler over the realm of mankind, and he bestows it on whomever he wishes? And he reminds us in that picture, for seven years, I always said this. If.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:25

If you're outside of Babylon and a. An enemy of Babylon and the king is eating grass, what do you think? If you're an enemy, this is the great. This is the time when you attack. He's cuckoo, right? You'd say, the king is cuckoo. Now we attack. But for seven years he's out in the back eating grass and his kingdom is maintained. And at the end, it says his reason returned to him and sovereignty was given back to him. Why? God owns sovereignty.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:05

He owns sovereignty. So he showed us, for all the time, God is sovereign over. And that means, by the way, whether there's an election or not, whether there's an, you know, an evil overthrow, whether it doesn't really matter, God is sovereign over even evil. That's happening in the realm of mankind. So he is the dispenser. And at the beginning of Isaiah, so he says, who has measured the water in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens by the span, or calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, or weighed the hills in a balance, the mountains in a pair of scales? Then it says, with whom did he consult? Who gave him understanding? And it goes on to say, he sits above the vault of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He spreads out the heavens like a curtain, spreads the heavens out like a tent to dwell in. And then it says, he reduces the rulers to nothing.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:04

Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth. But he really blows on them. And they wither. They wither and the wind carries them away, like Chad. Then he says, to whom then will you liken me that I should be his equal? In other words, who's like me? Who is like the Most High in terms of authority, power, sovereignty? His kingdom is everlasting his dominion from generation to generation. So he reminds us, God is the sovereign authority, and he's the dispenser of authority. So he calls government, right, governing authorities. He calls them servants of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:53

Servants of God and ministers of God. To which you'd say, not our government. Servants of themselves. Ministers of themselves. Right. Servants of God. Ministers of God. Understand, this is not political.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:23

This is theological. This has nothing to do with politics. This has everything to do with theology. This is theological, fundamentally. Right. Don't get stuck in politics. So he reminds us that government governing authorities exist by God's design. They operate under his sovereign authority.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:51

They're populated by the leaders he raises up. And ultimately they answer to him. Ultimately, they answer to the Most High. So they are ministers of God to maintain order and justice. To maintain order and justice. So he's given them a sword. Sword of public justice is ordained. Well, this is critical because he just told us the sword of personal justice is forbidden.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:39

Right. That's. That's where we came from. He said, you cannot return evil for evil. Do not avenge yourself. Right. That's what he said. So if we don't trust in God's sovereignty, injustice, overall.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:54

Right. We're not going to trust in his sovereignty. In public justice. Private justice. Public justice. We have to trust his sovereignty. The sword of personal vengeance is forbidden. Never take your own revenge.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:07

It says, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord is the avenger. And he says, oh, by the way, those who resist, resist God and they bring judgment on themselves. And he says, two parts, one right, you know, actual justice, although in the world today, m justice. We'll talk about what happens when the system's broken. But he says there's legal and divine justice. Legal and divine justice. Legal, not always justice, divine, always just. So he's saying, right, don't resist.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:53

And so if we weave this back, are you sure? Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living holy sacrifice, which is the spiritual service of worship. So he's saying that. That submission to governing authorities is worship. What? Submission is an act of worship. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That by itself. Take a breath and hang on that one. Because we live in a highly polarized and politicized world.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:41

Highly polarized and politicized world. And we get caught up in that. So to step back out of the politics of the time and understand what God is saying here. He's sovereign over personal relationships and he's sovereign over. So let's continue on to the responsibilities. Okay, so theologically, I get it, Lord. Well, okay, so what am I responsible to do? First thing he says is, don't fear them, fear God. Don't feed that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:12

Fear them, fear God. So let's walk through it says, submit yourself for the Lord's day to every human institution, whether to a king as a one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers. The praise of those who do right. For such is the will. God, Lord, what's your will? It is for by doing right may silence the ignorance of foolish men. So he says, act as freeman, but do not use your freedom. Cover your own evil. Use it as bond slaves of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:00

Bond slaves. You notice that little twinge just like when we said the word surrender on slaves. Those who have surrendered their will to their master, their owners, their Lord. That's what a slave is. Right. Their will has been right. Their. Their will essentially has been been dedicated to the will of the master, to the.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:37

To the best use of their energy to bring about that which is best for their master. Does that make sense? Sure, if you. Sure, right. Whe. Whether it's stewardships. It's that whole picture, right? Choices. Don't fear government, fear God. Please says, okay, just do good Remind them to be subject to rulers through authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:07

Okay, so there's the. There's a bit of downs. We start to say, okay, so what does that look like? Good deed? Well, how do I know what's good? How do I know it's good? What? The will of the Lord is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. The will of the Lord is good. So we think good. He says also pay taxes. Pay taxes. What do you think? Is it lawful to give a poll tax to Caesar or not? They said to Jesus, he says, what? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:45

But only what is due. I put on there only what is due. What does that mean? You don't have to pay the most. Be smart. Be smart. Pay the. Pay the least. Take the lease.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:58

Only what is due. Only what is due. How do I know that? Well, that's why I used to tell people do pay only when it's due. Pay what is due. So we pay taxes, which means we give to the Lord from the first fruits. But in our. In our world today, government's not dumb. Who's the first to get every dollar? When you work, where's the first dollar go before you get it? Where you get it? Unless you work on.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:34

If you have your own business, then you have to send it. But they want the first. But in God's economy, he gets the first. And then, although he. It should be. Should be him save, pay, right? And then live off the balance. But he says, right, Pay taxes. Pay taxes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:54

Which again, if you were Jewish in your mindset, you'd say, no, there's no way I am paying to pagan authorities. Of course we would stand here and say, well, they're pagan authorities and they're unjust. They're pagan authorities and they're corrupt. They're pagan authorities and they're evil. Right? That would be the idea. So we pay. And then it says in the midst of that, you pay and pray. Pray for leaders.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:41

And you only pay for the. You pray for the leaders you agree with, you get stuck. It's easier to pray for those you agree with. Pray for the ones you agree with and the ones you don't. You pray that the Lord takes them away. To step out of the politics. Right. I urge you that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, kings and all who are in authority, so that you may lead a tranquil and Quiet life and all godliness and dignity.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:21

In other words, for. For Jews at the time, you would rebel against authority. You would rebel against authority because they believed, right, that the Messiah was going to come back and take authority, take over authority. So he says, live, live. Live at peace. And they says, live peacefully. Pay attention to your own matters. I like this from Proverbs.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:48

A lot of good stuff in there. Like one who takes a dog by the ears. Who've taken a dog by the ears, right? The evil passes by and metals the strife not belonging to them. Medals with strife not belonging to them, though. Then he says, honor those who serve. Honor those you serve. Honor those who serve. Honor those who serve.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:28

I mean, in how I think and talk and operate. Honor those who serve the ones. I agree with and think back over time, right? Most of time. Most of the time. Many places in the world would you be able to honor the leaders. And you had no impact. You had no impact when you. They were talking to people here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:00

They, they weren't voting on Caesar. Hey, which was Caesar going to the poll, George, 51%. I mean, think about that, right? So then I said, wonder if they're evil. What if they're evil? Well, the reality is they usually are. They usually are. The apostle Paul is under whom? Nero Burning Christians at the state. What if they're evil? Court 3 Evil. Of course, this goes back to.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:42

Is God sovereign over everything, including evil? Sovereign over everything, including evil. Soul? That's the question. Are believers ever to disobey? Effort to disobey? Well, I put commands and forbids for sure. Commands and forgives. What's that mean? If the government commands something that God forbids or forbids something that God commands. That makes sense. Commands and forbids. If.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:29

If they command something that God forbids or they forbid something that God commands. Clear. So where is the line? Where is the line? Well, Barnes says when they commanded the worship of idols. Easy, right? Or any moral thing, then it was in their duty to refuse submission. Yet in what cases this was to be done. Where the line was to be drawn was a question of deep importance and one which was not easily settled. So where's the line? Well, first of all, certainly scripture. Scripture, where it's clear.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:07

In scripture, it's clear. The application that's not always clear, is it? Which is why it also demands wisdom and careful discernment underlying careful discernment. So in acts that one's easy, right? Whether it's right, the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the Judge, for we cannot stop speaking what we've seen and heard. He was. They were saying, do not preach the gospel. Paul says, here's what I've been called to do. Preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ. So God says, this is your calling.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:44

Preach. They're saying, don't preach. Command forbid. See it very clear. That one's clear. He said, we're. I'm stole, right, Daniel. These men, O King, have disregarded you, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:01

They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up. They reply to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. So it's clear to them, you make me bow to an idol. We don't even have to think. We don't have to go pray. We don't have to do anything. It's very clear. That one's absolutely clear.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:21

Well, you're going in the furnace. Well, that makes. Makes it harder. Doesn't make it any less clear. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire. And he will deliver us out of your hand, O King, even if he does not. Let it be known to you, okay. That we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:44

Again, don't preach. They forbid something that God commanded. They were telling them to do. They were commanding something. God forbid. Both of those are clear. Not always clear. Not always clear.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:00

What happens when. Well, what happens in the founding of this country? What happens in the rebellion? Well, they weren't all Christian. In fact, I don't know that most of them were a lot of deists, right? I don't know. Most of them were. History is a hard thing to look back on. And what happens nationally is different than what happens with us as believers. Everybody see that. Us as believers.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:26

So these are not always easy. The state says, do not worship during lockdown. The federal government says it's okay. John MacArthur does it. They take him to court. Was it okay? It's a lot of disagreement among Christian, even pastor leaders who said, should we still meet and worship? That was one of those cases. Wasn't totally. Wasn't totally clear.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:56

G says, federal government says, okay, that's my calling. So there are some. There are some places where it's not so sure. Scripture, wisdom and careful discernment. Certainly, if there's rebellion, rebellion against the slave trade, rebel. Right. I mean, if there's active rebellion I want to be in concert with God's people and God's leadership. Does that make sense? There's active rebellion.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:27

Want to be in. So don't get confused. I think sometimes. Don't get confused. If I'm carrying my Bible and waving it at people in the workplace and my boss says, don't, don't. I'm there to serve, right? You're on my time, then you serve as unto the Lord. I think that one's clear to me. When you s.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:56

When you're there, you're serving. You're an employee. You're not an employee. Do what you want. Just right. So those are the kind of things that require good discernment. Good discernment. Good discernment.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:13

So Jesus said, and great reminder, when Pilate, he was talking to Pilate, he said, you would have no authority over me. Really. Pilate says, don't you understand? I can. I can. I can put you to death. Jesus said, you. You don't have authority over me unless it's been given to you from above. So that's the picture Lord Jesus is showing us there.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:40

Was he rebelling against local authority submitted as well. So easy stuff. No, this is not easy. This is not easy. Now you want to say, I didn't like the doctrine before. That was hard. Now we get into the. The application of that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:02

But understand, this is not a to do list. This is. This is a picture of the Lord Jesus. That's what we're seeing. This is the picture of the Lord Jesus. This is how he operated in the midst of life, understanding that his Father was sovereign. Overall, Jesus said, you. You have no authority unless it was given to you from above, as it was given to you from above.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:33

So better question, rather than is it ever right to disobey, is where's. Where is our heart? Where's your heart? Where's your heart in this. That's where it starts, doesn't it. It's a hard one. This is hard. And we don't. I mean, if you think about, we live in an unjust world in the United States of America, but the. The injustice of our world, it doesn't often hit us directly.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:03

We get that. But there are places around the world, around the world where the injustice is. Persecution is unjust persecution, the believers in jail, the. I mean, where. Where the authority. You know, for here, this is kind of. Yeah, this is challenging. This is challenging, but it doesn't directly impact us like it does most of history.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:29

Most of history. You know, how about Daniel 5, 5 different kings most were not righteous kings, right? He serves them. Joseph serving. Right. Joseph. So they give us pictures, you know, pictures for us. So this is about trusting God's sovereignty, Isn't it? This is about trusting God's sovereignty. Well, if we, if he is sovereign over every authority, then we submit out of worship, right? And that we have a conscience and a heart and a mind and a life that's been surrendered unto him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:15

We honor God's ordained leaders. Even when I didn't vote for them or don't agree with them or don't like them. The God has authority to put. He lifts up one, he puts down another. Doesn't always make sense, does it? Doesn't always make sense. We surrender our personal vengeance, that's even harder. As well as public vengeance. And we trust the king.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:46

Who's the king? He's the king of heaven. He's the king of heaven. The earth is the Lord's and all it contains and those who dwell in it. So we think. So where's the struggle for you? Where's the struggle for you? Maybe it's the leaders we have in the world. Maybe it's praying for the ones we don't agree with. Maybe yours is honor, authority, authorities you don't respect. Not a whole lot of politicians you can respect, are there? Or surrendering personal opinion.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:33

So what is it for you? Just think about it. So, right, just circle. Which one's the hardest for you? Which one's the hardest for you? All of the above. So which one is the most hardest? Know thyself, Know yourself. Where's my, where's my challenge in this? It says, serve your boss. And even when they're not just unrighteous, when they're evil. The word, the word literally, Peter says, even when they're evil, like I have evil intent. Because he says if you, if you, if you sin and suffer for it, under authority, big deal, right? Oh, I'm suffering under this? Well, you caused your own problems.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:28

He says if you do what is right and suffer for it, this finds favor with God. That's the harder part, right? So, yes, it is God's authority. It's God's authority in the world. It's God authority with government authorities. It's God's authority in your marriage. It's God's authority at work. It's God's authority in the church. It's everywhere.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:50

Because God is a God of order, is a God of authority. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, who is the Son? Submit to the Father. This is not. It's not as if he's saying you submit because you're creatures. No, you submit because submission is part of God's character. Trusting God's sovereignty is part of God's character. The Son earns glory, right, majesty, dominion and authority. Revelation, he says not to.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:23

To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion. Dominion is earned. It's authority. It's His. His dominion, right? So submission to that is the Son. Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Why I do nothing of my own will. He said, you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:47

What about the Spirit? The Spirit says, I take what's of Jesus and make it known to you. The Spirit says, I just take and reveal Jesus. Jesus reveals the Father, the Father honors the Son. That's the character of our God. So we trust his authority when it doesn't make sense. Authorities that he's put in place, we can say public, private, right? And then, you know, out in the world and in the. Within the church, right? God's authorities, sovereignty is everywhere. It's hard.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:24

Hard. It's hard. But it starts with you on your knees before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You on your knees. It starts inside here. Because if you haven't surrendered, you're not going to surrender in your personal relationship, your family, your work, the church, the world, you're not going to submit. So that's the question, as he says, that's what I want you to do, right? Each day, each day by the mercies of God. Each day by the mercies of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:57

To submit yourself, to surrender yourself to, to just Lord. This is yours. This is yours. And then rejoice. Then our God reigns. Our God reigns. If that makes sense. Yes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:13

You know, I know. But our God reigns. Our God reigns. Despite what it looks like, despite what you think, despite what's going on. Our God is the King of Heaven and the Lord of the earth. All right, Write down an insight other than all the above. I don't think it's hard. I think it's impossible.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:39

It's impossible because if you think about, go back to the garden. Adam and Eve had everything. They're an intimate fellowship with God. They have personal access to him. They literally have everything that their hearts would desire. And they chose. They wanted to be God themselves. At the end of the day, that's what Satan chose, right? And that's his temptation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:02

You want to be like God? Well, if you're like God, then you're the most high of your own world. Right? That's what you want. You want to be the most high of your own world. And so we, we. We become believers in Christ, but we're still the most high. And we sit and say, lord, what do you want me to do? And then I say, yes or no? So I'm the most high over the most high. I still want to be most high. Right.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:31

I want to evaluate. Oh, do I agree with that? Do I like that? I'll do it if I do. If not. So we're the most high. When he is the most high, that's why he says, to whom then will you liken me? That I should be his equal. I should be his equal. Yes. Yeah, the hard stuff.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:53

Trust in the sovereignty of God, in His goodness. Despite that, it wasn't as if this was theory to him. He wasn't talking theory, but. May the God of all grace. May the God of all grace. May he bless you. May he keep you. May he cause his face shine upon you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:46:11

May he lift up his countenance and grant shalom deep in your soul so that you could surrender to him and to his sovereignty and all of life. May he bless you, keep you always. Amen. Amen.

Scott Keffer [: 00:46:31

Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible, in His son, Jesus Christ. Until next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time. May God bless you and keep you.