Proverbs 28-29 | Stand on the Word

good morning welcome to stand on the word all right today we look at the final two chapters of the third part of Proverbs chapters 28 29 which are Proverbs spoken by Solomon but assembled by the wise men appointed by King Hezekiah verse two of chapter 29 when the righteous are in Authority the people Rejoice but when a wicked man rules the people groan now in these last two chapters um that we're looking at here in the third part of Proverbs there's a significant focus on on government which I want to highlight today because I think it's so relevant to where we are as a society especially right now in the midst of an election now I'm going to hit some of the other high points along the way but I'm going to be zeroing in on those passages related to government because we our time together is limited so I I do want to encourage you to read the entire two chapters great stuff here today two wonderful chapters verse one chapter 28 the wicked flee when no one pursues but the righteous are as bold as a lion right how can we be bold like a lion when others are running well verse 29 uh verse 25 of chapter 29 gives us some insight the fear of man brings a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be saved when when we're in right standing before God which is based solely on accepting and abiding in the Redemptive work of Christ we can stand boldly in the face of the challenges of this life now I've seen this I've actually seen this many time many many times in leaders leaders at almost every level of government who are afraid to confront which is almost universally recognized as morally wrong there there's usually something there and often times it's because there's some moral compromise in their own lives that they fear would be exposed therefore they don't say anything you know we need to live with the freedom and courage that comes from 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness see there's Freedom there and this is actually what verse 13 of this chapter speaks of verse 13 of chapter 28 he who covers his sins will not Prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy now by the way these principles we're talking about in leadership apply to all of us leadership in home leadership in business leadership in the church these are Universal principles that come from scripture verse 2 chapter 28 because of the transgression of a land many are its princes but by a man of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged now we're seeing this truth played out in our nation all right many are its princes it's a lack of stability turbulent turnover nearly every national election in the last 30 years has resulted in the shift from from one party to the other where the ideological divide has only grown wider with each election how can this be stopped well it's right here look at what the word says a man of understanding and knowledge now where does such leaders come from read verse four and five those who forsake the law praise the wicked but such as keep the law contend with them evil men do not understand justice but those who seek the Lord understand all there's the answer one who seeks the Lord will have the understanding and the knowledge to lead and bring stability here's a fact I think we we we don't like to acknowledge but our nation's Rel our nation's leader our leaders they reflect the people we need men and women in leadership positions at every level who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and are living for him and if we want those in government we have to have them in our homes if we want righteous civil government we need to be abiding by self-government ruling our own lives according to the word of God but we need these leaders that know what is right and have the courage to do what is right but it begins in the home those on the left that are advancing this Godless agenda are working to enslave the minds of our children with their twisted and perverse sexual ideology and they're in sensed that Christians would stand up against their lawlessness so they try to marginalize us by using terms like Christian nationalists well they're wrong okay they're wrong what we're doing is we are doing what scripture says we are recalling our history our nation's history America was founded on biblical principles the reason our nation is in trouble is that we've walked away from these principles and these truths just like the children of Israel did in the Old Testament right let me go back to verse four because there's something I want to point out here those who forsake the law praise the wicked but such as keep the law contend with them now you you you you may be have been amening what I was saying just a few moments ago but now let me point to our personal responsibility in combating lawlessness the lawlessness that we're witnessing and and lawlessness is is that which is counter to the truth that which is counter to God now many say that we've got to Fight Fire with Fire they they that they they the other side dis disregards the law so should we well let me ask you a question is that what scripture says look at the the last verse of chapter 29 verse 27 of chapter 29 an unjust man is an Abomination to the righteous and he who is upright in the way is an Abomination to the wicked we can successfully F fight la lawlessness with lawlessness we overcome wrong with right lawlessness is defeated by our obedience not not to man's unjust laws but to God and and you know an unjust law is not a law as Augustine and Thomas aquinus expounded upon in their teachings we are coming to a place in our society and I think in some cases we're already there we're obeying the moral law of God or natural law is declared lawlessness in the eyes of civil government that has rejected truth but we've got to be very careful when we approach the issue of Civil Disobedience because God is the author of government and we we need to continue to use the tools that we have at our disposal to bring government back into alignment with truth and because of our neglect and and I'm I'm saying this kind of in in a broad sense because there are still many Christians Bible believing Christians who do not vote they're not engaged in the political process they do not support candidates and and then they Wonder well we've got this mess so we just have to reject it um we've got a responsibility and we still have the tools available to us now I will say those tools have been D and uh and our grip on them is slipping but we still have them and we must use and we must pray we must vote and we must stand for biblical truth and by the way I would invite you to to to come here and join us in Washington DC for our pray vote stand Summit coming up October the 3rd through the 6 if you'd like more information go to pray vote stand.org but I'd love to have you come as we gather together to pray for our nation and be prepared for the upcoming election uh and and of course it doesn't end with this election we have an obligation as followers of Christ to be salt and to be light all right um let's go to verse 12 because Godly government benefits everyone you and I are not being selfish by advocating for Godly government look at verse 12 when the righteous Rejoice there is great Glory but when the wicked arise men hide themselves look also at verse 28 when the wicked arise men hide themselves but when they perish the righteous increase why well look at the implications of the character of leaders or the lack thereof look at verse 15 like a roaring lion and a charging bear is a wicked ruler over poor people a ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor but he who hates covetousness will prolong his days a man burdened with Bloodshed will flee into a pit let no one help him everyone benefits from Godly government and Leadership even the ungodly but when the wicked rise in power and influence the righteous are repressed and they go to hiding look at verse two of chapter 29 when the righteous are in Authority the people Rejoice but when a wicked man rules the people grown so what does it look like when the righteous are in Authority verse four The King establishes The Land by Justice but he who receive receives bribes overthrows it justice and Truth look at verse 14 the king who judges the poor with truth his throne will be established forever truth what is truth truth comes from God revealed both in nature and his word essential Justice and Truth is essential to the rule of law and here's a reality we have jettisoned truth that is the Transcendent truth of God which our nation was founded upon and we've lost justice as justice has been lost lawlessness has arisen now we hear the left all the time calling for oh we need social justice and you know what they're right Justice is missing in our society today but they bear a large portion of the responsibility for the absence of Justice because they have rejected truth and driven it from the Public Square all right a side note on Proverbs 29:10 go back to that verse the bloodthirsty hate the blameless but the upright seek his well-being and I've always seen this um verse in the context of of The Unborn and of children the bloodthirsty hate to blame us the innocent but the upright seek his well-being we need to seek the well-being of of children of babies The Unborn and the born and when government in control of the wicked wants to indoctrinate them children with a worldview that will lead them to in into destruction both temporally temporarily in this world but also eternally we need to step in to do something and that's where we are in society now back to contending with lawlessness and when I say lawlessness I'm not talking about the the rioting and the Looting and the disregard for the laws made by man this is certainly part of it but I'm I'm going to the deeper to going deeper to the root cause of this the lawlessness toward God and His word we must not give into lawlessness in any form that includes the pressure to surrender biblical truth in an attempt to appease the Lawless culture see at at the heart of the lawlessness that we see in our society today and and if you if you don't agree with that then you're not seeing what's happening the violence that's on our streets the the the Mayhem that is that has just enveloped our culture it's because we've rejected truth and we only feed lawlessness if we allow this rejection of Truth to continue but if we stand firm on the truth the word of God we will eventually Prevail despite their claims that we stand on the wrong side of History the reality is we stand on the side of Eternity verse 16 chapter 29 when the wicked are multiplied transgression increases but the righteous will see their fall we see the admonition to contend with the wicked in verse 27 look at this an unjust man is an Abomination to the righteous and he who is upright in his way is an Abomination to the wicked now it helps us to remember this fact found in verse 26 many seek the ruler's favor but Justice comes from the Lord all right this is an acknowledgement that God has the Supreme judge of the world as the nation's Founders stated in the Declaration of Independence it it helps us to remember that we can appeal our case to heaven in the face of the Injustice of man's government we can seek the face of God because the foundation of his throne is righteousness and Justice and we can and we can have confidence and know that Justice will come from the King of Kings and the Lord of lords but we have to seek him we have to seek the face of God and seek Justice from his throne which is the very Foundation of that Throne pray vote and stand one final note I going to go back to I could talk about this all day this is such good stuff in the world word of God it's right there for us we just have to take it apply it and I know it may be different it May challenge us but it is the word of God so I I I strongly encourage you to prayerfully prayerfully consider what the word of God has to say I want to go back to verse 18 where there is no Revelation the people cast off restraint but happy is he who keeps the law Godly leaders cast a god-given vision that incorporates an eternal perspective 's more to life than what we see right here and this keeps God's people on the right path and it leads to the Lord's blessing for all people so let those leaders we we we need to be looking for those leaders who spend time in the word of God and in his presence and get his vision that will unify our families our churches our communities and it will benefit everyone Believers and unbelievers alike some really really good good teaching this morning uh from Proverbs chapters 28 and 29 again I invite you to join us pray vot stand Summit here in our nation's capital October the 3D through the 6 you can find out more by going to pray vot.org let's pray father thank you for your word Lord I know it's a challenging word it's it's a counter to a lot of what we've heard and what we've been taught but lord it's your word and these principles we even see these principles in our found ing documents our Founders understood this because they were in the word of God they understood the word of God because it was preached by the men of God from the pulpits of America and it shaped this country Lord we lord we've moved far from it but I pray we would return to it as we return to you Lord if we want the fruit of Christianity we've got to go back to the truth of it and it's found right here in your word Lord stir our hearts as we pray that we would stand for righteousness in this day and which you have entrusted to us Lord use us to turn this nation back to you and and let it begin with our families let it begin with our churches and our communities may we take up the responsibility you've given us if we pray this in Jesus name amen all right thanks for being with me this morning and until next time keep standing on the word