Transcription
How many ready for the word I want to talk to you today about a very serious subject: governmental authority. I want to talk about the government right now. It's very critical in America. We are fasting in part to pray for our leaders, as it is written, and to be, uh, a blessing by prayer and fasting for souls, but also for the needs that are going on, for our economy, for our families, and for all those that are in derision and that have problems today.
You know, it's amazing to me after all these years of serving the Lord that God will not move unless you move. God will not move until somebody begins to pray and fast and seek the Lord and call on His name. God's funny like that. God could do whatever He wants to do. God could burn up the Earth in one day and we'd be all gone. God could send a snowstorm in the middle of the desert. God could bring water out of the desert. God could do anything. There's nothing impossible for Him. But for some reason, He's allowed us, men that are made in His image, and He's given us authority so that we, as the people of God, could make a difference on this Earth. And I want to talk to you very seriously about governmental authority.
A government is an organization that is governing authority of a political unit, the ruling power in a political society, and the apparatus to which a governing body functions and exercises authority. So, government exercises authority. It has authority. Government with the authority to make laws and to adjudicate disputes and to issue administrative decisions. Government is important. First of all, what is government? Government, unfortunately, also has politics. Government has men in it. And somebody said many years ago, at best, what separates us from the animals is that, at best, men are political. You know what that means? That means in the animal kingdom, it's kill or be killed. But us as human beings, we like what we like, and we don't like what we don't like, and we make decisions based on our own political views. We'll cut somebody off if we don't like the way they look, or like the way they dress, or, or like the color they are, or, or maybe where they're from. But I'm going to tell you, God is not a respecter of persons. God loves us all the same.
Now, the first government. Let me talk to you about the exact moment. According to Wikipedia, nobody knows. According to Wikipedia, at least, that the exact moment and place that this phenomenon of human government developed. It's lost in time. However, history does record that the formation of early governments about 5,000 years ago. The first small city-states appeared by the 3rd to 2nd millennium BC. Uh, BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: the Indus Valley Civilization, Sumer, and Akkad, Egypt. Well, I just want to tell you, the Bible says that people began to come together and make a city because they wanted to make their name great. So the first government, according to the Bible, was made by somebody called Nimrod. And to this day, if somebody calls you a Nimrod, a Nim-Nimrod, it's not good because Nimrod means you're a dork, you messed up. But see, the Bible says in Genesis 11, "Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass that they, they journeyed to the east and they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they dwelt there," which is modern-day Babylon or, or, or, or Iraq. So we understand, according to the Bible, that the first city or the first government came together to make themselves a great name and, and emphasize, they wanted to be God-like. And I think that gives you a good picture of man's government. That every government that has come together has come together to rule and to be great. But every great nation has come to nothing because it was not based on God, but it was based on man and man's pride and man's arrogance, and because of that, it comes to nothing. And I'll name one other generation or one other government, and I'll name, uh, the Romans. Was one of the greatest civilizations there ever was. And, and America's based on some of principles, Greek principles. And they came to nothing because they rotted from the inside out. Just like present-day America is beginning to rot from the inside out because once they took God out of the country and God out of the schools, and they're taking, they want to even take God out of the church because they think they're greater than God. But I have news for you today: nobody is greater than God.
So from the beginning of mankind, government has existed and come together for personal and political reasons, and most of them have been based on human error and human fallacy, which means the man in himself has nothing good when he does something with a motive to promote himself. Have you ever been in a position where you wanted to promote yourself and you didn't get promoted, but you got demoted? Maybe if you're 21 years old, you know what I'm talking about. Maybe if you're 16, you try to puff yourself up and speak well of you and promote yourself in some areas, and then someone comes and demotes you. Well, that's why the Bible says, "After pride comes the fall."
Now let's look at types of government. First one: anarchy, which refers to the following: absence of government, a state of lawlessness due to the absence of, or inefficiency of, the supreme power or political disorder. When you have anarchy, that means you have no government. That means you could do whatever you want. No laws. If I told you tomorrow morning, Monday morning, no more laws in America, you could run a red light whenever you want and you can crash your car into everybody you want to crash. It could be like roller derby outside. And the double lines that say, "Don't cross over," and "Don't go head-on with people," go ahead, 'cause there ain't no law. You could go and rob banks and you could do whatever you wanted because there's no law. And that's anarchy, lawlessness. But see, that kind of institution is going to come to nothing because we'd probably end up killing each other within one day. America would be destroyed within a week, I expect.
Now let's go to the next one: dictatorship. Rule by an individual who has full power over the country. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership, unrestricted by law, constitution, or other social and political factors within the state. That means one person would rule everybody, and you can't tell them nothing. Just like most Mexican homes in the '50s, Daddy was the dictator. Daddy did what he wanted to do. Nobody could say nothing because he, "In this house, I rule." Is that correct? That's right. You don't talk back and you don't say nothing. Well, let me tell you, dictatorship does not work because most men. Let me, let me, uh, uh, name a dictator. Hitler was a dictator. Hitler was a dictator. Whatever he said went. The people followed him, even though they massacred 6 million Jews because of dictatorship and his perverted view. And I believe the devil was inside that man, and the devil used him to destroy many lives. But look what happened to him. He came to nothing. He had to commit suicide because his, his country and his government came crashing down. His ears. That's what happens. Whatever you sow, I know I say this a lot, but whatever you sow, you reap. What goes around comes around. Should I, should I mention two letters this morning to you? Should I mention? Let me give you two letters: O.J. The juice. The juice is going to be in jail. I know what they have on the menu this morning: orange juice. I feel, you know, my wife, we talked, she feels real bad. She feels sorry for him, and I do too. But everybody in America believes he did it. He was going to even write a book on how he, he would have done it. But see, what I'm telling you, on the 13th day, in the 13th hour, on the 13th year, on that day, justice showed up. I'm going to tell you, justice showed up. God is a just God. You can run, but you can't hide. You could do what you want, but I'm going to tell you, it's better to understand that there's a God in heaven and that everything we do, He's watching us. Like Brother Sam said earlier, God is watching us. And I'm going, I will tell you, we would, myself included, we have to do things according. You have to live your life like God is watching you. God told me many years ago, "Don't do anything that you don't want on the front newspaper. Don't do anything that you don't want your picture with O.J. up in the front magazine or the front of the headlines because it might come out." And I pray, like some of you, we've all made mistakes. We've all done errors. We've all done things that maybe we're not proud of. But I tell you, thank God for the blood that has washed our sins away and covered us. 'Cause there are some things that I did in my younger years and stuff that I did were messed up. I'm glad God covered me, and that's why I'm here today, 'cause God covered me.
Now let's move on. Democracy. You already know that it's a form of government in which, uh, the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system. "For the people, by the people, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth," according to a quote from Abraham Lincoln in 1863. I thought this was in the Constitution, but this is from the Gettysburg Address. And it's interesting that he wrote in 1863, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." Do you feel like today that America's government is for you and by you? It says it shall not perish as long as it's of the people, by the people, and for the people. Well, I'm going to tell you, that's why we need to pray that it becomes a government that is for the people and by the people, and that God will bless America. Because don't sit here and say, "Oh, how messed up America is." Because I'm not one of these preachers that's going to tell you how messed up America is. And boy, I wish I wasn't here. But because I'll tell you right now, I was born in San Jose, California. I thank God I was born in America. I was born in freedom, and I have the religious right to preach the gospel and to live my life and do what God has called me to do. Because in a lot of countries, you can't have that. If you live in China, you can't have that. If you live in Russia, you can't have that in another country. But thank God, you need to say this morning, "God bless America." One more time.
Next, rule by monarchy. I'm going to ask you to be patient because I'm getting to my, my verses. I haven't even started preaching yet. This is my introduction. Rule by an individual who has inherited rule and expects to bequeath it to their heir. A person who reigns over a kingdom or empire, a sovereign ruler, constitutional king or queen, one that holds preeminent position of power. So, in, in, in England, we know that they have a queen. "God save the Queen," that's what they say. And I pray He does. And she needs to be baptized in Jesus' name. Oh, you don't believe me? Okay. They, they pass down their rule, and it's inherited. You have to be born into it. If you're not born under the Queen's house and under her, her, her family tree, then you could never be an heir to the throne. But I'm going to tell you this morning, you that are baptized in Jesus' name, you that have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you've been born again into His kingdom, and He is a King, and we are part of the true monarchy this morning. Hallelujah! Did you know that we are true kings and priests? So we thank God because we know spiritually we belong to God's holy government. Amen.
Now, theocracy. Is a form of government in which God or deity is recognized as supreme civil ruler. For believers, theocracy is a form of government in which divine power governs an earthly human state, either in a personal incarnation or more often via religious institution, representing, i.e., church, replacing or dominating civil government. Well, I got these notes, of course, from Wikipedia, just to let you know. And it says that the church is here to replace civil government. Well, we're not here to take over. I don't want to do the governor's job. How many would like to be Arnold Schwarzenegger? Maybe you want his muscle, the young men, his good looks, his big money. Maybe you want his big humvee. Well, I'm going to tell you, we're not here to replace any government. God's government is higher than any other government. God's government is higher than any other government.
But let's go to the next. I want you to see a verse right here. You're probably not going to like, and I want the young people to listen to this. You can say, "Nobody ever told me." Well, I'm going to tell you today, I want the young people to listen. The Bible says, "Government is ordained by God." In other words, there's judges and lawyers and police because God ordained it. The Bible says, "Let every soul be subject to governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist exist are appointed by God." God has appointed authorities on the earth. We need judges. We need police. We need to have order. There has to be a system that when people do wrong, they're going to be chastised. That's why it says, "Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." Again, say with me: O.J. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil." So I'm going to tell you right now, God has placed government in authority so we can have order. Somebody say, "God, give us order." Amen.
Now let's go to the next. The need of government. Without government, lawless anarchy will prevail. As I said, there will be a rebellion and chaos in the universe without divine authority. Israel's history records, "There was not a king in Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes." In the Old Testament, the Bible says that there came a place in the time of Israel where there was no government. Every man could do whatever you wanted to do. Now, how would it be if you went home tomorrow and Mom and Dad said, "You can do whatever you want to do. You don't have to answer to nobody." How do you like that, young people? Do whatever is in your heart to do. Go where you want. Come home as late as you want. Go out who you know, hang out with whatever friends you want to hang out with. I was talking to Cali and, uh, this weekend, and I didn't know this, but he told me, told me that, uh, his mom told him, "Don't hang out with this person because they drink." And he's going to hang out with that person. "Don't hang out with this person because they end up in jail." Or this person is a thief, or this person does this. So the first thing Cali would do was go hang out with that person because everything that was told, he acted upon it. But I'm going to tell you this morning, thank God, there has to be order in the house. Amen. There has to be order in the house. And we have to obey authorities in the government and the state and the county, in our cities, and in our homes. And we're going to talk about that more because, see, every man did what was right in his own eyes, and there was, it brings chaos. Somebody say, "Chaos." Chaos. All right.
Now let me give you my, my main verse. You know, I love this verse. Let's go. The Bible says right here, "The Messiah's government: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government will be upon his shoulders: and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." How many know that I love this verse? And the reason why I love this verse is because it was written 800 years before Christ even came to the Earth. And it was written that a child was going to be born, and that he was going to be a son, and that the government would be upon his shoulders, meaning that he would have to carry governmental authority and power on the Earth. But that his name, his government, was going to be a wonderful government. He was going to be our counselor to us, and a mighty God, and an everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Because in this time that we're living in, like never before, we need to have a counselor and a mighty God to help us to endure the problems that we're going through. And we need our Father today to lead us, to guide us, because God is a Father, and He cares for all your needs. He cares for all your desires. He cares for all your tears. He cares like a good Father, not a bad Father. But He's a kind of Father that's going to look out for you. A kind of Father that will supply. Now, you may not believe this or not, but I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father that if I ask Him, I believe He'll give it to me. There's things, there's things I've wanted over the years. And, you know, uh, in the mid, probably in the '80s, the Lord had showed me very clearly, and I was still a younger man, that my Heavenly Father, when you pray, you should say, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." Jesus said we're to pray to the Father. Why didn't Jesus say we should say, "Pray to the Holy Spirit"? He didn't say, "Pray to the Word." He didn't say, "Pray to your neighbor." He said, "Pray, Our Father which is in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." Why do you think He did that? Because He knew divine authority and power comes ultimately from the Father. Because the Bible says, "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights." Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father. So I'm going to tell you today, if you want something from God, you could pray to Jesus, that's good. But the divine order is, you must pray to the Father in Jesus' name. Oh, you don't believe me this morning? I'm going to tell you, God's government, His power, and His authority is everlasting.
Now let's go to the next. "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." See, when God comes again, as Brother James said today, in the twinkling of an eye, the moment that Christ takes us up to heaven and we're transformed and we're changed, the Bible says that His government shall be a government of peace. One thing when we get to heaven, you're going to feel in the atmosphere is peace because there will be no devil. That's why there will be no end to it. "Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order and establish it with judgment and justice." And here's one of my favorite words this year: "God has called us." And when He brings His kingdom, He's called to order it, establish it with judgment and justice. Somebody say, "Justice." Justice. "From that time forward, even forever." "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." See, there's one thing that I think Americans are hurt about is it seems unjust what's happening in the government. It's unjust what's happening in the economy. It's unjust what has been said and done to most Americans, according to our understanding. But this is why I want to get you today and think higher. Don't look just in the natural at what the government's doing and what these people are doing. And a lot of fear is coming in, and people are tripping on the economy. And I just tell you, if God wants to take it all, let Him take it all. And if God wants to give it, let Him give it all. But you have a right heart and you keep a right spirit between you and the Lord, the Father, and allow Him to bring justice and good judgment in your life. And as a Christian, it's our responsibility to be that kind of a Christian that loves the Lord and expects justice. Because I'm going to tell you, if you're living your life and you're always looking at the glass half empty, you're going to have that negativity around you. But if you look at it, wait a minute, say it with me: "God is just." God is just. And He's the governor of the earth. And if He's really the governor, then God is going to work it all out for His glory.
Now let's go to the next. What might such a government look like? First of all, it would look like its King. Politicians of this day look for what they can get from you. Jesus looks for what He can do for you. I'll read it again just so you make sure you get it right: Politicians of this day look for what they can get from you. And again, I'm not pulling politicians down, but there are professional politicians. That's why I've been saying for years, "You know where liars go? Washington D.C." They live their lives. And this is what happened to the Roman government. They had professional politicians that did the ordering, the governing, the decision-making based on their own political power and desire and lust for more power. Because there's one thing that men want is either more money, or more power, or more fame. You always want more. And our nature is that we want more all the time. So, in, in America, unfortunately, politicians, they, they're looking for what they can get from you. But remember, Jesus looks for what He can do for you. So I'm going to ask you today, what do you want Jesus to do for you today? Will you believe and step out by faith and believe that what God says He's able to do, what He promises He's able to perform, and reach out and touch Him in such a way, knowing that God will look out for your best interest, and He does care for you, and He will bring about change? Because I don't care how many politicians talk about change. You can't change a walnut. You can't even change your neighbor. You can't even change your husband or your wife. I'll let that marinate for a moment. You can't change nobody. The only one that brings change is the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "I'll change you from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from love to love, grace to grace, and mercy to mercy." He changes us into His image. Because ultimately, that is the desire that God has for your life, that you are changed. Not into the image of George Bush. God's will is not for you to look like George Bush or talk like George Bush. It's not even God's will for you to be Barack Obama. Should have got quiet in this Presbyterian church. Amen. It's not God's will for you to be Mr. McCain. But it's God's will for you to be yourself. It's God's will for you to be yourself and be who you are and learn divine governmental authority.
Next, leaders of this day surround themselves with servants. Jesus surrounds us with His servanthood. Leaders of this day use their power to build their empires. Jesus uses His power to wash our feet and make us clean and comfortable. Leaders of this day surround themselves with servants. The more leaders, the more servants they have, the greater they feel. But Jesus has called us to be servants to His kingdom. Because ultimately, the greatest thing you could do for Christ is be a servant of the Lord. He didn't call you to be a ruler. He called you to be a servant and serve the Lord in the good times and the bad times, and know the order of divine chain of command by knowing that ultimately everything you do is for Jesus. And when you do it for Jesus, you're going to be blessed by God because He called you to be a servant of the Lord, not the servant of the people, not the servant of America, but the servant of the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. God didn't call us to build our empire. Even Mission 24, we didn't come to build an empire. Jesus uses His power to wash our feet and makes us clean. Well, Jesus, He made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him Himself. You know, when Jesus was walking the Earth, He didn't walk around with flyers and say, "Hey, I, I, I'm Jesus. This is me. Uh, here's my number. You want to text me? You know, I'm very popular." Jesus, Jesus didn't. The Bible says He made Himself of no reputation. The greater you'll be in God's kingdom is your willingness to humble yourself and make yourself of no reputation and be a nobody. And that's hard for most of us. Amen. That's why it's hard to be a preacher because when God calls you to be a preacher, the first thing you learn is humility and that you're nobody. You are a nobody. And the greater you understand that spiritual principle, the greater God will use you because you're not doing it for your glory, but His. Oh, hallelujah. It's all right. You don't, you don't have to praise the Lord 'cause that was true anyway. And I hope you didn't like it. Hallelujah.
Next, leaders of this day trade their influence for money. But God so loved the world that He gave. Leaders of this day trade their influence for money because in America, it's all about the almighty dollar. But the dollar is not so almighty anymore. 'Cause if you want to go to McDonald's, you can't buy too much with a dollar. And if you do, you shouldn't even be going to McDonald's 'cause you're on a 21-day fast right now. Stop eating that junk food. Start eating healthy to give you true energy to do the work that God called you to work. Take care of your temple and don't allow all that garbage to ruin your life before time. You're responsible for your body. Amen. I know that's a bunny trail, but praise the Lord.
Generals of this day need, uh, regular wars to keep their weapons and skills up to date and ensure their own advancements. Jesus brings peace and rest to our hearts. See, I believe, hey, if Brother Jonathan's the only one that responds, I'm good with it. He's my son. And if he backs up his dad and nobody else does, I'm good with it. That's all right. So don't trip, potato chip, because he's going to be a preacher and some other things too. Generals of this day need regular wars. In other words, in the economy of America, over the years, from Vietnam to, uh, the Korean Wars and all the other wars, you know, it helps generate money to make weapons, to to build, uh, uh, America. And that's what generals do. They like to be in war. There's no generals, I expect, that like to just stay home and eat Doritos or something. They went to, went out and, and win wars and make wars for their own advancement. But Jesus brings peace and rest to our hearts. So what I want you to say right now is, "Jesus, bring me peace and rest." Because see, Jesus cares for your heart.
Now, the higher the plane of appointment one reaches in this world, the more inaccessible he becomes. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us. You know, when people become real important, and you become, "I'm the governor of the East Side of San Jose," or "I am the governor of Alviso," and it smacks. People want to be given high positions in this world. That's the attainment a lot of people desire to be great and have a high plane of importance. And they become inaccessible. But the worst thing for me as a preacher is to see a pastor and men of God that are inaccessible, and they're so important that nobody can get near them. Because I'm a pastor. That's right. Whoa, bow down. Brother Rand knows what I'm talking about. You get around these men, it's like you try to greet them, and they're like, "Who are you? I don't know who you are. You are nobody." You are nobody, Brother Randolph. But I thank God you're nobody. 'Cause on Earth, you're nobody. But in heaven, you're somebody. See, this is an inside joke thing because Brother Randolph was in a high-ranking official meeting with some high-ranking officials, and they told him, "You are nobody." It's a true story. True story. But that's all right, Brother Randolph, 'cause at Mission 24, you're the man, and Sister Randolph's the woman of the man. All right. So the high plane of importance one reaches in this world, the more inaccessible he becomes. Jesus called Immanuel, means God with us. See, Jesus humbled Himself, taken upon Himself the form of flesh. God showed up at that little manger. She could have been born in the, uh, Ritz-Carlton or the Hilton, but was out in a manger with no importance.
Leaders of this day are desperate to be seen and heard. Jesus sought anonymity so He could be useful. Because Jesus didn't want people to love Him for how He looked. That's why the Bible says, "He had no beauty that we should care for Him." You know, it's amazing. America, the more beautiful you are, the more people want you. Like Elvis Presley. I mean, how many people are still walking around with their Elvis Presley pictures and their Elvis Presley movies and their Elvis Presley books? And Elvis Presley was the king. Till he got fat. Then you got the fat Elvis, you got the skinny Elvis, you got the young Elvis. You got to go to Graceland and worship the king because he was beautiful. And I have nothing against Elvis. Jon's rock, go ahead. You know, rock house, baby. But see, how we gravitate toward beauty. But Jesus was made of no reputation. There was no beauty about Him so that people would desire Him. So it's not about outer beauty, it's about inner beauty. Amen. See, on Earth, we may not be known, but in heaven, we are known. Paul said, "Even as I am known." I had a dream. I'll share this. I wasn't going to, but I had a dream. If you, uh, last week, couple weeks ago, that I was at a service, there was a few hundred people there. I was going to preach, but it was real dark and heavy there. And I was going to preach. Brother Abel Aglar was there. And I said, "Oh, wow, Brother Abel, he's a great national, international evangelist." And I invited him to come up. And he told me, "I'm real busy right now." He told me in the dream, "Go. I'm busy right now." And he is. He told me, "I'm busy right now. I'll say a few words, but I got to go." And I said, "All right." So then he left. So then in the dream, and I said, "Well, I may not be known on Earth, but I'm known in heaven." Because even the devils have come to me and told me, "Do you want me to tell you who you are?" See, because we don't realize it, but you're more important to heaven than a hundred thousand that don't worship Jesus. You're more important than a million that won't give Him the glory. God knows your name, and you are important to Him, and He knows where you're at, and He knows your family. And I'll tell you, the Bible said He ever liveth to make intercession for us. And He spoke your name this morning because it says, as a high priest up in heaven, He is praying for us and interceding. And He said today, "Brother Daryl, God is going to bless you, and God is with you, and don't worry, 'cause everything's going to be all right."
Obviously, Jesus is not in charge of the halls of Washington, London, Moscow, Baghdad, Paris, or Bonn. So how can we ever believe the government will be upon His shoulders? Actually, His government shows its workings in wonderful ways. Whenever I see someone who has miraculously left a life of drugs or alcohol, is restored to his family and work, I can see that he is now governed by God. See, how do we see in our government when God works? When you see somebody like Cali that comes out of the mission, that was walking around with no hope. And I'll tell you this, and forgive me, Cali, but Cali told me before right before he came to the mission, he was hanging out with Les and, and, and some people were telling him to worship the devil. And he went with them. And then they said, "You, you know, after they found out about Cali, like, 'Oh no, we don't really want you here because you're kind of, you know, you're not.'" No, I'm going to tell you, I told Cali this: "I don't care about your body, Cali. I don't care how you look. I care because what is going to get you to heaven is your heart and your spirit." And here at Mission 24, we love you and we accept you just the way you are. I don't care because what's going to go to heaven is not Cali's body, but Cali's spirit and Cali's soul, the mind and the heart. Hallelujah. So when God saves somebody, that's our government in, in, in, in on the move.
Next, whenever I see loving Christians gently caring for an orphan or those rejected by family, I know I'm watching people governed by God. Whenever I see people eagerly learning the Bible and joyously praising, I know you're governed by God. Brother Sam just preached to us last week, "We know that you're really Christians when you're in Bible study every week." 'Cause that's showing everybody and showing God you care so much for His, His work that you're willing to turn off American Idol and worship the Lord and learn the Bible. You're willing to turn off America's Got Talent, CMT, DVD. You're willing to turn off CNN, C-C-CNN, how do you say it? CNN, Fox, Fox. Any time you're willing to turn off the tube and turn off your computer and your iPod and your texting and say, "You know what? I'm going to spend half an hour." Like Brother Sam preached, he challenged you, and I'm going to challenge you and back up what Pastor Sam said and say, "You need to open this every week. Take it to you with work or school." Even when I was working security for 12 years, because you don't know this, but I'm just a security guard for 12 years. I'd go in my little breaks and I'd take a little Bible with me and I'd read a few verses and I'd chew on them. I'd walk around chewing on it right there because, you know why? The Word of God is a lamp on my feet. It's a light onto my path. And we've got to fall in love with this book again. Because too many of us, and I agree with Brother Pastor Sam, too many of us love. There's too many attractions. There's too many attractions. That's why I can't watch, uh, TV. I mean, you know, I like watching the news 'cause I want to be on what's up. And maybe, you know, we watched, uh, a few shows. And I, I, I thank God that I'm at finally at a place, Brother Nico, where we could say, "Yes, the pastor watches the movies." Don't freak out 'cause we know we're at a church. Oh, you go to Great America? You go to Disneyland? You're going to die 'cause the devil's over there. And I know most of you go to the movies. Don't fall out of your chair or anything. I saw one of our members just recently. I came out of, Brother Victor took us to eat last Saturday, couple Saturdays ago, coming out of a restaurant right here in Union City. I saw one of our members, a whole family getting off their car and walking towards the, the, the theater house on a Saturday. It was a Saturday. And I go, "I didn't know you Christians could go to movies." And they said, "Yeah." I said, "Calm down. I've gone to movies to relax sometimes. You need to go see a good movie and relax 'cause sometimes we take life too serious and we get stressed. There's a time to rest. There's a time to play. Have balance in your life." And yes, you can go to a movie, eat popcorn, and if you eat a hot dog, pray. 'Cause I don't know what's in it. That's on you between you and the hot dog God. But right now, you got 21 days. You shouldn't be going eating. If you, you know, maybe you could take a vegetarian plate with you or something. How about vegetarian popcorn? How you like that? Now I got way thrown off. I don't even know where I'm at, Brother Next. I'm almost finished. Is that all right? Can I have five more minutes? Is that all right?
Now we're going to bring it home. We're going to bring it home. Government of the home. Somebody say, "Hallelujah." Hallelujah. Involving husband, wife, and children. Genesis 1:26-28, Colossians 3:18-21. I don't have time, but you can read it. But the Bible talks about government of the home. Just let me say, it's the husband's responsibility, according to the Word, to lead his family into the spiritual dimensions and make sure his children learn the Word, pray. And it is the wife's responsibility to help the husband together. Now, if you're, if you're in a house where you have no husband, then the woman has the divine authority, the governmental position to take authority over their children and pray for them and even lay hands on them. I've asked the mothers before, if you don't have a husband, then you take authority and you lay hands on your children and you pray for them and you make sure that they're walking on the right road. Because somebody has to take responsibility. I like saying that lately. Every time I say that, I feel good. Somebody needs to take responsibility. Somebody has to take authority in the home and take the divine right as sons and daughters of God that for me, in my house, we shall, we shall. Amen. Because you can't always have a pastor or minister come to govern your home. You govern your home. I have to govern my home as best as I can. And I don't want to stand here and tell you your pastor is the best husband and the best father because I'm not. Maybe you people come up to say, "Oh, you and Sister Becky have such a great relationship. You guys are the pinnacle." No, don't put me on the pinnacle because when you get on the pinnacle, you could fall. So just let them know we have good days and bad days. Brother James said earlier, we have bad days, days we have tough times. Sometimes we have to push, sometimes we have to hold, sometimes we have to believe together, and sometimes we don't agree. But I tell you, ultimately, we know one thing: we have to serve the Lord, and we have to put God first, and we got to love one another, and we have to have mercy, and we can't give up. Don't give up because too many people in America are giving their homes over to the devil. And it's easily, easy to, to divorce and, and, and give up. But I'm going to tell you today, don't give up. Fight the fight. Keep the faith. Believe God. And if you are having trouble in your home, there are times where we have to bear the cross and we have to learn to endure. And it's not easy because it's easy for men and women these days to have relationships. I mean, you go to the market store and you try to pass through the, a line of items, and you see these magazines. Who's this girl with now? Who, what happened to this relationship? I mean, I couldn't believe. You can't. It's just amazing because it's like anything goes. And it just really, I'm going to quote Sister Becky, is that all right? She gets really miffed when she sees Hollywood stars coming and talking about who they think should run the country. She goes, "What right do they have? They can't even handle their own lives. How are they going to tell us to run the government and who should be in charge?" Who are they to say? "Well, I don't think this person. I don't think that person. This person, this." And I mean, who are they? They're people that know how to act and get paid a lot of money, and people worship them because they come out on TV or they come out in fields and like, "Oh, they're so beautiful, and they have this, and they have that." Yeah, and most of them, their life stinks. They're on drugs. They have to go to rehab. They're in relation after relationship. And then we go and worship them, and it's full of garbage. It's garbage. It's junk in the trunk. I mean, Hollywood, what they need, they need to be washed by the blood of Jesus and get right with the Lord. Now, there are some Christians in Hollywood, but I will tell you, I do not let Hollywood dictate our politics or dictate our lives. Now, I'm sure there's a lot of good people in Hollywood. I don't know any, but I'm sure there's some. There might be a few. But I mean, God bless them. We need to pray for them too. This is why we need, I believe we're the kind of church that we're living in. We need young men to become movie directors, right? We need young people to become actors and actresses to show another light, to show that family and faith in a powerful way is the right way. But we could do it in a powerful way. Before I die, I hope in the next few years, we get in the movie business. I want to become, I don't want to necessarily be in the movies, but I want to see you in the movies because we need to project Christ Jesus the way it should be. I mean, I'm not talking about the money. I'm not talking about the fame. But I'm talking about the truth. This is the truth. And if Jesus was here, I bet He'd come out in a movie and preach the gospel if He knew He was going to reach 10 million people overnight. That's the kind of Jesus I, I serve. I serve the kind of Jesus that when you get to heaven, He's going to have water fights with you. You know why I know that? Because very spiritual people I know that, I know they men and women of God told me that God had a water fight with them. He hasn't had one with me. I'm a little jealous, but I'm waiting. But that's the kind of guy what I serve. He's, He's cool. He's good. He's down with it. He even likes to, uh, uh, uh, be on the cutting edge in our music and everything we do. We must be on the cutting edge of what God is doing.
So going on, so I could wrap this. I already talked the government of the nation. Let me finish with the government of the church. A society within a society, a community within a community, a nation within a nation, divinely governed institution within humanly governed institution. It is His kingdom, theocracy. This means that God has placed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for teachers for your perfecting, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is why you need pastors. You need prophets. You need evangelists. These are God's governmental men in the five-fold ministry that you have to understand. It is my desire that you understand that it should be your desire that you should be in a governmental position and you have governmental authority. So what does those all mean? That means it's God's will for every one of us to walk in His government with authority, with power, and to conquer this life. God didn't call you to survive this life. He called you to overcome this life. He called you to conquer in this life. He called you to be a governmental woman and man of God in such a way that you change the government, you change the atmosphere, and you change lives. Now, you may not be able to go change millions overnight, but you could start with your friends and your family and have a good effect and begin to change those around you and begin to take authority and tell people, "No, this is right, and that, that is wrong, and this is the way God is going to do it, and this is what His Word says, and this is the way we should live our lives." And you have to have influence because people can influence you to do drugs.
could influence you to steal a lie, but we need to influence them to walk right with God. We need to be that radiant, that light that's in the city, like a lamp that stands out and say, "What's going on over here? What's going on over here? What is going on with these people? What is going on with this person? Why are they different? Why do they keep themselves? Why do they believe in holding their virginity? Why do they believe in holding themselves until you get married? Why is it they have to live differently and in a godly way? What is so great about that?" You need to tell them. Why? You need to tell them in a powerful way who you are.
Now, remember, we're nobody, but in Christ, we're somebody. In Christ, not only do we take responsibility, but we have to take authority. Now, I want you to get this last piece, because if you don't get it, you're going to miss the whole message. Governmental authority has to do with God's economy, with God's kingdom. And every time I've had to step out by faith and do something that was even uncomfortable, it was because I was acting under divine guidance, because I'm governed by God. Somebody say, "I'm governed by God."
And when you're governed by God, you're going to do things, things outside of yourself that are greater than what you could do in the natural. So, taking divine authority has to do with this: you have to take, as they say in the world, I guess I could use this term, the bull by the horns. Have you ever heard that? You not only take responsibility, but you take charge. If you never take charge and take authority, you're always going to be in the backseat. But God didn't call you to be in the backseat; He called you to get your hands on the wheel and go somewhere and do something and get the job done and take authority and be somebody for His kingdom. Because you'll never know how powerful you are until you know your purpose for God. You'll never know how powerful you are until you take your purpose from God, and your governing from God, and take your anointing from the Lord, and step out and walk in your governmental authority.
So again, somebody say with me: "I am governed by God, and I will walk in divine governmental authority." Now, if you take this and believe it today. Now, if you doubt, you're going to go without. If you don't believe, you're not going to receive. If you don't stand in faith, you're not going to stand at all. But if you believe the word today, not brother Wrangle, but the word, and take authority, but first, take responsibility. Take authority for your life and for who God called you to be. Something is going to change. You're going to have a breakthrough. How many need a breakthrough? You need a breakthrough. What you know how you get a breakthrough? You get a breakthrough by being on purpose. You get a breakthrough by being on purpose and using your authority like God gave it to you.
Because most of us are taught in Christianity how to be servants, yes, and how to be humble, yes, but we're never really taught on how to take authority over situations, take authority over the devil, take authority over your children. Because if you really would take authority and out of the words of your mouth, you would see change. But what happens is, the moment you step in authority and say, "God, I'm going to walk this way. I'm going to take authority over the devil, over my children, over the situation." What happens is, the devil shows up and takes hits at you and brings attacks on you, and you step back. You go, "Oh no, I I didn't want all this. I was just praying for my family." But don't you know that your family is eternal and not temporal? And the devil will fight you over the eternal. The devil will try to kill you for the eternal and not the temporal.
So I want to push this in you and tell you, we need here at Mission 24, people that know governmental authority. Because it's not my job as a pastor to preach to you and preach to the choir every Sunday and hope you get it. No, I hope I'm preaching to people, and I believe I am, that are going to be the future governors of this territory and of the Bay Area and the world. Because one thing I learned in the early '90s as a young prophet, I'm going to give you some. In the other '90s, I'm in my early 30s, and God came up and told me, "I want, I want you to begin to prophesy this and that." At the church, at the time, I would get up and prophesy, and people looked at me like I was crazy. I would say, "Praise the Lord," and I didn't get no amens. Maybe just sister Annie. That's the truth. I'd get up and prophesy and preach, and nobody would say amen. I'd say, "This is the word of the Lord," and they, huh? So the Lord told me, "I want you to be brash and bold as a prophet from old. Be tough. Don't be afraid of the people's faces."
So the Lord said, "I've called you to be the divine governor of this territory." He told me in the early '90s. So when I prayed for people or I ministered to people, I didn't do it as Richard Wrangle. I did it as, "I'm the governor of this territory, and I have divine right and power and authority over the devil." So when people would come and devils would react, brother Gagos, he was a new convert at the first church, and the sister showed up, and I started to pray for her, and she started growling like an animal, and on her four feet like paws, and she was. Is that true, brother? You saw that? Freaked you out, huh? And I looked at that devil, I said, "The governor is in the house today." For because greater is He that is in me, I have more power and authority than the devil because I'm the governor. And when I say, "In Jesus' name, the devil has to flee." When I say, "Jesus' name, come out of her right now." I know that I know that I know that I know that I know that I know that I know that greater is the Lord Jesus Christ than all the devils. Nobody could stand against our God because He's the Creator of the heavens and the earth. And because He's called us to be the governor, He gave me divine right and authority. He told me in the early '90s, in my early 30s.
So when I would preach and I would pray for people, I didn't do it like, "Oh, you know, um, I hope you come out. Uh, please, can you surrender?" No way. I went in like I was a general. I said, "You coming out now. I ain't playing with you." And don't talk to me, because we ain't going to hang out and do lunch. I told you, I went to Brother Vicot's house 1:00 in the morning years ago, and I walked in the house, and Brother Vicot, my pastor, said, "Oh, there's a devil on my couch, but she don't speak English." And I said, "That's all right. She just speak Spanish." So I went up to the devil. She looked at me, and she told me the F-word. She learned English real fast and started cussing me out in a lot of belligerent English words. So I prayed for a few minutes, and the Lord told me, "It's a witchcraft devil." So I started rebuking the spirit of witchcraft, and it didn't come out in a few. It took half an hour, 45 minutes, we were praying because it's a war, it's a fight, it's a fight.
So right in the middle, after about 20 minutes of praying, she stopped, and she told me in plain English, she looked at me, "Do you want me to tell you about who you are? Let me tell you about your position." And brother Vicot just looked at me, and I looked at him, and I said, "You lying devil, come out of her! I said, in Jesus' name, I don't want to hear what the devil has to tell me who I am. I know who I am. I'm the governor. I'm the servant of the Lord, not because I'm better, not 'cause I'm gooder, not because I'm perfect, but I am who I am 'cause God said I am. I am who I am because He is who He is. That's why He said, 'Before Abraham was, I am.' I am the Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the last. I am the first and the last." When He said, "I am," that meant He goes, "I am Jehovah, the Lord, the Creator."
So I want you to tap into this, because I know that right now, we're going through a dry period. We're going through a trial at the church. Some have withdrawn. But I'm going to tell you, I'm not going to give up, and I'm not going to move until the Lord says move. Because even in dry times and in trials, I've learned God is going to do what God wants to do, and it's my responsibility to do what He wants me to do. And if He's not telling me what to do, when, and where, then I don't do anything until He tells me. And I don't move because I'm under divine authority. I'm under divine chain of command. And that's why Apostle Lydia called me and said, "Pastor, what are you doing right now?" And I said, "Sister, I'm waiting on the Lord." Because I know God's not moving to the right or to the left, and I'm waiting right now. She goes, "Good, because the Lord told me to call you and tell you it's time for you to wait, not to push." I go, "Sister, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm not pushing, I'm waiting on the Lord."
Because see, the most powerful position you can have is to learn to wait on the Lord until He moves. And I told her, "I ain't going to move nothing." She said, "Good, because when you have a baby, and if you push out the baby before time, it'll kill the baby." So our job is to be patient, to be servants, but while we know what to do, what we can do, we are God's governmental authority. And I'm going to tell you, God has told me, we are now the governmental authority of the whole Bay Area. So anywhere I go in San Francisco, that's why I don't worry. The first time I went to San Francisco, the first day I showed up to do the Bible study, what happened? A man ran up to me, never seen him in life. He goes, "Do you remember me?" I said, "No." He goes, "I came to make a deal with you." I go, "A deal?" He goes, "Don't you remember me?" And I realized it was a devil. Came up and said, "I want to make a deal with you." First day I showed up at 24th and Mato, and I said, "I'm a preacher, and I'm going to pray for you right now in Jesus' name." He fell on his knees, started crying like a baby, started crying. I started rebuking the devil and praying for him, and he cried and cried. And then he got up, and Joe Wrangle said, "Here, I'm going to give you some money." And he told Joe Wrangle, "Get out of my face," and took off running, and we never saw him again. Because the devil showed up on the first day I went to 24th and Peto and said, "Let me do a deal with you." But see, I don't do the deal with the devil. You don't make deals with the devil. You don't make deals with the devil. That's why we don't play Ouija boards or tarot cards, or you shouldn't, you better not even been looking at your horoscopes, young people. That's making a deal with the devil. The only truth you need is right here.
No, I'm sorry, I know I went over. But again, one more time, it's time for Pastor Wrangle, brother Wrangle, and for you to take governmental authority. Authority in your life. You take responsibility, you take authority, you move, do something for the Lord. And if you don't, you don't. And if you do, praise the Lord. God is going to be with you. Let's pray for a moment.
Father, we thank You right now, and we give You the glory for Your word today. We thank You because You are excellent, You are truthful. Your Spirit is a Spirit of truth. It is written, "We shall know the truth, and the truth will set us free." For if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; all things are passed away; behold, all things become new. Father, we pray, Lord, give us according to Thy word, the understanding of governmental authority and the understanding of our government. We pray for our governors, our leaders, our presidents, and those that are yet to be elected. We pray Your divine mercies and Your graces, Your loving care, that You, God, You direct this country, this nation, and all those within, God, by Your truth, Your mercy, Your love, and with Your authority.
And I bind the authority of the devil that comes against Mission 24. Every devil that has come to seek and to try to destroy and bring death and bring problems and bring a discrediting spirit, God, I break it right now in Jesus' name. And I take authority over every evil spirit that would try to hamper the work of the Lord, because this is not the work of men, but it is a work of the Lord, and we shall be successful. We shall be blessed. We shall overcome. We shall conquer, and we will deliver many for Your name's sake, for Your honor, and Your glory. I pray right now in Jesus' name. God, in the atmosphere, in this territory, I take authority over every evil thing that will try to prevent me and my house from progressing in success and in conquering and ability, because You gave me the word of the Lord: "Everywhere you've put my foot, that you've given me the land. No man shall stand before the Church of the Lord. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church, but the church shall prevail against the gates of hell."
Right now, I take the authority of Thy holy word, God. For greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. For if God be for us, who could be against us? God, for I know You love us very much. You've called us this far, and You're going to take us home. Father, You're going to make a way. You're going to deliver. You're going to save somebody else. Somebody else is going to be delivered. Somebody else is going to be healed, and miracles, signs, and wonders will occur in this house for Your name's sake, not for the glory of men, but for the glory of God. Not for the honor of men, but for the honor of God. Not for the lifting up of any one man, but lifting up the name of the Lord. For we will lift up the name of the Lord in Fremont, for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be preached. For there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no salvation except through Jesus Christ. There is no other deliverer but Jesus Christ, for He is God in the flesh that shed His blood for us, and He alone is God. He is Elohim. He is Jehovah. He is Jehovah Nissi and Jehovah Gyra. He is Jehovah Tzidkenu. The Great I Am. For it is written, "I am that I am has sent you." Today, Father, I praise You and I give the glory to Jesus Christ. Father, not unto us, not unto us, oh Lord, but to You be the glory and the praise and the honor and the victory. In Jesus' name, somebody say amen. Let's give the Lord a hand clap. Amen.