April 9, 2025 • 25 mins
Pastor Ken Davis unpacks the biblical foundation for Christian civic responsibility, revealing four motivations for obeying governing authorities while maintaining ultimate allegiance to God.
• Christians should submit to governing authorities as they have been established by God
• Four motivations for obeying laws: fear of punishment, conscience sake, love for others, and honoring the Savior
• Love fulfills both God's law and civil law by preventing harm to our neighbors
• When government commands contradict God's clear instructions, Christians must prioritize obedience to God
• Jesus teaches us to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's"
• While money bears Caesar's image, we bear God's image and must give ourselves fully to Him
• True Christian living involves balancing civic duties with our primary allegiance to God
For more information about Heed the Word, log on to heedtheword.org where you can request a free CD of today's message in its unedited form.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We have all sinned, we have all fallen short of the
glory of God.
Even if all we do is look atRomans 13.1, we realize that
we've fallen short.
Because how many of us havealways, in every situation, been
subject to the governingauthorities?
Anybody.
Is there anyone here who hasnever broken a single law?
You ever played hooky fromschool?
You're guilty because that'sthe law.
You're to go to school, right?
(00:38):
So we're all guilty one way oranother of having violated the
law of the land.
And if we have violated the lawof the land, then we have not
been obedient to Romans 13.1,which says that we're to be
subject to the governingauthority.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers and even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theword of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:11):
The scriptures teach us thatwe're to obey the governing
authorities put over us,regardless of their affiliations
, regardless of their opinions.
They have been appointed by Godand as long as the law of the
land does not require us toviolate the commandments of God,
then we are to observe them asunto the Lord.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:33):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this message.
But for now, let's join PastorKen in the book of 1 Peter, 2,
verse 13, as he concludes ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Now, our second motivation for being subject to
the governing authorities is forconscience sake, not just out
of fear, but out of a desire todo what is right.
Romans 13, verses five throughseven, speaks to this when Paul
writes therefore, you must besubject, not only because of
wrath, but also for consciencesake, for because of this you
(02:12):
also pay taxes, for they areGod's ministers attending
continually to this very thing.
Render, therefore, to all theirdue taxes.
To whom taxes are due?
Customs to whom customs, fearto whom fear, honor to whom
honor.
In other words, the governmentexists for your good.
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What does it say in thepreamble to our constitution?
We, the people, in order toform a more perfect union, to
establish justice and to ensuredomestic tranquility that means
the peace of our lives here athome right To provide for the
common defense, to promote thegeneral welfare and to secure
the blessings of liberty toourselves and our posterity to
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ordain and establish thisconstitution of the United
States of America.
In other words, it's a socialcontract.
We agree to abide by these lawsfor the good of all.
So we are to be subject to thegoverning authorities because,
ultimately, the governingauthorities are to work for our
good.
But in the absence of authority, there's chaos.
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The Bible says that where thereis no revelation, the people
cast off restraint.
Or in the King James, wherethere is no vision, the people
perish.
You see, even Jesus paid histaxes.
In Matthew 17, verses 24through 27,.
We find this story.
When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple
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tax came to Peter and said doesyour teacher not pay the temple
tax?
He said yes, and when he hadcome into the house, jesus
anticipated him saying what doyou think, simon?
From who do the kings of earthtake customs or taxes?
From their sons or fromstrangers?
Peter said to him fromstrangers.
Jesus said to him then the sonsare free.
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Nevertheless, lest we offendthem, go to the sea, cast in a
hook and take the fish thatcomes up first, and when you
have opened its mouth, you willfind a piece of money.
Take that and give it to them,for me and you.
And so we submit ourselves tothe governing authorities and to
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those that are in authority forthe sake of conscience.
That means that, as Christians,we don't try to find the
loophole, we don't try to findthe way around it, so that we
can obey the letter of the law,but not the spirit of the law,
but we submit ourselves forconscience sake to those that
are in authority over us.
The next motivation that we findis for the sake of love.
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Romans, chapter 13, verse 8,.
Paul writes owe no one anythingexcept to love one another.
You know, love is the one debtyou can never repay.
Do you realize that you can payback every other debt that you
owe to another human being, butyou can never completely pay
back love, for love is withoutlimit.
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Owe no one anything except tolove one another, for he who
loves another has fulfilled thelaw, and I might say not only
the law of God, but the law ofthe land as well.
Verse 9 says for thecommandments you shall not
commit adultery, you shall notmurder, you shall not steal, you
shall not bear false witness,you shall not murder, you shall
not steal, you shall not bearfalse witness, you shall not
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covet.
And if there is any othercommandment are all summed up in
this saying, namely you shalllove your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no harm to a neighbor.
Therefore, love is thefulfillment of the law.
So, as Christians, we shouldobey the laws of the land for
love's sake, in other words, ifwe are truly loving our
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neighbors as we love ourselves,then we are by nature going to
obey the law of the land,because that is the nature of
love is to do no harm to another.
For instance, if I decide thatI'm going to go out and get
drunk and then drive home, am Iacting in love towards everybody
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else on the freeway?
No, I'm not.
If I love all of those peoplethat are out there, then I am
not going to do that.
So love becomes the motivatingfactor in my obedience to that
law.
If I love my neighbor, am Igoing to steal his lawnmower
when he leaves it sitting out onhis front porch?
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Am I going to say, well, thedummy shouldn't have left it on
his front porch and I reallyneed a lawnmower?
No, because that is not love,is it?
Love is going to go out of itsway to do what's right.
How many of you have seen?
It's a Wonderful Life,fantastic show, right?
Wonderful movie.
Love to watch that everyholiday season?
Well, there's the scene whenUncle Billy hands that newspaper
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to Mr Potter.
Right and wrapped up in thatnewspaper is the $5,000 that was
supposed to be deposited in thebank.
Now, if Mr Potter loved hisneighbor as he loved himself.
What would he have done withthat money?
He'd have returned it to Billy,wouldn't he?
To Uncle Billy?
But what did he do?
He kept it, not that he neededit, but because he wanted to see
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the ramifications in thatperson's life.
He wanted to see the Baileybuilding and loan destroyed and
he knew that by keeping thatmoney back he could accomplish
his purpose.
Because of the lack of love inhis heart for his fellow man, he
violated the laws of the land.
I realize it's just a movie,but it's a good illustration.
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We are to obey the laws of theland out of love for one another
.
Love is the fulfillment of thelaw.
In Mark, chapter 12, you'llfind Jesus teaching the very
same thing.
For time's sake, we will not gothere today.
And fourthly, the motivatingfactor that we find in Romans is
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we are to obey the laws of theland.
We are to be subject to thegoverning authorities for
wrath's sake, for conscience'sake, for love's sake, but
ultimately for the Savior's sake.
Do you know what?
We don't really know when Jesusis coming back specifically, do
we?
But the one thing we do know isit's closer today than it was
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yesterday.
Amen.
It is closer today than it waswhen you first believed.
Turn, if you will, to James,chapter 4, verse 1.
James gives us some insightinto social conflict, as it were
.
Where do wars and fights comefrom among you?
Do they not come from yourdesires for pleasure, that war
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in your members?
You lust and you do not have.
You murder and covet and youcannot obtain.
You fight and you lust and youdo not have.
You murder and covet and youcannot obtain.
You fight and war, yet you donot have because you do not ask.
You ask and you do not receive,because you ask amiss or the
wrong way that you may spend iton your pleasures.
Adulterers and adulteresses, doyou not know that friendship
with the world is enmity withGod?
Whoever therefore wants to be afriend of the world makes
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himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think that thescripture says in vain the
spirit who dwells in us yearnsjealously, but he gives more
grace.
Therefore, he says God resiststhe proud but gives grace to the
humble.
Therefore, submit to God,resist the devil and he will
flee from you.
Draw near to God and he willdraw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
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double-minded Lament and mournand weep.
Let your laughter be turned tomourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sightof the Lord, and he will lift
you up.
Humble yourself in the sight ofthe Lord and he will lift you
up.
You see, we need to be subjectto the governing authorities for
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the Savior's sake.
God does not want us to beprideful as though we were above
the laws of the land, but hewants us to humble ourselves
before him.
And if we refuse to humbleourselves before the authority
that God has established, thenare we being humble before the
Lord?
You see, if I say to mychildren I want you guys to obey
(10:10):
the babysitter today, there issomeone who's coming who's gonna
watch you guys and they'regonna take care of you guys
until I return and I want you todo what they say.
If, after I leave, my childrenrun amok, if they completely
rebel and don't do anything,that that babysitter says, who
are they really rebellingagainst?
They're rebelling against mebecause I have delegated my
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authority to that babysitter.
Now, if they met thatbabysitter out on the street one
day and that babysitter said tothem hey, come with me, are
they under any obligation toobey that babysitter, absolutely
not because that babysitter isoperating under their own
authority not under my authority, but in the realm of my home
where that babysitter has beengiven authority.
If under my authority, but inthe realm of my home, where that
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babysitter has been givenauthority.
If they rebel, they rebel notagainst that individual, but
rather against the one who hasinstilled that individual with
authority.
So when we rebel against thoseauthorities that God has set in
place, we rebel not against theone in authority, but rather we
rebel against God.
Now this brings up aninteresting question what about
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situations in which those whoare in authority are in
disagreement with God, or whenthe exercise of their authority
runs contrary to what God hassaid we are to do?
For instance, let's say I havea gun in my home and I say to my
children under no circumstancesare you ever to go and get that
gun out of that cabinet.
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And yet when the babysitter isthere, the babysitter says hey,
I see your dad's got a reallynice rifle in there.
Why don't you go get that andlet me take a look at it?
Well, the child is to obey thebabysitter, but now the
babysitter has told my child todo something that my child knows
.
I have forbidden them to do.
So who is my child to obey?
They are to obey the higherauthority rather than the
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delegated one, and we find thisteaching very clearly portrayed
in scripture.
So turn, if you will, to Acts,chapter 4.
In Acts, chapter 4, peter andJohn have been arrested and
basically they've been arrestedbecause they were preaching
there in the temple in Solomon'sportico, and they had healed
this man who had been lame andhe had gone dancing and leaping
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and shouting for joy into thetemple and a crowd had gathered
and Peter and John are basicallysaying look, we didn't do this,
jesus, it was in the name ofJesus that this man was healed.
And of course, that reallyupset the authorities and they
arrested them.
In Acts, chapter 4, verse 1, wepick up the story Now.
As they spoke to the people,the priests, the captain of the
temple and the Sadducees cameupon them, being greatly
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disturbed that they taught thepeople and preached Jesus in
Jesus, the resurrection from thedead, and they laid hands on
them and they put them incustody until the next day, for
it was already evening.
However, many of those whoheard the word believed and the
number of the men came to beabout 5,000, who were now
believers in Jesus Christ.
And verse five says that it cameto pass on the next day that
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the rulers, the elders and thescribes, as well as Annas, the
high priest, caiaphas, john andAlexander, and as many as were
of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at
Jerusalem, and when they had setthem, that is, peter and John,
in the midst, they asked them bywhat power or by what name have
you done this?
Or, in other words, how is itthat you healed this man?
Then Peter, filled with theHoly Spirit, said to them rulers
(13:28):
of the people, so that'simportant.
Who are they addressing?
They're addressing the rulersof the people, right?
Those who are in authority, thegoverning authorities, as it
were.
Peter, filled with the HolySpirit, said to them rulers of
the people and elders of Israel,if we this day are judged for a
good deed done to this helplessman, by what means he has been
made?
Well, let it be known to youall and to all the people of
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Israel that, by the name ofJesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raisedfrom the dead, by him, this man
stands here before you whole.
This is the stone which wasrejected by you builders, which
has become the chief cornerstone.
Nor is there salvation in anyother, for there is no other
name under heaven, given amongmen, by which we must be saved.
(14:13):
That's important.
Peter is saying here listen,there is no other name under
heaven by which we must be savedother than the name of Jesus
Christ, and that tells ussomething.
If you understand what thismeans, you'll be glad that you
took the time to understand it.
We have all sinned.
(14:34):
We have all fallen short of theglory of God.
Even if all we do is look atRomans 13, 1, we realize that
we've fallen short, because howmany of us have always, in every
situation, been subject to thegoverning authorities?
Anybody.
Is there anyone here who hasnever broken a single law?
You ever played hooky fromschool?
You're guilty because that'sthe law.
You're to go to school, right.
(14:54):
So we're all guilty one way oranother, of having violated the
law of the land.
And if we have violated the lawof the land, then we have not
been obedient to Romans 13.1,which says that we're to be
subject to the governingauthorities.
So we all stand guilty andbecause of our guilt we deserve
death because the wages of sinis death.
But God loved us so much thathe sent his son to die for us so
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that if we will repent of oursins and turn to Jesus Christ
and confess him as our Lord andSavior, the Bible tells us we
will be saved.
There's no other name than thename of Jesus Christ by which
men must be saved, and that'swhat Peter is teaching them
right now.
And if you haven't receivedJesus Christ as your Lord and
and that's what Peter isteaching them right now and if
you haven't received JesusChrist as your Lord and Savior,
that's what Peter's teaching youright now too.
And you can come to God in thename of Jesus this morning and
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you can be forgiven for yoursins Now.
When those in leadership, whenthe Sanhedrin, when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John andthey perceived that they were
uneducated and untrained men,they marveled and they realized
that they had been with Jesusand, seeing the man who had been
healed standing with them, theycould say nothing against it.
In other words, they couldn'tdeny what had been done in this
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name, in the name of Jesus.
But when they had commandedthem to go outside of the
council, they conferred amongthemselves, saying what shall we
do to these men?
For, indeed, that a notablemiracle has been done through
them is evident to all who dwellin Jerusalem, and we cannot
deny it.
But so that it spreads nofurther among the people, let us
severely threaten them that,from now on, they speak to no
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man in this name.
And they called them andcommanded them not to speak at
all, nor to teach in the name ofJesus.
Now, this is in directcontradiction to what God had
already told them they were todo, isn't it?
So now they're in a positionthat they have to make a
decision whether to obey God orto obey those who are in
authority.
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When we come into a place wherethe governing authorities are in
conflict with the revealed willof God in his word, we have no
choice as Christians but to obeyGod, even if it means we have
to disobey those who are inauthority over us.
Now I will say that thathappens far less often than most
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people would like to think.
We can be obedient to those inauthority over us most of the
time, but there are days, andthere are times coming, when
that may not be the case.
For instance, in Canada, thegovernment has decreed that
there are certain passages ofscripture that you cannot preach
without persecution,particularly those relating to
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homosexuality.
They consider it hate speech.
And mark my words the day iscoming when we may see that same
type of attitude here in theUnited States.
And when that day comes, whoare we to obey?
God or those in authority inthe government?
Well, clearly we're to obey God.
That having been said, we doowe a debt of submission to
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those in authority over us,insomuch as they do not
contradict the revealed will ofGod in his word.
That balance is vitallyimportant, and it's that balance
that I want us to take a lookat as we turn to our last
passage today in Mark, chapter12.
In Mark, chapter 12, starting inverse 13, we see an exchange
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between Jesus and the Pharisees.
And the Pharisees, theseleaders among the Jews, these
very religious people, aretrying to trap Jesus.
They're trying to ask him aquestion that has no right
answer, because if he answers itone way, he's rebelling against
the government, and if heanswers it the other way, the
people are going to hate him.
And so they're trying to trapJesus.
(18:34):
When they ask this question Inverse 13, we find that they sent
to him.
That is, they sent to Jesussome of the Pharisees and the
Herodians to catch him in hiswords.
When they had come, they saidto him teacher, we know that
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you're impartial, we know thatyou're not just trying to give
an answer that's going to pleasesomebody.
We want to know what you thinkabout this, because we know
you're going to tell us thetruth.
Is it lawful to pay taxes toCaesar or not?
Shall we pay or shall we notpay?
So, in other words, they'resaying, hey, should we pay our
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taxes?
Now, if he says, yes, youshould pay your taxes, the
people are gonna hate him, andthat's what they're trying to
accomplish.
They're trying to get him intoa situation where the people
will turn on him because thepeople hate Rome.
The people hate paying taxes.
How many of you like payingtaxes?
Anybody, Well.
Do you like driving onwell-paved roads?
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How many of you liked drivingon well-paved roads?
Okay?
How many of you like the factthat there is a public school
system where people can go andget an education for free?
You may not always agree withwhat's taught, but how do you
like the fact that it's at leastavailable, right?
Okay?
How many of you like the factthat when you dial 911, someone
answers?
How many of you like the factthat if there's a criminal
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trying to break into your house,that you can call the police
and that someone will actuallycome out and protect you?
Anybody like that?
Someone will actually come outand protect you.
Anybody like that?
How many of you realize thatthose are all a result of paying
taxes?
If we didn't pay taxes, wewouldn't have any of those
things.
Now I would agree I don't likepaying taxes either, right, but
we have to confess that there'sa purpose for it, isn't there?
You know, there used to be asaying well, I'm a good
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tax-paying citizen.
Right, part of being a goodcitizen is paying your fair
share for the common good.
Now, the problem is is we havea government that likes to spend
a lot more than most of usthink is absolutely necessary,
and they like to spend itsometimes on things that we
completely disagree with fromboth a economic and a moral
perspective, and so that's wherewe run into trouble, and that's
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why we need to exercise ourrights as good citizens to go in
and vote the people in officethat we think ought to be there,
right?
That's our obligation, it's ourresponsibility as good citizens
.
So they've asked Jesus thisquestion.
And if Jesus says to them, yes,you should pay your taxes, the
people are going to be mad.
Well, what if he says, no, youdon't have to pay your taxes?
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The people will be very happyabout that.
But then they'll have groundsto accuse him before the Roman
rulers because he's inciting thepeople to disobey the law.
So either way, yes or no, he'sin trouble.
And they ask him in verse 15,shall we pay or shall we not pay
?
But he, knowing their hypocrisyin other words, he's knowing
that they're acting, they're notreally wanting an answer,
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they're just trying to trap himhe, knowing their hypocrisy,
said to them why do you test me?
Bring me a denarius that I maysee it.
In other words, bring me a coin.
So they brought it.
And you know we might do thesame thing here.
Let me just do this.
I'll pull out a dollar billhere.
There's a old, wrinkly dollarbill.
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It's not quite the hundred Ipulled out last time.
Whose picture is on thishundred dollar bill?
Washington's picture, right.
So render unto Washington thatwhich is Washington's, but
render unto God that which isGod's right.
Isn't that what Jesus is aboutto tell them.
He says give me a coin, give mea denarius, give me a coin.
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And so they bring him a coin.
And what does he say?
Whose image and inscription isthis?
And they said to him Caesar's.
Then Jesus answered and said tothem render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's and toGod the things that are Caesar's
and to God the things that areGod's.
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So what does that mean for us?
Washington's image is on thisdollar bill, right?
So render to Washington thethings that are Washington's,
but God's image is on you.
So render unto God the thingsthat are God's.
So, in other words, what Jesusis saying is who cares about the
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money?
It has to do with you.
God doesn't care whether youpay this dollar to him or to
Caesar.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar'sright.
If there's a tax due, pay thetax.
If there's customs due, owe thecustom, pay it, pay the tribute
.
Do what you're supposed toCaesar.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar'sright.
If there's a tax due, pay thetax.
If there's customs due, owe thecustom, pay it, pay the tribute
.
Do what you're supposed to do.
Obey the law.
But in your obeying of the law,remember that you belong to God
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.
You see, render unto Caesarthose things that are Caesar's.
Render unto Washington thatwhich is Washington's, but
render unto God that which isGod.
So God created man in his ownimage.
In the image of God, he createdhim male and female.
He created them.
You were made in the image ofGod and ultimately, guys, god
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doesn't want your money, godwants you, god wants you.
Will you give God his due thismorning?
Will you give yourself to him?
That is the question that I'llleave you with.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the radio ministry of
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro,located in Burleson, Texas.
With so many ideas out thereabout the Christian life, we
thought it necessary to sharewith you a series entitled
Lessons for Christian Living, ateaching through the 12th and
(24:32):
13th chapters of the Book ofRomans that tackles the issues
of Christian life.
If you were with us at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
you know we mentioned that we'dbe giving additional information
about Heed the Word and how toget a free copy of this message.
For more information about Heedthe Word, log on to
heedthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
(24:54):
At the website, you'll findeverything you need our contact
information and a link to ouronline order form, which will
allow you to place an order fora CD of today's message in its
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Since all of our materials arefree of charge, supplies are
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(25:15):
order today.
As we close today, we want toencourage you to not just listen
to Heed the Word, but to trulyapply what you're learning.
Take the Word of God and beginapplying it to your life every
day.
Well, that's all the time wehave for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
Well, that's all the time wehave for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
(25:36):
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time as Pastor
Ken continues with our seriesentitled Lessons for Christian
Living.
Thank you.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We have all sinned, we have all fallen short of the
glory of God.
Even if all we do is look atRomans 13.1, we realize that
we've fallen short.
Because how many of us havealways, in every situation, been
subject to the governingauthorities?
Anybody.
Is there anyone here who hasnever broken a single law?
You ever played hooky fromschool?
You're guilty because that'sthe law.
You're to go to school, right?
(00:38):
So we're all guilty one way oranother of having violated the
law of the land.
And if we have violated the lawof the land, then we have not
been obedient to Romans 13.1,which says that we're to be
subject to the governingauthority.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers and even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theword of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:11):
The scriptures teach us thatwe're to obey the governing
authorities put over us,regardless of their affiliations
, regardless of their opinions.
They have been appointed by Godand as long as the law of the
land does not require us toviolate the commandments of God,
then we are to observe them asunto the Lord.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:33):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this message.
But for now, let's join PastorKen in the book of 1 Peter, 2,
verse 13, as he concludes ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Now, our second motivation for being subject to
the governing authorities is forconscience sake, not just out
of fear, but out of a desire todo what is right.
Romans 13, verses five throughseven, speaks to this when Paul
writes therefore, you must besubject, not only because of
wrath, but also for consciencesake, for because of this you
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also pay taxes, for they areGod's ministers attending
continually to this very thing.
Render, therefore, to all theirdue taxes.
To whom taxes are due?
Customs to whom customs, fearto whom fear, honor to whom
honor.
In other words, the governmentexists for your good.
(02:32):
What does it say in thepreamble to our constitution?
We, the people, in order toform a more perfect union, to
establish justice and to ensuredomestic tranquility that means
the peace of our lives here athome right To provide for the
common defense, to promote thegeneral welfare and to secure
the blessings of liberty toourselves and our posterity to
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ordain and establish thisconstitution of the United
States of America.
In other words, it's a socialcontract.
We agree to abide by these lawsfor the good of all.
So we are to be subject to thegoverning authorities because,
ultimately, the governingauthorities are to work for our
good.
But in the absence of authority, there's chaos.
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The Bible says that where thereis no revelation, the people
cast off restraint.
Or in the King James, wherethere is no vision, the people
perish.
You see, even Jesus paid histaxes.
In Matthew 17, verses 24through 27,.
We find this story.
When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple
(03:39):
tax came to Peter and said doesyour teacher not pay the temple
tax?
He said yes, and when he hadcome into the house, jesus
anticipated him saying what doyou think, simon?
From who do the kings of earthtake customs or taxes?
From their sons or fromstrangers?
Peter said to him fromstrangers.
Jesus said to him then the sonsare free.
(04:01):
Nevertheless, lest we offendthem, go to the sea, cast in a
hook and take the fish thatcomes up first, and when you
have opened its mouth, you willfind a piece of money.
Take that and give it to them,for me and you.
And so we submit ourselves tothe governing authorities and to
(04:25):
those that are in authority forthe sake of conscience.
That means that, as Christians,we don't try to find the
loophole, we don't try to findthe way around it, so that we
can obey the letter of the law,but not the spirit of the law,
but we submit ourselves forconscience sake to those that
are in authority over us.
The next motivation that we findis for the sake of love.
(04:47):
Romans, chapter 13, verse 8,.
Paul writes owe no one anythingexcept to love one another.
You know, love is the one debtyou can never repay.
Do you realize that you can payback every other debt that you
owe to another human being, butyou can never completely pay
back love, for love is withoutlimit.
(05:07):
Owe no one anything except tolove one another, for he who
loves another has fulfilled thelaw, and I might say not only
the law of God, but the law ofthe land as well.
Verse 9 says for thecommandments you shall not
commit adultery, you shall notmurder, you shall not steal, you
shall not bear false witness,you shall not murder, you shall
not steal, you shall not bearfalse witness, you shall not
(05:27):
covet.
And if there is any othercommandment are all summed up in
this saying, namely you shalllove your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no harm to a neighbor.
Therefore, love is thefulfillment of the law.
So, as Christians, we shouldobey the laws of the land for
love's sake, in other words, ifwe are truly loving our
(05:50):
neighbors as we love ourselves,then we are by nature going to
obey the law of the land,because that is the nature of
love is to do no harm to another.
For instance, if I decide thatI'm going to go out and get
drunk and then drive home, am Iacting in love towards everybody
(06:10):
else on the freeway?
No, I'm not.
If I love all of those peoplethat are out there, then I am
not going to do that.
So love becomes the motivatingfactor in my obedience to that
law.
If I love my neighbor, am Igoing to steal his lawnmower
when he leaves it sitting out onhis front porch?
(06:31):
Am I going to say, well, thedummy shouldn't have left it on
his front porch and I reallyneed a lawnmower?
No, because that is not love,is it?
Love is going to go out of itsway to do what's right.
How many of you have seen?
It's a Wonderful Life,fantastic show, right?
Wonderful movie.
Love to watch that everyholiday season?
Well, there's the scene whenUncle Billy hands that newspaper
(06:54):
to Mr Potter.
Right and wrapped up in thatnewspaper is the $5,000 that was
supposed to be deposited in thebank.
Now, if Mr Potter loved hisneighbor as he loved himself.
What would he have done withthat money?
He'd have returned it to Billy,wouldn't he?
To Uncle Billy?
But what did he do?
He kept it, not that he neededit, but because he wanted to see
(07:15):
the ramifications in thatperson's life.
He wanted to see the Baileybuilding and loan destroyed and
he knew that by keeping thatmoney back he could accomplish
his purpose.
Because of the lack of love inhis heart for his fellow man, he
violated the laws of the land.
I realize it's just a movie,but it's a good illustration.
(07:36):
We are to obey the laws of theland out of love for one another
.
Love is the fulfillment of thelaw.
In Mark, chapter 12, you'llfind Jesus teaching the very
same thing.
For time's sake, we will not gothere today.
And fourthly, the motivatingfactor that we find in Romans is
(07:57):
we are to obey the laws of theland.
We are to be subject to thegoverning authorities for
wrath's sake, for conscience'sake, for love's sake, but
ultimately for the Savior's sake.
Do you know what?
We don't really know when Jesusis coming back specifically, do
we?
But the one thing we do know isit's closer today than it was
(08:17):
yesterday.
Amen.
It is closer today than it waswhen you first believed.
Turn, if you will, to James,chapter 4, verse 1.
James gives us some insightinto social conflict, as it were
.
Where do wars and fights comefrom among you?
Do they not come from yourdesires for pleasure, that war
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in your members?
You lust and you do not have.
You murder and covet and youcannot obtain.
You fight and you lust and youdo not have.
You murder and covet and youcannot obtain.
You fight and war, yet you donot have because you do not ask.
You ask and you do not receive,because you ask amiss or the
wrong way that you may spend iton your pleasures.
Adulterers and adulteresses, doyou not know that friendship
with the world is enmity withGod?
Whoever therefore wants to be afriend of the world makes
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himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think that thescripture says in vain the
spirit who dwells in us yearnsjealously, but he gives more
grace.
Therefore, he says God resiststhe proud but gives grace to the
humble.
Therefore, submit to God,resist the devil and he will
flee from you.
Draw near to God and he willdraw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
(09:26):
double-minded Lament and mournand weep.
Let your laughter be turned tomourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sightof the Lord, and he will lift
you up.
Humble yourself in the sight ofthe Lord and he will lift you
up.
You see, we need to be subjectto the governing authorities for
(09:48):
the Savior's sake.
God does not want us to beprideful as though we were above
the laws of the land, but hewants us to humble ourselves
before him.
And if we refuse to humbleourselves before the authority
that God has established, thenare we being humble before the
Lord?
You see, if I say to mychildren I want you guys to obey
(10:10):
the babysitter today, there issomeone who's coming who's gonna
watch you guys and they'regonna take care of you guys
until I return and I want you todo what they say.
If, after I leave, my childrenrun amok, if they completely
rebel and don't do anything,that that babysitter says, who
are they really rebellingagainst?
They're rebelling against mebecause I have delegated my
(10:34):
authority to that babysitter.
Now, if they met thatbabysitter out on the street one
day and that babysitter said tothem hey, come with me, are
they under any obligation toobey that babysitter, absolutely
not because that babysitter isoperating under their own
authority not under my authority, but in the realm of my home
where that babysitter has beengiven authority.
If under my authority, but inthe realm of my home, where that
(10:55):
babysitter has been givenauthority.
If they rebel, they rebel notagainst that individual, but
rather against the one who hasinstilled that individual with
authority.
So when we rebel against thoseauthorities that God has set in
place, we rebel not against theone in authority, but rather we
rebel against God.
Now this brings up aninteresting question what about
(11:17):
situations in which those whoare in authority are in
disagreement with God, or whenthe exercise of their authority
runs contrary to what God hassaid we are to do?
For instance, let's say I havea gun in my home and I say to my
children under no circumstancesare you ever to go and get that
gun out of that cabinet.
(11:37):
And yet when the babysitter isthere, the babysitter says hey,
I see your dad's got a reallynice rifle in there.
Why don't you go get that andlet me take a look at it?
Well, the child is to obey thebabysitter, but now the
babysitter has told my child todo something that my child knows
.
I have forbidden them to do.
So who is my child to obey?
They are to obey the higherauthority rather than the
(11:58):
delegated one, and we find thisteaching very clearly portrayed
in scripture.
So turn, if you will, to Acts,chapter 4.
In Acts, chapter 4, peter andJohn have been arrested and
basically they've been arrestedbecause they were preaching
there in the temple in Solomon'sportico, and they had healed
this man who had been lame andhe had gone dancing and leaping
(12:20):
and shouting for joy into thetemple and a crowd had gathered
and Peter and John are basicallysaying look, we didn't do this,
jesus, it was in the name ofJesus that this man was healed.
And of course, that reallyupset the authorities and they
arrested them.
In Acts, chapter 4, verse 1, wepick up the story Now.
As they spoke to the people,the priests, the captain of the
temple and the Sadducees cameupon them, being greatly
(12:43):
disturbed that they taught thepeople and preached Jesus in
Jesus, the resurrection from thedead, and they laid hands on
them and they put them incustody until the next day, for
it was already evening.
However, many of those whoheard the word believed and the
number of the men came to beabout 5,000, who were now
believers in Jesus Christ.
And verse five says that it cameto pass on the next day that
(13:04):
the rulers, the elders and thescribes, as well as Annas, the
high priest, caiaphas, john andAlexander, and as many as were
of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at
Jerusalem, and when they had setthem, that is, peter and John,
in the midst, they asked them bywhat power or by what name have
you done this?
Or, in other words, how is itthat you healed this man?
Then Peter, filled with theHoly Spirit, said to them rulers
(13:28):
of the people, so that'simportant.
Who are they addressing?
They're addressing the rulersof the people, right?
Those who are in authority, thegoverning authorities, as it
were.
Peter, filled with the HolySpirit, said to them rulers of
the people and elders of Israel,if we this day are judged for a
good deed done to this helplessman, by what means he has been
made?
Well, let it be known to youall and to all the people of
(13:50):
Israel that, by the name ofJesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raisedfrom the dead, by him, this man
stands here before you whole.
This is the stone which wasrejected by you builders, which
has become the chief cornerstone.
Nor is there salvation in anyother, for there is no other
name under heaven, given amongmen, by which we must be saved.
(14:13):
That's important.
Peter is saying here listen,there is no other name under
heaven by which we must be savedother than the name of Jesus
Christ, and that tells ussomething.
If you understand what thismeans, you'll be glad that you
took the time to understand it.
We have all sinned.
(14:34):
We have all fallen short of theglory of God.
Even if all we do is look atRomans 13, 1, we realize that
we've fallen short, because howmany of us have always, in every
situation, been subject to thegoverning authorities?
Anybody.
Is there anyone here who hasnever broken a single law?
You ever played hooky fromschool?
You're guilty because that'sthe law.
You're to go to school, right.
(14:54):
So we're all guilty one way oranother, of having violated the
law of the land.
And if we have violated the lawof the land, then we have not
been obedient to Romans 13.1,which says that we're to be
subject to the governingauthorities.
So we all stand guilty andbecause of our guilt we deserve
death because the wages of sinis death.
But God loved us so much thathe sent his son to die for us so
(15:21):
that if we will repent of oursins and turn to Jesus Christ
and confess him as our Lord andSavior, the Bible tells us we
will be saved.
There's no other name than thename of Jesus Christ by which
men must be saved, and that'swhat Peter is teaching them
right now.
And if you haven't receivedJesus Christ as your Lord and
and that's what Peter isteaching them right now and if
you haven't received JesusChrist as your Lord and Savior,
that's what Peter's teaching youright now too.
And you can come to God in thename of Jesus this morning and
(15:42):
you can be forgiven for yoursins Now.
When those in leadership, whenthe Sanhedrin, when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John andthey perceived that they were
uneducated and untrained men,they marveled and they realized
that they had been with Jesusand, seeing the man who had been
healed standing with them, theycould say nothing against it.
In other words, they couldn'tdeny what had been done in this
(16:05):
name, in the name of Jesus.
But when they had commandedthem to go outside of the
council, they conferred amongthemselves, saying what shall we
do to these men?
For, indeed, that a notablemiracle has been done through
them is evident to all who dwellin Jerusalem, and we cannot
deny it.
But so that it spreads nofurther among the people, let us
severely threaten them that,from now on, they speak to no
(16:27):
man in this name.
And they called them andcommanded them not to speak at
all, nor to teach in the name ofJesus.
Now, this is in directcontradiction to what God had
already told them they were todo, isn't it?
So now they're in a positionthat they have to make a
decision whether to obey God orto obey those who are in
authority.
(16:47):
When we come into a place wherethe governing authorities are in
conflict with the revealed willof God in his word, we have no
choice as Christians but to obeyGod, even if it means we have
to disobey those who are inauthority over us.
Now I will say that thathappens far less often than most
(17:08):
people would like to think.
We can be obedient to those inauthority over us most of the
time, but there are days, andthere are times coming, when
that may not be the case.
For instance, in Canada, thegovernment has decreed that
there are certain passages ofscripture that you cannot preach
without persecution,particularly those relating to
(17:28):
homosexuality.
They consider it hate speech.
And mark my words the day iscoming when we may see that same
type of attitude here in theUnited States.
And when that day comes, whoare we to obey?
God or those in authority inthe government?
Well, clearly we're to obey God.
That having been said, we doowe a debt of submission to
(17:50):
those in authority over us,insomuch as they do not
contradict the revealed will ofGod in his word.
That balance is vitallyimportant, and it's that balance
that I want us to take a lookat as we turn to our last
passage today in Mark, chapter12.
In Mark, chapter 12, starting inverse 13, we see an exchange
(18:14):
between Jesus and the Pharisees.
And the Pharisees, theseleaders among the Jews, these
very religious people, aretrying to trap Jesus.
They're trying to ask him aquestion that has no right
answer, because if he answers itone way, he's rebelling against
the government, and if heanswers it the other way, the
people are going to hate him.
And so they're trying to trapJesus.
(18:34):
When they ask this question Inverse 13, we find that they sent
to him.
That is, they sent to Jesussome of the Pharisees and the
Herodians to catch him in hiswords.
When they had come, they saidto him teacher, we know that
(19:02):
you're impartial, we know thatyou're not just trying to give
an answer that's going to pleasesomebody.
We want to know what you thinkabout this, because we know
you're going to tell us thetruth.
Is it lawful to pay taxes toCaesar or not?
Shall we pay or shall we notpay?
So, in other words, they'resaying, hey, should we pay our
(19:22):
taxes?
Now, if he says, yes, youshould pay your taxes, the
people are gonna hate him, andthat's what they're trying to
accomplish.
They're trying to get him intoa situation where the people
will turn on him because thepeople hate Rome.
The people hate paying taxes.
How many of you like payingtaxes?
Anybody, Well.
Do you like driving onwell-paved roads?
(19:43):
How many of you liked drivingon well-paved roads?
Okay?
How many of you like the factthat there is a public school
system where people can go andget an education for free?
You may not always agree withwhat's taught, but how do you
like the fact that it's at leastavailable, right?
Okay?
How many of you like the factthat when you dial 911, someone
answers?
How many of you like the factthat if there's a criminal
(20:06):
trying to break into your house,that you can call the police
and that someone will actuallycome out and protect you?
Anybody like that?
Someone will actually come outand protect you.
Anybody like that?
How many of you realize thatthose are all a result of paying
taxes?
If we didn't pay taxes, wewouldn't have any of those
things.
Now I would agree I don't likepaying taxes either, right, but
we have to confess that there'sa purpose for it, isn't there?
You know, there used to be asaying well, I'm a good
(20:28):
tax-paying citizen.
Right, part of being a goodcitizen is paying your fair
share for the common good.
Now, the problem is is we havea government that likes to spend
a lot more than most of usthink is absolutely necessary,
and they like to spend itsometimes on things that we
completely disagree with fromboth a economic and a moral
perspective, and so that's wherewe run into trouble, and that's
(20:49):
why we need to exercise ourrights as good citizens to go in
and vote the people in officethat we think ought to be there,
right?
That's our obligation, it's ourresponsibility as good citizens
.
So they've asked Jesus thisquestion.
And if Jesus says to them, yes,you should pay your taxes, the
people are going to be mad.
Well, what if he says, no, youdon't have to pay your taxes?
(21:11):
The people will be very happyabout that.
But then they'll have groundsto accuse him before the Roman
rulers because he's inciting thepeople to disobey the law.
So either way, yes or no, he'sin trouble.
And they ask him in verse 15,shall we pay or shall we not pay
?
But he, knowing their hypocrisyin other words, he's knowing
that they're acting, they're notreally wanting an answer,
(21:34):
they're just trying to trap himhe, knowing their hypocrisy,
said to them why do you test me?
Bring me a denarius that I maysee it.
In other words, bring me a coin.
So they brought it.
And you know we might do thesame thing here.
Let me just do this.
I'll pull out a dollar billhere.
There's a old, wrinkly dollarbill.
(21:55):
It's not quite the hundred Ipulled out last time.
Whose picture is on thishundred dollar bill?
Washington's picture, right.
So render unto Washington thatwhich is Washington's, but
render unto God that which isGod's right.
Isn't that what Jesus is aboutto tell them.
He says give me a coin, give mea denarius, give me a coin.
(22:15):
And so they bring him a coin.
And what does he say?
Whose image and inscription isthis?
And they said to him Caesar's.
Then Jesus answered and said tothem render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's and toGod the things that are Caesar's
and to God the things that areGod's.
(22:37):
So what does that mean for us?
Washington's image is on thisdollar bill, right?
So render to Washington thethings that are Washington's,
but God's image is on you.
So render unto God the thingsthat are God's.
So, in other words, what Jesusis saying is who cares about the
(23:00):
money?
It has to do with you.
God doesn't care whether youpay this dollar to him or to
Caesar.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar'sright.
If there's a tax due, pay thetax.
If there's customs due, owe thecustom, pay it, pay the tribute
.
Do what you're supposed toCaesar.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar'sright.
If there's a tax due, pay thetax.
If there's customs due, owe thecustom, pay it, pay the tribute
.
Do what you're supposed to do.
Obey the law.
But in your obeying of the law,remember that you belong to God
(23:23):
.
You see, render unto Caesarthose things that are Caesar's.
Render unto Washington thatwhich is Washington's, but
render unto God that which isGod.
So God created man in his ownimage.
In the image of God, he createdhim male and female.
He created them.
You were made in the image ofGod and ultimately, guys, god
(23:46):
doesn't want your money, godwants you, god wants you.
Will you give God his due thismorning?
Will you give yourself to him?
That is the question that I'llleave you with.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the radio ministry of
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro,located in Burleson, Texas.
With so many ideas out thereabout the Christian life, we
thought it necessary to sharewith you a series entitled
Lessons for Christian Living, ateaching through the 12th and
(24:32):
13th chapters of the Book ofRomans that tackles the issues
of Christian life.
If you were with us at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
you know we mentioned that we'dbe giving additional information
about Heed the Word and how toget a free copy of this message.
For more information about Heedthe Word, log on to
heedthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
(24:54):
At the website, you'll findeverything you need our contact
information and a link to ouronline order form, which will
allow you to place an order fora CD of today's message in its
unedited form.
Since all of our materials arefree of charge, supplies are
limited, so log on toheedthewordorg and place your
(25:15):
order today.
As we close today, we want toencourage you to not just listen
to Heed the Word, but to trulyapply what you're learning.
Take the Word of God and beginapplying it to your life every
day.
Well, that's all the time wehave for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
Well, that's all the time wehave for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
(25:36):
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time as Pastor
Ken continues with our seriesentitled Lessons for Christian
Living.
Thank you.
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