 So with that said, we're going to be looking today at mark 1213 through 17 I mentioned to you last week perhaps some of you were here and and may remember this that I had had an operation on my left eye and As a result of that the doctor who had done the operation had put in a lens that actually is Working against the prescription that I have and I have to wait a certain amount of time before I can go and have new Lenses prescribed so it's a little difficult for me You know to be able to read my notes and to Follow and and flow through just asking for your patience until I'm able to Once again see the the scripture clearly because I like to give you the scripture as it says and with that said I'm going to begin reading here in mark 12. We're going to read verses 13 through 17 and We'll get into our study render unto Caesar So verse 13 mark writes in chapter 12 They sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him in his words When they had come they said to him teacher We know that you are true and care about no one for you do not regard the person of men But teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? But he knowing their hypocrisy said to them, why do you test me bring me a denarius that I may see it So they brought it and he said to them whose image and inscription is this? They said to him Caesar's and Jesus answered and said to them render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and To God the things that are gods and they marveled at him And so as is my normal way of beginning a study Let me introduce you to and remind you of a few things that we've already spoken of in recent studies We know that Jesus is in the last week of his ministry and this week and these events are taking place Just prior to his crucifixion his three years of ministry on earth as has Come is about to come to an end He's going to fulfill the work that he had been sent to perform We all know the work God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish But have everlasting life that work that he's doing is the work of redemption He's come to ransom to seek and save those who are lost. He's come to voluntarily lay his life down He's demonstrating his love to the world by doing so and so Jesus is about to to complete that that mission that he has come and he's been faithful to do and So just that week after entering into Jerusalem he had he had performed quite a bit of ministry And we saw that we saw that he had cleansed the temple We also saw that he had taught and he had healed many and in doing so that had provoked the religious leaders to begin to become agitated The miracles he had performed caused the religious leaders problems and the thing is is they couldn't deny his miracles So instead of trying to understand the purpose of those signs and wonders they simply Attributed his works to Satan. They said he does this to be alzabab and so they were attributing the works his miracles To Satan and for them that was that was a simple way to deal with that They were disturbed by his works, but it was his teaching that provoked them Because they knew and they were fearing that Jesus was winning the hearts and the minds of the people Mark tells us in verse 11 verse 18 of chapter 11 that the scribes in and chief priests heard it and and Saw how they might destroy him it says for they feared him because all the people were astonished at his teaching It wasn't simply the the miracles that had drawn the attention what they were really marveling at is the way He communicated the things of the kingdom of God and and because of their concern Once again those leaders had confronted him they questioned him and they wanted to know the source of his authority They said to him by what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things? Well to that question we saw how Jesus posed one of his own. He had said Was the ministry of John the Baptist? Was it from heaven or was it from men? Well that caused them a great problem as we saw They refused to answer so in response Jesus refused to answer their questions And that had led up to him giving a parable to illustrate rebellion their rebellion against God And and we saw that in the parable of the vineyard. He exposed the rejection of Messiah He also revealed that even as they were rejecting him God was rejecting them You see they had willingly refused the truth and so he left them in their own Rejection Mark simply tells us that after he had done this they left him and they went away And though it though they had left Jesus and gone away their anger still remained They desired to bring him down. They continued strategizing how they're going to be able to do that and because Jesus was a great teacher Well, what they did is is kind of a it's ingenious in a way. He's a teacher So they sought to entrap him by his words If they're going to form an accusation they needed charge Now in Matthew 22 15 and 16 the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians So refusing to receive his words they determined even more to resist They harden their hearts. They rejected him and they rejected his message You see in the book of Hebrews in chapter 3 verse 15 It says as has been said today If you hear his voice do not harden your heart as you did in the rebellion If you hear his voice don't harden your heart What was true of israel during that day is true to this day There are some who hear the gospel the message of Christ's forgiveness his love his salvation that is offered the turning of Of a person from sin to turn to him to be cleansed to have a new life to have the power of the Holy Spirit to be a Person who's transformed to have a new character to be known by by purity and love and compassion things like they reject that They said no, I don't need that quite a number of people who don't want that Well, that was true during that day and yet the word still is true today if you hear his voice do not harden your heart well They're hardening their hearts And what's happening is the Pharisees now and Herodians are attempting to catch him in his words You see they knew that the more a person would speak the greater the chance of them sinning In proverbs 10 verse 19 it says when words are many sin is unavoidable You know, we know this today again by experience if you're having a Disagreement with somebody the more you say sometimes the more fuel on the fire You're you're you're contributing and there are times and it's just it's just wiser for us not to contribute to the argument Again, it makes it very clear in scripture when words are many sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise And so With this in mind They're devising a way to catch him in his words now when it speaks of that when it says in verse 13 They sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him In his words the word catch means to capture it speaks of in trapping or ensnaring The word that is translated in this passage catch is a word that is used very often to speak of trapping a bird They tried to get him to say something in other words that they could turn into an accusation Now they're very careful. They're not taking direct and Direct action against him because they fear the people So to safeguard themselves, it would be better for them to get Rome to act on their behalf And so because of that it says in verse 13 That they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians now This is interesting to note because the Pharisees you're aware of the Pharisees you read your bible You see the word Pharisee you find it found in the New Testament quite often Pharisees The word Pharisee means a separated one the Pharisees had an origin in a time of When when the culture was being influenced by Greeks and the Greek philosophy And so the Pharisees basically had arisen and they they were basically Attempting to keep the purity of the the law of moses within the nation of Israel So at first the separated ones were doing a great thing, but as you read the New Testament You see that eventually they got caught in their own legalism So they were known in the nation of Israel as being very spiritual They centered most of their activity when you read the New Testament most of the activity in Jerusalem because the temple was there So it was down south sometimes they would have people up to the north or send people to the north Most of their activity was down south. There were about 6,000 or so Who would subscribe to the title Pharisee or separated one? And so you see them often in scripture and they were known for their outward spirituality But the Herodians were known for their worldliness These these two groups were normally antagonists They're a good example of that statement the enemy of my enemy is my friend Because what's happening is you have two groups that actually are in opposition Joining forces because they hated Jesus and that hatred for Christ drew them together Now Matthew tells us that the Pharisees sent their disciples with the Herodians That tells us something else as we look at this passage These disciples were young. They were zealous. They were scholars and they were trained to be Pharisees So they were trained to be Pharisees, but they're also being trained to reject Christ Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 23 15 and he said it like this He said, what do you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites? You travel land and sea to win one proselyte one convert And when he has won you make him twice as much as son of hell as yourself So what they would do is they would bring in conversions. They would also Draw their disciples to think and do as they do and so they were rejecters the Pharisees were Rejectors of Christ and so were the disciples that they were training up Now In Luke chapter 20 verse 20 Luke gives us more insight into the details of their plan It's as they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous That they might seize on his words in order to deliver him to the power and authority of the governor And so that's what's taking place or sending spies who pretending to be righteous They're entering in acting as if they are fearful fearful of God and respectful of him when in fact they're rejecting him So that's the Pharisees, but these are also joined to the Herodians Now who were they Herodians were loyal to Herod Antipas Herod Antipas is the one who killed John the Baptist And the Herodians had given their allegiance to Rome because Rome is the one granting them power So the Pharisees were extremely rigid legalists who were devoted to the law of Moses religious law But the Herodians were their opposite. They were liberals devoted to the political power of Rome Now the Pharisees wanted Jesus killed for religious reasons They believed that he had violated the Sabbath and he was guilty of blasphemy when they took him before Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate is asking for a charge in John 19 verse 7 the Jews answered him We have a law and by that law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God That's what they were going after and ultimately that was what they wanted to charge Christ with blasphemy Well, that's a religious charge And Rome would not enact capital punishment on such cases They needed secular charges for Jesus to be executed That's where the Herodians became useful because the Pharisees knew that they that they the Herodians would report to Rome anything Jesus had said So if they could bait Jesus to speak against Rome a charge could be formed Now the Pharisees knew that Herod Antipas desired to kill Jesus In Luke 13 31 some Pharisees came saying to Jesus get out depart from here for Herod wants to kill you So Herodians being part of the trap added credibility to the charge They can they believe that they can entrap Jesus in his words The psalmist said in Psalm 56 verses 5 and 6 All day they twist my words all their thoughts are against me for evil They gather together they hide they mark my steps when they lie down in wait for my life And so he knows that they're twisting his words Christ is aware of what they're doing their thoughts are against him for evil So they're expecting him to say something They're waiting to hear his words so they can charge him with something You know this attitude by the way, I'll say this briefly is is still with us today Just because this took place 2000 years ago doesn't mean that there No longer exist people who listen to catch your at your word so they can use that against you We know that that happens quite frequently. It's a daily occurrence in some people's lives In in social media today, it's really interesting to me that if you write something and miswrite something We'll say you missay something there's going to be 50 20 20 50 100 200 maybe a thousand or more depending on how many People are reading what you write and and they will say he said this he said this they find one word And they and they catch that word they hold fast to that word and they point out that word that you use That was perhaps a word that you misspoke you didn't intend to do well That's nothing new that was taking place at that time. And so they're very sharp-eared They're listening for christ to say something Anything that they can use it to charge against him And so verse 14 notice what it says here it says When they had come they said to him teacher We know that you are true and care about no one For you do not regard the person of men But teach the way of god in truth Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? You see how gentle that is with them notice how they approach it and again I want to show you some things as we go through this verse and these verses Notice how they began they say to him teacher that may not mean anything to us today Because the word teacher is used in a variety of ways with different kinds of impact and meaning The word teacher here in this passage is a greek word that is translated very often instructor or master But the word teacher was reserved. It's an honorable word that was reserved for distinguished rabbis It was a it was a word that you didn't say to just anybody It's a word that you would say to a Distinguished person you would speak to them as a master you would speak to them as a master instructor It's a word they're using to speak of his credentials But it's actually a word that they're using As a attempt to flatter him And they're beginning this conversation by flattery what they're appealing to or they think they're appealing to is pride and vanity That's an ancient tactic That is used to capture a person's trust It says in proverbs 29 5 whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet So when somebody walks up to you and says, you know, you are the greatest this and that just take two steps back Because you never know what they're saying you never know whether it's true or not Whether they're real sincere or not and because it's easy for us to be flattered into Perhaps falling into a trap and they're trying to use that against Jesus They're trying to use a title of honor against him so that they might be able to draw him in So that they can ask him something as they're about to that may entrap him and so They say in verse 14 they say you are true and you teach the way of God in truth So you're a master teacher And you are true You care about the things that are true You are an upright man You're a man of integrity. You are a true teacher of the word of God You have a reputation of not adding to or taking away from God's word. That's what they're saying when they say you are true They're speaking concerning his integrity the fact that he gives a word of God as it is You see that's the characteristic of a genuine teacher in the old testament book of deuteronomy chapter four verse two It says you shall not add to the word which I command you nor take from it That you may keep the commandments of the lord your god, which I command you That was the mark of a true teacher to not add to or take away from the word of God So they're beginning by flattering him We know that you're true and you care about no one you don't regard the person of man You teach the way of god in truth. That was flattery They don't believe this because if they did believe that they had to follow him They actually thought him to be a false teacher So they're hoping to flatter him. So he'll speak unguardedly Notice how they go on they say you do not regard the person of men You are not swayed by threats. You're not swayed by argument. You are impartial to all In leviticus 19 15 another old testament book It says do not pervert justice do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great judge your neighbor fairly And so they're saying you are fitting those categories You are a person of integrity. You teach the word of god in truth And when they say that that's another way of saying that you you you exude wisdom You see in proverbs 24 23 it says these things also belong to the wise It is not good to show partiality and judgment. So not showing partiality and judgment is an attribute of wisdom You're so committed to truth You don't concern yourself with popularity In in the way it is said in our day at this moment. You're so committed to truth. You're not concerned about being cancelled That's what they're saying you speak the truth You're a man of integrity. You're not swayed by personality. You're not swayed by popularity. You're not swayed by any of that You do not regard the person of men. You'll tell the truth to the lowest to the highest and everybody in between That's something that that was like the apostle paul Paul said it like this in galatians 1 verse 10. He said am i now trying to win the approval of human beings or of god Or am i trying to please people If i were still trying to please people i would not be a servant of christ. You cannot be a servant of christ And be trying to please man You have to please god first and foremost while jesus is demonstrating that to us These people see something in him. They don't regard it But they're using the things that people know him for and perhaps even speak of Concerning him and they're saying those things to him You're a person who doesn't regard the person of men. You speak the truth and all of that you're not guilty of hypocrisy And so they buttered him up. It's what's happening here So after attempting to set him up they asked their question notice the question that they ask of him Is it lawful verse 14 the last portion is it lawful to pay taxes as these are or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? So there's the question Is it lawful Now when you look at this Is it lawful to pay taxes as i was preparing this study? One of the commentators was pointing out how many different kinds of taxes israel had been under During this day, but this particular tax is called a poll tax It wasn't a tax on goods It wasn't a tax a tax on land. It was not a tax on services It was a tax on them as people It was levied upon every head of the family and it had a price of one denarius yearly The question divided the nation And this question could have been used against his own men Remember the men that jesus had called to himself two of the men stand out as i begin to share this One was a man named simon the zealot. You read your bible. You see the name simon the zealot The zealot was not simply that he was enthusiastic He was a zealot as a part of a of an anti-government group that existed during the time of christ the zealots Are known to be zealous for killing romans They were like a group that could have descended into assassins. They were they were a very Very antagonistic group who were very militant in their hatred for rome So you've got a zealot named simon But on the other hand you had a tax gatherer named matthew matthew worked for rome How is it that these two a zealot and a tax gatherer were able to get together? They did so because they both love jesus and jesus brought them to loving one another which is what he does, right? And so what they're doing is they're sowing the seed of discord amongst his men Even as they're asking this kind of question You see the tax was hated Because the land of israel belonged to god not to rome And in the tax they were paying for an invading army to remain in occupation And they hated it Hatred for this tax sparked a revolt in in the year ad 6 and it's referred to in the book of axon Acts 5 37 judas of galilee rose up in the days of the census drew away many people after him He also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed In ad 66 through 70 the tax was part of what sparked a major rebellion the jews hated this tax So for the Pharisees it was a perfect question The reason for this was easy to understand you see if jesus pays it he alienates the jewish population They reject him If he says don't well, he's accused of rebellion He will be arrested and later on you'll see that part of the charges lodged against him was sedition rebellion against rome Now the herodians supported the tax the Pharisees rejected it But notice verse 15 how it goes on to save something very simply jesus said to them Knowing their hypocrisy said to them, why do you test me? Bring me a denarius that I may see it Why do you test me knowing their hypocrisy? He saw right through them again The proverbs that surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird Luke 20 verse 23 says this he perceived their craftiness And said to them, why do you test me? Jesus saw through the question. He discerned their cunning Their motives behind the question were very obvious You see it's very very foolish trying to trick jesus. You can't trick him. I was sharing with first service I've said this before but perhaps some of you might not remember But I shared how when I was a kid less than 10 You know our neighborhood would go out and they would do what we used to call trick or treat So they go from place to place trick or treating begging for candy from neighbors And that's what we all did well My mom was busting up at the at the front door one day. You see my my dad was a truck driver and my dad During halloween Would have deliveries to supermarkets and he would get these boxes of candy and They would allow him and the other drivers To take a box home And they would take that box and they would give candy to the children who came to the house You know for trick or treating this and that Well, the thing is is during that day, you know, sometimes you get an orange or an apple You know, who wants that? And or you would or you would get you know a box of raisins But when they would come to our house, we had we had the better during that day the better candy bars I don't really eat candy anymore, but at that time we had mounds bars And we had almond joys and they were nice. They were good. There were things that I stashed I went hide in my room. They were good But the neighborhood kid would come to the house and they'd see my dad was given These kinds of candies we were given they would they wanted to come back So my mom was laughing at the door one day and I went and said, what are you? She goes, David, you gotta see this. She said there's a little boy. Watch she opens the door Well, this little boy had been there three times He had first come he was dressed as Dracula. I still remember he black, you know He had she said David the first time he came he just held his little bag out and he said trick or treat My mom says and I dropped some candy in it and he looked at it She said within a minute less than a minute I hear trick or treat my mom says she opened the door and he was standing with his cape Over his face like that And my mom had a good sense of humor. So she started busting up She this time she said watch she opened the door and the little boy was standing with his hands like claws And he came three times and my mom said, okay, I remember this. Okay, honey That's enough. You've been here a few times and well, you know what? I've never forgotten that sort for this reason He thought he was getting over on us by trying to disguise himself But in fact we could see right through him. That's what the lord is with us guys never forget that You might sit there going like this damn, but he sees this, you know, you know He sees right through us man. He really does And so that's what's taking place here They're trying to catch him at his words and so he speaks to them as it says in psalm 44 21 He knows the secrets of the heart So he says in verse 15, why do you test me that word test means to entice or entrap Why do you why do you test me bring me a denarius that I may see it And matthew 22 18 adds the words. Why do you test me you hypocrites? You actors? You see before answering he confronts them openly for testing him You see this is something their forefathers had been guilty of testing the lord and and in psalm 95 verse 9 It says your father's tested me. They tried me though. They saw my work They they put me to the test though. They saw god's work and he's saying why are you doing this? It's the same attitude your your ancestors who rejected god and the law of moses. It's the same attitude That you're showing to me and so in verse 16 it says they brought him a denarius Now a denarius is a roman coin It was the only one acceptable for the tax If you looked at a denarius of that day on one side was the engraving of the emperor and the other side It was an engraving of Caesar that was on a throne in priestly robes acting as a high priest And it was during that time it was common for emperors to claim divinity. They actually called themselves god's son But the jews refused to carry roman coins because they saw them as idols So someone is sent to go get the coin and bring it back So the question is asked verse 16 whose image and inscription is this and they answer caesars There's your trial If you denounce a caesar they can formulate an accusation against him, but here's his answer in verse 17 Render to Caesar the things that are caesars and to god the things that are gods The wisdom of that answer Well, you're going to see in a moment how they responded to it But he makes it clear and i want to spend some time looking at this with you sharing some things That may have some practical application. Hopefully they do for us in the day that we're living in Right now first it is perfectly legitimate to pay caesar Because the tax was under his domain Taxes are intended to serve a purpose During that day as well as ours and our day taxes are supposed to be used to build roads To ensure that we have a police force to order security within our society And the state does receive taxes because taxes lie within the senior responsibility of the state Now as christians, this is where we want to get practical as christians We of all people should be the best citizens in the nation Because christians Understand who is in ultimate control the one who is in ultimate control isn't our mirrors. It isn't our Governors it isn't our president the one who is in ultimate control every believer knows is god himself And so we know that we know who is in control even as nebuchadnezzar spoken said That he knew that it's god who put somebody into the place of rulership. He's the one who does that So we know that Now paul in romans 13 in the new testament in chapter 13 said it like this at verse one paul said everyone must submit himself to governing authorities For there's no authority Except that which god has established The authorities that exist have been established by god He goes on in verses five through seven therefore it's necessary to submit to the authorities Not only because of possible punishment, but also because of conscience This is also why you pay taxes for the authorities are god servants who give their full time to governing Give everyone what you owe him if you owe taxes pay taxes If revenue then revenue if respect then respect If honor then honor In first peter 2 13 through 15 the apostle peter said this he said submit yourself for the lord's sake to every authority and Every authority instituted among men Whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong And to commend those who do right he goes on to say for it is god's will that by doing good You should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men And so on the one hand render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars And tied as three verse one it says remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities To obey to be ready for every good work. It's something you find in scripture both old and new So the Caesar the ruling authority Has certain responsibilities and are owed certain forms of honor or respect So this is where it becomes difficult in In elections You see we have we have something that's different than 2000 years ago 2000 years ago In israel they had roman governors. They had kings. They had they had different forms of government than we have We have a form of government that is based on on different principles. We have a constitution And we know where we derive our rights. We derive our rights not from the the governor those who were governing us We derive our rights and the constitution acknowledges this Uh There are certain inalienable rights amongst which are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness we derive them We are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights So as americans living in the united states We know that man did not give us our rights our rights come from god That's in our founding fathers Writings we know that and so no i'm not preaching a political speech so you can settle down Somewhere you're saying please do no we're just going to talk So on the one hand We know we have our rights not from man our rights come from god So what i do when it comes to because we live in a society that or a governmental structure That uh that allows us to vote for those whom we want to have serving in certain offices Then i want to use my vote for good and i vote according to my conscience now One of the problems i've seen and and i'm not going to take a uh, you know Survey by asking the raisin of hands, but but not everybody has had the opportunity to travel to other countries Not everybody even in this room right now We're listening to this message has had the opportunity to go outside of perhaps canada may be mexico different countries But haven't had a chance to go into other countries and and god has been gracious to me and i have i've gone into Into israel obvious they've gone into england they have parliaments they have different systems They don't have a constitution like we do They have a different form of government i've been places where they have a king where they might have a queen Where they have a different form of government and here's part of the problem I think that americans sometimes have if i may and and that is is that we have a tendency of of thinking if if americans because we love being americans i bless god that i am one um But sometimes we fail to realize that not everybody has the same culture and understanding that we do And though that's why americans when they travel abroad sometimes have difficulty because they wonder they walk up They're in spain they walk up to spanish person. They say do you speak english and they'll say no And then they turn to their their wife and they'll say stupid doesn't even speak english Well, that's because americans think everybody should speak english. That's the way we are You'd be surprised when you go to china You'd be surprised you go to thailand you'd be surprised you go to french you'd be surprised How many people will not speak to in your language because they say you're in our country Why do we have to bend to your will but we're americans and we think they should now I'm not saying that's bad by the way. I'm saying that's being an american. I understand that I've traveled for a long time I understand that I had to learn just because I speak english doesn't mean everybody does And so I had to learn a long time ago to try and listen to the words or find somebody who could help me to respect them for Who they are But americans are different We think everybody should be doing what we do. I say that because it's true I say that because as a pastor i've had a chance to travel through the world I have been in a lot of countries that people haven't been in may never may never go to And I've seen the attitude That term ugly americans a very real term. It's a very real thing You know when 1975 when I was in in uh, uh, german speaking countries Some somebody was being kind of a little bit different and they looked at me and they said do you speak english? And I was looking at them because I was thinking so I go a little Because that's what they do you who travel know that do you speak english? A little then after a while they get comfortable with you and they may speak fluently You know she's american. I'm an american. Do you speak do you speak english? A little and so then I helped her of course I helped her but sometimes Sometimes we don't understand that now this can sound ugly to some people And i'm trying to be careful how I say it Because it's just true We bring this mentality everywhere and we started thinking that that Everybody ought to think like we do and part of what it is for me is is learning to to think And as somebody who's aware that there are differences and part of it is that we think that because we're americans that The the form of government that we have Is the only form of government when in fact you can go into north korea and just for Talking about jesus you can be put in jail and maybe never let out You go to india and you can be beaten up in certain places sometimes tortured and killed because you're speaking something that they don't receive So for us like well, i'm american. I have my rights You have to be aware that in certain places you may have rights that you have been bestowed on you But at the same time there are people who think differently and i'm saying that to say that sometimes We don't understand what it means to actually live in this constitutional republic that we live in and understand how things work and Because of that we can get upset that everybody didn't think as we do when in in reality We live in a plurality. There are a lot of people with different opinions And we have to learn to respect their opinions as we try to present ours. I'm saying all of that to say that In in in elections when when you're looking at somebody who's going to be Voted into office one thing I would say and i'll say this very briefly That we need to do is even if we feel that living here in california There's no chance any of the people that we really support will be elected because in many ways We feel the hopelessness that we have been Basically encouraged to feel I still cast my vote because it's a it's a conscience vote. It's a moral vote I'm making my voice known i'm letting people know you see there are people who served in the military as I did But others who served and died for the freedom for me to vote So i'm going to vote but a lot of christians do not millions of christians do not vote And so we end up with the government we deserve Because the christians have not been voting so i'm saying that not to pump up one over the other simply saying that's that's true I think we all can agree that's true a lot of christians don't vote we end up and then we end up saying see see see And uh, no it's it's not that simple So i'm looking at the uh the candidate and let me let me kind of share some things render into Caesar the things that are Caesar into gods the things that are gone So I look at the candidates view they want me to vote for them So i'm not looking at simply the their positions. I also i'm aware that their positions can communicate to me Something of morality. So where do they stand on subjects that matter to me? Where do they stand on abortion? I want to know Do they protect the life of the unborn or do they not? Are they opposed to the partial birth abortions that takes place? Listen, some people think that that argument is over It's not over at all There are still laws trying to be passed right now that will allow the death of a child after it's part of the womb They'll let it die and there are laws right now here in california that people are arguing over. Listen, I have a granddaughter My olive olivia olivia was born a month early When she parted the womb She was fully formed you're looking at a Fully formed baby a lot of times the argument is well, that's just a blob of tissue You know my olivia our olivia fully formed but not complete her lungs were not completely developed There was still a process that would have taken three to four weeks That she needed to go through but when she parted the womb She looked just like any other newborn baby and a lot of people don't realize that because they've been told That's just a blob of tissue. No, it's not that is a baby from the time of conception That is a baby That's what that is And so the idea of of of terminating her life And and the argument and i'm i don't want to be insensitive. I already made this clear a couple weeks ago But the argument is it's my body my choice. No, your body is not that body That baby has her own his own body. It is not your body It's her body Or his body and so for all these women's rights You know the forgetting that killing you're killing half the women that would have come into the The world if the baby was allowed to be born we can go into that but I I look at that I I view that and I think about that. How do you feel about life? How come you 20 years ago said that you're pro-life and now you're not anymore? Why you want to be voted in what is I actually look at that? Not everybody does Not everybody does I do what else do I look at? Well, how about education? Do you support parents in deciding where their kids will go to school? Where do you stand on curricula? What do you think about parents who get involved in school board meetings? Are they are they now terrorists? Is that how you look at them now? What right do I as a parent have for my for my child or it's a grandparent to have a voice in the life of my Grand what rights do I have I look for that? I want to see that I want to know that You know, it's interesting and might as well. I've opened up the door might as well take another step in The um, amen. Why not? Yeah, thank you for this half of the church. You guys don't like it. I'll look at you I'm playing with you My wife and I were watching tv and there's an there's an ad for a new Movie it's Thor something or other some of you may be aware of it I I'm not aware of the the movie myself But it's Thor but it said rated PG 13 parental guidance required and I'm thinking now Wait a minute to go in and see a fictional movie about some pretend thing A parent has to give permission or a company of that child PG 13 But my four-year-old couldn't be in preschool. My five-year-old could be in school and they're going to be taught gender Homosexuality and things like that. There's something crazy going on that we have to be aware of You have to be aware of that They will say that that you can't buy a pack of cigarettes till you're what 18 years old But you can see pornography when you're five in the classroom They're actually beginning in some school districts to have pornography handed to children. I don't even want to go to it It's so disgusting the things that are being done But I'll tell you this it's so wrong and parents have a right to stand up and say you will not teach my child We have that right be aware of that That's all I'm saying be aware of that with the the issue of homosexuality where at one time It was regarded for what it is It's something that you said that somebody is dealing with and you want to help and encourage them But you don't normalize it to where it is today So I want to know where they stand on the homosexual movement I want to know if they're in favor of homosexual marriages and the things that relate to that I want to know those things. How about Judges is the judge an activist? What what core values are influencing their judgment? I think we ought to know these things I think we ought to be aware of these things We have a supreme court justice who've been appointed to the to the bench down who went asked What is a woman cannot answer that question? That's where we have gotten because I think that we have failed to raise our voice in a way that is right Respectful, but is necessary. We have failed to make our views known and by being silent The monster has had given has been given opportunity to grow and destroy We need to stand up and speak the truth. We need to be open to do that We have to be because if you don't who's going to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's I will pay my tax. I will be a lawful citizen. I will stop at stop sign Some of you guys got to learn to do that by the way That's one of my pet peeves Going to a shopping mall and watch and see how many people stop at the stops that they have in the mall They just blow through it all the time and they're doing it in our neighborhoods now too Why they can't even keep the smallest law? And I expect them to do righteous things. No, I can't See we need the Lord to work within us We need that so Getting back. I render into Caesar the things that belong to Caesar But I give to God that which belongs to him You're not to withhold what belongs to God You see the only time we legitimately will reject the law is when it is contrary to the word of God Acts 529 said we must obey God rather than men And so when the covet restrictions and everything came because as a pastor I was concerned for our congregation Well aware of the price that it was going to cost well aware of it Out of love for you guys those of you who are with us back then I said we're going to restrict we're going to follow the guidelines at this moment because we do do not know We don't we don't know What's going on here? I'm going to I'm going to restrict which we did for a few weeks But I started getting more information and I started thinking I don't I don't agree with this. I don't believe that this is absolutely correct And but Marie my wife and I were coming every Sunday Some of you know some of you didn't most of you don't But we were coming every Sunday regardless of whether we were opening up the sanctuary for you to come in for a bible city Why because people were rolling into the grounds and they were in need of ministry That's what we're here to do. And so when people came in we had conversations We were praying with people before you know what people were bringing coffee You know people and we're and and we started having people and pastor are you here if we yeah Not just me, but there are other staff members. Yeah, we're here. We're here for you. That's what churches are That's what we're supposed to do And so they came and then one day we have a caravan of over a hundred people Well over a hundred people are just coming in with little signs We love you pastor Dave because they knew I was here and I saw them They pulled over and they came and talked to me I took them into the chapel and I said let's get into the word let's worship That's what we're supposed to do and that's what we did and so I didn't advertise it I didn't take pictures of myself and I'll show you governor No, we just did it Why because we ought to obey God rather than men, but I don't believe in thumbing my nose at at at government either So I'm not doing it to be seen by men. I'm not doing it to be recognized I had a lady who said oh that there's only one brave pastor in chino and that's pastor jack He's a friend of mine as well. I use his name pastor jack. He's the brave one Well, that's not why you do what you do what you do is to honor God not to be seen by men And when people I wrote her I said listen darlin We've been meeting now for weeks. I'm just not putting it on social media It's it's because we're not doing it to be seen We're doing it to to honor him to care for those that God entrusts and that and that's not a knock on jack He's a friend of mine. That's not a knock on him. He did what he did But I do what we do why for you and for him. I wanted to protect you. That's why we did it That's why I waited and I thought and I still to this day, you know, if somebody wants to wear a mask God bless you. I don't understand a lot of it when you're driving in your car and all the windows are rolled up And you've got two masks. I'm kind of like saying come on. Stop tripping I see people walking their dogs with masks and put the I've seen dogs with masks on them Anyway, getting back to it what we what we What we need to do is we We render the proper respect to our government But we reserve our worship to our God In alchi one six through eight a son honors his father a servant is master if I'm a father Where's the honor due to me if I'm a master? Where's the respect due to me? Sayeth the lord almighty It is you old priest who show contempt for my name But you ask, how have we shown contempt for your name? You place the foul food on my altar, but you ask, how have we defiled you? By saying that the lord's table is contemptible When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong when you sacrifice crippled and diseased animals? Is that not wrong try offering them to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you says the lord almighty You see the the Pharisees didn't want to give Caesar his due But they also did not desire to give to god what was due to him because they refused to honor god when they refused to honor his son In john 5 23 it reads it this way that all may honor the son just as they honor the father Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him Well, when he spoke this way and he put things in the way they're supposed to be in the proper perspective It says they marveled they left him. They went their way Luke 20 verse 26 says they were unable to trap him in what he had said they're in public Astonished by his answer. They became silent You see they thought they had trapped him, but it was he who trapped them In jove 5 12 and 13 he thwarts the plans of the crafty so that their hands achieve no success He catches the wise and their craftiness and the schemes of the wily are swept away Again proverbs 26 27 if you set a trap for others you will get caught in it yourself If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead And that's what took place here. They set the trap, but they were caught themselves Honor god honor government But reserve your worship For god himself And when it comes down to it We ought to obey god rather than man so If somebody would have come up and said We're going to put the pastor in jail for holding church services At my church. I just said john you're now the pastor and i'll visit you Every once in a while I'm just kidding father. We bless you and we thank you