(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Man, the title of my sermon this morning is Democracy versus Biblical Leadership. Democracy versus biblical leadership. You hear a lot of people talk about democracy today as if it's a good thing. You know, put the people in charge. Let the people rule themselves. But this is not a biblical concept. And I'm here to tell you this morning that real biblical leadership does not give people what they want, does not just follow the will of the people and just do what people ask them to do, but rather biblical leadership does what is best for the people, does what is right no matter what people want. You know, me as the pastor of the church, should I just give people what they want, preach whatever people want to hear, use the Bible version that people want me to use, or whatever? No, I'm supposed to do what's right in the sight of God and try to teach people what's right and help them to understand what they need rather than just saying, what do you want? And I'll give it to you. This is a wicked form of leadership. And today, our politicians are in the business of just giving people what they want so they can get elected. Just what's it going to take to get me elected? OK, let me give you what you want so that I can stay in power so that I can have tons of money, so that I can be famous, so that I can get re-elected. You see, if someone were actually a person with integrity in a political office, they would just do what's right no matter how unpopular it is. Even if it means they're for sure not going to get re-elected, they would just do what's right anyway and just say, I don't care what you want. I'm here to do what's right for the people, not just going to do what people tell me to do. Otherwise, you're not a leader. Otherwise, you're basically a follower masquerading as a leader, because you're just following the whims and the wishes of the mob, of the crowd, of the majority. That's not real biblical leadership. Now, what we have here in Exodus chapter 32 is a story that highlights Aaron's bad leadership abilities. Now, Aaron is not a horrible person. Aaron is not some wicked false prophet or reprobate. He's a good man, but he's very weak and does not know how to lead. Moses, on the other hand, is a good leader. But when Moses is gone, the people take advantage of Aaron, and they actually influence him to do something wicked. So the Bible says in verse 1 here, when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together into Aaron and said unto him, up, make us gods which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what has become of him. You know, the first thing that jumps out at me here is the lack of respect that they treat Aaron with, up. I mean, that's like something that I would say to my dog or something, right? Like, up. Like, I guess they just say jump, and then Aaron asks how high on the way up. So they're giving him a command here. They're not saying, hey, you know, can you do this for us, or would you help us, or what do you think about this? It's just, up, make us gods which shall go before us. And Aaron said unto them, break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf. And they said, these be thy gods, oh Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, tomorrow is a feast to the Lord. So notice there's a little bit of a difference in the people's attitude and Aaron's attitude. The people said, these be thy gods, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. He says, they said that. Aaron says, well, tomorrow's a feast to the Lord. I know there's this golden calf here, but we're still worshipping the Lord. Now Aaron is a weak leader that's cowtowing, no pun intended. He's cowtowing to the people. And basically, even though he believes in the Lord in his heart, he doesn't believe that these two calves are actually the gods that led them out of the land of Egypt. But yet he goes along with it because he's just giving people what they want because he's a bad leader. The people are bent on mischief. Look down, if you would, to verse 21 because Moses is very angry when he finds out about this. And Moses said unto Aaron, what did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, make us gods which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what has become of him. And I said unto them, whosoever hath any gold, let him break it off. So they gave it to me. Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. I threw the gold in the fire, and the calf jumped out of the fire. But really, it's the people's fault. You know how these people are. They are set on mischief. But here's the thing, yeah, Moses did know how those people were. And yes, they were set on mischief. But isn't it interesting that when Moses is in charge, they don't get away with this kind of junk? Because Moses is a leader that knows how to say no and put a stop to these type of shenanigans and not just give people whatever they want and just let anything go. Flip over, if you would, to Exodus chapter 18. Exodus chapter 18. Somebody sent me this really hilarious video. And it's like this Middle Eastern guy or Indian guy. I don't remember. But he's some kind of a turban wearing dude. And he's just talking super slow. And he's just like, democracy is government by the people, of the people, for the people. But the people are retarded. And it was so funny because that's not really what you expect this guy to say. But it was just hilarious. But you know what? It's so true. That's the problem with democracy. The people are set on mischief. And it's not just the Israelites. It's just people. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? There's none right. Just know not one. People, in general, are not good. They're bad. You have to have a godly leader guiding people, instructing people, and doing what's right for the people. Because if you want to know what democracy does, just look at a few years ago. They voted for the best Mexican restaurant in America. It was Taco Bell. That's democracy. We could just close our Bibles and go home. People don't know. People need to be taught. People need to be led. Democracy is not biblical. Now, here's the thing. The founding fathers of America, none of them were pro-democracy. They didn't think that democracy was a good idea. That's why our country was not set up as a democracy. They disdained the idea of democracy. And our country was founded was not even close to a democracy. The closest thing to a real democracy that you've had throughout history in a major country or power would be ancient Athens. Not even ancient Greece, just ancient Athens, just one city that really had a pretty radical democracy. But even that had a lot of limitations and checks and balances to it. And in a lot of ways, it was kind of a disaster. And it didn't last very long. Our government, on the other hand, has lasted for hundreds of years. Obviously, it's not a perfect system. But it's been a pretty good system that has given us a pretty good life in America up to this point. And to the extent that it's good, that's the extent to which it's patterned after the word of God. And the parts of it that don't work are the parts that are not patterned after the word of God. But if you actually study the Old Testament Mosaic law, you'll find that what God established for the children of Israel was not a democratic form of government, but actually what we would call today a republic. Now, what is a republic? A republic is where the people choose a righteous leader and then he governs them. They don't govern themselves, but rather they choose someone who's qualified. They choose someone who's righteous and he governs them. So we have in the United States representative government, where we have people that represent our interests in Arizona. We have them in Washington. Now, they're supposed to represent us in Washington, but here's the thing about that. It doesn't mean that they're supposed to just go to Washington and do whatever Arizona people want. It means they're supposed to go to Washington and do what's best for the people of Arizona, do what's right for the people of Arizona, not just giving them whatever they want. Because you know what everybody wants is just a handout. Free money from the government, more stimulus checks, right? They want to just be able to get away with murder, which is called abortion. I don't care if everybody wants abortion. It should be illegal because it's murder. But by the way, the majority of people in this country think that abortion is murder, by the way. But unfortunately, our godless leaders allow murder in this country because they're not doing what's right. They're doing whatever special interests or whoever have manipulated them to do or to win certain elections in certain places or whatever their motives are. They're not godly. But look what the Bible says in Exodus, chapter number 18. It says, moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, man of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So what the Bible here is prescribing, specifically Moses' father-in-law, but this is later sanctioned by God and ordained by God, is that you pick people that have the ability to lead well. You pick rulers. You pick leaders. The people don't just rule themselves, but rather you pick people who are able. They have that ability to be a good leader because obviously, it takes aptitude to run a country or to run a church or to run a family or to run a business or whatever. And they're supposed to fear God. They're supposed to be men of truth. And they should hate covetousness because the last thing we need is leaders who are in it for the money. And they're just going to be bribed and paid off to do everything that's ungodly. So those are the qualifications. They have the ability. They fear God. They're honest men. And they hate covetousness. Put people like that to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all seasons. And it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure. And all these people shall also go to their place in peace. Now, there's another scripture. You don't have to turn there. But this is similar to what we see in Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 13, take you wise men and understanding and known among your tribes. And I will make them rulers over you. That's God speaking. Wise, understanding men that are well known. And I'll make them rulers over you. So we need to have authority in place. We need to have leadership. We need to have rulers. And the people can't rule themselves. And these leaders can't just be a rubber stamp that just goes along with whatever the people want, where Aaron just says, OK, you want a golden calf? I don't believe in it. I believe in the Lord. But hey, I'll make it for you. Whatever. And then he blames the people. Well, you know, I just did it because it's what the people wanted. Well, you know, it's your job, Aaron, to say, I don't care what you want. Moses put me in charge. And we're going to follow the Lord. We're not going to do idolatry. I don't care what you want. You know, if Aaron would have had a backbone, then that golden calf scenario wouldn't have happened. And by the way, maybe if Aaron had a backbone, he would have been more respected by the people. And they wouldn't just be barking orders at him either. You see, people today have very little respect for our leadership in America today. But that's because our leadership in America today has shown, in most cases, that they're not worthy of respect. Because they're continually cheating and taking bribes and doing insider trading in the stock market. So they come out of Congress or the Senate just multimillionaires. Because they're dishonest, that's why. Go, if you would, to 1 Samuel, chapter 15. This is not the only example we could point to in the Bible of this concept where the leader just harkens to the voice of the people and does whatever the people want. You're turning to 1 Samuel 15. But if we were to go all the way back to Genesis, chapter 3, with Adam and Eve in the garden, of course, Eve gives Adam of the forbidden fruit to eat of it. And when God confronts Adam about that, he said, who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, well, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. And then when God is rebuking Adam for committing that sin, he says in verse 17, unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife. Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake, and sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. See, it's not the attribute of a good husband to just do whatever his wife says and just follow whatever his wife tells him to do and just give her whatever she wants. Now, that's what a lot of people think, but that's not biblical leadership. Just as it isn't right for Aaron to just give the people whatever they want, it's not right either for the husband to just yes, dear, and just obey whatever his wife tells him to do. He needs to do what's right for the family. He needs to do what's best for the family. You say, well, you make it sound like the home is a dictatorship. You got it right. It is. The Bible says the head of the woman is the man. The head of every man is Christ. The head of Christ is God. That's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And so there's a chain of command. There's authority there. Now, here's the thing about that. This does not mean that the husband should be a cruel leader or a selfish leader. No, he should be a benevolent leader. He should do what's best for everyone. He should do what's best for the family. He should love his wife as he loves his own flesh. And he should be sacrificial and kind and loving to his wife. But he is supposed to be the boss. And it doesn't really matter in a situation where the wife or the children want something that's wrong for the family. If that's what they want, what matters is that he's the God appointed leader and that he does what's right for the family and that he makes the decision that is right in the eyes of God. That is leadership. It's not leadership to just give your wife and kids whatever they want. I mean, should I just give my kids whatever they want? Guess what? My kids are young and immature. And therefore, they don't know what's right for them, do they? Do you really think that my two-year-old or five-year-old knows what's right for them and I should just do what they want and just say, well, what do you want to do? And just let them make all the decisions about the meals that they eat, the way that they spend their days, what kind of entertainment they engage in. Am I supposed to just sit there and just give them whatever they want? And you say, no, that's absurd because a two-year-old doesn't know what's best for them. But let me explain something to you. Adults often don't know what's best for them either. When it comes to the United States of America, putting the people in charge is a horrible idea because although they're not two years old, they do not necessarily know how to run a country or what the right decisions are for our country in a given situation. This is why we are supposed to elect people who are smart people, who have experience leading, who know about everything that's going on, and can make informed right decisions, not just every Joe Blow off the street just saying, well, I think we should go to war with so-and-so. I just think there should be more stimulus. Or I just think, you know, when they don't know anything about any of these things. It makes no sense to say, well, let's just give everyone an equal voice. Even people who have no idea what they're talking about? I mean, think about if we were to apply this to the church. Let's say the church were to be a democracy. OK, well, here's the thing. You have some people in our church, you have a lot of people in our church who've actually read the Bible cover to cover at least once, maybe even five times or 10 times. So you have knowledgeable people in the church. But you know what? I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands. But if people were to be honest and I were to ask for a raise of hands, who here has never read the entire Bible cover to cover? There would be hands all over the building. Now, that's not necessarily a criticism, because some people could be newly saved or new to church. And maybe they just haven't had a chance to read through the thing. Or maybe you've been saved for 20 years and you've never read the Bible cover to cover. Well, shame on you read the thing this year. Get through it. But let me tell you something. Why would we allow the direction of the church to be decided by a group of people who've never read the Bible cover to cover even one single time? And then they determine the doctrine of the church. They determine the direction of the church. That doesn't make any sense. And whether you like that or not, I'm going to get up here and I'm going to speak the truth about that. There is biblical leadership for the local church for a reason. And it's not an insult to my two-year-old. To say that my two-year-old can't make right decisions, that's not insulting my two-year-old. She's two. Well, guess what, some people are two in the Lord. They got saved two years ago. That's not an insult, because we've all been there. We've all been two. It's not anything negative to say that someone is a novice or someone is a beginner or someone is newly saved, someone's a new believer, someone's a babe in Christ. Great. Amen. Praise the Lord. I hope that our church is always filled with new believers and people that are young in the faith. That's what we want. But we don't want to put those people in charge. It's not an insult to them. They just don't know. And look, let me just be frank with you, OK? You say, should you be running America? No. You know, I would not be qualified to be the president of the United States. You know, if it was just like, OK, Pastor Anderson, you can be the president. How would I be qualified to be the president? I don't know about how our government works at the highest levels. And I don't know enough about geopolitics and things. You know, I wouldn't want to lead our military into some battle or something. I wouldn't know what I'm doing. All right, charge. I don't know how to be a general of an army. Does everybody understand? I don't know how to be the admiral of a nuclear submarine. I don't know how to be the secretary of defense or the president of the United States. I'm not trying to be those things, because I wouldn't know how to do that job. So I don't want us all to just have direct democracy where we all get online, you know, should we go to war with Russia, yes or no? And it's like a poll on Facebook or something. And that's how we run our country. Because we don't know. We don't even know what's going on. We don't even have all the facts. The people who are running the country are supposed to have the facts and do what's right. I'm not saying it works, but I'm saying that it's supposed to work that way, OK? But the point is that a real leader doesn't just do what the people want, because the people don't always want the right thing. And it's not even necessarily that they're bad people. Sometimes it's just that they don't know. They don't have the experience. They don't have the knowledge. They don't have the background. And so therefore, you need qualified leaders who've done the study, who understand how things work, who are good people, who will make the right choices for the people. So did I have you turn? Where did I have you turn? So in 1 Samuel 15, we have another example of a weak leader blaming others, blaming the people. He says in verse 24, and Saul said unto Samuel, I've sinned, for I've transgressed the commandment of the Lord and thy words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Do you see that? So just like Adam said, well, Eve, the woman you gave me, she gave me the fruit and I ate. Or you have Aaron saying, well, the people are set on mischief. And they told me to do this. And so I did it because they told me to. And then here we have Saul saying, well, I was afraid of the people. I obeyed them. But here's the thing. You're not qualified to lead. If you're afraid of the people and you obey their voice, you're not qualified to lead. Because the qualified to lead, man, who's he supposed to fear? The people? No. He's supposed to fear God. That's who's qualified to lead. The guy who doesn't fear the people, but rather fears God, is the one who's qualified to lead. And he doesn't obey their voice. He obeys God's voice. He does what's right no matter what people want. Now turn, if you would, to First Peter, Chapter 5. First Peter, Chapter 5. So again, the right way to lead is to be put in a position of authority. The people choose you as a leader, whether that's in a church or whether they vote for you in a country or whatever, or whether it's in a marriage. Because guess what? You wives, you chose your husband, didn't you? You voted for him to be your president. He's your leader, right? You voted him into office as your husband. It was a landslide. It was unanimous. You voted for him. Now, maybe somebody here is in an arranged marriage, but I highly doubt it. Since we live in the United States of America, you chose this guy, OK? And hopefully, you chose someone who fears God. And ladies, this is what you should be looking for in a man, one who fears God. He's a man of truth. He hates covetousness. That's the kind of guy you're looking for, OK? And then you choose him. Well, guess what? Now, he's in charge. And he's not here to do what you tell him to do. He is here to do what's right in the sight of God and to lead the family. Now, hopefully, he's going to do that in a loving and selfless way. But whether he does or not, you chose him, and you're stuck with him. That's what marriage is. Now, in 1 Peter chapter 5, we have the exhortation to elders. And by the way, the words elder and pastor are used interchangeably in scripture with bishop. In Titus chapter 1, when it gives the qualifications for the bishop, it interchanges the word elder, because that's the same title, OK? And it says, the elders, this is verse 1 of 1 Peter 5, the elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you. Taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. So the Bible says here that we as leaders, specifically in the local church, are supposed to feed the flock. So we're not in this thing for ourselves. We're supposed to be ministers. And minister means someone who serves or attends to the needs of others. And so a pastor of a church is not to lord over the flock, but he is rather there to feed and to lead the flock. So I'm supposed to get up here and teach you the word of God, and feed you the daily bread from God's word, feed you spiritual truths, and lead you in the right direction so that you can follow me as I follow Christ, and I can teach you, and help you, and be a blessing to you. I'm not here to glorify myself, and become a millionaire, and be a big shot, and just see how popular I can get, and just how many accolades I can get, and how beloved of this world I can get. No, I might get up and say things that I know are going to make people mad, that I know are going to get me in trouble with people out there in this world, and maybe even get me in trouble with people in this building. But if it's the word of God, I'm supposed to just get up and preach it anyway, and just let the chips fall where they may. And if everybody wants to go in the wrong direction, it's my job to stand in the way and say, no, we're doing it the Bible way. We're doing it God's way. And to explain, and to teach, look, this is why that's not going to work. This is what the Bible says. We've got to follow the word of God. So it says that the elder is supposed to take the oversight of the house of God. Oversight is basically synonymous with the word bishop, because bishop literally means overseer. And so he is supposed to oversee the work of the local church, not for filthy lucre, not because he's in it for the money. That kind of reminds me of hating covetousness. It's the same type of guy that we want to be a pastor is somebody who hates covetousness. He's not into how many material goods he can acquire, and having fancy things, and fancy cars, and fancy houses, and fancy clothes. But rather, he's doing it for the right reason. He's of a ready mind. He's doing it willingly. He's not doing it because he has to. He's doing it because he wants to for the right reasons. And it says, feed the flock of God which is among you. And then it says in verse 3, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being in samples to the flock. So he's to lead by example, teach the people, feed the people, do what's best for the people, oversee the work of the house of God, and not be in it for himself. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. So flip over, if you would, to Hebrews 13. You're close to there, Hebrews chapter 13. So let's apply this to the family. The husband is the leader in the home. He's supposed to feed the family. Quite literally, he goes out and earns money to put literal food on the table in his home, not to go out and work and then spend all the money on booze and gambling and frivolous things. But no, he brings home the money and allots it for the good of the family. Now, here's the thing about that. Obviously, we believe in the husband being an authority. The husband's the head of the house. That's what the Bible teaches. But obviously, the husband should not just use the money for selfish purposes, and he's just buying himself all these toys and goodies, and then the family's going without. Obviously, he should bring home the bacon and feed the flock and feed the family for their benefit. Now, he's obviously going to use the money for the family's benefit, but does that mean that he's just going to buy them whatever they want and to just give them whatever money they want? No, because it's also his job to be responsible and say, hey, here's some simple math. The money that's coming in needs to equal the money that's going out. And we can't have more money going out than what's coming in, because you could have a wife that's just ready to just rack up credit cards and just overspend. And he's making $6,000 a month. She's spending $7,000 a month or whatever. You could have a wife that's overspending. And a righteous husband isn't just going to go and just let her run the finances into the ground. He's going to stop and say, hey, honey, you're going on a budget, hand over those credit cards or whatever. He's going to step in and do what's right for the family so that in the long run, they'll be financially solvent and not just allow them to just in the short term blow all the money, and then they get in a situation where they can't even make ends meet. So yes, it's the husband's job to lead, to oversee the home. And yes, he is the one who's in charge of the money. But he should be using it for the good of the family. But he needs to be doing so with regard to what's best for the family, not necessarily just what each member of the family desires or what the kids want to be purchased or whatever. If they can't afford it, then he needs to know how to say no. So go to Hebrews chapter 13. And let me reiterate, this church is not a democracy. This church has never been a democracy. And this church will never be a democracy. Now, some people are probably like, oh, I can't believe it should say that. Oh, it's a dictatorship. Look, my friend, first of all, the opposite of democracy is not dictatorship in the way that you think. Because here's the thing about that. What's a dictator? What does that even mean? Does a dictator mean somebody is in charge and dictating how things are going to go? Well, then, yeah, that is what's supposed to be happening in your home. That's called a husband. That's called dad. I mean, we don't have a polling place in our house for people to vote. It's just dad makes the rules. That's the way it is. So the thing about that is that if you have democracy where you put the people in charge, this inevitably leads to tyranny anyway. And let me explain to you why. Because when you give the people all the power and you let them vote on everything, then here's what happens. You get some silver-tongued guy in there who's called a demagogue. And he makes the speech to pull on everybody's emotions and invoke all of their feelings. He knows how to manipulate them and work the crowd. And then, basically, he gets them to do his bidding and to give him all the power anyway. And then you end up with not a benevolent dictatorship, but with a tyrant. I mean, think about these movements throughout history that have been supposedly about putting the people in charge. I don't know, sort of like the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, like, hey, we're going to put things in the hands of the people. You know, we're going to basically get rid of these ruling classes. And we're going to give all the power to the people at the bottom, the proletariat, right? So how did that work out? The people are retarded. That's how that worked out. And you end up with a bad dictatorship. You end up with tyranny. You end up with these horrible governments, OK? And so this church is not a democracy. We do not vote on our doctrine. We don't vote on the direction or program of the church. And we're not going to. And you say, well, I just don't lie. I just don't think that you guys should just make all the decisions. Well, OK, fine. But you're wrong, OK? And that's the way it is. So like it or lump it. You can go to the church down the street where they'll give you whatever you want. They'll play Van Halen for you on Sunday morning if that's what you want. I mean, that's the new thing now in these democratic churches. That's the new thing now is, I mean, I was just talking to my brother. He was talking to a guy on his street, one of his neighbors. And his neighbor told him, he said, yeah, you know, our church is really into outreach. So we play a lot of secular music on Sunday morning because we're really into outreach. And what they mean by that is songs literally nothing to do with God or the Bible. They're just songs. I mean, you laugh when I say Van Halen or something, but that's probably what they're doing because they got to reach that Generation X crowd, that target market audience. Look, I know that church, New Spring in Anderson, South Carolina, they were playing Bon Jovi and AC DC songs on Sunday morning. Personally, when I was a teenager 20-some years ago, I went to a church youth group where we sang John Denver songs, congregationally. I went to a Presbyterian church one time. Hey, you're not going to believe this, OK? But I went to a Presbyterian church one time and sang Brown Eyed Girl as a congregational song. Yeah, it's true. Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, right near Sacramento, California, I sang Brown Eyed Girl as a congregational worship song, OK? That was 25 years ago. That's getting way more common now. Why? Because if you just are going to give people whatever they want, that's what people are going to want. Now, we could just give you the music that you want. We could just give you the preaching that you want. We could just give you the doctrine that you want, give you the program that you want, run the church the way that you want. But guess what? We're not going to. We're going to go to the word of God, OK? I'm the pastor of the church. I have staff that I work with. And I talk to them about decisions that I make. And we work together on things. But at the end of the day, though, we don't have a vote where just everybody's voice counts. Every man, woman, boy, girl just decides what we do. It's a pastor-led church. That's what we believe in. Whether that's popular or not is not relevant to me. It's the only kind of church that I will ever pastor. Because I refuse to pastor a church that isn't biblical. And democracy isn't biblical. And so I would have nothing to do with that. If there was some kind of a rebellion that said, no, Pastor Anderson, we're going to start voting on things. And we're going to start having a board of people that's going to tell, we're going to have a deacon board that's going to basically rein you in. Then I'd just be like, see ya, suckas. And I'd be gone. I'm not going to participate in that. It's not biblical. Look what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 7. Remember them which have the rule over you, who has spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. Who are these guys? They have the rule over you, and they've spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow. OK, that sounds to me like the church is supposed to have leadership, doesn't it? Why do you think God spent a bunch of time giving all the qualifications for the bishop and the elder? If there's no leader, then why do we need all these qualifications? Because you know what that means? It means that other people aren't qualified. If one guy is qualified, it means that someone else isn't. OK, it doesn't make them a bad person. They might even be a better Christian than the pastor. There could be someone who's not qualified to be the pastor who's a better Christian than I am. And when we get to heaven, there will probably be people in the church who get more rewards in heaven than I do. I wouldn't be surprised one bit. I'm not claiming to be the greatest Christian. I'm not claiming to be the one who's going to get all the rewards. But here's what I'm claiming. I'm qualified, and I am the pastor of the church. Now, someone else who's unqualified might be a better Christian and do more for the Lord. You know, how about a woman? There could be a woman in this church who's just an awesome Christian and winning all kinds of souls to Christ and doing great things for God. It's going to get beaucoup rewards in heaven. But does that mean that she should be the pastor of the church? No. No, she shouldn't. And many that are first shall be last. Many that are last shall be first. Just because somebody's a pastor doesn't mean that they're the greatest. It doesn't mean they're the best Christian. It doesn't mean that they get all the rewards. But you know what it does mean? It means that they're the pastor, though. That's what it means. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. You see, when you don't remember them which have the rule over you, and when you don't follow their faith, you run the risk of being carried about with strange doctrines. Because of the fact that inexperienced people can fall for things because they haven't read the Bible enough, they haven't been around long enough to know the dangers of strange and diverse doctrines. Jump down to verse 17. It says, obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. You see, the Bible is saying that the leadership is looking out for you. It's not that they're just trying to lord over the flock and look out for themselves, no, no, no. It's unprofitable for you if you don't follow leadership. God has ordained leadership in the local church, in the home, in a nation, and it behooves us to follow the leader. Hebrews 13, 24, salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints, they of Italy, salute you. And so three times in one passage, we have this word rule, right? Remember them that have the rule over you. Obey them that have the rule over you. Salute them that have the rule over you. But well, I'm just not sure that anybody should be ruling over the house of God. I mean, should the pastor really be ruling the church? Well, I don't know, what does the Bible say? And here's the thing, as a pastor, I'm not going to rule your home. I'm not trying to rule your personal life. I'm not trying to rule your business. But when it comes to the church, I'm the leader at church. In your home, you're the leader, sir. Not ma'am, I said, sir, unless there's no man in the home, then obviously, mom's the leader. But you're the leader of your home, you're the leader of your business, I'm the leader of the church here. Obviously, ultimately, Christ is the head of the church, and I answer to Jesus Christ, and I have to do everything in accord with the word of God. Now, let's say I get out of bounds as a leader, right? Then I can be replaced. If I get out of bounds as a leader, if I'm no longer following Christ, if I'm no longer preaching the word of God, then you know what, I can be discarded and a new leader brought in. But what's not right, though, is for the people to just run the church and for it to be a free for all and anything goes. If I were to be out of bounds, then I should be replaced immediately as quickly as possible with another leader that would lead the church. So can a leader be replaced? Absolutely. But should the leader just be defied or ignored? No. The leader should either be followed or replaced with someone that you can follow. Now, you wives, replacing your husband is not an option. So you better just make that decision right the first time. The church can replace the pastor. OK, the company might replace the CEO. But sorry, wives, you can't replace your husband. So think about that before you get married. And again, I just want to reiterate, if you want to just turn to Ephesians chapter 5 in closing, what's the title of the sermon? The title of the sermon is Democracy versus Biblical Leadership. People are always trying to deceive us in 2022 into thinking that democracy is a good thing or that America is supposed to be a democracy or that we need to make the world safe for democracy or whatever. In reality, democracy is a bad form of government. Let me tell you why democracy is a bad form of government. Because democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. That's democracy. Democracy ends up trampling the rights of the minority. I mean, if the majority just rules. And here's the problem with that. What does the Bible say? The Bible says, broad is the way that leads to destruction. And many there be which go in that, because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which lead unto life, and few there be that find it. You know, as I said, I'm not qualified to be the general in our armed forces. I'm not qualified to be president. I'm not qualified to do these jobs, because I don't know enough about these systems. I don't have the experience. I've never been in a political role like that. I've pastored a church, but that's not the same thing as being in politics or doing that. But I will say this. You know what? I don't even think that everybody should be allowed to vote in the United States. That's my opinion. So put that in your pipe and smoke it. Why should everyone be allowed to vote? Just so that every idiot, every bozo, every derelict can have a voice about how our country is run? Hang that, because you know what? I want good leaders, right leaders, leaders with ability, leaders who will do what's best for the country, not whoever is going to give the most handouts, the most lazy bozos. You know what's funny is that some people are offended when somebody says, hey, you know, if you can't read, you shouldn't be able to vote. How could that even be controversial? But yeah, it's like, oh, can you believe these conservatives? They want people to have to be able to read. Because there have been times throughout our country's history where people were administered at a polling place, like they had to read a few sentences off a piece of paper. And if they can't read it, they can't vote. Because it's like, you don't even know what you're voting. You don't even know what's going on. You're an imbecile. You can't read. You're not ready to vote. Go learn how to read, and then you can come back and vote. How about that? And by the way, people shouldn't be able to vote if they can't speak English. OK, because how do you even know what's going on with the people that you're even voting for? You can't even understand what they're saying to you. You don't even know what's going on in this country. You know what I mean? Like, you should have to be able to read. And by the way, you should actually have to own some kind of property to be able to vote. How about that? How about that? So that basically only responsible people can vote. Right? That way, people who are responsible and actually own something, do you own something? Well, then you can vote. Do you own something? Well, then you can vote. If you don't own anything, well, then you can't vote. How about that? Because you aren't a responsible enough member of society yet. You don't own a car. You don't own a home. You don't own any property. You don't own any, you know, you're living outside. You don't have an address. You have no address because you live outside. But we're going to give you a voice, buddy. Folks, that's garbage. You know, I'm just throwing some things out there at this point in the sermon. Just throwing some stuff out there, folks. I'm just saying, like, we just take these things for granted. Well, of course, everybody gets a voice. You know, and then that's why some guy claiming to be Michael the Archangel in the parking lot, you know, comes up and wants to take over the service. And then I'm demonized all over the internet for saying, do you want to take over the service? Get out of here. You're not going to take over the service because this isn't a karaoke bar where it's an open mic. Get this guy out of here. You know, who's like, oh, why can't he just, you know, say what he wants to say and have his little prayer read out loud or whatever? Folks, this is the mentality that has infected our society, that everybody gets a voice. Everybody gets a say. Let's do what the majority of people want to do. The problem is that the majority of people are dumb. The majority of people are going to hell. The majority of people don't believe in Jesus Christ. The majority of people are irresponsible. That's the world that we live in. This is why godly leaders are supposed to exist. To do what? To make people better, to teach people what's right, to preach the word of God to people, and to say, this is what we're doing. And you know, the wife that wants to go out and just, you know, rack up all the credit cards and just, you know, burn it all down financially, the husband might have to say no. This is what we're doing. We're going to pay our house payment. This is what we're doing. We're going to make a budget, and we're going to live within our means. OK, now that may or may not be popular with the kids or with his wife, but he does it because it's right. The pastor gets up and says, we're using the King James version of the Bible. Well, you know, we'll reach more people if we use the New Living Church. No, we're using the King James Bible. It's not a, if 99% of people want to use something else, we're using the King James Bible. If 99% of people want to do one secular song on Sunday morning, and you know, we'll do Van Halen this week, we'll do ACDC next week, we'll do Bon Jovi the week after that, it's not happening. It doesn't matter what people want. We're not doing it. If 99% of the church says, Pastor Anderson's too radical in his preaching on the Sodomites, he needs to just tone it down just a little bit, doesn't matter. I'm not going to. If I'm in line with scripture, I'm just going to keep on going. You know, we don't want to fall into this worldly mentality, this pro-democracy idea. Now look, I am for freedom. For liberty. And anybody who attends this church knows that this church gives more freedom and liberty than any church that I've ever seen that's actually like an independent Baptist church. I mean, this church is a hands-off church. We don't run your life at all. You know, you have total freedom in this church. And by the way, ask my staff how much of a dictator I am. Ask myself if I'm constantly ordering them around, or if I give you a lot of freedom. On the scale of 1 to 10, how much freedom do I give you guys, brother Segura? Yeah, 20, he said. But at the end of the day, though, when I put my foot down about something, that's the way it is. So look, freedom, yes. Liberty, yes. Republic, yes. Choosing leaders to represent us. Choosing people who will do things in our best interest, yes. Amen. I'm glad that our founders of our country put in place a lot of smart things, and that there are a lot of good things about this republic that we live in. But democracy, no way. Democracy is the golden calf. Democracy is a failure. It always will be, whether it's in church, in a family, in a government. I mean, my wife and I would be outvoted so fast in our family. We wouldn't stand a chance. And so we need biblical leadership, not democracy. And in the home, look, the husband's ahead of the home. Dad's the boss. Don't buy into this feminist garbage. You need wives. You need to obey your husbands. Obey your husband. And husbands, love your wives. Do what's best for them. Be a benevolent dictator. Have the power, have the authority, and then use that authority to actually be better to them than you are to yourself. To bless them more than you bless yourself. But use the power to do that. Have the power. Don't relinquish all the power. And don't be like a hajuir, where you're just giving your ring to everybody and just letting them do whatever they want with it all the time. You need to actually make some decisions and be in charge. Amen. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord. And we just pray that you give us the wisdom to properly lead in whatever area of life we have leadership, whether it's in business, Lord, whether it's in church, whether it's in government. Not that any of us would ever lead in government. But Lord, just give us wisdom in whatever area, in our families or whatever. Help us, Lord, to do a good job at leading. Help us always to do what's right and to always fear you more than fearing our followers. Lord, help us to exercise biblical leadership. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.