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Alright, it's a blessing to be here with you all. This is my first time in Houston, and so it's a blessing to be here with Pure Words Baptist Church. Heard a lot about this church here, and especially of course within recent months, and it's a blessing to see the congregation growing. It looks strong, and it's always good to hear people traveling from afar to come to a local church, because it goes to show the character and the desire of the people to want to grow and learn and be a part of a good local New Testament church, and so we're all thankful for that. Thank you for making the trip out here, and I hope you continue to remain faithful to this church. Amen? Look down at your Bibles at Philippians chapter number 2, and we'll read verse number 9. It says, The title of this sermon this morning is, In the Absence of Authority. In the absence of authority, and I was thinking about what to preach when I would come here, and I was thinking to myself that of course the church has, I want to say sacrifice, but not necessarily sacrifice, but in a sense kind of allowed other people to basically have their pastor, because they're in need of a pastor, and so during a time like this, there's authority that is absent, and how is a Christian supposed to behave in the absence of that authority, and we're going to look at that this morning. Now, the book of Philippians is a great book. It's four chapters, and it's really unique in comparison to all the other books found in the New Testament, simply for the fact that when you read the book of Philippians, you don't find a whole lot of reproof, you don't find a lot of rebuke, you don't find a whole lot of correction. What you find is a lot of exhortation, a lot of encouragement, a lot of instruction, and I think it speaks to the character and spirituality and the maturity of the Christians found in Philippi. You see, in chapter 1, the apostle Paul goes over the fact that we're supposed to have fellowship in the gospel. He talks about how he's in bonds and how he set forth for the defense of the gospel, and how others have been encouraged through his stance and his boldness for themselves to get up as well and preach the word of God boldly. You see, in chapter number 2, the famous verse that talks about, Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, and what is he talking about? He's talking about being a servant, right? He instructs them how to be a servant. He gives the example of Epaphroditus. He gives the example of Timothy, how he served with them in the gospel. Then you go into chapter 3, and in chapter 3, what do we see? The apostle Paul warning the church at Philippi, he says, Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the concision. And he's like, hey, beware of that religion called Judaism. Why? Because they're trying to make proselytes in all places, and they're going to come here, so you've got to make sure that you beware of these people. And he says, hey, I used to be a Pharisee. You know, I used to be zealous according to the law in that regard, but I counted all but dung. And he's helping them have a mindset to say, hey, it's not about your pedigree of what race you are, it's not about your religious background, you know. The mindset that we ought to have is that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering being made conformable unto His death. Then we see in chapter 4, he says, hey, make sure you rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. Be content with such things as ye have, and learn in whatsoever state you are in, therewith to be content. So we see in Philippians, he just drives in a lot of instruction, a lot of encouragement, and a lot of repetitious things that are good for this church to hear. But why isn't he just, like, correcting them? Why isn't he not rebuking them? Why isn't he not reproving them? Well, my personal belief is because they're just a mature church. And not to say that they're not going to need that in the future, or they didn't need that in the future, but I think at this point in time, they were mature. They knew the responsibility to just grow up, to become big boys and big girls, to do what they're supposed to do, when they're supposed to do it, you know, regardless of who asks them to do it or not. And the reason we know that they're a mature church is because he says, wherefore as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. You see, it takes a mature person, obviously, someone who understands their duty to obey in the presence of their authority. That's given, right? You know you're supposed to do your job when the boss is present. You know you're supposed to clean the house when your boss is present. You know you're supposed to throw out the trash when mom and dad is present. But how about when they're absent? You see, here we see that there are so much the more obedient, not just in his presence, but now much more in his absence. That speaks to the character of the Christian who understands the fear of God. Why is that? Because, you know, authority is a blessing. Earthly authority is a blessing. It is a biblical role that we see in the Bible. But the fact of the matter is that earthly authority is not always going to be there. So when earthly authority is not always there, what are we supposed to rely on? Well, rely on the fact that that earthly authority simply represents God's authority, who is always present, who is omnipresent. And that helps us to recognize, hey, I'm supposed to do what I'm supposed to do, even when the pastor's not around. I'm supposed to do what I'm supposed to do, take care of my responsibilities, even though my authority is not around. Why is that? Because I'm supposed to obey so much the more in his absence. Now, we see this concept throughout the Bible. Go with me, if you would, to Colossians chapter number 3. I'm going to read to you from Ephesians chapter 5 verse 22. It says, We see here that the responsibility of the wife is to submit to her husband. And it doesn't give you like, you know, if he's spiritual. It doesn't say, you know, if he's like the man of God, if he's like read his Bible this morning or, you know, if he has all his ducks in order. We don't see anything like that. You know, you may go into the Greek and try to read that into the Greek, but I guarantee you're not going to find it. Because it's not there. It says, You know what that tells me? That shows me right there that the attitude that the wife ought to have towards her husband is that she's supposed to serve her husband as if she's serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, but he's not acting like the Lord Jesus Christ. But it doesn't say if he's acting like the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, it doesn't say if he has his ducks in order or if he, you know, picks up his dirty laundry or does whatever, you know, takes care of whatever pet peeves you have. It just says, Obey him, submit to him as unto the Lord. You say, but he's not perfect, but here's the thing, Jesus Christ is. So guess what? Jesus Christ is worthy of your submission and he's telling you as the ultimate authority, hey, submit to your husband as unto me. That's the concept that we see here. So we see an example of an earthly authority that God is giving to people and saying, hey, you're supposed to look at that person and obey them as you obey the Lord. Look at Colossians chapter 3, verse 18, it reiterates that in verse 18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Skip down to verse 22. It says, servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. That's a great statement right there. He says, look, you need to obey your master, your boss, not with eye service. What does that mean? Just so the boss can see you do whatever it is that you're doing. You know, just so he can pat you on the back and give you a thanks as a man pleaser, it says there. No, not that way, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily. How? As to the Lord. So he's saying, well, yeah, but my boss, he's just a jerk and he just, I can't stand the guy. I think he's a reprobate. By the way, anytime we don't like people, we just go, automatically we just say, yeah, he's a reprobate. Right? No, he's not a reprobate, he's just your boss. And he's probably a hard-nosed boss. But you know what the Bible says? That you're supposed to serve him heartily as unto the Lord. Not unto man. See, a lot of people think that spirituality is just, you know, reading the Bible, praying, walking in the Spirit, coming to church, soul winning. But you know what? That is spiritual, but you know what's also spiritual? Obeying your masters. You know, submitting yourself unto your husband. These are spiritual things that you're supposed to do. Why? Because the Bible says it right there. Look at verse 24. Knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance. I haven't gotten my raise. Well, it says there, knowing of the Lord, that ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance. For ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of person. So again, we see the concept that God is emphasizing here. He's stating, hey, submit yourselves to earthly authorities, these God-ordained earthly authorities, and the mindset, the perspective you're supposed to have is, I'm doing it as unto the Lord. Okay? But that takes a mature person to understand that. The Bible tells us in Matthew 25, verse 40, you don't have to turn or go with me if you went to Acts chapter 20, it says, and the king shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto, excuse me, done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. So again, Jesus Christ is reiterating, the way you serve, the way you submit, the way you obey. Just recognize, when you do it, in spite of the personality flaws of the person you're doing it for, just recognize you're doing it as unto me. I take it as you're doing it unto me. Look at Acts chapter 20, verse 18. It says, When they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I had been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mine, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the line and weight of the Jews. So here the apostle Paul is saying, hey, I've been serving the Lord with all humility. Well, how did he do that? Look at verse 20. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. What was the service? Teaching publicly, soul winning, teaching the word of God. But he correlates that in verse 19 as serving the Lord with all humility. He said, well, that's obvious. Yeah, but everything else should be obvious then. That when we go soul winning and when we're preaching the gospel, guess what we're doing? We're serving the Lord. But you know, when you're submitting to your husband, you're serving the Lord. When you're obeying your boss, you're serving the Lord. Children, when you obey your parents, you're serving the Lord. Romans chapter 12, verse 12 says, Rejoice in hope. Excuse me, verse 11 says, Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Go to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. So it's important that we understand the importance of authority. That earthly authority, whether it's your mom, your dad, it's your husband, it's your boss. Hey, it's the pastor. It's spiritual authority. These people are important. Because you know, there's a group out there that just thinks that no earthly authority is important. You know, these anarchist type Christians that don't want to have a pastor over them. They want to have house church where you sit around a coffee table and just discuss, What do you think this verse says? Kind of thing. That's garbage. This house church movement is garbage. Why? Because the local New Testament church, God has ordained one pastor to be at that local New Testament church to lead the people and to instruct them in the ways of righteousness. Not many pastors where they just kind of, you know, go back and forth to say, Hey, so what do you think we should do? You know? And even now, today, here at the church, you know, you say, Well, my pastor is not here as often. Well, you know, why don't you take initiative and do things as your pastor would do them? Okay? Look at what verse seven says, 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. Oh, that's what I was going to say. I forgot what I was going to say. You know, this house church movement, you know, we get on those guys and rightfully so. But even within independent fundamental Baptist churches, there's people who rebel against authority. And they do it in the name of authority. Well, I'm the authority here. No, you're not. You know, they try to make themselves like the head honcho, the big cheese, and try to make themselves like they're the boss. When I'm the ordained evangelist here, then go sowing. Because that's what ordained evangelists are supposed to do. You know, I lead the church in Los Angeles. I'm the ordained evangelist. But I don't go ahead and flex my muscles to tell people, hey, obey me because I'm the evangelist here. I'm the ordained evangelist. I got the tattoo. You know, I don't walk around with a name tag trying to flex my muscle. Why? Because ultimately, we're still faithful toward Baptist church. And guess who's the pastor? Pastor Stephen L. Anderson. Now, in his absence, he has ordained me to be the authority there. But for the most part, when we make any kind of major decision, when we lead the church in whatever way, I always go to him first. It's not like, well, you know, this is my church. You know, I'm the man in charge here. No, you don't understand authority. You're out from under authority is what you are. You have a perverted, misconstrued perception of what authority is. Because here's the thing, authority is not just, well, I'm the boss, so just do as I say. Authority understands the responsibility of that position and understands that they are to profit the congregation to do what's best for the entire congregation and for everyone else, not just to serve just their selfish needs and their desires. Look at verse 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. So over and over again, we see that God says, as unto the Lord, as unto Christ, as unto the Lord, as unto Christ. Why? Because he's trying to drive in the point, hey, when you serve, serve God, serve in ministry, serve in soul winning, as unto the Lord. Why? Because no one, you know, you're not always going to have someone there to pat you on the back and say, good job, brother. You know, great job, man, you did an awesome job. You know, when that person's not around to tell you that, just understand this, you're serving the Lord and he sees everything. You don't always need a pat on the back. You don't always need someone to tell you, hey, you're doing a good job. Why? Because you're serving Christ. And if you're serving Christ, you understand and the Bible tells us that he's pleased with you, that you shall receive a reward. You're famous in the eyes of God. That's the big thing there is, you know, we ought to desire to be popular and famous in the eyes of God. That's what we ought to desire to do. You know, last last week I was at the airport and I saw a fighter by the name of Rampage Jackson. How many know who Rampage Jackson is? He's from the UFC. This is the second time I've met this guy. OK, I met him like 11 years ago, probably 12 years ago before I got saved. I was at a Muay Thai kickboxing match and he was there and I was like, oh, man, it's Rampage. This guy's famous, you know, and I went there and he was just a complete jerk. He just didn't even want to shake my hand. Just like, you know, just goody two shoes. Right. So 12 years later, I ran into him again at the airport. I said, hey, Rampage Jackson. I said, how are you doing? And he just like didn't even want to shake my hand again. I'm like, man, some people let success go to their head. And I thought to myself, you know what? I'm way more famous than this guy. Oh, no, you're not. You're not. You're not as rich as he is. You don't know. Well, yeah, here's the thing. But God knows who I am. God doesn't know Rampage Jackson. God doesn't know who he is. God doesn't consider his works to be valuable works. In fact, he can care less who Rampage Jackson is because he's a proud pompous idiot who, you know, just wants to make money. You know, at the end of the day, we need to recognize that we should desire to be famous in the eyes of God. OK, but that comes about as we recognize we're serving in whatever area at whatever state we're in. We're serving those areas as unto Christ and not unto men. OK, let me give you some good examples of those who serve the Lord in the absence of their authority. Go to Genesis chapter 39. The most obvious one, in my opinion, of someone who served the Lord greatly in the absence of their authority was Joseph. Now, if you know anything about Joseph, of course, Joseph had the dream and it wasn't Martin Luther King's dream either. He had a legitimate dream that came from God. And, you know, his brothers hated him for his dream. His brothers hated him for his dream. They hated him because he brought up their evil report. Of course, God had big plans for Joseph. Ultimately, his jealous, envious brethren ended up selling him into slavery. He was purchased by an officer by the name of Potiphar. And the Bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph. So, you know, put yourself in the sandals of Joseph, OK? He's in a foreign land. He's away from Mom and Dad, his earthly authority. He's away from everything that he knows and everything he's ever known. I mean, he's in Egypt. He's in what the Bible will refer to as the world, OK? He's out from under the authority, the protective umbrella of the authority there. But he started working for Potiphar and because the Lord is with Joseph, God begins to bless Potiphar's home. Why? Because Joseph is a righteous man, he's a man of character, he's a hard worker and he begins to work in such a way that Potiphar takes notice and really he just ends up kind of giving him all the responsibilities, just kind of, you know, blessing him and allowing him to have, in a sense, the preeminence in his kingdom there or in his household. And what happens? Well, everything's going fine and dandy up until Potiphar's wife sets her eyes on Joseph. Now what does that mean? In other words, she was checking him out. That's what that means, OK? And look at verse 7 of chapter 39. And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and she said, Lie with me. But he refused and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wadeth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I, neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against Potiphar? And sin against you. No. And sin against God. Now, was he sinning against Potiphar? Yeah. Was he going to sin against his women? Yes, absolutely. Was he going to sin against his parents? Absolutely. But ultimately, what was his mindset? How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? You know what the principle that we learn there is that in the absence of authority, I'm accountable to God for all my actions. You see, we're accountable to our bosses, to our parents, to everyone who got his place as an authority over our lives. But ultimately, if they're absent, God is the one who I'm accountable to. You see, it's important that Christians understand the fear of God. What is the fear of God? It's the recognition that God is always watching. Now, I heard that here in Texas, or in Houston, that the driving is pretty bad here. Is that true? Is this statement true? Is this testimony? Okay, I hope no one was bearing false witness here, okay? And they say, they're telling me, you know, they cut you off here. Well, that's exactly how it is in L.A., okay? L.A. is bad. You guys have traffic here? Okay, I bet you it's not as bad as Los Angeles traffic. Los Angeles traffic is like, I live 10 minutes away from the church. On a Thursday, I basically live like 40 minutes away from the church. This is so bad. But one thing you'll notice is that when you're on a freeway, for example, we have a freeway called the 710 Freeway. And everyone's going, you know, kind of fast, and they're kind of just speeding along because they're known for speeding. And they're just driving, and all of a sudden, everyone starts slowing down. And everyone's driving fast, and all of a sudden, you see these red lights, you know, just breaking a little bit. And you wonder, like, why is everyone just automatically slowing down? And when you kind of finagle your way through the crowd there, you see a police officer, okay? Why? Because as soon as the authority is present, everyone just starts hitting the brakes, you know? As soon as you know the police officer's there, it's like you make the complete stop, okay? You have someone called the California Roll. And what that is, it's a brake, but it's just you brake ever so slightly, but not all the way. And then as you're braking, you hit the gas. That's what it is. But here's the thing is, you know that these people are going to start slowing down as soon as there's a highway patrol officer there. Why? Because it's the authority that's present, and it's causing them to obey the laws. Well, in like manner, a Christian can basically stay away from the things that can destroy their lives. They can stay away from the things that they know is displeasing to God if they understand the authority is always present. You know, that authority is always on the highway. It's always in our bedroom. He's always in our household. He's always at our job. He's always at, he's everywhere. He's omnipresent. But it's up to you whether you want to recognize that. It's up to you if you want to understand, oh wait, God is here. We can't do that. God is here. I can't watch that. God is here. I can't do this. I can't say that. God is present. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? You see, in the absence of authority, at the end of the day, we need to recognize that God is always there. Go to 1 Samuel chapter 12. You think of David. When he finally repented of his sin, he got right with God. The sin that he committed with Bathsheba and the murder that he construed there with Uriah. In Psalm 51, he says, I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me. Against thee and thee only have I done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judges. Now, if you were to look at the story of David, did he only sin against God? No. He sinned against Bathsheba. He sinned against Uriah, his faithful, loyal soldier. He sinned against the entire nation. Why? Because he caused the reproach to come upon Israel because of his actions, because he was the king. But yet here, when he's repenting, he says, against thee and thee only have I done this evil. What is he recognizing? He's recognizing that ultimately he's responsible for his actions and God is going to hold him accountable for those things. You know, it's time to grow up. It's time to grow up and recognize, you know, I need to not sin, not just when I'm in the presence of my authority, but also in their absence. I need to not do these things, not only when my family's here, but also when they are absent. Why? Because we understand that we're accountable to God at all times. Look at 1 Samuel 12 verse 22. This is Samuel speaking here. Verse 23. Moreover, ask for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things he hath done for you. Hear Samuel saying, I don't want to sin against God in ceasing to pray for you. So how is that sinful? Well, because he that knoweth to do good and doeth not to him in a sin. And the Bible says pray without ceasing. Even as something as small and private as prayer. Samuel understood, if I cease praying for the people, I'm sinning against God. Because I know this is my responsibility to intercede for Israel, to intercede for God's people and pray. This is the right perspective that we need to have. Okay? Is that when the authority is absent, we understand, hey, I need to grow in my fear of God. Hey, now's the time to grow in your fear of God. And that comes as about when you hear heart preaching. When the pastor or the preacher steps on your toes and calls out your sin, it creates fear in your heart. But it also comes as you on a daily basis recognize God is present. God is here. And I need to practice the presence of God in my personal life. Recognize he's always around. Proverbs 15, you don't have to turn there. It says, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. And look, it should strike fear in your heart to know that God is always watching. Because our life is in his hands. And he's justified to take our life at any time if he wants. That should cause fear in your heart. Oh, I thought God is a God of love. Yeah, he's a God of love. He's a God of wrath. He's a God of righteousness. He's a God of judgment. He's a God of justice. And at any time, he can cause your heart to stop beating. At any time, he can take your legs. At any time, he can end your life. And the Bible says that he would be justified in doing so. That ought to strike fear in your heart. And what does that do? That'll cause you to obey so much the more in the absence of your authority. Go with me if you would to Luke 22. So that's a good example is Joseph. That's a powerful phrase that he says there. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Now, who's a bad example of this? Well, how about the son of perdition by the name of Judas? Now, Judas has been in hell for 2,000 years. And in my opinion, he's burning in the lowest hell. Very wicked man. And we obviously understand he was not saved. But he's the type of person that actually wanted to do wickedness or commit sin in the absence of the people. So in other words, he was kind of concerned what everyone else thought about him. You see, Joseph was just concerned, not necessarily just for Potiphar, but he was concerned what God thought. Judas was concerned with what everyone else thought. Look what it says, Luke 22 verse 3. Then entered Satan into Judas' surname and scarier, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad and confident to give him money. And he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. So he didn't want the people to be around when he was going to do this devious, evil work of turning in the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. He wanted to do it in the absence of the people. Why? Because for three years, he's known as one of the disciples. He's with Jesus Christ. And obviously we understand that Judas was a false prophet, which would explain why he was so concerned with what everyone else thought. Because the Bible tells us that they have great swelling words and that they want to have men's persons in admiration because of advantage. You see, they want the admiration of the people. They want the admiration and the acclamation of the people. The man of God can care less what people think. The man of God wants to know what God thinks. Now obviously we want to live above reproach before people and be a blessing to people. But at the end of the day, you know, when we lie our heads on our pillows at night, we're to think, hey, was God pleased with this? Was God happy with this? What does God think of this? Go to 1 Samuel chapter 15. Another bad example is Saul. Now unfortunately, you know, Saul was the first king of Israel. He started off great. He was little in his own sight. He was head and shoulders above the rest. He had a lot of potential. The Spirit of God would come upon him and he would prophesy. He did a lot of great works but unfortunately he became proud. He became arrogant. He began to disregard the commandments of the Lord and it didn't end well with him. Now here in 1 Samuel chapter 15, we see that God had instructed Samuel to tell Saul, hey, make sure he takes out the Amalekites and King Agag and like just destroy everything. I mean I want everything to be killed. No cattle. No sheep. Everything. I just want everything to be destroyed. Simple instructions. Here's your task list. Okay. Kill the people. Kill the sheep. Kill everything. Just check them all off. By the way, previous to this, he had already disobeyed and we're going to get into that in just a little bit. So it's almost as if God's given him another chance. Like alright, you screwed up this time but hey, I want you to do this. Does he do it? No. In fact, he kind of haphazardly does it. He goes in. He destroys a couple people and then he takes the sheep. He saves King Agag alive and what does he do? He passes the blame upon the people. All the people. Yeah, I fulfilled the word of the Lord. Yeah, I did it. This is bleeding of sheep that I hear in the background. Oh, yeah, by the way. Yeah, about that. I was just about to get to that. The people. Not him. The people. Wanted to do sacrifice unto the Lord. You know. As if Samuel was going to be, oh, it's for a sacrifice. By the way, folks, it's never right to do wrong to do right. It's never right to do wrong to do right. Why? Because it's always right to do right. In the right way. Integrity is important. Doing things the right way. Doing the right things the right way is always important. But not with Saul. You know, oh, we're going to do sacrifices unto the Lord. And what is the famous phrase? You know, to obey is better than sacrifice. Now look at verse number 24. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and thy words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of the mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than thou. Ouch. That's a hard statement to hear. Someone who's better than you. Where are we at? Verse 29. And also the strength of Israel will not lie and nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. Verse 30. Then he said, I have sinned. I was like, oh okay, he's coming to his senses. I have sinned. Look what it says. Yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So what is he saying? Look, I've done it wrong, but can you honor me in front of Israel still? Can you honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel? What does that show? It shows that what's really important to him is what the people thought, not what God thought. You know, oh I have sinned. You see, the difference between him and David is that David actually repented. He got it right. He corrected his errors, and in fact his child even died. He showed emotional repentance because of the sin that he committed against God. Yet here we see, oh I have sinned, but just honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people and before Israel. It shows you what's important to him. You know what? That's the kind of person you don't want to be like. You know, the type of person that only cares what people think. And by the way, if you only care what people think, the Bible says you're a respecter of people. And for a piece of bread, that man will transgress, the Bible says. Why? Because you will basically alter your actions based upon the desires and the wants of the people. Whereas, because you know that God never changes and He's commanded you to do something specific, you're just going to do what He tells you to do, because it's God who's telling you to do it. Okay, go with me to Joshua chapter 11. So in the absence of authority, we recognize that we're accountable to who? To God. You know, do right when Pastor Shelley's here. Do right when the authority is present, but do right so much the more when they're absent. Why? Because at that point, you're just serving God. There's no mediator, amen? You're serving God, therefore do so much the more when they are absent. Another example that I forgot to mention was Aaron. Now Aaron, you know, he started off good too. I'm talking about Moses' brother. Aaron started off great. He was doing great works with Moses. He did a lot of the plagues in Egypt. I mean, he was doing great works, but the problem with Aaron was that he was just a weak leader. He's just a pushover. You know, when Moses is up in the mount getting instructions from God, he tells him, hey, you're in charge of the people, make sure everything is ran smoothly, just take care of it. Aye, aye, captain. Does that happen? No. The Bible tells us that the people came to him and said, hey, here's our gold, here's our earrings, make us a golden calf. And what does he do? He makes the golden calf to worship paganism, to a pagan God, in place of God. And what does the Bible say? God tells Moses, hey, get ye down, for these people have corrupted themselves. You know, they made the golden calf. Moses comes down and he's like, Aaron, what are you doing? And the Bible says, and I said unto them, whose server hath any gold, let him break it off. So they gave it me, then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. He's like, the fire did it. I just, I don't know. I just, you know, you have kids who like, they destroy something in the house. Like, well, I don't know, I just, I don't know. My son is at that stage where I was like, wow, what happened? You broke it. I told you not to touch it and you touched it. I don't know. And now he's learning Spanish, so in Spanish it's no se, and now he does that now. He's like, no se? And I cast it into the fire and this calf came out. That's not the way it works. Passing the buck. You know, when we're, we understand we're accountable to God, we don't make up excuses. Because there's no excuse we can make before God, because God knows everything. Okay. Now let me give you another good example. A good example would be Joshua. Joshua, in the absence of the authority, is a good example that in the absence of authority, I am to fulfill all my responsibilities as though my authority were present. Okay. Let me give you an example. Look at verse 13 of Joshua 11. But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only. That did Joshua burn. And all the spoil of these cities and the cattle and the children of Israel took for a prayer unto themselves. But every man they smote with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them. Neither left they any to breathe. As the Lord commanded Moses' servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. That is a powerful statement. He's like, everything that God told Moses to do, I'm going to do it, and I'm not going to leave anything undone. The entire task list is checked off. Now, Joshua is symbolic, a lot of the times in the Old Testament, you'll find characters that symbolize Jesus Christ, or an aspect, an attribute of Jesus Christ, and Joshua would fall into that category. Now, go with me if you would to, let's see here, go to John chapter 5. I'm sorry, John chapter 8. So Joshua, who's his authority? Moses. Well, what happened with Moses? He died. You know, people die, so the leader's gone. So what did he do? He stepped up to the plate, and he left nothing undone that God had commanded Moses. So basically what he found out was, what did God command Moses to do? I'm going to take personal responsibility for those tasks, for those things that need to be done, and I'm going to leave nothing undone. Oh, he didn't have this attitude, well, you know, Moses is Moses. I mean, come on. This is the man. You know, this is the guy. I can't fulfill it like he can. No, he had the same God, the same spirit, and because of that, he was able to be thorough in his responsibility and execution of God's commandments. But this is very symbolic of Jesus Christ. Why is that? Look at John 8.28. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. You see, Jesus Christ, what's another way of putting that? He left nothing undone, of all that God commanded him to do. Joshua is a good example of this because at the end of the day, you know, obviously a boss or a ruler or someone who is governing us is giving us instructions. Okay, they're telling us how they want something done. And that's good for starters. But there comes a point where you just got to know what needs to get done. You know, Pastor Shelley has a whole lot of responsibility right now. He's over more churches than I think anybody in our movement probably. He's over a lot of church, a lot of people, a lot of churches. And just like in the twinkling of an eye, just that's what happened. Okay, so don't complain. Oh, my pastor is gone. I can't believe it. Well, he wasn't taken up by a whirlwind into heaven. He's still here on earth. You know, what this should be is you should take this as an opportunity to say, okay, now it's time for me to be like Joshua and to leave nothing undone. And there has to come a point where you just, you don't have to call him for everything. How do I change out the toilet seat covers? How do I, you know, just figure it out. Just figure it out. Just do it. Just do it. I guarantee you, he doesn't want to micromanage anything in the church. He wants men who know what they need to do and how he wants it done and just gets it done. They take the initiative to get it done. Okay. And look, if you're going to succeed in life, period, if you're going to succeed in church, at your job, in whatever area of life, you need to learn to take initiative. Say, you know what, I'm not going to bother him with this minuscule stuff. I'm just going to get it done. I'm going to take responsibility as though I'm the pastor. You know, obviously you don't have the title. You're not the pastor, but I'm talking about the task that need to be done at church, the soul winning, whatever it may be. Just take the bull by the horns and get her done. Okay. Like Joshua, John 5 30 says, I can have my own self do nothing. As I hear a judge, my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the father which hath sent me. Oh, how many wills is there? Oh, there's two. I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Okay. You know what that means? That means there's two. Does that make sense to everyone? You know, it's not like Jesus Christ is like, you know, he's bipolar schizophrenic. Where he's like commanding himself to do these things. Okay. This goes to show if he says, I do always those things that he didn't say, I do always those things that please me. Right. He says, I do always those things that please him. And even when he's going to Gethsemane, what does the Bible say? Not my will, but thine be done. This is the attitude that we need to have in the absence of our authority. This is the attitude and the perspective that we need to have that when the authority is not around, Hey, I need to make sure that I fulfill all the commandments, all the responsibilities and leave nothing undone. Go to Joshua chapter four. Now, coincidentally, what is the result of this action that Joshua took? Because he was able to execute so much. I mean, to the point where he said, I left nothing breathing, like nothing had breath. Did you kill it? I'm pretty sure it's dead because it's not even breathing. Nothing's breathing. Nothing has breath. That's pretty thorough, if you ask me. Okay. Now, what is the result of that? Look at Joshua 4-14. On that day, the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they feared Moses all the days of his life. What does that mean? He exalted him. Now, is it any coincidence that when someone just takes responsibility, serves their master, serves their leader, does it just the way they want it to be done, they leave nothing undone, then what's the end result? They're magnified. God says, I'm going to elevate you. I'm going to elevate you. Now, you say, well, what is the correlation with Jesus Christ? Well, the Bible tells us in Philippians 2, you don't have to turn to verse 8, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. You see, the result of humility, obedience, service is that God will exalt you. But too many times in churches, we have these self-exalting people who want to exalt themselves. And what does the Bible say? That God's going to humble them. He's going to abase them. He's going to bring them down low. Why? Because that's not the way you work your way up. You work your way up by working your way down. By decreasing and increasing God, what happens? God ends up magnifying you. He ends up exalting you. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5, 6, Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. James 4, 10 says, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Go with me, if you would, to 1 Samuel chapter 13. So here's a bad example, and we're using Saul a lot because he's just a bad example, period. Hey, he's a byword and a proverb, amen? So we saw a good example of someone who basically fulfilled all the commandments in the absence of their authority. Now let's look at a bad example of someone who did not do that. 1 Samuel 13 verse 8 says here, And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. So Saul is waiting for Samuel, his spiritual authority. He doesn't come at the time appointed. He's a little late, okay? And he's basically waiting for him so that they can do sacrifices unto the Lord. Look at verse 9, And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me in peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. Now was he supposed to do that? No. He was not supposed to do that. Remember, it's never right to do wrong to do right. And here we see that because Samuel has delayed his coming, what does Saul do? He takes matters into his own hands and actually disobeys God and offers the burnt offerings instead. Verse 10, And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering, the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What has thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, always the people, right, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash. Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly. Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now the kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be a captain over his people, because I was not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. You see, Saul is a perfect example of someone who wants to look like he's fulfilling the commandments of God, leaving nothing undone, but guess what? He's not. He actually disobeyed the word of the Lord by offering sacrifice. Oh, I just forced myself to do this. No, you're just basically being rebellious and disobedient is what you're doing. Okay? That is a bad example. And this could be likened today in a sense of you basically taking matters into your own hands at this church. Oh, I think it should be done like this. Well, wait, hold on a second. How does Pastor Shelley want it done, though? Well, I just think that, you know, we should, like, not go soloing. I don't think the same way in here that would ever say that. And if you're in here, just see us after the service. We'll straighten you out. But it's basically taking matters into your own hands and forcing yourself to do something that's not biblical, that's not right, just because you think it's right or because you think it's biblical. Go with me, if you would, to 2 Kings Chapter 2. 2 Kings Chapter 2. What time do you guys typically finish here? Whenever. That's not a time. I can keep going and going. All right. We'll finish off like I won. I'm just kidding. That look. So here's, let me give you this last example here of someone who did right in the absence of their authority. Elisha. Okay, not Elijah, but Elisha. Now, he's one of my favorite Bible characters just because of the fact that he actually, if you study his life and the life of Elisha, they picture, Elisha pictures the believer and Elisha pictures the Lord. Okay. Now, Elisha, in the absence of his authority, understood I can do greater works than my boss. This wasn't an ambitious, just like an ambitious desire to outdo his boss or his leader. He just understood I can do greater works. Why? Because the same God that Elisha has is the same God that I have. Now, look at 2 Kings 2 Verse 9. And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. Now, a lot of people get confused when they see this. Like, what does that mean? Like two holy spirits or like a double portion? You know, why is he saying that? Well, obviously, because he understood and he observed he was a witness of the works that Elijah had done. And Elijah had done some great works. I mean, I personally believe he's going to be in the Book of Revelation. You know, he's going to be one of the two witnesses, the olive trees that we see. And God's going to bring him back to do that. He is used in a great way. Okay. He was at the Mount Transfiguration with Jesus Christ. He did a lot of great works. So Elijah sees this and says, I want to do twice as much than what you did. I want a double portion of your power. I want a double portion of your spirit. And I'm going to explain to you what he meant by that. Look at verse 10. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. But if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire. And part of them both asunder, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Now, what does he mean when he says the double portion? Well, I just explained what that basically means is I want to do twice as much as you. And what's interesting here is that in the beginning of 2 Kings chapter 2, he's constantly telling Elijah, Terry here at Bethel, Terry here at this city, Terry here. Well, does that ring a bell to you? Look at Luke. You don't have to turn. Go with me, if you would, to John chapter 16. I'm going to read to you from Luke 24, verse 49, where it says, And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. This is Jesus Christ speaking to the disciples and said, hey, Terry here at this city, until ye be endued with power from on high. What power was he referring to? He was referring to the Holy Spirit. Look at John 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. That's the same thing we saw with Elijah and Elisha. Elisha said, look, if I go, you'll have that double portion. If I don't go, you're not getting it. That's the way it works. Well, that's a perfect picture of Jesus Christ and the believer. Why is that? Because he said there, look, if I don't go, the Comforter, who's the Holy Spirit, will not come. But if I go, he's going to come. That's the power that you're going to be endued with to be a witness unto me and to all nations, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, uttermost parts of the world, and that's why they're able to do a great work. Now go to John, excuse me, go to Philemon, chapter 19, or verse 19, excuse me. Philemon is only one chapter. I'm going to read to you from John. It says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also. And look what it says. And greater works shall these, greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. So Jesus Christ is telling the believers, hey, you're going to be able to do greater works than me. You know, like a double portion of the work. And that's true. Why? Because Jesus Christ was only on this earth for three years. His ministry lasted for only three years. He was on this earth for 33 years. But because we're on the scene, now we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us. We have the canonized Word of God with us. We can do even greater works than Jesus Christ did. We can do greater as in the quantity of works. Just as Elisha actually did more quantity of works than Elijah. He received a double portion of spirit and because of that he was able to do greater works. Look at Philemon, verse 19. It says, I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it, albeit I do not say to thee how thou o'st unto me, even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord, refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou will also do more than I say. So what is Elisha a good example of? He's a good example of someone who when his authority was taken from him, he wasn't like, Come back. I am not going to be able to do this without you. He was like, now it's time to get down to business. Now it's time to do greater works. Now it's time to be filled with the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, quench not the Spirit, grieve not the Spirit, and do some works. Occupy till I come, the Bible says. You know, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And we can do it. Why? Because we have the double portion. And look, the same Holy Spirit that Pastor Jonathan Shelley has is the same Holy Spirit that you have. And this church needs a leader and he's the leader, but in his absence, guess what? You can still do a great work, even in his absence. Why? Because there's going to come a time when Pastor Shelley passes away, the leader that takes over after him passes away, I'm going to pass away, Pastor Anderson's going to pass away. All these leaders are going to pass away, but guess what? The Lord is everlasting. His Spirit is everlasting. And he's willing to use anybody to do a great work if they just recognize that he can do the great work. You know, the Bible says that Israel limited the Holy One of Israel. You know, put that in your Calvinist pipe and smoke it. They limited the Holy One of Israel. Why? Because they didn't believe. You say, well how do I know I can do greater works, even in the absence of my authority? Do you believe you can? Do you have faith it's a grain of a mustard seed? Then you can. Okay? And I'm pretty much done. So what's the sermon today? Look, you know, in the absence of your authority, understand, hey, God is still watching. You know, in the absence of your authority, still recognize that you're accountable for all of your actions, but not only that, in the absence of your authority, fulfill all the commandments. You know, don't just haphazardly keep the commandments. Don't just haphazardly be a Christian while Pastor Shelley's not here. You know, go in all the way. Fulfill it as though he's present. Why? Because God is always present. But not only that, while he is absent, seek to do the greater works. Amen? So you can be blessed and ask God for a double portion of Pastor Shelley's spirit. A double portion of his spirit so you can do greater works. Amen. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your word, Lord. We're thankful, Father, for all the examples that we saw in the Bible. And Lord, we're thankful for earthly authorities. I'm thankful for my pastor and the pastors that I've had in the past and those who have led me, those who have taught me, those who have admonished me, rebuked me, instructed me, and who have been an example. The Bible says whose faith follow, and I'm thankful for them because they taught me that ultimately I'm supposed to serve the Lord even when they're not around. I pray, God, that you'd help us all to have that mindset and really practice the presence of God and understand that you're omnipresent. Help us to understand that we're accountable for our actions. We may leave nothing undone, but that we may also do the greater works as well. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.