Praying for our Government

Being good citizens

Today is a day of change my friends, we have seen one President leave the White house and make his way to a new residence, and a new President and Vice president were sworn into office as a new administration takes place.

And I want to remind you my friends that we as God’s children have responsibilities to live by that reach much rather than our personal choices and desires.

So this evening I want to take a few minutes my friends and share some Scripture with you about what we are to do… About how we are to live.

Let me share with you the words of the epistle Titus

Titus 3:1–2 ESV

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Paul is speaking to Titus and so many others, and He says remind them. The word remind them is carrying the idea of to keep reminding… We cannot forget to remind each other continually that we are called to be submissive to rulers and authorities

The rulers and authorities are those of men, our earthy governments.

And we are called to be subject to them… in that we are to obey the laws of the land and such. Why

My friends, these are all part of God’s plan for this world and for the coming of His kingdom. Just because we are Christians, that does not make us exempt from reasonable and appropriate obligations toward governmental authorities.

Even in the days of Paul, at least at this particular time there was no Emperor worship…

The good and reasonable applies to that which does not dishonor God. For instance the 3 Hebrew children in Daniel 3. the Kings requirement dishonored God and broke His law. They could not do that...

Paul goes on and says that to be obedient… to be ready to do whatever is good. Now think about this word Obedience… when you are obedient, you are not only being obedient to the law and people above you.. But in the truest sense you are being obedient to God first and foremost since you have followed his standard.

Listen to Paul in Romans chapter 13

Romans 13:1 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

The election may not have been what you wanted or what I would have liked; but my friends make no bones about it, God has allowed President Biden to sit in the White House.

This is a part of his purposes

And he says be ready for every good work....

Literally, Christians are “to be ready for [or to do] every good work” . This extends the Christian’s responsibilities from a mere passive posture (obeying laws) to an active, positive involvement in society. This idea is a practical outworking of Jesus’ teaching concerning being “the salt of the earth … and the light of the world … that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:13–16).

Can we say wow....

And my friends we must be careful about what we say.... verse 2

Titus 3:2 ESV

2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

So lets break this down… to speak evil of no one… If there is one truth we must remember my friends is the truth that we are all created in the image of God.

My friends remember we are all the children of God, the descendents of 2 people. Adam and Eve. It doesn’t matter who were are, where we are from or the color of our skin, we are all truly the members of one family.

As Christians we are to be peaceable, not quarrelsome. We are to be considerate, - gentle, kind forgiving and at times for the glory of God we might need to be second to God and others.

we are to be this way to all men.

And why should we do this.... look at verses 3-6

Titus 3:3–6 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

We were once as the world was, lost , disobedient, being led astray by the prince and ruler of the air… the devil.

But what changed in us...

It wasn’t what changed us, it was who changed us and saved us… And what a change that made in us..

in truth it enables us to be be able to do what Paul is reminding Titus now...

Now let me share one last thought with you...

As a Christian we should pray for those around us.... especially for those in positions of leadership and power..

Listen to 1 Tim 2…verses 1-2

1 Timothy 2:1–2 ESV

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

So first of all these prayers should be made for everyone and yes those who are in areas of influence, leadership and so forth.

Paul listed four words for prayer in v. 1. “Requests” are petitions to God based on a sense of deep spiritual need (see the same word translated “prayer” in Jas 5:16).

The term “prayers” is the most general word for prayer in the New Testament (see “prayers” in 1 Pet 3:7). It is used of all types of prayers to God including general requests or specific petitions.

The verbal form of “intercession” is used of Christ’s prayers for believers in Heb 7:25. it indicates that the initial prayer term distinguishes the element of insufficiency by the requester, the second highlights devotion by the seeker, and the third underscores the childlike confidence of the petitioner.

The fourth word, “thanksgiving,” adds gratitude as a motivation for asking. Whereas the initial three words express various ways of making requests of God, the final word describes the expression of gratitude to God.

Paul probably did not intend any sharp distinction between the words but was collecting synonyms that effectively communicate the importance of prayer.

And when we talk about praying for all, it is not always that we pray for a person by name, but even groups of people.. For instance, our senators or representatives or Congress men and women.

Teachers in our schools..

Students

Military

Police and firemen and women/

And so forth.. you get the idea.

All of this leads to a good and quite life...

Now that doesn’t mean we stand up for the right things, or voice our concerns as Christians … but it does point back and remind us to be in peace with all.

Remember Jesus says.....

Matthew 5:9 ESV

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

You see we are citizen of this temporary place, and like Abraham we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God