Kenny Moorer - A Christian's Response to a World Gone Crazy

5:38PM Jul 14, 2024

Speakers:

Kenny Moorer

Dan Kingsley

Keywords:

pray

father

live

god

morning

assyria

world

verse

country

wise decisions

watched

men

timothy

peaceable life

peace

leaders

exhort

evidently

authority figures

paul

I can remember coming home from school on November the 22nd 1963 and watching my mother watch television. It was a grainy picture, but I sat down and she was crying, as I said, I can remember. When your mother cries, you don't forget it. And I can remember watching the news reports of President Kennedy being shot, and by the time I'd got home from school, he was killed. He had been killed by an assassin's bullet. Many in this audience remember that. Those of you who are younger don't. You've heard about it, but you don't remember it. You probably, those of you younger, don't even remember when President Reagan was shot, but many in this audience do. Those things are not that -- they are rare, but they happen. A similar event happened last night. And we're by this point in time, if you're not aware of that, that's kind of amazing, if you're not. But anyway, former President Trump was shot at and hit. Evidently, not very badly, for which I think all Americans and all people should be grateful that there was no loss of life. There were, there was at least one other, one who was killed, and then some, evidently, who have been wounded. This lesson is not about that, all of that, but it is to say, and as I sat at my desk early this morning here at the building, I've changed my thoughts. I wanted, I think what I'm going to say this morning is important. And I changed my thoughts for this morning because of what happened last night.

Our world is a mess. We all know that. None of us hear that and go, What are you talking about? We all know I don't need to document that, and you would, you and and I might document it differently, but we all know why that the world is a mess. And it's not just in the political arena, but it's a mess in a lot of places for a lot of reasons. And so this morning, for just a moment, I want us to think about what we can do. I think there's something we can do, I think there's something we ought to do, and it's something we're going to do this morning. The passage that Landon read from Isaiah 17 is a passage that says that Assyria was attacking. Isaiah talks about them attacking Israel. And it calls Assyria a raging sea where there's turbulence, where there's turmoil. And of course, we know from biblical history, and we know from secular history that Assyria was about as bad as it gets. I mean, they wreaked havoc on Israel and other nations, but the one that we're more familiar with is Israel, and they wreaked havoc, and part of what Isaiah was telling them in the passage which Landon read for us, is that there's a way to attack that. And I don't mean that in a physical way, but there's a way to attack, attack those attacks, and there's a way not to. And the main way is to stay strong in the midst of this turbulence, in the midst of this difficulty. And I think what I'm going to share with you for just a minute this morning is something that all of us are going to need to do in reference to our world. And I asked the question, What can I do personally? I sat there last night as probably many of you, and I watched. I watched news reports. I watched the actual event happen multiple times, and I thought to myself, This is bad. Is there anything that I can do? And I think there is. And do not be, please this morning, don't be disheartened by the simplicity that I'm about to share with you.

What I'm about to say is not a cop out. It's not a passive reply of someone who's timid. It is the thing that I think we can do. Not only is it the thing that I think we can do, I think it is the thing that we must do. And so I want to share that with you this morning, and I want you to turn to First Timothy two. That's where I want us to look. We're going to spend all our time. I want to spend just a few minutes trying to look at some verses in First Timothy two, and then we're going to do what we talked about. First Timothy two, beginning in verse one. This is Paul saying to Timothy, this is what you pray for. And this is how you pray in a world that is difficult. And I think, obviously, the world in which Timothy and Paul and that first century Greco Roman world was was in chaos. We all know the history of, at least a lot of the history about all that. So, listen to what Paul said to Timothy, beginning in verse one of chapter two. "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Father, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. There's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I'm speaking the truth in Christ and not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting." I think what Paul says to Timothy is about doing something that's valuable in an environment that's less than stable. And I think that's where we are. I think that's the world in which we live. Looking at Verse eight, the Greek word for men in verse eight that men ought to pray, it's never used for females in Scripture. That word's never used for females, and he says that men ought to pray. I think Paul is speaking about the public assembly. I think he's speaking about what happens at a place like this. I think what he says is, is that the men exclusively ought to pray in the public assembly. He says in verse eight, they need to do that everywhere. No temples designated, no Gentile temple, no Jewish Temple. But that ought to happen everywhere, and they ought to pray lifting up holy hands. That was, apparently it was a custom, and it showed a respect for God in that custom that said, that's what I want men to do when they pray. Should go back to verse one. He says, "I exhort first of all," which I think shows the importance of praying. See, I think sometimes we minimize it, maybe just intellectually. I think we know how important it is, but sometimes we minimize it and just say, you know how important is it. He says, "I exhort."First of all, the very first thing that Timothy says, or that that's said to Timothy from Paul is that we ought to pray, "I exhort you to pray." And I think that shows the importance of prayer. And he says, You pray for all men. That's a different word that's found in verse eight, that all men there. It has to do with everyone, male and female. But pray for all men, and we need to pray for all men. It is important to pray. And then he says that you need to pray for a special group, or special groups, if you will. And he says, You need to pray for special reason. And I want to just mention that in passing. The special groups he talks about are kings and all those in authority. We know who those people are. We know that on a local level, on a state level, on a national level, on a global level. It's the nature of the world that there's leaders and that there are kings, that there are authority figures. Can you imagine how that would be if there weren't? God even says that his church needs that. His own body, as Randy talked about, his own body needs those leaders, those authority figures, those who help lead. And he said, That is important. And he says, I want you to be praying for those people who were kings and those who are in authority. And then he says, here's why, "that we all live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." "That we live a quiet and peaceable life in godliness and reverence."

Not very long from now, if all goes as planned, Beth and I will be in a land that is not like this land. It is a land, especially in some parts of that land, it is a land that is a raging sea that is filled with turmoil. I cannot even imagine living there permanently and waking up every day unsure as to whether or not I'm going to live. I don't do that in this country, at least not right now. I don't think about it when I wake up in the morning in this country. I think this is going to be a good day, and if God allows me to live, there are things that I can accomplish, there are things that I can do, and I don't think about anything else other than doing that. But that's not the way it is a lot of places. That was the way it is, I think, in the first century, especially in some places. Where Timothy was in Ephesus, and where and where Paul would have been and would have gone. And so he prays. You pray for kings who have some ability to create peace and create a quiet life for you. And the reason is, is because God wants everybody saved. He wants there to be an opportunity for his gospel to spread, and he wants you to be able to live a godly, reverent life. And verse three says, because it's what God wants, it is good and acceptable in his sight.

So, what can I do? What can you do in the midst of a chaos that we apparently see it, we see it manifest in a variety of ways, like we have recently, and like we will, ongoingly. In my judgment, things will not get better. And I'm not just not talking about politically, I'm just talking about in the world in general, it's not going to get better. I think it'll get worse. And that's okay. But I think what God wants is he wants quiet and peace. And what he says, you can do is pray for it. Pray for it. We have the strongest ability than anybody to accomplish the greatest good, because God's in control, and we can pray to Him. And He says, that's what I want you to do. That's what I want you to do. I want you to pray. So, I think a good way for us to close this lesson would be to pray for kings and for those in authority that we might live a quiet and peaceable life. I've asked Dan Kingsley to do that for us this morning. And Dan's going to come now and lead us in a prayer. And I'd like for you, if you would, and all of us, to be as engaged in what he says as we can be this morning. And if you find it such that you can when this prayer is over, you say, Amen, if that's something that you can do, and I hope we all Can. Dan?

Please bow with me.

Lord God Almighty, I come before you as a sinful and a broken man in the middle of a church full of sinful and broken people. We live in a world that is full of sin and oh so broken. And like Isaiah, we look at us and we look at you, and we pale and we tremble knowing that what we have done. But we thank you for the fact that you have brought healing. That your Son, through his blood, has made it possible for us to call you father, that we are adopted, that we are not perfect, but we are forgiven. We are not sinless, but we are redeemed. But as we look at the world around us, we thank You for this country that we live in. It's a unique time that we have a say so in our government. Most countries throughout time, they have had absolute rulers, and we thank you that we can be a part of our leadership changes in this country. Father, You tell us multiple things about our our leaders. In First Timothy, you tell us to pray for them. In Romans, you tell us to be subject to them, to obey them. In Ecclesiastes, you tell us not to speak evil of them. Father, help us to obey you, because you were the one who puts them into power. We thank you so much that you are all powerful. We thank you that you are in control. Sometimes, Father, we thank you that we don't know what you were doing, because if we had the answer, we might not like it. We read of your prophets asking when you were going to do something, and the answer was, I'm doing something, but it's not what you want, but it's within My will. So, Father, we pray for our leaders here in this church. We pray for our elders that they will make wise decisions that will help us to be better servants. Help us to support them in their work. Help us to make it a joy for them. Father, for our elected leaders in this country, help them to make wise decisions. Help them to make decisions that will enable us to live lives of peace, to use those freedoms that we have to spread your gospel help us to use the opportunities that they afford us to do right, to be unique, to have others look to us and ask about the hope that is within us. Father, as the elections come and the elections go, we do get all worked up. And help us, as we do, to remember that we can vote, but you were the one in control and help that to give us peace. Peace that even if someone that we did not want to be elected gets elected, that you were the one in charge that your will will be done. Father, we ask for our country. We seem to be going further and further from you. So, among our nation and our elected leaders, I pray for revival. Help us to look to you. Help us to read your word. Help us to do what it says. And Father, we look at other rulers around the world. We are thankful for what we have here. We pray for them as well as they lead over many people. Help them to lead in a way that will make it possible for their citizens to be exposed to your gospel. Help it be made possible for their citizens to hear the good news. Father, this world is always going to be broken, but with You and through your Son, we could have so much of a better place to live. We pray for even the leaders that we despise. We pray for the leaders of countries like Russia, in North Korea, in China, the Taliban, ISIS. Father, they need your gospel too. Father, help something to be said. Help them to hear something that will turn them to you, because just like us, they need you. Just like us, they're going to hell without you. Father, help us to look at everyone with love. Help us to value their soul as you do, Father, we know that perfect peace comes through you. We thank you that perfect peace will one day be here that Jesus will come again. But until then, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for our family here. Father, we thank you for our leaders. We pray that you will help them to support your will. We pray for them to make wise decisions to promote peace. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

We all know that the only peace that really comes is through Jesus Christ. It's the only eternal peace. It's the only real peace, just like Dan prayed, and this morning, we would extend God's invitation that his son can get with that if you'll submit to Him. You may not know this morning how to do that. The Bible teaches that you need to believe that Jesus Christ is his son. You need to be willing to repent of your sins, things you've done that you shouldn't. We've all done things you shouldn't. You need to repent of that. Say, I'm not going to do that anymore, Lord, and I'm sorry for that. Then confess to the world that Jesus is Lord, and then have your sins washed away in baptism before the remission of your sins. That would be a wonderful thing for you to do and then commit to living a peaceful life that is founded in what Jesus now given to you. We'd love to help you do that this morning, if we can, come forward and let us know while we stand and while we sing.