It bothers me when I hear Christian speak against President Trump. And I know he’s not the most polished person when it comes to speaking his mind. And there are times when, quite honestly, I would have preferred that he passed on opportunities to speak his mind. It really bothers me when I hear Christians, who claim to be serving the Lord, say “He’s not my president,” and that they will not pray for him because of the things he’s said.
A number of years ago, I found myself in a similar situation. I was griping to the Lord about the president and some of the members of Congress. And based on His response, God was not pleased with my grumblings. He said, very plainly to me, you don’t have to like what they are doing. The only thing I ask you to do is to pray for them. That’s your job. You don’t have to like what they’re doing but I do hold you responsible if you don’t pray for them.
So, I began to ask myself, why do I need to pray for people who have authority in my life? There has to be a reason why God tells us to pray for them. And the “why” has to be somewhere in the Bible. And it is. We’re going to turn to I Timothy 2 and, if you have markers, put one in Acts 13.
In First Timothy, chapter two, we’re going to begin with verse one.
(1) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
(2) For kings (for us it would be the President), and for all that are in authority (for us it would be folks like the members of Congress, the Supreme Court and our state and local officials); that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in the sight of God our Saviour;
(3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
(4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Now you see in verse one the word “therefore.” So we have to ask ourselves, “What is the ‘therefore’ there for?” Go back up to verse 18 in chapter one.
(18) This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
How is Timothy going to war a good warfare?
(19) Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
(20) Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they my learn not to blaspheme.
“I exhort therefore, Timothy, that, the first thing you need to do is to pray – supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.” Why? Because Hymenaeus and Alexander had led the believers astray by their doctrine concerning what they were to do regarding praying for their leaders. So Paul is telling Timothy, “We know what Hymenaeus and Alexander did, so I’m exhorting you to pray for all men, especially those who are in authority.
At the time First Timothy was written, the notorious Roman emperor, Nero, was in power. He had a demonic passion for torturing and killing Christians. Hymenaeus and Alexander were telling the believers not to pray for him.
But, we know that Paul charged Timothy to pray for Nero, who was in authority, and he also charged him to teach the beleivers to do the same. And we see this in verse 2 of chapter 2. Timothy is told to pray “For kings, and fall that are in authority.”
No where in I Timothy 2 does it say I have to like who is in authority. That is not a prerequisite. But if I’m going to be obedient, if I’m going to do what God’s Word says I am supposed to do, then I am going to pray and give thanks for my President, members of Congress, the Supreme Court and my state and local officials.
Several years ago when my wife and I visited Portugal, a many of the people we met were unhappy with the United States and had few positive things to say about the president at that time. And I remember telling my wife that what they were saying did not matter because my responsibility as a son of God is to obey my Father.
There were some things that he did that I didn’t like. But my feelings were not an issue for God. His only issue: Barry, I want you to pray for him. I want you to make intercession for him. And I want you to give thanks for him. Are you going to obey me or not?
And I’m going to tell you something, and I hope you hear what I say, we have scripture back in Numbers 11, 12 and 13 that show us that when we go against our leaders, God is not happy. Remember when Aaron and Miriam came against Moses? It didn’t end well for them did it? So do you think God feels differently when we say bad things about our president?
We see then that there is a reason why God says we have to pray for our leaders. It’s so that we can lead quiet and peaceable lives. Why do we need this? Go back to verse 4. “Who (God) will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” We need the quietness and the peaceableness in order to have the freedom to spread the Gospel.
Do you see the word “saved”? It’s the word sozo and, in addition to meaning “make whole,” it can also mean “to deliver,.” Who are we to deliver people from? Go back to verse 20 of chapter one again. Hymenaeus and Alexander. We’re delivering people away from those who are preaching wrong doctrine, who are teaching things about God that are not true.
So the commandment is to pray for our leaders. So, I said “God, now that I know what the commandment is, show me an example in scripture as to why we need to do this. Turn to Acts 13 and we’re going to look at it in the context of praying for our leaders.
(1) Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
(2) As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
(3) And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
(4) So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
(5) And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
(6) And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
(7) Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
(8) But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
(9) Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
(10) And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
(11) And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
(12) Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Now let’s go back to verse 6. “And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus.”
Paphos was an isle under Roman rule. Sergius Paulus was the governor of that island. The difference between him as a governor and the governor of Roman was the fact that Sergius Paulus had not standing army. Rome had determined that because Paphos was the capitol of Cypress, no standing army was needed. And, that’s where the temple of Venus was located and she was worshipped with all her rites as “Queen of Paphos.”
Do you think it was an accident that the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul there after the leadership had prayed over them?
The verse also says Barjesus was a Jew, a false prophet and a sorcerer. We learn a lot about him in this verse.
? At one time, he was a true prophet because now he’s a false prophet. He was still speaking just enough truth to fool the people.
? He was also a Jew and, at this particular time, there were many Jews who were prostituting themselves for money. What do you mean Bro. Barry? They were telling people in authority what they wanted to hear when it came to the living under the law of Moses. This man was one of them.
? He was also a sorcerer. This is the same Greek word that is used for the magi that we read about in Matthew 2 that’s translated “wise men.”
? He was also a false prophet. Now this word is really, really interesting. Hold your finger here and turn to Matthew 7. We’re going to read how Jesus describes false prophets. Let’s read verses 13, 14 and 15.
(13) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
(14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Do you know what this tells us? God has already set the path that it will take for us to get to where He wants us to be. It’s not a wide path. And one of the things that we have to realize is God is not tolerant. We praise people who are tolerant, who have the ability to get along with people they disagree with. This is not God, ladies and gentlemen. He is not tolerant of any way other than His way.
Those of us who are Christians and who try to do what the Bible tells us to do, we are criticized for not being tolerant, for not allowing others to say to us what scripture does not say.
God doesn’t care about our opinions. All He cares about is whether or not we agree with Him and what the Bible says. God has specified that the way is narrow and if we try to go any other way, we are not going to get to Him. Do you see this?
(15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
What is going to be one of the first things a false prophet is going to tell us? The gate to God is not narrow. It’s wide. A false prophet will tell you that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. If we love people, we will get there. And God is saying no you will not.
And because the false prophets tell you the way is not narrow, Jesus says they are like ravening wolves. When a wolf is ravenous, he’s hungry. He’s on the prowl. He doesn’t care who he eats. The word “ravening” means “to swindle or to rob and implies violence in the process.”
So, what does a false prophet doe? A false prophet will take a person who is not born again and lead them farther away from God with his or her doctrine. A ravening wolf. A false prophet will lead Christians away from their inheritance with wrong doctrine. A ravening wolf.
A false prophet leads the unsaved away from Christ and condemns them to hell. A false prophet leads Christians away from truth and causes them to sacrifice the benefits of their inheritance. Can you think of two more violent acts? This gives you an idea of how Jesus views false prophets.
Now let’s go back to Acts 13. We’re going to read the first part of verse 7 again. “Which was with the deputy of the country.” Do you see the word “with”? It means “in close proximity to.” In other words, this false prophet, this sorcerer, had the deputy’s ear.
This is a man who working for Satan, who had the deputies ear. Do you see this? What does that tell us? Satan has men and women in places, that we don’t even know about, whispering in the ears of our leadership to get them to make decisions that will take us the wrong way.
Can you see why First Timothy commands us to pray for our leaders and all in authority? Satan has his men and women whispering in their ears all the time. And we don’t know who they are. They are not walking around with a big D on their chests for “Demons for Satan.”
There are places where we might be surprised to find demons working behind the scenes. Hollywood, for example, is obvious. Another obvious place is publishing houses. These are easy to see. But you don’t see the people behind the scenes pushing the buttons. That’s why we need to pray for our leaders.
Verse 7 also tells us that Sergius Paulus was a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the gospel. Somehow, someway, he had heard about these men. The verse says he “desired” to hear the word of God. The word “desired” means he was seeking for the Word of God, on purpose. He was looking for the word Barnabas and Saul were teaching.
And the word “hear” means he wanted to understand God’s Word. He wanted to grasp its true meaning. He wanted to obey it.
Then you can look in verse 8 and see why the false prophet, the sorcerer, acted the way he did. It says “he withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.” Elymas got into the faces of Barnabas and Saul. “You can’t have him. He’s mine. I own this guy.”
Hold your finger here and go back to Matthew 12 and we’re going to look at a word that turns this record on its heels. In Matthew 12, look at verse 43: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.” This word “seeking” means “to try to obtain, desire to possess, or strive for.” That’s what the false prophet was trying to do with the deputy.
Do you see the phrase “walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none?” I want you give me a little latitude here. I close my eyes and I see this false prophet. He’s walking around like that unclean spirit. He’s fusing and complaining because he knows that his influence with the deputy is about to dry up and he can see it coming. The false prophet had a place of rest. He was the deputy’s right hand person, He was about to lose his position of influence.
That’s what praying for our leaders is all about. We want to remove those influences that are not godly.
As we read earlier, Saul blinds the false prophet and in verse 12 we read that the deputy, “when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.” What astonished the deputy? Was he astonished when Saul blinded the false prophet? That’s not what the record says. The deputy was astonished by the doctrine of the Lord that he heard from Barnabas and Saul.
Now let me ask you something. This is the governor of this island. How much influence do you think he had? I’d say he had a lot of influence. And Satan knew that. That’s why Satan didn’t want to lose him. But God, back in verses 2, 3 and 4 called out Barnabas and Saul and said this is where I want you to go. God sent them to Paphos because he knew there was a man there who wanted to hear the gospel.
I want to encourage you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, to be obedient and pray for all who are in authority. Don’t allow what you see and hear to cause you to argue and disagree with what God has said. He stands by His Word and if His Word says that we are to pray for our leaders and give thanks for them, then let us be like David and say “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Amen!
