Godly Governance, Part 2

I want to continue what I started last Sabbath on Godly governance when I gave part one of what will be a four-part series. And last time, basically, I showed that the key to Godly governance is Godly righteousness, not the form or structure of governance that might be set up. Because no form or structure of governance will work properly without Godly righteousness. Godly righteousness is both those who are in position of governing and those who are being governed, both in members and leaders alike. So the number one question, then, regarding governance is this.

To what degree are we individually and collectively allowing God to come to our hearts? Because that's where it has to come from. Godly righteousness has to come from God ruling in our minds and hearts and Christ living in us. So to what degree are we doing that? To what degree are we allowing Christ to dwell in us? And to what degree are we developing the actual mind and the attitude of Jesus Christ Himself? So structure, form, or governance, then, is not the key thing to look at.

It's kind of a moot question if we lack deep conversion, if we lack spiritual maturity. Those things are what's key to successful governance. Because with deep conversion, with deep spiritual maturity, just about any form of governance will work, at least to a large degree.

And without deep conversion, without spiritual maturity, nor a form of governance will really work properly. There are going to be problems. So Godly righteousness is the bottom line key, then, to Godly governance. So a critical question for us to ask as members of God's Church, as far as governance in God's Church is concerned, how well are all of us, as both in whatever our position might be, as members of God's Church, whether they're in leadership positions or just as members of God's Church, being trained to be future leaders, to what degree do all of us work together well?

And to what degree do we love each other? To what degree do we respect each other? To what degree do we submit to one another and serve one another? That's what's key. Let's take a look at what Paul warned the Church of Corinth. The Church of Corinth was obviously having problems when it came to governance. He starts out the letter by saying, well, Psalm say, I'm of this person, I'm of this person, I'm of this person.

Psalm say, I'm of Paul. And I say, I'm of Christ. I don't follow any man. Well, they were having a problem, obviously, in the Church of Corinth. There's a lot of division, a lot of strife, a lot of problems. So notice what Paul writes then to the Church at Corinth in his first letter, 1 Corinthians 3. Let's look at a couple of verses here. 1 Corinthians 3, beginning in verse 1. Paul says, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people, because he was seeing these problems relating to governance.

And he said, you're not very spiritually mature. So I cannot speak to you as to spiritually mature people. It's what he's saying. But you seem to be very carnal, but to carnal people, as to babes in Christ, just getting started. Because all I see is a lot of human nature. I don't see the Spirit of God working in your hearts and minds, he was saying. And he said, I fed you with milk and not with solid food.

For until now you were not able to receive solid food, because you hadn't gotten that far. You hadn't advanced that far spiritually speaking yet. You weren't mature enough. And even now you're still not able to take really strong spiritual food. For you are still carnal, he said in verse 3.

For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, which he saw, which they had at that time, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? You're behaving like men of the world, rather than as people who should be converted to the mind and attitude of Jesus Christ. So, envy, strife, and divisions are common human character problems, which shows a lack of spiritual maturity, obviously. And those problems, think about that, those problems cannot be controlled or overcome by any form or structure of governance.

They can only be controlled and overcome by the mind of Christ in us, by God ruling in our hearts and in our minds. It's the only way those kind of problems can be overcome. Thus, any church governance without the Holy Spirit of God ruling in our hearts and minds, without the mind of Christ being manifested in us in both what we say and how we conduct ourselves, both in word and deed, any form of governance without that, without the mind of Christ and the attitude of Christ, is really nothing more than human government shrouded in religious wrapping.

So, today, then, in part two, I want to address two questions, basically. Number one, I want to address the question, what is the government of God? Because that gets a little foggy when you get into that aspect of it. You look at God's church today and the problems and the strife and divisions that we've had, that needs to be clarified, because some people have a wrong concept of what the government of God is.

So, what is the government of God? That is one question we'll address today. And the second question that we'll address today is, how does God govern in the realm of man? How does God govern? What methods does God use? And what methods has God employed in the past in governing in the realm of man?

So, my title for my sermon here this afternoon is, Godly Governance, part two. And the subtitle would be, the main point I want to make at the beginning of the sermon, is, what is the government of God? Godly Governance, part two, what is the government of God? Which is the first question we'll address. What is it? What is the government of God? I think it's a very important question to ask. I think it's maybe a question that at least some in God's Church do not really fully understand and grasp. Even though the answer is really very, very basic and very simple when you look at it.

But if I asked all of you, and I'm just putting this out as a question, I'm not going to ask you to do this, but if I asked all of you to get out a piece of paper and just write down an answer on your paper and define for me what you think the government of God is, and I say, what is the government of God? Define it for me. Write out your answer. I dare say that if I did that and I collected all the answers, there would probably be various answers I would get.

They probably would not all be identical. There would probably be various answers I would get as to defining what the government of God is. However, if I change that question around just a little bit, instead of asking, what is the government of God, if I asked you instead, what is the kingdom of God, you probably all have a pretty clear understanding on the answer to that question.

You could probably pretty clearly answer for me, from the truth of our perspective, as to what the kingdom of God is. And if I asked you, then, okay, well, let's get it down and focus it down even more. Show me one scripture which really shows us a pretty clear picture of what the government, I'm not the government, but what the kingdom of God is.

What scripture could we turn to that defines for us. It gives us a clear picture as to what the kingdom of God is. And one that came to my mind, there are probably several of you could come up with, but one is in Daniel. In fact, the book of Daniel might come to your mind right away when you think about defining the kingdom of God in one particular scripture. The scripture that automatically came to my mind was Daniel 2.44.

Let's turn there. Daniel 2.44, which to me, clearly answers, gives a clear picture as to what the kingdom of God is. Daniel 2.44, because it talks about all these other kingdoms that arise from these Nebuchadnezzar's dream being interpreted here that he had. And then finally, it comes down to this, after all these other previous kingdoms that are going to rise up, which we know of the Babylonian Empire, and then the Medo-Persian Empire, and the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and the Roman Empire. And then verse 44 of Daniel 2 says, "...in the days of these kings," these final kings of this final resurrection of the Roman Empire, "...the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.

And the kingdom shall not be left to other peoples." It's not going to be left to man. "...It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." So this clearly shows us, then, that the kingdom of God is not here yet. It's in the future. The kingdom of God is not going to be established until Christ intervenes in human affairs, until Christ returns, to establish that particular kingdom here on the earth. And when He does, He's going to overthrow all of man's kingdoms and all of man's governments and consume them.

Who then will the kingdom of God be given to? Who are going to be the rulers? Who are going to be the people that are going to participate in that kingdom and be the ones who are going to be ruling in that kingdom with Jesus Christ? Well, again, one scripture in Daniel makes that very plain, answers that question for us, very directly and in a very plain and easy to understand manner.

And that's Daniel 7, verse 27. Daniel 7, verse 27, which says, referring to the kingdom of God, you read about in Daniel 2.44, And then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the most high. And His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him, referring to Jesus Christ as the head of that kingdom, and God the Father over Christ, of course.

So, the kingdom of God is going to be given, when it's established on the earth after Christ returns, to the true people of God. It makes it very plain there. So, these two prophetic scriptures here in Daniel are very clear and very easy to understand. There is one organization today, however, a very large universal church organization, that does not understand these two very plain scriptures. And, of course, that is the Catholic Church.

For nearly 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has functioned as being the kingdom of God. And it has operated as though it were the government of God on the earth. With the Pope considered to being the sole representative of Jesus Christ, and with the Pope considered to having the sole authority of Christ in all religious matters concerning the church. That's the way the Catholic Church has been structured, as if it were the government of God on the earth. Now, we've always understood that the church is not the kingdom of God, that it only represents the kingdom of God, and that it is only the instrument through which the kingdom of God is proclaimed to the world.

However, look back at our history, and those of you who have been around for many, many years, as many of you have. When we look back at our history, at times the Church of God has functioned in a manner similar to the Catholic Church. I remember sitting down at Melvin Rhodes one time, and we were talking after the 1990s and the split, and we were sitting there talking, and we had some of the elders in Flint there who left, and they followed the worldwide Church of God. And we were sitting there, and one of the representatives from the headquarters was there with us, too. It was Greg Albrecht or somebody. But anyway, I know Mel said, you know, you changed everything. He was telling Melvin worldwide. He said, you changed everything. You shouldn't have changed. And the one thing you should have changed, you didn't change. That was Church government. You follow the Catholic Church. And he said, that's the one thing you should have been changed. Interesting statement that he made. Because the Catholic Church and sometimes the Church of God has operated like the Catholic Church.

Some branches of the Church of God still operate and function that way today. There are some who believe Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, in fact, restored the true government of God to the Church. There are some who really strongly believe that, with sole religious authority being placed upon one chosen individual, basically. And several now claim to be that one chosen individual. Several leaders of the Churches of God. They claim that. They claim to be the successors to Mr. Armstrong. So the question, then, what is the government of God becomes a very legitimate question to look at and to try to fully understand. And the answer is really very simple and very basic. The government of God is exactly what it says. It is God governing. It is God governing. It is the rule of God. It is God ruling.

The government of God is the rule of God Himself. Now, does God rule, then? You have to extend that question to all of us and to His Church. Does God rule in His Church? And does He rule in the realm of man? Well, yes, He does. The question then becomes, how does God rule in His Church? And how does God rule in the realm of man? How does God govern His Church? Now, as I already stated just a moment ago, any Church governance without the mind and attitude of Jesus Christ being manifested in both word and deed is really nothing more than just human form of governance shrouded with religious wrapping. That's really what it is.

And you look back at our history, unfortunately, the Churches of God at times have not always functioned as God would want them to function. That is, they haven't always functioned according to the principles of Christ exemplified and taught.

So at times, Church governance has been basically human form of governance just shrouded in religious wrapping, so to speak. Because the real principles of Christ taught and exemplified were sometimes missing, at least at some levels, to some degree. Now, there are some major distinctions between the real government of God, that is, between God ruling, which He will do when He returns and sets up His kingdom and His government. It will be Christ Himself ruling on the earth. He will be the sole authority. That's different than having some man as the sole authority, as we know. It's extremely important to understand what those differences are between the real government of God and between governments that are kind of operated by man that look to be the government of God or have that name that man puts on them. And also, I've only asked this question before I get into those differences. What isn't the government of God? What is it not? Well, the government of God is not the church. The Catholic Church operates as if the government of God is the church, but as we have always understood, the government of God is not the church. What is the church? What is the church of God? Well, as we know, and I think all of us pretty much understood this, is the fact that throughout the New Testament, the Greek word translated church throughout the New Testament is eclassea, which simply means called out once. It refers to those who had a special calling from God, from God the Father, to be called to Jesus Christ, to have their minds open, to understanding the truth, who have then repented and then baptized and received God's Holy Spirit. That is the church of God. It's not a corporation. It's no government of man or corporation of man. It is a spiritual body of Jesus Christ, those who have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in them.

Now, notice what Paul said, as recorded in Romans 16, last chapter in Romans, to show that the church of God, that all of us, we are the church of God, it's not a building, it's not a corporation, it's those who have God's Holy Spirit, those whom God has called and given His Holy Spirit to, who have repented. That's made clear by the Apostle Paul here in this reference, as recorded in Romans 16. Let's start in verse 3, where Paul says, Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risk their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the other churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Then verse 5, Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. Now, who made up the church that was in their house? Well, I won't read it, you can read it for yourselves later, but verses 5 through 15, there's quite a few names there of those who made up the church of God, who met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla.

So what is the church of God? Well, you and I, and all who have God's Holy Spirit, by virtue of repenting and being baptized and laying on of hands, we are the church of God, just like those mentioned here in Romans 16. Paul makes reference to. But are we the government of God, or do we really represent the government of God?

Well, Paul answers that for us as well in his second letter to the church of Corinth. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 5.

2 Corinthians 5, and let's begin in verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 5, where Paul says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. God's Holy Spirit should be renewing our mind, converting us to the mind and attitude of Christ. We should be changed to the character of God himself. We become a new creation, spiritually speaking. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But some of those old things that should have passed away, we still struggle with at times, don't we? All things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So who are we then? Verse 20. What are we? As the church of God. It says, now then, verse 20, We are ambassadors for Christ. We are not the government of God, or the government of Christ. We merely represent the government of God. We are ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador represents that government that he is a part of. He is representative, as we are. We are represented as all of us. We are representatives of Jesus Christ. Leaders and lay members alike. We are here to help point people to God and to the true Jesus Christ, and to help proclaim the kingdom and future government of God. We are ambassadors for Christ. We represent God, the Father and Jesus Christ.

And we represent the government and the kingdom of God.

What about an overall apostle? Is there an overall apostle of the church of God? Well, yes, there is. Absolutely. And Hebrews 3.1 tells us who that is. And of course, we all know who that is, so let's turn there and read it. Hebrews 3.1 says, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling that God has given us, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. See, Paul was only an apostle of the apostle. The apostle is Christ Jesus, who has always been the only one overall apostle of the church of God.

So then, to close this first part of the sermon today, what is the government of God? The government of God is God Himself governing. It is God ruling, the rule of God. Which then leads us directly to our next overall question, that I want to address here in this particular sermon here in part two. How has God governed man in the past? Let's look at some examples of that. Because people like to narrow it down to just one structure, one system, one way to do it, but we're going to see it's not quite that simple. There's a lot more to it than that. So how has God governed man in the past? Well, in the past, God has governed in various ways and by various means, as we'll see. Which we could place in three overall categories. That's what we'll look at today. Three over-categories of how God has governed in the past. Number one, God has governed directly. That's one method that God has used, a direct method. He's governed directly. A second method we'll look at that God has utilized is a direct-indirect method of governing. And a third method that God has used and is using today is an indirect method. Those are three overall methods God has used. Direct, indirect, and thirdly, indirect. First, then, let's look at the direct method God has used for governing in the past. Now, direct is when God governs by speaking directly to the individual or individuals himself, or when God directly intervenes in the affairs of man. That's a direct form of governance. And that's quite a few examples of that. First, especially before the Flood, and even after the Flood, a little bit. First one, and you probably think of an additional one, other than what I'll bring out, but one was Adam in the Garden of Eden. And, of course, in Genesis 2, I won't turn there, I'll just summarize it. Genesis 2, verses 15-17, God spoke directly to Adam. He created Adam out of the dust of the ground himself. And then he breathed into him, and he became a living being. And then God was right there, and he talked to Adam, introduced himself. And he told Adam about all the trees in the garden. There's two trees here, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do not partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Don't even touch it. The day you do that, you're going to surely die. And so God there was directly governing Adam, giving him a direct command that Adam heard from God himself. Well, Adam, as we know, influenced by his wife, who was influenced by Satan, did not do as God directed. And because he didn't do as God directed, there was a consequence. Who carried out the consequence? Well, we'll see. God directly brought about the consequence of Adam's disobedience. And we can read that in Genesis 3. Again, this is a direct form of God governing by God himself, expelling out and bringing about the consequences of Adam's disobedience. Genesis 3, verse 9. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said, Where are you? And so he said, Well, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. So then God said, Well, who told you you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree, which I command you that you should not eat? And of course, then he tried to blame the woman, the woman tried to blame the serpent, etc., etc., etc. And so then we get down to the consequence for Adam's disobedience in verse 17 of chapter 3.

Then to Adam, God said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I command you, saying, You shall not eat of it. Then here's the consequences that are going to come about from that, that God was going to bring about. Curses the ground for your sake, in toil you shall eat of it, all the days of your life, both thorns and thistles that shall bring forth to you. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you are taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

So here God directly talks to and deals with the one he is governing. God directly spells out and carries out the consequences. Now another example of the direct approach of God governing in the realm of man is Israel, Mount Sinai. Let's go to Exodus 19.

Exodus 19, verse 17, Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. They were going to directly meet with God and hear God directly. And they stood at the foot of the mountain, and they saw the power of God directly. This is a very direct approach here that God is using. Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the eternal descent had bonded in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. So he answered him directly. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And God directly then talked to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. So God spoke first directly to Moses.

But he did so in such a way that all the people of Israel saw that God was directly there, and His power was there, and He was talking directly to Moses. They all understood that. They all knew that. That God was directly communicating with Moses. But then not long after that, God speaks directly to the entire nation of Israel, as we read in Exodus 20, beginning in verse 1. And then God came down, He spoke all these words to all Israel, heard this, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. And so on. And He goes on and gives them the Ten Commandments.

So God used a direct approach. All His power is being displayed on the top of Mount Sinai, and they're hearing the voice of God. And I can't even imagine what that would be like to hear the voice of God, but they heard it. All two million of them, or three million, how many there were.

But the people of Israel did not like the direct approach. They didn't like that. As we read in chapter 20, verses 18 and 19. Exodus 20, verse 18, All the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking. And the people saw it, they trembled, and they stood afar off, not alone hearing the voice of God, too. It was probably pretty frightening as well. So then they said to Moses, verse 19, From now on, Moses, you speak with us. Let God speak to you, and then you relay the message to us.

But we don't want to have God speak to us, unless we die. We don't like this direct approach. We'd rather have it indirect. We'd rather have God speak to us through you, Moses. So the people of Israel didn't want to be governed directly by God himself. That was kind of scary. They wanted to instead be governed indirectly through Moses. Now, let's look at a third example, first of God governing directly, and that was with Abraham. And I'm not going to turn to a scripture here, but several scriptures point out, at least two or three anyway, where God directly appeared to Abraham and talked directly to Abraham on several occasions as he would talk to a friend.

On one occasion, but there's one special occasion, which is recorded in Genesis 18. I won't go through there because the whole chapter covers this particular incident. But on one occasion, God, along with two angels, even appeared to Abraham and had a meal with Abraham and Sarah in their tent. And then afterwards, God met with Abraham, and he allowed Abraham to give him questions regarding the destruction of Sodom. He told Abraham, you know, I'm going to destroy Sodom. And, of course, Abraham's nephew Lot was there, and Lot's family. So Abraham had relatives there in Sodom, and so he allowed Abraham to question him. About Sodom. You know, of course, Abraham says, well, if there are ten righteous people there, you're going to destroy him? God says, no, I won't for ten. Well, what about five? No, what about, and so on. And obviously, it turns out there was no righteous one there except possibly Lot. And so God spared Lot and called Lot, and allowed Lot to also give his family a chance to escape with him, but they all rejected it except for his two daughters. But that was an example of God governing directly with Abraham there in that particular incident. In Genesis 18. Another example, or fourth example, of the direct method was Jacob. Let's turn there to Genesis 32.

Genesis chapter 32. This is a very direct approach.

Genesis 32. Let's pick it up in verse 24. Jacob was left alone, and a man, and of course, man there is capitalized because it's actually, we see here from the Goan reading, this is actually God. But he looked like a man, and appeared as a man, wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

And when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he, God, touched the socket of Jacob's hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And so he said, let me go for the day breaks. As God was asking Jacob, let me go. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. So he said to him, what is your name? So even though Jacob was in a lot of pain here, he wasn't going to let go until he got a blessing from God. He knew he was wrestling with God. And there was a reason for all this. He said, so God says to Jacob, what is your name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God, and with men, and have prevailed. So then Jacob asked, saying, well, tell me your name, I pray. And he said, well, why did you ask about my name? What's that to you? You know? And he blessed him there. So Jacob called the name of the place, Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Jacob not only saw God face to face, he even wrestled, God even wrestled with Jacob, one on one, man to man, so to speak. And directly influenced pain on Jacob by causing his hip to be out of joint. Now, you can't get much more of a direct approach to governing, governance by God, than that. A very interesting example of God's direct approach to governing Jacob in that particular instance.

Another, and I'm just going to mention this, is God governed directly at times with Noah and Enoch. Prior to the Flood, it says that both Enoch and Noah walked with God, and the insinuation is, in the context, is that they actually walked directly with God, and God directly talked with them and to them.

In fact, prior to the Flood, over the course of the first 2,500 years or so of man's history, God often governed directly with those he was calling and working with. There's quite a few examples of that in the early chapters of Genesis. Of course, then, as we know, at the end of that first 2,500-2,700 years of man's history, God directly intervened in the affairs of mankind by bringing about a global Flood and destroying all life from out the face of the Earth, except for Noah and Noah's family. So, that was a direct consequence that God brought about to the Earth. So, that was God governing directly and making a judgment over the entire Earth at that time. Of course, as we said, after the Flood, God occasionally also governed directly, as He did with Abraham, and had a couple of 1 or 2 inches with Jacob, and also with Moses. So, let's go to the second, then, overall method that God has employed in the past, as far as a method of governing in the realm of man. And that is using both a direct and indirect approach. This would be where God spoke directly to one individual, and that that individual then relayed God's message to another individual or individual. So, that would be direct and indirect. And there are many, many, many examples throughout the entire Old Testament of that approach, where God spoke to one person and that person then relayed God's message to another individual or to the nation of Israel or Judah, so on. So, you could mention numerous examples, but I've got a couple of them. One was through Moses and Aaron, and dealing with the Pharaoh of Egypt. And you can see that all the way through from Exodus chapter 3, all the way through Exodus 12 and Exodus 13.

But even in that direct-indirect approach, where God directly communicated with Moses and Aaron, and they then communicated with Pharaoh, and sometimes with the nation of Israel. But even there, God directly carried out the consequence. God directly carried out the ten plagues that he brought upon Egypt.

And God, of course, during that time also communicated using a direct-indirect approach with Israel through Moses and Aaron. Let's go to look at Exodus chapter 4, just to exemplify that. Exodus chapter 4, and we'll look at verses 27 through 31 of Exodus 4, which illustrates the direct-indirect approach working through Moses and Aaron. Exodus 4 verse 27, And then the Eternal said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And, of course, the reason he had to use Aaron is because Moses said, Well, I'm studying. You can't use me. I can't speak. You can't work indirectly through me. And God said, Well, then I'm working indirectly through Aaron. Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him. So Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him and all the signs which he had commanded him. So God communicated directly with Moses. Moses then communicated with Aaron. And then Moses and Aaron went, verse 29, and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. They needed the signs and the sight of the people. So all the people believed when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked on their affliction, and then they bowed their heads and worshipped. So God directly communicated with Moses, who then in turn communicated with Aaron, who then in turn relayed God's message to the children of Israel. So God uses direct, indirect approach throughout the entire 40 years that they wanted in the wilderness, actually, when you look at it.

But I want to look at this for a second. I want to point something out how God worked through Moses, how God governed through Moses. And there's something that we need to understand. There's a distinction between how God governed through Moses and how God governed through, for example, in our more modern times, through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. Because some of the churches of God, in fact, some branches of the churches of God, had tried to equate God's form of governance through Moses with that of Mr. Armstrong.

In fact, one leader of a church of God today even feels that Mr. Armstrong restored God's church government to the church. God's government to the church, I should say. Meaning the type of government that God used through Moses. And that Mr. Armstrong restored that church government to the church. So some equate God's governance through Moses with what they consider to be the true government of God for the church.

And equate that, those two. You know, that's a mistake. They're not the same. You can't look at how God governed through Moses and equate that with the way God governed through Mr. Armstrong or tried to put those two on equal par with one another. They are not on equal par at all. They are different. There are differences. So it's important to understand what those differences and those distinctions are. Now, number one, God spoke directly with Moses. He used a direct, indirect approach. He spoke directly to Moses, and then Moses, through Aaron, the spokesman, conveyed God's message to Israel.

God never spoke directly to Mr. Armstrong that we know of, anyway. Mr. Armstrong never made any indication that God ever spoke directly to him, and there's no indication that he did. And so the approaches were different. I mean, through Moses, God used a direct, indirect approach. Through Mr. Armstrong, God only used an indirect approach. He did not use a direct, indirect approach. It was only an indirect approach. And we'll get to that in a moment, what that is. So there's a difference between those two. You can't equate the government, the way God governed through Moses, with the way God supposedly governed through Mr. Armstrong. They are not equal at all.

They're different. You can't equate the two. Now, here's another example of the direct, indirect approach. It was through Nathan the prophet in dealing with King David and his sin with Bathsheba. And on that particular instance, in a sense, God directly dealt with the consequences, but he didn't actually directly go to David. What God did, he spoke to Nathan the prophet, he conveyed his message to Nathan. Nathan then relayed that to David. And I gave him the example. He told David, he gave him this example, and David said, boy, I'd take that guy.

And he said, David, you are that guy. You're that person that did that. And of course, then David repented. But there was a consequence to pay, and God actually directly carried out the consequence by allowing that son that David had with Bathsheba to die.

Now, another example of direct-indirect approach was in dealing with King Ahab of Judah through the mouth of a wine spirit in the mouth of Ahab's false prophets. And I'm not going to read that one, but it's interesting. Direct-indirect approach to God used there in dealing with King Ahab. And that's recorded in 1 Kings 22, verses 19-22. Now, another big example of the direct-indirect approach was Job, in working with Job through Satan. God directly communicated with Satan and gave Satan permission to basically go out and take everything Job possessed away from him, and even attack Job himself, except he had to spare his life.

But God was directly communicating with Satan, and then through that was indirectly working with Job. That was the direct-indirect approach of governing Job. So in the book of Job, God directly uses Satan to individually work with Job. Or should say, indirectly work with Job. Now, one of the strangest and probably funniest examples is found in Numbers 22, in speaking to Balaam through his donkey. And that's fun to read that one. Let's turn there and read that.

That's recorded in Numbers 22. Let's begin in verse 24. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, and with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot. Then the angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either right or left. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, so Balaam's ankle was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

Now, the donkey could see all this going on. God was working directly with the donkey, but Balaam couldn't see it. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, so now the donkey starts speaking to Balaam. And she said to Balaam, what have I done to you that you have struck me these three times? The donkey asked Balaam. And Balaam is so angry that he doesn't even notice that the donkey is speaking to him.

He doesn't even question that. He said to the donkey, because you have abused me, I wish there was sword in my hand and I would kill you. He's so angry he doesn't even stop and think, well, wait a minute here, how is this donkey talking? So then the donkey said to Balaam, verse 30, am I not your donkey, and which you have ridden ever since I was a little donkey? I was a little baby donkey, and you've been with me, and we've been friends for all these years.

Was I ever disposed to do anything bad to you? And Balaam asked him to think about it. I said, well, no, you've really been a pretty good little donkey.

And he still doesn't think he doesn't get it. I mean, this Balaam is really dense. So then the Lord finally opened Balaam's eyes. He said, this guy is dead, so I better be revealed myself to him. And he saw the age of the Lord standing in the way with his sword, his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. So God worked directly with a donkey and threw a donkey through it, and directly communicated with Balaam. So if God needs to get our attention, he can get it, I think. He had our time with Balaam. But there are many, many examples of this direct, indirect approach throughout the Old Testament, especially with all the prophets, where God directly communicated with various prophets, who then relayed that message to either the people of Judah or the people of Israel, or to other nations at times as well. So let's go to the third and final method by which God governs in the realm of man. That is the indirect method. And I'm going to briefly point out three overall means by which God governs using a strictly indirect approach. One is by and through Jesus Christ and the written Word of God. And when I say by and through Jesus Christ, I'm what's recorded of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. And we're told about that in Hebrews 1 verse 1.

Hebrews 1 verse 1, verses 1 and 2, I should say, God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, that would be direct, indirect approach, has the last day spoken to us by his Son, in whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom he has made the world. And God as he speaks to us through his Son, well, through the written Word of God, through what's recorded in the Gospels, through Christ's example, as recorded in the Gospel, and through his teachings, as recorded in the Gospel. So that's an indirect approach. He speaks to us indirectly through the written Word of God and what's recorded there. And that's also then God, Christ directly then taught his apostles and disciples, and then through them, God was recorded them in the New Testament, and also, we must record in the Old Testament, God directly governs us by what's written in his Word.

So that's what we have today. Everything we really need to know as far as God governing in our lives is recorded in the Bible, in the written Word of God. So the first means by which God today governs indirectly in the realm of man is by and through what's recorded about Jesus Christ and his example and what he taught and by what's recorded in the Word of God, in the Bible, by the apostles and by the prophets and so on. So that's an indirect approach through God's Word. A second indirect means by which God is used to govern in the realm of man is by and through God's Holy Spirit.

And John 14 tells us, and I won't turn there, but John 14 says that he's going to give us a comforter, and that comforter then would teach us all things and bring into our minds and remembrance of all things. You can read that in John 14, verses 14 through 17, and verses 25 and 26.

So God poured out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so God's holy righteous law could then be written in our minds and in our hearts so we could then have the power and means by which God could govern us through his Holy Spirit, in us, indirectly.

And so we could then basically govern ourselves, but really God governed us through his Holy Spirit. So that's an indirect means through God's Holy Spirit.

That does not mean that we still do not need teachers to instruct us. An example of that is in Acts 8. Just really quickly turn there to Acts 8, verses 26 to 31. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. And behold, there was a man in Ethiopia, there a eunuch, and so on that he saw, sitting in his chariot, reading the book of Isaiah. So then God's Spirit moved Philip to go down there and meet him. So Philip ran to him, verse 30, and you heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you understand what you're reading? And he said, Well, how can I understand that someone guides me? So then he asked Philip to come and join me, explain what he was reading. So God governs through his Holy Spirit, but he also uses teachers to help bring understanding to others as well.

And there's another one I just mentioned here. You're all familiar with 1 Corinthians 12, which talks about spiritual gifts, and all the different spiritual gifts that God gives, especially verses 1, verses 1 and verses 4 through 11. It talks about all the different gifts that God's Spirit can give to individuals in his body, and then he can help them use those gifts to help govern in his church through his Holy Spirit. So that's an indirect approach that God uses, and he can use that in all of us, each and every one of us, to help others as it gives it with the gifts of God's Spirit that he gives us by virtue of the fact that we have God's Spirit in us. There is a third indirect means that God uses to govern in the realm of man, and I would say he uses especially to govern in his church, a third means. And you might think of others as well, but this is the main one I want to point out today, and that is by and through trials is an indirect means that God uses to govern in his church. I'll just read one quick scripture. This is my final scripture, 1 Peter 4, beginning in verse 12. Peter wrote, Beloved, do not think of strains concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproach for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rest upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or an evildoer or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus Christ, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this manner. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And one way God governs in judging his church is how we respond to trials and how we learn from our trials. And the only third indirect means, and a very effective means, that God uses to today govern in his church is by and through trials. And if I look by now how we respond to trials and how we grow spiritually, as it means by which we can grow spiritually, and you can judge us by that.

But we have to use those trials and we have to view our trials in a way which we can strive to learn what God wants us to learn through those trials. We have to ask what, regardless of what caused the trial, or who caused the trial, or what the circumstances were, we always have to ask ourselves, God, what is it that I can learn from this trial? Because a trial is a means by which God is trying to govern us today.

And one way that we can learn what God wants us to learn from the trials is by looking at ourselves, not looking at other circumstances or anybody else. As Christ put it in Matthew 5, verse 5, verses, strive to see the beam in your own eye, and cast out the beam in your own eye, rather than the specks in other people's eyes. Look at the big problem you have that God wants you to learn from this trial, but then try to look at the problems that other people might be having. So those then are the three overall methods God has used to govern in the realm of man, directly, and indirectly, and then just indirectly. So I'll end here for now, but what is the government of God? It is God governing. It is a rule of God. What overall method does God employ to govern in the realm of man? Well, He governs directly at times. He has in the past anyway. Not now, but He has in the past. In the past, He's also governed using a bold direct and indirect approach. And today, primarily, God governs indirectly through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit, and through trials that we have. So then, next time in Part 3, we will look at the various governmental structures that God worked through in governing His people throughout the Old Testament. And I want to begin next time, too, by first showing God's expectations for those that He calls to leadership positions in His Church today.