Definition of Duty: o Moral obligation: acting out of duty. o The compulsion felt to meet such obligation. o A service, function, or task assigned to one, especially in the armed forces: hazardous duty. o Function or work; service.

Definition of Honor: o High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate. o Good name; reputation. o A source or cause of credit: was an honor to the profession. o Glory or recognition; distinction. o A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction.

Country o A nation or state. o The territory of a nation or state; land. o The people of a nation or state; populace: The whole country will profit from the new economic reforms. o The land of a person's birth or citizenship.

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Duty, Honor and Country Part 2 Pastor Grant Williams APRIL 6, 2016

Proverbs 29:2 King James Version 2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.…?

Proverbs 29:2 Amplified Bible 2 When the [uncompromisingly] righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked man rules, the people groan and sigh.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 Amplified Bible 15 That which is now already has been, and that which is to be already has been; and God seeks that which has passed by [so that history repeats itself].

Ecclesiastes 3:15 King James Version 15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

Hosea 4:1-6 King James Version 1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

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4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Hosea 4:1-6Amplified Bible 1 Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, love, pity and mercy, or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land. 2 There is nothing but [false] swearing and breaking faith and killing and stealing and committing adultery; they break out [into violence], one [deed of] bloodshed following close on another. 3 Therefore shall the land [continually] mourn, and all who dwell in it shall languish, together with the wild beasts of the open country and the birds of the heavens; yes, the fishes of the sea also shall [perish because of the drought] be collected and taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove [another—do not waste your time in mutual recriminations], for with you is My contention, O priest. 5 And you shall stumble in the daytime, and the [false] prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother [the priestly nation].

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6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

We need knowledge on what has happened, good and bad. We want to continue in the good or righteous and avoid that which is bad or evil. You and I have the benefit of having what our Founding Fathers did and wrote down in order for us to stay a blessed nation.

Samuel Adams (September 27, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was one of the Founding Fathers of the Uni ted Sta tes . As a pol i t ic ian he held many positions including Governor of Massachusetts. Adams was a leader of the movement that b e c a m e t h e A m e r i c a n Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American republicanism that shaped the political culture of the United States.

He was a second cousin to John Adams and the Governor of Massachusetts along with being very active in his church as a deacon.

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Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Congregationalist/Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States.

He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist during the period 1825–1835 in upstate New York and Manhattan, an opponent of old school Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, and a religious writer.

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“Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men.”

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual - or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

Together with several other evangelical leaders, his religious views led him to promote social reforms, such as abolition of slavery and equal education for women and African Americans.

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[T]he time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them. . . . Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently. . . . Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you He does see it - and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course they [Christians] take [in politics].

- Charles Finney

James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his assassination later that year. Garfield had served nine terms in the House of Representatives, and had been elected to the Senate before his candidacy for the White

House, though he declined the senatorship once he was president-elect.

He is the only sitting House member to be elected president. He was also a Pastor and the only sitting president to water baptize people on the weekend and preach revival services.

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Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national

legislature. . . . [I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.

- James Garfield

Let’s go to the Old Testament. Remember,

2 Timothy 3:16 King James Version (KJV) 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2 Timothy 3:16 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),

All Scripture means everything. All sixty six books of the Bible.

On the road to Emmaus look what it said that Jesus did. He expounded to them Luke 24:27.

Luke 24:27 King James Version (KJV) 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:27 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 27 Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the Prophets, He went on explaining and interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning and referring to Himself.

Jesus also said this in Matthew chapter 5…

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Matthew 5:17 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 17 Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them.

Matthew 5:17 King James Version (KJV) 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

So, we are going to pick up this story from when King Asa had just died and his son had taken over the kingdom.

2 Chronicles 16:12 King James Version 12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.

2 Chronicles 16:12 Amplified Bible 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet—until his disease became very severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but relied on the physicians.

He did not ask God for healing…

2 Chronicles 17:1-4 Good News Translation 1 Jehoshaphat succeeded his father Asa as king and strengthened his position against Israel. 2 He stationed troops in the fortified cities of Judah, in the Judean countryside, and in the cities which Asa had captured in the territory of Ephraim.

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3 The Lord blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal. 4 He served his father's God, obeyed God's commands, and did not act the way the kings of Israel did.

2 Chronicles 17:1-4 Amplified Bible 1 Jehoshaphat his son reigned in Asa’s stead (place) and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken. 3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father [David]. He did not seek the Baals 4 But sought and yearned with all his desire for the Lord, the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not after the ways of Israel.

When we live like He designed us to, us meaning the body of Christ, imitators of Jesus, when we are obedient and seeking Him, He said this to the church in 1 Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 12:31 AMP And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all—love].

Love is our duty, honor and country.

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John 14:15-23 King James Version 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 14:15-23 Amplified Bible 15 If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever— 17 The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or

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know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you. 19 Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you. 21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.] 22 Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world? 23 Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.

As a result of having an obedient, God fearing leader, look what happened as a result of King Jehoshaphat

2 Chronicles 17:3-4 Good News Translation 3 The Lord blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal. 4 He served his father's God, obeyed God's commands, and did not act the way the kings of Israel did.

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2 Chronicles 17:5-13 Amplified Bible 5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. 6 His heart was cheered and his courage was high in the ways of the Lord; moreover, he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

As a result of what was happening, the King sent all these people in verse 7 and 8 to teach the Word to the cities in Judah.

7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah; 8 And with them were the Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah; and with these Levites were the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 And they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. 10 And a terror from the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 11 And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and tribute silver, and the Arabs brought him flocks: 7,700 each of rams and of he-goats. 12 And Jehoshaphat became very great. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities,

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13 And he had many works in the cities of Judah, and soldiers, mighty men of courage, in Jerusalem.

The enemy didn’t like what was happening - so, he got Ammon and Edom & came up against Judah. Now go to chapter 20 and see how a Godly leader handles this - it’s so important that we put Godly men and women in leadership - with Godly wisdom...

2 Chronicles 20:1-15Amplified Bible 1 After this, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 It was told Jehoshaphat, A great multitude has come against you from beyond the [Dead] Sea, from Edom; and behold they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. 3 Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.

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How To Have Godly Wisdom

Job 28:12-13 12 But where can wisdom be found? Where can we learn to understand? 13 Wisdom is not to be found among men; ....

Job 28:28 28 God said to men,"To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord.To understand, you must turn from evil."

4 And Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord [yearning for Him with all their desire]. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court 6 And said, O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You. 7 Did not You, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? 8 They dwelt in it and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying, 9 If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You—for Your Name [and the symbol of Your presence] is in this house—and cry to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save. 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they turned from and did not destroy 11 Behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. 13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their children and their wives.

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14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. (A prophetic word came forth, a word of wisdom)

Jahaziel wasn’t just someone from the crowd. He wasn’t trying to pump up the crowd by his own words. He was a proven prophet. Jahaziel the Levite was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The name means "Beheld by God".

In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Israelite Tribe of Levi, descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political responsibilities as well.

When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan (Joshua 13:33), the Sons of Levi were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel Himself is their inheritance”.

15 He said, Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. They were given instructions on how to handle the situation. Lets skip down to verse 18 and see they did what God told them to do. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him.

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19 And some Levites of the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper. 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever! 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered; 23 For [suspecting betrayal] the men of Ammon and Moab rose against those of Mount Seir, utterly destroying them. And when they had made an end of the men of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 24 And when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped! skip to verse 29 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.

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The king, the leader, who followed after God, listened to a prophetic Word on what to do and obeyed and it saved his people. (The gifts are for today and it saves not only the person that has them but everyone around them.)

I want to play a clip for you of the last couple of minutes from a speech that Ronald Reagan gave in 1983 - you will see him introduced and then it will skip to the portion that got cut off for TV. This is a God fearing man giving us instructions....

It is so important who we put in office - those who founded this country and who have lead over this country while we prospered have told us what we need to do.

Matthias Burnett - Reverend Matthias Burnett (1749-1806) Minister in the Second Great Awakening. Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk.

On the next page is an excerpt Election Sermon, Preached at Hartford by Matthias Burnett, on the day of the anniversary election, May 12, 1803:

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“Consider well the important trust . . . which God . . . [has] put into your hands. . . . To God and posterity you are accountable for [your rights and your rulers]. . . . Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you. . . . [L]ook well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. . . . Think not that your interests will be safe in the hands of the weak and ignorant; or faithfully managed by the impious, the dissolute and the immoral. Think not that men who acknowledge not the providence of God nor regard His laws will be uncorrupt in office, firm in defense of the righteous cause against the oppressor, or resolutly oppose the torrent of iniquity. . . . Watch over your liberties and privileges - civil and religious - with a careful eye.”

- Matthias Burnett

We, you and I, are going to stand before an Almighty God one day knowing what we know and having judgement come upon us for what we allowed to happen or what we stood up for.

From the Michigan State Board of Education guidances…other state and national laws put into place by people we voted in….laws overturned or denied by appointed judges by people we vote in…

Proverbs 29:2 Amplified Bible 2 When the [uncompromisingly] righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked man rules, the people groan and sigh.

Lets stand this evening in honor of and as a result of what our forefathers did - through prayer and being bold in their faith. Which 29 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence carried seminary degrees.

They made it so we could worship and spread the gospel just like King Jehoshaphat did by sending people out and teaching in the land.

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