In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of sincere and heartfelt prayers. He encourages believers to move away from routine prayers and approach God with intensity and desire. The sermon also highlights the significance of ending prayers with thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for answered prayers and God's redemption. The preacher then discusses the different types of prayers and emphasizes the need to pray for all people, including kings and those in authority. The sermon concludes by emphasizing that God desires the salvation of all people and that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity.

...chapter of 1st Timothy. We were in chapter 1 last time. Today we come to 2nd Timothy, chapter 2. And we'll read the chapter in its entirety. 1st Timothy, did I say? 1st Timothy, chapter 2. I exhort, therefore, that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. For unto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle. I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array, but which becometh women professing godliness with good work. Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. Now we mentioned last time that this epistle in general has to do with instructions concerning assembly life. Instructions concerning life in the local church. And this particular chapter is divided into two parts. I'm sure you've noticed it as we read it. First of all, you have prayer in the assembly, verses 1 through 8. Prayer in the assembly. And then you have the place of women in the assembly, verses 9 through 15. Prayer in the assembly, verses 1 through 8. The place of women in the assembly, verses 9 through 15. Quite a bit of attention is devoted here to the subject of prayer. The reason for that is that prayer is one of the most important activities of the Christian life. Believers never come closer to omnipotence than when they pray in the name of Jesus. You and I will never be omnipotent. We will never have all power. But when we do pray in the Savior's name, we come closer to it. Because when we pray to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus, it's just the same as if Christ himself were making those requests. And if people realize the importance of prayer, more time would be spent in prayer and less time in other activities. It's an amazing thing that little you and me can pray down here on earth, and those prayers actually wing their way to the very throne room of the universe in heaven. That's true. And prayer changes things. I often wonder if God ever does anything except in answer to some prayer somewhere. Now, Paul says here in the very first verse, I exhort therefore that first of all, and first of all means this is of first importance. It doesn't mean first of all in point of time, but it means of being of first importance. And then he mentions four different kinds of prayer. Supplication, prayers, intercession, giving of thanks. And it's very difficult for us to distinguish those first three. And even if you knew the Greek, it wouldn't solve all the problems. If the Greek solved all the problems, all the problems would be solved. They're not all solved. But I think we can learn some lessons from the supplications, prayers, intercessions. They convey some of these ideas. First of all, in prayer, it's inferiors praying to a superior. So that's true. Inferiors praying to a superior. Then these words imply the attitude of reverence. We come into the presence of the Lord in deepest reverence, mindful of who he is and mindful of who we are. Then the idea of intensity is brought out in these words. Intensity in prayer. It isn't just that we spin a prayer wheel. It isn't just that we recite prayers by rote. But it's the idea of coming before the Lord in urgency of prayer. The best prayers come from a strong inward necessity. And God wants us to come and present our strong reasons to him. He doesn't want us to trifle in prayer, but to be earnest in prayer and really besiege the throne of grace. The best arrow comes from a taught bow. And the best prayer comes from an intense desire. So, let's be done with routine prayers and get before God in earnestness. Now, those ideas are all included there, plus the idea of thanksgiving. Plus the idea of thanksgiving. That's the fourth that's mentioned. And this tells me that, in fact, in my own prayer life, I like to end my prayers with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for answers to prayer. Thanksgiving for the wonderful redemption that he's brought for me. Thanksgiving for Christian friends, Christian parents, for the faithful prayer support of other people. Thanksgiving to God. A fitting way to end our prayers. So, first of all, in verse 1, you have the kinds of prayer. Then, at the end of verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2, it tells you for whom prayer should be made. And I think some of us are going to get a surprise here. It says, first of all, prayer should be made for all men. Now, really, most of our prayers fall very short of that, don't they? How many times have you ever been in a public meeting of the assembly and heard prayers for all men? That's what it should be. We kind of pray for our own little circle, don't we? But God is interested in all men, and he wants us to be interested in all men, too. I was over at the San Francisco airport last night, spent about four hours there, not intentionally. You know how plane schedules are, waiting for planes. And I was thinking of all the people going by, every one of them an immortal soul, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. Every one of those persons, soon to be in heaven or in hell. So easy to forget that, isn't it? Now, God doesn't forget, and he doesn't want us to either, that prayer should be made for all men. One of the terrible things of the Christian life is that we can get used to seeing men go down to hell and not care. Terrible, isn't it? And if we really mean business for God, we'll really get down on our knees and pray for men and for their salvation. That comes in later, too. Then, secondly, we should pray for kings and for all in authority. That means for our governmental powers. God is interested in our rulers. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 13, that the powers that be are ordained of God. And that means that God is the one who sets up all government. It doesn't mean that God approves of brutality and tyranny and totalitarian regimes that persecute his people. God doesn't approve of that. But God does approve of the idea of government. And God would rather have any government than no government. I know a lot of people have difficulty with it. Any government is better than no government. No government means anarchy, and in anarchy people do whatever they want. There's no police, there's no nothing. They do anything they want. You can't live. A Christian can't survive. A Christian can survive under any form of government, but he can't survive under anarchy. And God is opposed to anarchy, and God is on the side of government. But he isn't on the side, as I say, of brutality and cruelty and tyranny. Now, the Christian is not committed to any particular form of government. And here in the United States, we think, wow, the Christian way is democracy. Democracy. But the Bible doesn't link Christianity to any particular form of government, whether democracy or a constitutional monarchy or a dictatorship or anything of the sort. And God's will is that his people should be a light for him no matter what the government might be. And God knows, too, that no government is any better than the men who make it up. You could have a bunch of crooks in a democracy, and you could have a fairly decent man as a king ruling. The ideal form of government is actually a monarchy with the Lord Jesus on the throne. The only ideal form of government there is. Every other government has its flaws. The ideal government is what we would call a beneficent monarchy with the Lord Jesus Christ reigning. And that's going to happen. It's going to happen on this earth when he comes back again to set up his kingdom. Well, in the meantime, God wants us to pray for our rulers. If you were in Yugoslavia today and you were a Christian, you would be praying for Mr. Tito there. You would. Christians do. They pray very perfectly for Mr. Tito. Whatever government you'd be under today, you would be praying for that government. Why? It says that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. And in some versions, that word honesty is gratitude. God wants his people to live in a sphere of relative tranquility so that the gospel can go forth in power and effectiveness. So at the end of verse 2 and verse 3, you have the benefits of public prayer. I'd just like to stop here and say this. Christians hold the balance of power in the world through prayer. We don't realize it. We don't realize the power that's at our disposal. But Christians hold the balance of power in their hands through prayer as far as government to this world is concerned. Christians can influence the destiny of nations through their prayers. I'm sure I've told this illustration before, but I'm going to tell it again because there are some here who weren't here. But there's a group that holds a prayer meeting on the second Friday night of every month down in San Leandro, a prayer meeting for missions. Now, you've never heard of them. You don't know most of the people that go there. But anyway, a few years ago, those people gathered together at 9 o'clock on a Friday night. And at the beginning of their prayer meeting, they had a time of confession to God when they confess their own sins and they confess the sins of the nation and they confess the sins of the church. And as they prayed that night, they had a sense of the nearness of the Lord. It seemed that the heavens were bowing very low. As the prayer meeting went on, during the morning hours, actually Saturday morning in the early hours, they began to pray for the Chad Republic in Africa. Now, the Chad Republic at that time was ruled by a very wicked man named Tombulbide. And Tombulbide was persecuting the Christians. Time Magazine reported how they buried one Christian up to his neck in sand and the ants finished him off. They put another Christian inside a drum and beat on the drum until he starved to death. And we had a letter from one of our missionaries there telling us to please pray for the Christians, that the national believers there, they were in desperate need of prayer. And that night in the prayer meeting, these dear Christians really interceded with God concerning this government in the Chad Republic and Tombulbide. They didn't tell God what to do. They just prayed with desperate, believing prayer. Sunday morning, I was driving to the meeting at Bethany. I turned on KTVS. Military coup in the Chad Republic. Tombulbide slain. A general in the army rises to power. There's been perfect liberty for the gospel in the Chad since then. The work of God has been prospering and growing. Now, of course, the question is, do you believe the little group of nobodies praying desperate, believing prayer in San Leandro on a Friday night and early Saturday morning could influence the destiny of a nation like the Chad? The Bible says it. Christians hold the balance of power. And I'd like to tell you something this morning, and I believe it with all my heart, that you and I can do more on our knees in prayer than we can do at the ballot box. What you can do at the ballot box is very, very limited. But what you can do on your knees, if you really know how to pray and do business with God in great waters, you can influence the destiny of nations. And if you could trace back some of the great changes in government, you'd find there were Christians behind praying. That's what does it. The great changes in the tides of battle, in war, Christians praying makes a difference. That's why he says here, For kings and all authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. So this is good. This is good. It's good that Christians should do this. And it's acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Now, verse 4 tells us why we should pray for all men. Remember it says before, in verse 1, pray for all men. Why should you pray for men? It says in verse 4, Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth? Now, the will of God is the salvation of all men. Does that mean all men are going to be saved? No, it doesn't. But God wants them to be saved, and God sent his Son to die for them so they might be saved. But God is not going to populate heaven with people who don't want to be there. It wouldn't be heaven. It would be hell. If you had a heaven filled with people who were unhappy and didn't want to be there, it wouldn't be heaven. Contradiction in turn. But God wants everyone to be saved. He's made full provision for everyone to be saved. The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary provided a sufficient basis upon which God can save everyone, but man's faith is involved. And God isn't going to save anyone who doesn't want to be saved. God wants all to be saved. I like this. Be saved. That's passive. Only God can save anyone. But to come to the knowledge of the truth, that's active. That's what the man must do. To be saved is what God does. But to come to the knowledge of the truth is what man has to do himself. And so that gives you a little cameo of salvation there. The will of God is the salvation of all men. And yet God has chosen to give man a free will. Man is a moral, a responsible moral agent. And he can choose whether he wants to go to heaven or go to hell. And if a man goes to heaven, it's all the grace of God that brings him there. And if a man goes to hell, it's his own deliberate choice. Absolute. His own deliberate choice. Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? For there is one God and one mediator between God and men. Himself man, Christ Jesus. One of the great important verses of this, one of the great doctrines of the scripture. There's only one God. We believe that. We are monotheists. One God, he exists eternally in three persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. You say, how do you understand that? I don't understand it. I accept it by faith because the Bible teaches it. One God existing eternally in three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One mediator between God and men. False religions are always putting other mediators between God and men, aren't they? False religions. Watch out. That's only one mediator. Only one way to God. Only one go between. Between God and men. Only one who can put his hand on God and his hand on men and stand there in the breach. Only one bridge between God and men. Himself man, the Lord Jesus. Now when it says the man Christ Jesus, it doesn't mean he's just man. He is man, but he's also God. But he had to come into this world as man in order to die for men. Then it says in verse six, he gave himself a ransom for all. In order for you and for me to be purchased back from the slave market of sin, a price had to be paid. A price had to be paid. A price of a sinless substitute. And the Lord Jesus gave himself as that ransom price. It's really enough to humble you, isn't it? To think of what it cost to purchase our redemption. Nothing short of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave himself. Love always manifests itself in giving. The Lord Jesus loved us and gave himself for us. Now you might say, well to whom was the ransom price paid? Well, there's no answer to that. It wasn't paid to anybody. The ransom price was what we might call an abstract payment. Don't ever think that Jesus paid this ransom price to the devil. There's no such Bible doctrine. He didn't pay any price to the devil. And he didn't pay any price to God. But it simply means that his death, his work on the cross of Calvary satisfied all the righteous claims of God against my sins. That's what it means when it says he gave himself a ransom for all. To be testified in due time, that means that God's will was that having accomplished this work of redemption on the cross of Calvary, the good news would go out to all the world. It would be testified in due time what the Savior had done. And then Paul speaks of himself as having been raised up, having been appointed a herald and an apostle of this glorious message. He says, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Now, in verse 8, he speaks of the participants in prayer. And not only of the participants, but in the last part of the verse, of the character requirements of those who pray publicly. And incidentally, this passage has to do primarily with public prayer. Primarily, although many of the principles apply to private prayer too. I will therefore that men pray everywhere. Men pray everywhere. Now, in the original language of the New Testament, there are two words for men. One means mankind in general, and that includes everybody. The other word means man, not woman. It means male, rather than female. That's the word that's used here. When it says here, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, it means the man, not the woman. It means the male. Now, some of what we're going to say in the next few minutes might seem to be very much out of step with the times in which we live. I mean, we live in the days of E.R. Equal Rights Amendment, women's liberation, and all the rest. And some of what we're going to say might seem to be very much out of step. Let me tell you something. It isn't the Bible that's out of step with the times. It's the times that are out of step with the Bible. And God has placed principles in all of life. God has placed principles in this universe of ours. And when we try to go against those principles, we only succeed in dashing ourselves against the rocks. Really, just as easy as that. So you say, well why? Paul was just a male chauvinist, that's what he was. And this is just reflecting the culture of his time. People explain away the word of God with all these fake reasons. No, the Bible means exactly what it says. The Bible means exactly what it says. And our only safety is in going by the word and accepting it literally. Wherever it can be accepted literally. One of the great rules for understanding the Bible is this. If the first sense makes sense, don't look for any other sense. That's true. If the first sense makes sense, don't look for any other sense. And if that's what the Bible says, that's what the Bible says. And if people don't like it, well we can't help that. The Lord said it, we didn't say it. It says, I will therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. Now the emphasis here isn't on your posture in prayer. It doesn't mean that when you get up to pray you must do this. The emphasis is on the holy hands. Without wrath and without disputing. In other words, it's saying that when I come into the presence of God in prayer, my life must be right. I must come with a pure, clean, Christian character. After all, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. God doesn't hear the prayers of people who are tolerating sin in their lives. God doesn't play games with people. And so it says that men coming into the presence of God must lift up holy hands. The hands, of course, are the things, the instruments with which we do things. Those hands should be holy. No use of trying to deal crookedly during the week and then come on Sunday and get up in public prayer. That's what it's saying. Lifting up holy hands without wrath and, it says, doubting. And most of the versions say without wrath and disputings. God is interested in the man. And in our character. In the quality of our lives. God isn't a ritualist. He just doesn't want me to come and go through religious motions. He wants my life to correspond with what my outward behavior is saying. Then in verses 9 through 15, you have the place of women in the assembly. First of all, in verses 9 and 10, you have a section on the dress of women and their general deportment. The dress of women and their general deportment. In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel. Now, the place of public praying is given to the men. Okay, what about the women in the public assembly? Well, first of all, it says that they must adorn, that they should adorn themselves in modest apparel. With shamefacedness, well, that's a word that we don't have in the language anymore. It really is another word for modesty, really. That's what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that people say, well, it doesn't make any difference how you dress. It's the attitude of your heart toward God. Well, it does make a difference how you dress. To God, it does make a difference how you dress. Because so often, the dress, the outward dress, is a reflection of the inward heart. And this is saying that women in their dress, and it applies to men too, in their dress, they should avoid extremes, I believe. I believe that the scripture here teaches that the woman should avoid extremes. She should avoid, for instance, the extremes of new fashions in which vast areas of the human anatomy are exposed to public view. On the other hand, she should avoid attracting attention to herself by being dowdy. Both extremes. There are both extremes. A person could dress in such an old-fashioned way that they could really do nothing but attract attention to themselves. Well, we're not in life to be clothed horses, modeling clothes and attracting attention to ourselves. Our aim in life is to attract attention to the Lord Jesus. And the best way we can do that is to hide behind the cross and not be having the sunshine shining on ourselves all the time. So I believe it says that here, and like men are also that women adorn themselves with modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array. Now, broided hair, does that mean a woman shouldn't wear braids? Well, it doesn't mean that at all. It means these ridiculous coiffures that pile braids upon braids so that it looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I guess, not pizza. You know what I mean. And this was characteristic in the days in which Paul lived, and it's characteristic in certain circles today. And once again, gold and pearls and costly array, there should be a moderation in all of these things. It says, but which becometh women professing godliness with good works? The great emphasis in the New Testament, both with men and with women, is that our primary ministry is a ministry of character. And that as far as God is concerned, what we are is a lot more important than anything we ever do or say. And that although I might be very glib with my tongue and might be very gifted in some ways and might be able to hold an audience in the time of my end, if my life isn't what it should be before God, it's all a big waste. That's what the Bible teaches. And Paul was forever saying that. Paul was telling the Thessalonians, you know what manner of men we were among you. He didn't say you know how gifted we were. He didn't say you know what good orators we were. He didn't say you know what spellbinders we were. He didn't say that. He said you know what manner of men we were among you. Now unfortunately that isn't emphasized today as much. We have courses in personal soul winning where you get to know how to approach people and use a little psychological manipulation of the crowds, you know, and all this. And your life can be blot out and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Well, that isn't God's approach. God's approach is you get your life right and you'll win souls to Christ. Follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. And so you get that emphasis in this passage, don't you? But which professes women, which becometh women professing godliness with good works. Of course, we must remember that good works do not lead to salvation. Good works are the result of salvation. I was working at Bethany the other day and there was a man there, an unsaved man working, helping with the sound system. And he said to me, I don't go to church, but I spend more time in churches than most people who do go. And I said, oh, that's interesting. And I said, how is that? Well, he said, I do a lot of free work for churches like this. I said, that's very good, but as long as you're not depending on that to get you to heaven. I said, that would be very bad. And then I tried to explain to him that working on sound systems in churches was not the way of salvation. Salvation was through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by his wonderful grace. But that's what people do. They put the cart before the horse and they forget that good works are the fruit of salvation and not the root of salvation. Now, it says in verse 11, Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. Now, in God's ordering of things, God has given the place of headship to man and the place of subjection to the woman. The Bible never says and never even suggests that the woman is in any way inferior to the man. That's not included in the idea of subjection. It simply means that in any ordered society, somebody must be in charge. Somebody must have the place of leadership. Can you imagine any society where everybody has the same right to say what's going to happen? You have a family and you have three kids, four, six, and eight. And that four-year-old has just as much right to say what time he has to be in at night as the father. Well, I wouldn't want to live in a home like that, no, neither would I. God, in his wisdom, in every society, has established a system of authority and subjection to that authority. And in his wisdom, he said that man is to be given the place of headship and woman is to be in subjection to the man. And it says here that this order must be carried in the local assembly. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor do you usher up authority over the man, but to be in silence. Now, this isn't the end of the chapter. Hold your fire until we get to the end, please. People say, well, you forget, Brother MacDonald, that was just the day in which Paul lived. You see, that was just for that particular time in history. Well, once you adopt that attitude toward the word of God, you can explain away anything in the Bible. Once you adopt that attitude, baptism goes out the window. The Lord's Supper goes out the other window. You can explain anything. You say, well, it was just for the day in which they lived, you know. It wasn't for the day in which they lived. It's God's abiding teaching for all ages. You say, how do you know? Because he goes on to give reasons for it, and the reasons go right back to creation. Not back to the days in which Paul lived. Go back to creation. It says, for Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Paul bases his teaching upon the order of creation. And those who glibly do away with this passage of scripture forget that the reasons given show that they're of abiding applicability. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. What does that mean? Well, it means to me this, that in the original creation, God put Adam and Eve in the garden. And God gave the place of headship to Adam, and of subjection to Eve. Okay, one day Eve is in the garden, and the serpent comes to her. And he says, have some fruit. And she said, we can't. And he said, why can't you? Well, she said, God said, if we do, we'll die. And he said, you won't die. God is holding something. God is withholding something for you that's really for your good. And the devil misrepresented God. That's what he did. He misrepresented God to Eve. Now, Eve at that moment should have gone to Adam. She should have gone to her head, and she should have said, Adam, there's a slick customer out here. And he's telling me that God is lying, and he's telling the truth. What should we do? That's what she should have done. She should have gone. She should have consulted her husband, but she didn't do it. And sin entered into the world. And as a result of her failure to do that, every hearse you've ever seen, every funeral parlor you've ever seen, every hospital you've ever seen, every tear, every open grave, they all came from that original transgression. Serious, isn't it? Because she didn't recognize the headship of her husband. It's still going on today. It goes on in theological matters today. I think of all the false cults that were formed by women who refused to obey this particular word of God. I won't mention them here. You know some of them yourself. False cults by women taking the place of authoritative teaching in the church. And all kinds of errors have crept in, and thousands have been deluded on their way to hell. Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Remember, the Bible never says woman is inferior to a man. Never says that. But she used to be in subjection, just as Christ is in subjection to God the Father. It's exactly the same way. Is Christ inferior to God the Father? Don't even suggest the Father. But he is subject to God the Father. Then you say, according to that, woman is just a non-entity. Woman in the church is just a non-person. Is that right? No. Paul says in the last verse of this chapter that the primary role given to woman is a God-given role. And it could very well be much more important than public ministry in the church. She shall be saved in childbearing. Now, that does not mean the salvation of her soul. No woman is saved by producing children. You know what I mean. She doesn't get eternal life by bearing children. Doesn't mean that. She shall be saved. Doesn't mean the salvation of her soul. Some people think it means she shall be saved because the Messiah was born of a woman. You know, the virgin birth, the Lord Jesus. She shall be saved through the Messiah who would be born of woman. But I don't think they'll ever get famous for saying that because man is saved in the same way. You know what I mean. I believe Savior refers to the salvation of her position in the church. You might say, well, she's just a zero, a cipher. No, no, she's not a cipher. She's saved through childbearing in the sense that God has given women the very important ministry of raising boys and girls for the kingdom of God, for the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's no more important ministry than that. The ministry of raising a family for Christ. I often refer to Susanna Wesley. Susanna Wesley. I think she raised 19 children. Don't think. 19 children. I don't think Susanna Wesley ever was in a pulpit or on a platform. I don't think she ever spoke publicly, but I'll tell you, her sons rocked the world for Christ. John Wesley and Charles Wesley. God knows what he's doing. And it is true, although it's not a Bible verse, it is true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. It really is. You see, we get things all out of focus. We think, oh, well, the man that preaches in the public assembly of God's people, that's the important thing. God doesn't say it's the important thing. It's important, but it isn't the most important thing. And I believe that verse 15 is describing the salvation of women, women's place in the church. She's saved from being a non-entity by the childbearing, in childbearing, if they, and I think the they means she and her husband, if they continue in faith with charity and holiness with sobriety. What a wonderful thing it is. What a wonderful trust God commits to women to raise these children, to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And after all, a woman has the primary responsibility because the man is away working so much of the day. She's with the children more than he is. And I think that's why it's brought out here. So, their God-given role as mothers. You say, what about women that don't marry? Well, God is dealing with general principles. Mind you, there are many other wonderful ministries that married women have. If you take all the women off the mission field today, I'll tell you, there'd be a general collapse. There would be. As far as I'm concerned, the women outnumber the men anyway in the mission field. The women can endure. There's a woman in Angola today, I've forgotten her name, she's from Ireland. And all through the time when there were communist marches in Angola, she's never budged. She's been there ever since. And still, Karen, alone in Angola. I'll tell you, some of the great heroes of the faith today are women holding firm for the Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn't affect the principles here. Women are permitted to teach children. They're permitted to teach other women. But they're just not permitted to get up and teach in a general meeting of the church. Shall we look to the Lord in prayer? Father, we thank you for your word. We realize that we're living in a fast-moving society where all the principles of the word of God are being overthrown. Help us, Lord, to cleave to your word with all sincerity of heart. We would pray for all men today. We confess that oftentimes we neglect to do this, but we know that your will is the salvation of all, and you sent your Son to be the mediator and to pay the ransom price for all, to give himself a ransom for all. So we do pray for a perishing world today, for men and women going down to the pits, stumbling over the crucified body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for kings in all authority. We pray today for President Carter, for the Vice President Mondale, for our governor, for all who are in authority over us. We pray, first of all, Lord, that they might live in holy subjection to yourself and obedience to your word. We pray that they might lead the nation and the state in paths of righteousness and not in paths of sin. We pray for tranquility, that the gospel might go forth in power during what we believe are the closing days of the church. And now, Lord, help us to receive your word with meekness today, and help us to be not only hearers of the word but doers as well. We ask it in the Savior's name and for his sake. Amen.