Rebellion and Conspiracy

                I wanted to add a little to the sermon “Your Teachers will be Hidden No More,” dated August 30, 2020. I said, “Today we see false teachers and preachers proclaiming other gospels every Sunday. In the news as of late, California churches (and others) are rebelling against the government even though Romans 13 tells us not to. One pastor in California told his congregation why Romans 13 did not apply to them and then proceeded to say that God gave Him a word confirming his rebellion??? Not only does it tell us to submit but states Romans 13:1 “The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” You don’t decide where the line is that is crossed; God does that. We even have churches suing the government. They are putting their ministries in the hands of the world. Yes they may win or loose in court but they will always loose by rebelling against God. They have put their faith in the constitution and rebelled against God. Just yesterday John MacArthur declared the pandemic not real. I will leave it at that for now.”
                I wanted to talk a little more about this because as I researched I began to see disobeying the government is the least of their issues as they bring judgment upon themselves. Hebrews 10:26 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Not only are they rebelling against the government, they are rebelling against God. Just to clarify it is not only the churches who are rebelling against the government that will bring judgment upon themselves, it is also churches who are obeying the government yet rebel by teaching other gospels.
                As far as the rebellion against the government, I believe that these rebellious churches have forgotten God is in charge! Isaiah 40:21 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Daniel praised God saying Daniel 2:20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” When Israel sinned against God, God said Jeremiah 25:9 “I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.” Could it be that God put this Governor of California there for a reason?
                Today I am focusing on those rebelling against the government who are also teaching false gospels. John MacArthur is one of those false teachers. As I said some have sued the government like John MacArthur’s church (They are in court September 4, 2020) and are in complete rebellion against God’s word even though they will tell you they are doing as God commanded. They may win or loose in court but there is no earthly lawyer good enough to protect you from God’s wrath. I started with MacArthur because he has been very vocal about all of this. Not only have they disobeyed the orders from the government, they have declared the pandemic a hoax. He said from the pulpit “even though he is not an expert, there is no pandemic.” This would mean that all around the world, experts and doctors are lying about the pandemic. Now I do realize this pandemic can be hard to comprehend all its facets as even the experts are learning as they go but the reason for this statement by MacArthur is the pandemic has to be not as bad as the experts say it is as this is the crux of their argument for their rebellion. He basically laughs at wearing masks and social distancing. They did not rebel at the beginning. They rebel now because they disagree with the worldwide numbers. I’d be more impressed if they took a stand at the beginning not after all the caution and lockdowns. They have decided the government has crossed their line they established and reopened their church and everyone flocked back. Notice what Isaiah 40 said. “He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.” We have also seen this with church leadership. Many have ended their ministries in shame. Job said in Job 24:22 “But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life. 23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways. 24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.”
                God puts the leaders in place and He takes them out as He pleases yet these churches and their leaders totally disregard God’s word and replace it with their own. They laugh and scoff at the virus and mock other churches who have not opened saying they are not true churches. John MacArthur is the fundamental version of Kenneth Copeland who blew and shouted at the virus. Instead of blowing and shouting, MacArthur who states he is no expert just speaks out “there is no pandemic.” Therefore it must be true because MacArthur said so. This statement was based on a group who misinterpreted a report from the CDC report last week. It actually makes him look like a fool. One doctor who is actually opposed to the severity of the lockdowns describes it this way. “I came here for this live broadcast back today because so many people are talking about this CDC data that just came, well, was just tweeted out by the president and then removed by Twitter for being fake information. And it has led to a storm of misunderstandings about what this data means, and worse yet, we’re really getting to a point where we’re just absolutely becoming scientifically illiterate.” The strange part of this is that it appears the Presidents legal advisor and lawyer for John MacArthur Jenna Ellis was tweeting about this misinterpretation of data that came from a conspiracy follower. I do think it strange that MacArthur is so opposed to women in ministry yet he has a woman defending his ministry in court??? This doctor goes on to say, “Just stop for a second. I don’t care what your politics are. I don’t think… if you disagree with what’s happening and lockdowns are bad and all that, look, I actually am sympathetic to you. But what I’m not sympathetic to, is misunderstanding the science in the simplest form. Anybody who put that information out there saying, look, needs to be understood as a completely uncredible source of anything having to do with medicine ever. Don’t misrepresent data and make yourself and your opinions look stupid, because that’s what it does. It really riles me up because this is simple, simple, simple science, it’s not that complicated. And we’re slave to social media, what they’re feeding us, all of this, we need to start to think critically using the skillsets that we can easily develop with a little bit of training.”
                John MacArthur’s belief is that there is no pandemic; the numbers are not real and there is no need to worry. They picked out one part of the report and ignored the rest because the part they liked fit with their “narrative.” It is interesting that he says this now and not at the beginning. He has formulated his opinion now after months of people taking the necessary precautions. Experts still do not understand fully the effects, present and long-range this virus can have on people. There are others churches such as Godspeak in California whose pastor is spouting the same thing. I think in his case he is just trying to be a somebody. Isaiah 44:24 “I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers.” You better be clear on what side of that verse you are on. In MacArthur’s case he is so confident in this distorted information that he spoke it from the pulpit and the people applauded. Don’t forget the online audience who heard him. That report from the CDC only came out a few days before. I do believe that video was removed by YouTube but it is still circulating on other sites yet there are hundreds of videos of him preaching that have not been taken down. They have been censoring conspiracy theories. Meanwhile at his own church back in March 4-6, 2020 a man with COVID-19 attended their pastors conference and shortly there after died. They did not warn the people that this took place until after the man died. Their website states March 21, 2020 “In addition to this update, we wanted to bring to your attention that a 90-year-old man who attended our conference recently passed away. There are posts online that he passed away from the coronavirus, but the physicians who treated him have not confirmed that information at this time. We encourage you to pray for the family of the deceased as this is a trying time for all of them. Other than the potential situation above, we have had no confirmation of COVID-19 cases associated with anyone who attended the 2020 Shepherds’ Conference. The safety and well-being of our guests during Shepherds’ Conference has always been our highest priority, and we continue to monitor reports from the medical professionals, government and local authorities.” Reports were circulating because people were concerned yet they did nothing. Oops! Even though they said they had their best interests at hand they didn’t warn them until later after being pressured. They then said, March 23, 2020 “Our pastor and the conference team is committed to your health and safety at all the conferences we host; consequently, we want to update you concerning the 90-year-old Shepherds’ Conference guest who recently passed away. The doctors confirmed that he passed away from COVID-19. At this time, there have been no other conference guests, Grace Church staff, or volunteers who have reported a positive diagnosis of the coronavirus. We are now outside the incubation period for the virus set by the CDC, but we encourage you to continue to take the necessary steps to ensure your personal health in this season.” People were wondering why those who attended the conference were not notified immediately of the possibility. The bottom line is that they have no idea who was infected but it shows their attitude towards it. They also seem to care little about the senior population that has been ravaged by this virus. Two of the pastors I am talking about today are in this age bracket.
                So why share this? You may not have been following the news in California and how some churches like MacArthur’s are taking a stand but to downplay a pandemic so that their “narrative” works better for them is deadly dangerous. Yes they may not have any cases (or so they say) but the world does. In fact their state California has the most cases and the most deaths in the United States. The United States who is supposedly a world power has the most cases and the most deaths in the world. This level of ignorance is appalling; especially by churches that say they are teaching truth. They are not by the way. Unfortunately these churches have fallen prey to conspiracy theories as many christians have. Here is what happens when things appear not to make sense; conspiracy theories abound and people get sucked into their lies. Conspiracy theories are everywhere. They are “a belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event.” They believe that there is an underlying reason for what is taking place other than the truth. In their case they believe the plan is to shut the church down even though there are other options given. When people do not understand something, conspiracy theories abound. We saw them during Trumps first election and they are rising again. After 9/11 happened conspiracy theories caught fire. There have been conspiracy theories about the moon landing, Elvis, JFK, aliens, aviation accidents and Illuminati continue to be embraced. The list goes on and on. When the church embraces them as many have, there is a serious problem but the problem is not the pandemic or the government or the secret groups; the problem is the church itself. The government is not the problem; it is the church. As I said last week California has the most mega-churches in the U.S. plus all the smaller churches. These churches complain that the government is worldly and does not operate as a church should. They do not approve of its agenda. They call it a tyranny (take a look at what a real tyrant looks like in history) with draconian rule. They have no idea. The U.S. churches need to wake up to the fact their country is not Christian or even close but still nowhere near as bad as they say it is. All this because they said do church differently. In this fight in California they have replaced the bible with their constitution. Here is the interesting part of this. They have said do not meet in large groups. MacArthur’s church has 6000 plus and seats 3000. As far as I am aware they have not said do not preach the gospel. They have not said do not use the name of Jesus Christ. They have not said stop going out and healing the sick. Yes I added that one. Oddly the church says if you are sick stay home? Jesus said Matthew 11:4 “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Sitting in a pew on Sunday morning really isn’t the church. The verse I just read is without the report Jesus gave to John, so what exactly are they doing? The government has said, go online and preach to your hearts content until we get this figured out because this pandemic is like no other and is still not understood. Yes some governors are pushing harder than others. These churches are acting as if they are actually being persecuted. The persecution has come because of their disobedience. Yes you may believe it is okay to drive 180km/hr because you disagree with the speed limit but when you get caught you loose your license. The argument is strange when they say you can’t tell us what to do but they follow building codes, fire codes etc, charitable giving rules. Yes you cannot do as you always have. So modify it for now. John MacArthur even said April 23, 2020 “I think last Sunday, 85 nations were connected, 60,000 separate devices, and if you had somewhere between 5 and 8 people for those you maybe have 300, 400, 500,000 people listening. I’m actually preaching to hundreds of thousands of more people in an empty auditorium. I know that, but I’m not thinking about that, I’m thinking about what it is that I’m trying to draw out of the Word of God and make clear to whoever’s listening. PHIL: It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the pandemic, though it’s emptied the auditorium has actually increased the size of the audience of people who are listening to you live.” Truthfully if this church was really the church of the New Testament these 6000 people would not be there just for the entertainment. They would be going out and being the church. Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” There are two problems with this. The first is churches like this don’t even believe there is power today to do that and secondly most think the church is what takes place on Sunday. As I said on Sunday they love the benefits of being a church; no property taxes, tax receipts for charitable giving. But now all of a sudden they don’t bow to Cesar. The amazing part is most comments say they think these rebellious men are servants of God. They are not. They are deceiving the masses and themselves. Not only have they contradicted themselves, they have rebelled against God’s word based on conspiracies and the desires of their own hearts. 2 Timothy 3:1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” 2 Peter 2:2 “Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. 17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.”
                These churches are fighting the government because they approve and promote homosexuality and abortion etc. They don’t like what they stand for and you shouldn’t but they are not the church. The church itself can’t even agree on that. MacArthur came out and said a true Christian cannot vote for Biden. How can you with a clear conscience vote for Trump based on MacArthur’s criteria yet God is in charge; He will place in charge whom He pleases. As I spent the week researching I was appalled at my findings. Another church, which is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church pastored by Jack Trieber, is being fined every time they meet. No, that is not the appalling part. As I looked up who these people were IFB, I was astonished at the stories of sexual abuse that I came across. I am not going to go into the sordid (disgusting) details and the coverups in these types of churches. (Not just the Catholic churches with this problem) You have sexual manipulation of young women, adultery, rape, molestation by pastors, leaders and members and the list goes on and on. Along with the many that have come forward you can guarantee there are many more who have not come forward. Even at this church Jack Trieber is the pastor of, the president of their Baptist school was recently charged with rape. Of course he resigned and went to another church until he was charged. Same stories at MacArthur’s Masters college. Oddly MacArthur made this statement "It just simply needs to be said: Why in the world would we expect the nation to repent when the church won’t even repent? There are many people today running around calling for the nation to repent who need to be calling for the church to repent. Unless churches repent and turn from sin and pursue holiness, there’s no hope for the nation." - John MacArthur This came from his site Grace to You May 3, 2016. The rape allegations at his school came to light (or took place) I believe in 2017.
                I share a little of this because all these churches need to be the church and turn from their wicked ways. These churches with this sort of appalling environment need to be shut down if they refuse to repent. Jeremiah 2:1 “Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. 12 Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. 13 “My people have  committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Covering up or denial of these heinous crimes must stop. We saw this with Willowcreek and Bill Hybels where he became a god and could do no wrong yet as the women came forward, eyes were finally opened. The church like most defended the pastor but in the end the many voices were finally heard. Many times these predators resign and go somewhere else because their secrets are kept and blame is place solely on the victims. This predator culture in the name of God seems to be everywhere in the church. I do also understand there are those like Potiphar’s wife and her accusations of rape against Joseph. The church must have discernment and test the spirits but having said that these men must be held to account and not blame the woman every time. Psalm 10:2 “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 5 His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. 6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” 7 His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. 8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; 9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. 10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. 11 He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees. 13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? 14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out. 16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. 17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.” But God does see and the wicked will face His wrath. Jeremiah 8:6 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return? 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.” They will not get away with it.
                 If the church would start being the church, the world would change. You must know that these men will not get away with it. If they die before being found out they will stand before God’s mighty wrath. Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites when they were crossing the Jordon to keep their commitment, Numbers 32:23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” These men will stand before God almighty and be judged but some will feel God’s wrath as Proverbs tell us will come to light. Proverbs 26:24 “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. 25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. 26 Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.” So while we have these churches battling with the government, the truth is there is no conspiracy the church needs to worry except this one. The whole church lies in desolation due to its rebellion and we must repent and turn from our wickedness. Jeremiah 11:1 “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.” I answered, “Amen, Lord.” 6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’” 9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.” Isaiah 8:11 “This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”
                These are very strange times but God is in control. Trust God and He will make your path straight. Do not be afraid. If these abuses have happened to you, trust God and He will defend you. As you can see more and more of these predators are being found out. What you know as the church will be no longer. Remember just because someone stands at the front of a church doesn’t mean they are standing on God’s word. These false teachers will be pointed out. Ezekiel 13:1 “The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken? 8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. 10 “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
                As we wait for God to act trust Him. Psalm 27:13 “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Job 19:25 “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” 1 Chronicles 29:10 “David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”