I found it interesting that today, as we share from Ephesians 6 on the helmet of salvation—which I introduced last week—this is also Memorial Day weekend. We remember those who died in war in their effort to maintain freedom for this nation in which we live.
I think it is only right that we give thanks for those who offered up their lives on our behalf, those who preceded us. For younger folks who are unfamiliar with World War II, I have not seen the movie Pearl Harbor, but it might do well to see that.
I found it interesting that this was the illustration the Lord gave me when I began this series on spiritual warfare: how we as a nation had passively looked on and saw the enemy’s work. But in our passivity, eventually the enemy attacked us. I used that as an illustration.
This morning I was thinking of the saints who had gone before—those who have maintained the faith, those who have fought the good fight, those who were not disobedient to the heavenly vision but pressed on though all hell was against them.
After World War I, the enemy went behind the scenes and began to work for twenty years until he developed World War II. Occasionally, we have great open warfare, but most warfare is hidden. It is behind the scenes. Because we do not recognize it and are not aware of it, we are often surprised or fall into our adversary’s trap. I think all of you by now are aware that this is a burden on my heart.
I was thinking of those saints, and there is a memorial to them in Hebrews 11. You can turn there if you would like. It speaks of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, David, and Samuel.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them and greeted them from afar,
and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.— Hebrews 11:13
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war,
turned to flight armies of aliens.— Hebrews 11:33-34
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword:
they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
(of whom the world was not worthy),
wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth.— Hebrews 11:37-38
And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise,
God having provided some better thing concerning us,
that apart from us they should not be made perfect.— Hebrews 11:39-40
Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith,
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising shame,
and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.For consider Him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against Himself,
that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.— Hebrews 12:1-3
What a memorial the Lord has given to these faithful ones who have gone before us in the faith, who ran the race with patience and did not faint though they were wearied.
This morning I want to encourage us all, brothers and sisters, in this great spiritual battle in which we are involved. This great warfare comes to us as Christians, and we must faint not. We are encouraged in the Lord only by looking unto Him, as we mentioned before in the matter of the shield of faith.
God says that they without us are not complete. Something must yet be completed. Something more is to be done, and we have a part in it. It also involves great spiritual warfare.
I remember the Lord’s words to Joshua a number of times: “Fear not, nor be dismayed.” Our great enemy is dismay. How the adversary wants to keep us oppressed and down.
Those saints who had to live in caves, dens, and deserts may outwardly have appeared to be defeated, as if they were not accomplishing God’s will. But they were standing in faith. They realized, brothers and sisters, that they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth.
That is what we are. So often we want to sink our roots here when we have no need to, because our home is the kingdom of God. That is what we are being developed for.
May we be encouraged this morning. We may be dismayed, but may our eyes look up unto Jesus. We may be fainting, but may we look to Him for encouragement, because there is grace to press on. There is always grace to press on—no matter how worn out, how destitute, or how much we may have failed.
Often, in the darkest hour, there is the greatest victory. Our Lord Jesus, in His darkest hour on Calvary’s cross, won the victory. Outwardly, the world surely said, “He has been defeated.” But He rose triumphantly, having overthrown hell and death.
This is the One to Whom we can look. This is the One Who is our life. Brothers and sisters, He is the Captain of the host.
It was mentioned in prayer meeting Wednesday night that when Joshua saw the Lord in the fields before he faced Jericho, this mighty obstacle, Joshua asked, “Are You for us, or for our adversaries?”
Nay; but as prince of the host of the Lord am I now come.
— Joshua 5:14
It is not a matter of the Lord being for us or against us, brothers and sisters. He has a great plan. It is a matter of us being for Him. He wants to be our Captain in this battle.
As we observe this holiday weekend and this time of memorial, may we remember those who went ahead—those who, by the grace of God, did not utterly faint but pressed on. May we be encouraged to press on. The Lord has great things in view.
I shared last time that sometimes the immediate blinds us to the eternal. Our immediate circumstances and immediate battles blind us to the great kingdom for which God is preparing us.
There is going to be a thousand years in which the kingdom of God is set up on this earth. We have an opportunity to be a part of that kingdom and to serve our Lord. Our service in His kingdom depends upon our response to His grace in this life.
That is part of the reason for this great warfare. In warfare, we must depend upon His life and not our own. We must learn His life, not ours. We are told to overcome, but we cannot overcome in ourselves. He has overcome. This overcoming life is in all of us, and that is what we have to learn.
That is why the enemy is still here. He is being used as a tool of God to train us. I have to say, that is real mercy. In the face and teeth of the roaring lion, it does not appear to be mercy, but it is. God is faithful.
Last week, I was traveling by train to Wilmington, Delaware, for a meeting. I was having an awful day. My train was two hours late, and I had only a thirty-minute turnaround to get back on the train to Richmond. Everything was falling apart.
A lady sitting next to me on the train began talking with me. It became obvious that she was a Christian, and we began to share about Christ and what the Lord had meant in her life. She shared a thought from her mother. She said, “You know, there is one thing Jesus cannot do.”
I said, “What is that?”
She said, “He cannot fail.”
That was so encouraging to me, particularly when I knew I had only a thirty-minute window to make. Praise the Lord, things did work out. I did not get to the meeting, but they met me at the station, and we worked some things out.
When I got back, I had a flat tire at one o’clock in the morning. Thunderstorms were rolling through, it was raining, and between thunderstorms I was trying to get this humongous tire back on my truck. You all have seen my truck.
It was an interesting day. I did not know how to take all that, and I am not sure that I still do. But I know one thing: that little thought the precious saint left with me is marvelous. There is one thing Jesus cannot do: He cannot fail.
That is the Captain of the host. May we be encouraged not to faint in our minds. The enemy wants to work on us and work on us.
Remember the illustration I shared last week about the fish—the walleye pike? His mind became so convinced that it was hopeless to get to the minnows that he gave up. The minnows began swimming all around him, and he still would not do anything. He had fainted in his mind.
For those who were not here to see the illustration, you will have to get the tape. But may we be encouraged on this Memorial Day to remember how much has been sacrificed—not only by the Lord Jesus Christ, but by multitudes of dear saints who, down through history, have stood in the midst of the battle.
Today, brothers and sisters, we stand on their shoulders, and we press on. We faint not in our minds. We need to encourage one another.
This brings us to the helmet of salvation. In the armor of Ephesians 6, we come to this instruction:
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
— Ephesians 6:17
We are talking about armor that we must maintain. We have already said that the armor is Christ. We must put on Christ. He is all of that armor. But what is this helmet? What does it mean specifically?
The helmet goes where? On the head. How critical it is for our heads to be covered in spiritual warfare. How critical it is that we maintain the covering of the Lord Jesus Christ upon our heads.
Basically, this means that Christ must be Head. We must maintain the headship of Christ. We must remain under the covering of the headship of Christ as He manifests it through His government in the world, in families, and in the church.
I find it interesting how critical helmets are. In most states in the United States, if you ride a motorcycle, you have to wear a helmet. There are some states where you do not have to. South Carolina, right?
I remember a man saying that when riders get to the South Carolina border on the way to Myrtle Beach, the “real men” take their helmets off and ride on in.
Unfortunately, that is us men, ladies. You have to forgive us. We have this testosterone thing going. We think that we do not need a head covering. We are tough, right? We can fall off a bike at seventy miles an hour and survive.
We know in our hearts that it is foolish, but we still do it because we are men. Head covering is so critical. No telling how many lives those helmets have saved, because if you ride a motorcycle long enough, you are bound to have an accident. It is just that way.
If any of you are considering getting a motorcycle, talk to my wife. You will not get one.
The point is that head covering is critical. Keeping our heads covered protects our minds. It covers a vital function in warfare, and that is what the enemy is after.
Remember what I said last week: the enemy is after your mind because he wants to get to your will. He must get to your will, and the only way he can get to your will is through your mind, activating the self-life.
He goes after the head. In a boxing match, you can pound the body and pound the body, but the purpose is eventually to hit the person in the head when he drops his guard. If you hit the boxer in the right place in the head, he is going out like a light.
It is always the head that the enemy is after. He goes for our head. We need to have our heads covered.
I pray that the Lord gives us grace this morning and that nothing I share will be misunderstood. When we talk about head covering, there can be much misunderstanding. May the Lord bless us and bind the enemy from twisting anything said here.
This matter of head covering is crucial in the way we operate in the world and in the manifestation of God’s authority. Because we misunderstand it, we often become offended by it. Give me an opportunity to finish before you begin saying, “Jerry, you are out of whack here. Jerry, you are just a chauvinist.”
Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 11.
Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Now I praise you because ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ;
and the head of the woman is the man;
and the head of Christ is God.Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.
But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head:
for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.— 1 Corinthians 11:1-5
For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God:
but the woman is the glory of the man.
For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man:
for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man:
for this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.Nevertheless, neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord.
For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God.— 1 Corinthians 11:7-12
This matter of covering is not primarily about the relationship between husband and wife. That is not what is on my heart. What is on my heart is this: the head of every man is Christ. We must keep our heads covered. The head of woman is man—her covering. The head of Christ is God.
I want to be very clear because we are so confused in the world today. The head of Christ is God. Think about that. This has nothing to do with equality. It has nothing to do with one being greater than the other. It has to do with God’s government.
It is the way God has ordained and arranged things. It does not mean that one is necessarily more spiritual than another. Remember: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
— John 1:1
Philippians says that Christ was equal with God, but He did not consider that equality something to be grasped or held onto in order to have authority. He humbled Himself and came as a man.
Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.— Philippians 2:6-8
In the relationship of Christ to God, Christ means the Anointed One, the sent One. God had a plan for redemption. God had a plan to restore man. God had a plan that Christ would be Head of the church and that from that a bride, a helpmeet, would be developed for Him.
God had this great plan, and Christ willingly submitted to the headship of God over Him so that God’s plan might be accomplished and God’s authority might flow down to man and out through this world.
Christ took that place. When it comes to God’s plan and God’s government, He establishes government through which His authority can flow. He establishes it in the world, in families, and in the church. It is God’s way. It is His choice.
Before I go further, I do not want any sisters to be offended. God has a unique and special place for all of us, whether women or men, brothers or sisters. We are all responsible to carry out our place in the Lord Jesus Christ so that His purposes and plans may be accomplished.
His authority is to flow down and be manifested not only in the world but also in our personal families and in the house of God. This is God’s way. It has nothing to do with one being greater than another.
The world’s concept is that leaders sit and give orders. But the Lord Jesus said, “Not so shall it be among you.” If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, you must be servant of all.
Men have a tremendous responsibility to maintain the headship of Christ in their lives. Why? Because when we fail in that, the authority of God flowing down to our families is temporarily cut off. It limits God’s power operating in our families because we fail in the headship of Jesus Christ as husbands and fathers.
It is important that we keep our heads covered under the Lord. That means that we are looking to Him for wisdom. He is our Head. If we maintain that order, His authority can flow in the family as it should—through vessels of authority to our wives and down to the children.
What is the children’s responsibility? They are to obey their parents. As they walk in obedience to their parents, the authority of the Lord flows into their lives.
What does this all mean? It means everybody’s head must be covered. In other words, we must maintain God’s government.
The Lord also says, “Servants, obey your masters.” Today, that refers to our workplaces. We have those in authority over us, and we need to have a submissive attitude. We may not agree with them, and at times they may do us wrong, but the Lord says, “Maintain My government. Keep your head covered.” Then His authority can flow into our lives.
Head covering is critical. All the acts of God are initiated from the throne, which is the seat of authority. All things are by His authority. When the Lord decided to create the universe, He spoke a word, and because there is authority there, it came into being.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
— Genesis 1:3
He just spoke. That is authority, brothers and sisters. He is authority. There is no other authority in this universe. My boss is not the authority. I am not the authority over my wife. Rather, I am a vessel through which the authority of God should be able to flow.
Our shortcomings as vessels of authority in God’s government limit God’s power to operate in our lives. His authority is absolutely necessary to carry out God’s plan and purpose, particularly in the matter of having a bride without spot or wrinkle.
There is no authority inherent in the governmental vessel. But those vessels need to cover their heads under God’s authority so that His authority can come through them. No one should ever think that he is the authority. That is the abuse we so often encounter.
In the beginning, God established government among the angels. Lucifer was the high archangel next to Christ. The angels, as far as we know, were the first of His creation to carry out and oversee the universe He had created.
I do not know whether angels were created prior to the universe or not, but they were vessels through which His authority would be carried out. Under Him were archangels such as Michael and Gabriel. There was government among the angels.
When Lucifer, the head angel, decided that he needed the place Christ had, look at the chaos generated from that. He did not keep his head covered. He uncovered his head because he wanted to take the place that Christ had.
Unwittingly, we do the same in our lives, individually and corporately. Sometimes we take charge of our lives, and our heads become uncovered. We basically get to the South Carolina line and take our helmets off.
But so much chaos and danger can come from that. We as men can create danger for our own families. Thank God for praying wives. We are flawed vessels, but we have been given a place in God’s government and His economy. We need to be aware of that.
Every place is important. It is not that one is higher than another—of course Christ is—but every place is important. Thank God that He allows us to be a part of His government.
There is government among humanity. God created man, male and female. He created Adam, and in order to make Eve, He took something out of Adam’s side and built Eve from Adam. This is God’s government.
When Adam and Eve fell, Christ was sent. As God’s Anointed One and as the Son of God, He was equal in relationship with God. When He became Christ and came to earth, He was still equal with God, but He did not allow that equality to interfere with His mission. He submitted His head under the authority of God.
The Lord Jesus said throughout His ministry, “I can do nothing of Myself.” He maintained the headship of God throughout His life in order to manifest His authority.
The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing:
for what things soever He doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.— John 5:19
The same is true with male and female, husband and wife. The issue is not who is greater than the other. The issue is maintaining God’s government.
I am not sure we understand the significance of maintaining God’s government. The Lord came saying, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Think about that. The kingdom of God on this earth is government, brothers and sisters.
Let me approach this another way. The Word of God says that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female. That is grace. But in His government, He recognizes husbands and wives, male and female.
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female;
for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.— Galatians 3:28
His grace is given so that His government may be maintained. His grace is given that He might bring His governmental kingdom upon this earth. Today, as Christians and in the church, we have an opportunity to manifest the government of God in our lives, in our families, and in the church.
That testimony is tremendously important: we recognize God’s government and stand under His government because we want His authority to flow into this earth, into our families, and into the church.
I think this is best illustrated through the parable of the pounds in Luke 19. Bear with me; it will take a little while.
In the parable, the Lord gives ten servants a pound each. When He returns, He requires an account. This is not the parable of the talents; it is the parable of the pounds.
One servant said, “Lord, You gave me this pound, and with it I have earned five more pounds.” The Lord said, “Good servant; because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over five cities in My kingdom.”
Another said, “Lord, You gave me this pound, and I have made ten pounds from what You gave me.” The Lord said, “Have thou authority over ten cities.”
Then there was the man who buried his pound. The Lord called him a wicked servant. How can you serve in My kingdom if you do nothing with what I have given you?
The pound is God’s grace, and it was distributed equally. It does not matter whether you are male or female, brother or sister. God’s grace is fully available to all of us. Each of us is responsible to work, live, and operate in and under the grace of God, attaining whatever is possible through His grace.
The Lord does not discriminate. We have all been given grace, and we have all been placed in God’s government. If we serve faithfully under His grace and with what He has given us in this world, in our families, and in the church, then one day we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
He may say, “You partook of so much of My grace, and yet there was some you did not enter into. In My kingdom, you will be over five cities.” To another He may say, “You have taken greatly of My grace. You have gone to the cross yourself many times. You laid down your life for the brothers and sisters. You maintained My authority, and I have been able to operate in your life. Therefore, I will make you ruler over twenty cities.”
Brothers and sisters, if I get there and am able to do anything, I hope He takes me from Ashland—somewhere.
The point is that we all have a place in God’s order. The book of Corinthians addresses so much disorder in the Corinthian church. Paul spoke of the headship of Christ and covering because there was so much disorder. He had to bring it to order.
In the order of God, there is government. We maintain that government by the grace of God, and it is not easy—particularly when you feel that the person responsible for you, or the person for whom you are responsible, is not doing so well. Husbands and wives can relate to that.
The parable of the pounds illustrates well the difference between God’s grace and God’s government. None of us should be offended, because when the Lord Jesus Christ took the lower place under God, He was not offended.
We should not be offended, whether on our jobs or in our families. How critical it is that God’s authority can flow down.
Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers:
for there is no power but of God;
and the powers that be are ordained of God.
Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God.— Romans 13:1-2
The Lord Jesus paid taxes, did He not? When the high priest said, “I adjure thee by the living God,” the Lord answered. He maintained God’s authority. He was far greater than that high priest, but He did not violate God’s authority even under trial.
Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake:
whether to the king, as supreme;
or unto governors, as sent by him.— 1 Peter 2:13-14
In the family, Ephesians 5:22 instructs wives to submit themselves to their husbands. Ephesians 6:1 says, “Children, obey your parents.” Ephesians 6:5 tells servants to obey their masters. Colossians 3:18-22 says much the same thing.
In the church, God has set up overseers, elders, workers, and apostles.
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.— 1 Timothy 5:17
My emphasis today is not double honor but the phrase “elders that rule well.” There is tremendous responsibility for anyone in leadership, because when our head is not covered, it affects the whole assembly. It affects not only your family but the assembly as well.
We must maintain God’s authority by keeping our heads covered: submission to God’s government.
I need to be clear, particularly in the relationship of husband and wife and in the house of God. Obedience is an act. Submission is an attitude.
When it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, we should have submissive hearts. Our attitude should always be one of submission. We should also always obey Him, because what He tells us is always true and right.
With the Lord Jesus Christ, there should be a submissive heart followed by an obedient act. We must always be obedient and submissive when it comes to Him.
When it comes to God’s government, through which He brings His authority, we know that He works through human beings, and we are all flawed in different ways. That is why, when He speaks to wives, He says, “Be submissive.” It is the attitude that we maintain.
Does that mean you have to be absolutely obedient to every human authority? The answer is no. On our jobs, we should have a submissive attitude toward those above us, but it does not mean that we can be absolutely obedient.
What if my boss said, “Jerry, if you ever go to that fellowship again, I am going to fire you”? Today he would get lawsuits, but I know that is not the Lord speaking through this man, and I cannot obey that.
But it does not mean I cannot be submissive. He might say, “I am going to give you three weeks off without pay for what you have done.” I would have to say, “Fine, I will do that. But I am going again.”
The whole issue in God’s government is a submissive attitude.
With children, the Word is very clear: obedience. Young people, I know you may struggle with that. One thing you find out when you become a teenager is that your parents are flawed.
Frankly, I have gone through this, so I can speak. We despise them a little bit, do we not? By “despise,” I mean that we think little of them. We do not think as much of them as we did when we were very small.
When we were small, they trained us to be obedient, and we did it. But as we grew older and wanted to be on our own, we wanted to come out from under the headship of our parents.
What a danger that is to young people and teenagers. When you think you can come out from the covering of your parents, God’s authority in your life shuts down.
That does not mean you cannot make some decisions. But your parents will let you know which decisions you can make. That is their responsibility and their charge in the Lord. That is God’s government in your family, and that is the way His authority flows down.
A teenager may come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ while his parents are unsaved. His parents may say, “I do not want you to go to church. I do not want you influenced by that religious community. I want you to be a free thinker.”
The child would have to say, “I need to go.” But to say, “No, I am going anyway,” is not a spirit of submission. Do you see the difference?
Brothers and sisters, this headship of Christ is critical, and we fail in it so much. We fail as husbands, wives, children, leaders in the church, and leaders in our workplaces. We fail in all kinds of ways.
There is no excuse. I am not offering excuses. I am simply saying, is this not subtle? Do you understand how important this head covering is—this helmet of salvation, this Christ covering our heads in all things, so that we maintain the government of God?
Let me give you some more examples. We always end up going back to Adam and Eve in spiritual warfare, because all the principles are right there.
To us, the great tragedy in the Garden of Eden is that Adam and Eve fell in disobedience. But something far greater and more devastating occurred: God’s government was overthrown.
They were to have dominion over the earth. They were to be vessels through which the authority of God would flow down to the earth, testifying to God’s power, grace, and authority. They failed.
The adversary came to Eve. God’s Word—not Jerry Amon’s word, not man’s word—says that Eve was made out of Adam. Yet we find Eve alone somehow in the garden, and the adversary approaches her and begins to speak with her.
At some point, she could have said, “I hear what you are saying, but I need to go and talk with my husband about this.” She never said that.
Her failure was not keeping her head covered. Eve took the place Adam had. I am not saying the man must make every decision, and I do not want anyone to think he just gives orders. That is absolutely wrong. But this was a significant event.
What Eve was saying, in effect, was, “I do not need Adam to make this decision. I do not need my husband in this. I can act on my own.” And she did.
Once she acted on her own, God’s government was overthrown. When she came to Adam, Adam failed also. Instead of appealing to God on her behalf, he chose to fall with her.
Do you see what happened? Do we have dominion over the animals? These animals are wild. Oh, brothers and sisters, how much was lost because God’s government was not maintained.
Let me give you a more personal example concerning the leadership here in Richmond. This is as much a confession as anything. We have shared this in meetings with brothers who met with us weekly.
Within the leadership, as we were trying to deal with a leadership issue, some of us asked, “Should we go to Stephen Kaung in this matter?” A couple of us said no. We said that would be following man and not the Lord, that it would mean we were not following the headship of Christ.
For the sake of trying to come to oneness, we held our ground. We did not go to our brother for a long period.
But listen to what Paul said to the Corinthian church:
For though ye have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers;
for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel.— 1 Corinthians 4:15
If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you;
for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.— 1 Corinthians 9:2
For those who do not know our history, Stephen Kaung was greatly involved in the early years and in the birth of this assembly. We try not to place emphasis on position but on function. If you asked him, he would say no, but his function is that of an apostle.
He carries tremendous responsibility as a vessel of authority before the Lord. The Lord chose that man, not us, and he helped raise up this assembly in Richmond. He is an apostle to the assembly in Richmond.
In trying to maintain the headship of Christ by not following man, we backed into the enemy’s trap. We actually shut off the authority of the Lord because we uncovered our heads.
We did not go to the one whom the Lord had given us for counsel. It was a leadership issue, and there is no doubt we should have gone to him.
We must stand before you today and say that we failed. We sinned in that. We uncovered ourselves and uncovered this assembly, and tremendous chaos resulted.
Is maintaining the headship of Christ critical? Absolutely. Is keeping our heads covered necessary? Absolutely. We unwittingly fell into that trap, but it did not make any difference. We know the results of it.
I want to be very clear: Stephen Kaung is not the authority. The Lord is our authority. But he is a vessel of authority.
It is like the husband. He is not the authority in the family. He is supposed to represent authority. If he is before the Lord as he should be, if he is covering his family as he should be, then the authority of the Lord can come through in his family.
But when he is at odds with the Lord, he puts his family at risk. I have been guilty of that. You have been guilty of that. We need to know how serious this matter is: the covering of our Lord Jesus Christ as Head.
In God’s government, these people—whether in the world, family, or church—are only vessels of authority. Think of ambassadors. An ambassador has no authority in himself, but if he goes to another country and says, “The president has given me authority to offer one million dollars to your country,” he acts under the headship of the president and on his behalf.
He can speak that word with authority because it has been passed down through him. He is a vessel of authority. In the same way, maintaining the headship of Christ is critical to allowing the authority of the throne to operate in the earth, in our families, in the world, and in the church.
We are flawed, and I do not offer that as an excuse. But we must be careful that we do not dismiss God’s government when we see a flaw in the vessel. Let me show you how seriously the Lord takes this.
Remember Saul. Saul was established as king. He was not really God’s man in the fullest sense; David was the true anointed one. Yet God anointed Saul as king.
All through Saul’s life, he gave David trouble. He pursued David to kill him. A couple of times David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he said, “I will not put forth my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”
Was Saul greater than David? Absolutely not. Was Saul more spiritual than David? Absolutely not. But Saul had been put in a place of governmental authority, and David knew that. He maintained an attitude of submission.
David even cried after cutting off Saul’s garment merely to show that he could have killed him. Even that wounded David’s heart. He was so sensitive in this area.
Remember the battle in which Saul was killed. An Amalekite came and reported to David that he had helped Saul die. He brought Saul’s crown and told David what had happened.
David called one of his soldiers and said, “Slay this young man.” And he did. I have often said, “Lord, how unfair.” After all, the young man only did what Saul asked him to do. Saul did not want to be captured by the enemy.
But David knew the seriousness of the matter. He said, in effect, “How could you touch the Lord’s anointed?” The young man had no right. He should have left it to God.
God establishes His government, and God takes down His government. When government fails and does not repent, eventually God takes it down. That is up to God, not man.
David understood how serious this was. In order to maintain God’s government, the covering, and the headship of God, he had the young man slain. Otherwise, he would have been held accountable and responsible for Saul.
Another example is when David brought the ark. David had a passion to bring up the ark of God because it had been in Obed-edom’s house and no one had been paying attention to it for years.
David put the ark on a new cart drawn by oxen. As it was being brought up, the cart tilted. Uzzah touched it, and he was killed. David was distraught because he did not understand.
As David read the Scriptures, he realized what he had done. The ark was supposed to be carried with staves placed through rings, lifted upon the shoulders of the priests, and carried by them.
What does that mean? If I put the ark on my shoulder, it means Christ is Head. I am maintaining the headship of Christ. David had it on an ox cart—man’s way.
David unwittingly uncovered his head in the way he brought the ark. He did not maintain the headship of Christ, and another man suffered for it. This is very serious, brothers and sisters.
Even David, so sensitive to this issue and so close to it, failed in that issue.
If we read these Scriptures about covering, we must understand that we are not submitting to man. Wives, you are submitting to God. That is the whole issue. If you maintain the government of God and maintain that head covering, you are submitting to God, not merely to man.
Subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.
— Ephesians 5:21
No matter where we are in God’s government, we must always be aware of the Lord’s speaking and responsible to hear Him. How many times has the Lord spoken to us as parents through our children? How many lessons have we been taught by our own children?
We should always be looking for the Lord’s will.
I want to end with this verse:
For this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
— 1 Corinthians 11:10
It is a strange verse. But remember that the angels fell because Lucifer uncovered his head before God. A third of the angels fell with him. As far as we can tell, there is no redemption for the angels.
When man fell because he uncovered his head, thank God that He chose to redeem us. Christ allowed God to be His Head. He came down as a man and died on the cross.
It was because Christ maintained the government of God that we are redeemed today. It is because Jesus Christ kept His head covered that we are redeemed, because He became obedient even unto death on the cross.
He maintained God’s government all the way through the death of the cross. We are restored because Christ maintained the government of God. How was God’s government restored on this earth? Not by man, but by Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross.
The world does not understand God’s government, but He is looking to His church to be a testimony to God’s government on this earth and to God’s headship. That means keeping our heads covered.
The angels fell. Man fell. Where is the testimony to the authority and government of God on this earth, brothers and sisters?
Sisters have a tremendously important responsibility here. It is a testimony to the angels, and only sisters can do this. It is not given to the brothers.
Sisters, with a head covering, you are testifying. Your hair is a head covering, but in this situation you add an additional covering as a testimony to God’s government and God’s authority on this earth.
You are saying, “I am standing in the place of God’s authority.” That is a ministry only sisters can perform. That is what the head covering is all about.
But putting the head covering on without the heart and without knowing what it means is of no value. It is a heart issue. It is something before the Lord. Only the Lord can show us this matter of government.
I could sit up here and spend forty hours on it, and it would not help. Only the Lord can enlighten us to His government and its importance. But when He does, sisters, you have a ministry to the angels through the head covering.
What you are really saying is, “I am standing for God’s government. I am standing for the headship of God over my husband, over the leaders in the assembly, and over Christ, with God being His Head. I am standing for that government—the same government to which Christ submitted.”
That is a testimony on this earth. It is very similar to baptism.
Baptism is an outward profession of the reality of what has happened in our lives. God requires us outwardly to confess what has inwardly happened through this act of baptism.
But do we force people to be baptized? No. You need to have a sensing in your heart: “I am the Lord’s. He wants me to follow Him in open confession as a testimony to this whole earth and to those around me.”
That is why we ask even young people to stand and confess before all. It strengthens them. It strengthens their inner man, because this outward confession and testimony are important.
When it comes to God’s government and authority, this is a privilege that only sisters can perform.
I have more to share on the headship of Christ. Next time, I will probably share from Romans 12:1-2, where we are exhorted to consecrate ourselves to the Lord, not be conformed to the world, and be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
But brothers and sisters, as I prepared for this, I said, “Lord, I do not know of any greater warfare than the warfare over maintaining the headship of Christ.” No greater failures have occurred in families, in this world, and in the church than failures to keep our heads covered and to remain under the headship of Christ.
We may think that we are under His headship and discover, unfortunately, that perhaps we have not been. But I do not mean this to be heavy. It is serious, yes, but not heavy.
The Lord wants to remind us how critical this matter is and how we need to respond to Him. Man is not the authority; God is. We are submitting to Him.
How the blessings of God can flow down when His government is maintained. Recently there has been quite a stir over the book The Prayer of Jabez. The Christian woman I met on the train to Wilmington had the little book, and I read it.
Some people struggle with it because there is no mention of the cross in Jabez’s prayer. But I will tell you this: God does want to bless.
But He needs that governmental flow to be maintained. When we keep our heads covered, the Lord can bless. When we are uncovered in any way, either wittingly or unwittingly, it stops that flow.
Lord, I come to You this morning. My heart is that we would have revelation of Your kingdom, Your government, and Your ways. Lord Jesus, show us what You want to do in our midst so that Your blessings can flow down.
Lord, forgive us for not maintaining Your headship, for not keeping our heads covered. I particularly confess on behalf of myself and my other brothers today. We did not do that, Lord. We failed in that, and there has been great confusion.
Lord, we come under Your headship and authority today. We submit ourselves to You. We ask that You would open channels of blessing, pour out Your Spirit in our midst, and do the work of God. Lord, prepare us for Your kingdom.
I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.