SERGEANT YORK!            DO 849            4/78

         1. The question of absolute obedience to authority has always been a problem. The Chain really overdid it, but there must still be SOME obedience, even if it's only to the LORD, me & the LETTERS!
         2. God's Word teaches it! This is something which in the months that I spent in the Army, especially in the hospital, was one of the greatest problems in the military at that time, during WWII, with all these boys who didn't really want to kill, but who knew they were being trained to kill. And so many of them, scores of them, came to me for answers.
         3. "Would you please help us? Will you please answer these questions? We're scared, we're worried, we want to know what to do!" And at first I hardly knew how to answer their questions. I said, "All I know is that
         4. "It says, `Thou shalt NOT kill.' But in the same code of laws for 27 different offenses it says `Thou SHALT kill'!"--Exodus 20-23. I tried to do something to encourage the poor guys, because some of them were about to fall apart over it.
         5. So I'd tell them the story about the famous Sergeant York of WWI. During the First World War they didn't have any allowance for Conscientious Objectors at all, & he was a C.O., refusing to kill people because of his convictions against it. He was a real Christian. He was a crack-shot with a rifle too, came from the Kentucky Mountains & loved to go hunting, so they wanted him in the Army. Finally they drafted him & sent him to France.
         6. He was out in a trench one day & somehow or another the Germans had circled them & gotten around behind them, & there were several German machine gun nests. They had surrounded them & were just mowing down the American boys with the machine guns virtually by the hundreds!
         7. He prayed about it & got the answer: "Sometimes you have to TAKE life in order to SAVE life". So he ATTACKED the Germans & he came marching out of the fog with 600 German captives single-handed!
         8. So I'd tell the guys the story of Sergeant York. I said, "You know, sometimes it's necessary to kill people to save lives; TAKE lives to save LIVES." I said, "After all,
         9. "The Bible says that's why the officer of the law carries a sword or gun: He doesn't carry it in VAIN--he intends to SHOOT somebody & maybe even KILL them if necessary to STOP them from committing crimes!" So I said, "Maybe that's what you're doing". Because some of them were really worried about it. I told them that sometimes in order to SAVE lives, they might have to TAKE lives.
         10. And this is the job of the police, this is the job of the Army. They need the encouragement of the knowledge of this. So I began to give this to the boys. I said, "Well, whatever you think about right & wrong, whether it's right or wrong, the thing is that God's Word says:
         11. "You are to obey the power, those that have rule over you." (See Romans 13) I said, "Whether they're right or wrong, it's right for YOU to OBEY; & if it's WRONG, it's not YOUR fault, it's not YOUR responsibility, it's THEIRS!" See? It was your duty & your job to obey, whether it was right or wrong.
         12. I want to tell you, the Army is really a human, physical example of what GOD expects, that your FIRST instantaneous reaction should be to OBEY Him & your superior officers without question, without even thinking whether they're right or wrong, because,
         13. The right thing is to OBEY! Do you understand? Really? TYL! (Toasts:) Here's to instant obedience to the Lord without hesitation!
         14. It takes FAITH to OBEY your officers. You have to believe that they know what they're doing even if you don't understand, but you OBEY. I believe the Lord, in a sense, permitted or created or allowed the military to be a real example of what God expects of HIS Army: Total absolute unquestioning LOYALTY!--Total absolute unquestioning OBEDIENCE & FAITHFULNESS, even if sometimes they're wrong!
         15. In a way I never particularly liked that saying, "My Family! My Family!--Right or wrong, my Family!" One of our early leaders applied it to our Family. But when applied to God-ordained leadership, it's true!
         16. Now, what is the responsibility of the officer besides obedience? I believe sometimes if the officer has a question or feels a doubt about executing the order, then it is his responsibility to VOICE it.
         17. "Well now wait, what about so-&-so? Now I think maybe we should do so-&-so. Don't you think maybe so-&-so?"--It's a form of witnessing, of warning the wicked of his wicked way, if you think it's wrong.
         18. I think if you have the least question about an executive order, that you should MENTION it. If you have any compunction about it, any doubt about it, if it just doesn't seem right to you, you ought to MENTION it, you should DISCUSS it, until you come to complete integral AGREEMENT if possible.
         19. Now, some suggestions you make to me, I'm not too sure of, but if you have strong convictions about it & leadership is wise, they will be willing to try & test it. I must be willing to say, "Well, I don't know, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. We'll see."
         20. I MIGHT even say, "Well, I doubt it, but let's try it & see." The only way we're going to KNOW is by putting it into effect & TRYING it. That's the acid test. If you desire to govern, you must give the people what they NEED, amen? PTL? TYL!
         21. But on the other hand, if I've gotten something directly & specifically from the Lord on the matter, it is my duty to obey THAT & not be dissuaded or stopped by others' doubts or questions. (Maria: So what is the responsibility of the officer who questions something?) It is only to QUESTION it & to MENTION it & to SAY it.
         22. But if this does not change the mind of your superior, then you have to carry it out whether you like it or believe it or not! God says, "OBEY them which have the rule over you in the Lord for they are responsible for your souls"--even if they're wrong!--Heb.13:17.
         23. (Maria: But if YOU are persuaded that YOUR superior is wrong, are you ever obligated to report to an even HIGHER authority?) Well, if there IS a higher authority to make an appeal to, yes, of course.--If there is a higher authority to whom you can appeal & bring your question & say, "I don't think this is right that they're telling me to do". If you CAN go to a higher authority, then that's different.
         24. However, you're usually risking your job, you're laying your life on the line when you do that, because you know that if you question your superior officer & appeal to a higher authority, you know your own boss may fire you!
         25. Lord, Thou art able to solve all of these problems, & all of these things are in Thy hands. (Prophecy:) "Thou dost not have to see nor understand all things, neither dost thou have to know the mind of thy father nor to understand all the Words of David, for all of these things which I have ordained are already in My hands & are finished." Hallelujah! TYJ! Amen, isn't that beautiful?
         26. You don't have to worry about anything, all you have to do is OBEY! Just DO what the LORD tells you to do & what I tell you to do, amen? In Jesus' Name. (Toasts:) To obedience!--Thank the Lord? "To obey is better than sacrifice, & to hearken than the fat of rams: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, & stubbornness is as iniquity & idolatry." Amen? "To OBEY is better than sacrifice, & to HEARKEN than the fat of rams!"--1Sam.15:22,23.

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