This week we are talking about politics.
Yay!
If you are anything like me,
you don't necessarily want to talk about politics.
You're kind of sick of politics.
And you're thinking the last thing I want to do
is talk about politics.
But we do not live in some kind of utopia
where we can kind of check out when it comes to politics.
We live in this world.
And what does Jesus say about living in this world?
Well, let's see what Jesus says.
On one time,
he's on a hill and he's preaching and we call it the Sermon on the Mount.
This is in Matthew, chapter 5 and this is what he says:
So, there's a couple things that Jesus is saying when he says that
you are salt and light in this world.
Number one, that you are valuable.
You can imagine at that time we got our word "salary" from "salt"
because it was so valuable at preserving things.
And he says "You are light of the world"
and you can imagine in a world where we do not have
harnessable electricity what light meant.
So you are valuable as a believer.
But what else is Jesus saying?
Jesus is saying this:
You are also
an influencer in this world.
You are salt in this dying and decaying world.
And if you're not going to do something about it, who is?
You're light in this world.
If you're not going to shine with the light of Christ
and if you're not going to proclaim
his mission and if you're not going to let people know about acceptance and love
and all the things that go with what Jesus says,
who is going to do that?
One of the ways that you do that,
dramatic pause,
is go out and vote.
Now, you might not like politics.
And it doesn't matter if you're an 18 year old at junior college
and this is your first election ever.
It doesn't matter if you're a 78 year old grandma and you've been in countless elections.
What matters is that you are salt
and light in this dark world.
And God says, "Go and be influencers."
Because you have value and you can do something about it.
Now, how you vote,
how we talk about politics,
that's what we're going to be talking about this week.
Let's pray.
Dear heavenly father,
A lot of us do not like politics.
In fact, we're sick of talking about politics.
But we want to know what you say in your word when it comes to living in this world.
We don't live away from the world.
We live in a world where we can actually do something.
We can be salt and light in this world.
And, just through our vote, and just through our advocation,
we can do something to stop
the decay in this world.
And we can shine bright with the light of Christ.
We ask that we do this every single day.
Amen.
I don't know if you know this and I don't want to break it to you.
But, Jesus is not a Republican.
He's not a Democrat and he's not a Libertarian.
But, wouldn't that be great?
Wouldn't it be great if we didn't even have to think about voting?
And we could just stand up like Joshua and say,
"As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
And we check that box. You don't have worry about morality.
You don't have to worry about past histories.
You don't have to worry about lying and deceit and double-talk.
And you don't have to worry about stupid tweets.
How awesome would it be if we could just check a box?
But, you know what Jesus says
to Pontius Pilate,
Jesus isn't on the ballot.
Which means, voting's hard.
You have to look at all the issues and you have to ask yourself,
"What is the definition of marriage?"
You have to look and say,
"What does God say about helping the poor?"
As he says all the time in the Bible,
are we doing that as a group of people?
What does God say about end of life issues, like abortion?
And what does God say about euthanasia?
All these things you have to wrestle with and try and figure out the right answer.
And I wish it was as easy as just checking the same box
and shutting it down.
But as a believer,
voting is hard.
And God has called you to be salt and light in the world.
Jesus left his kingdom
to come to our kingdom.
Not to rule.
Jesus left that kingdom to pay for our sins.
And he gives us the peace of mind that we have somewhere to go
but until we're there,
we've got to work
and we have to vote
and we have to look for those people who are marginalized.
All of that rests on our shoulders
and God gives you the ability to do that.
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, it would be so easy
if we could just check a box and know that all the decisions were taken care of.
But, instead in this world, we've got to wrestle with morality.
We have to wrestle with lies.
We have to wrestle with trying to make the right decision.
Help us do that with a clear heart that looks at Your Word.
And help us do that
with the knowledge that knows that we stand forgiven with you.
And now with clear eyes, we can look at what the world says
and what is best for our neighbor
as we go out and be advocates in this world.
As we go out and vote.
We ask this in Jesus name, our Savior.
Not our king
in this world but our king in the world to come.
Amen.
As you get ready for the elections this year, I want you to know something.
Chances are, someone that you do not want to win is going to win.
And that matters, and let me tell you why.
So 1958, you can imagine, they did a Gallup survey and they asked this question:
So 1958, you can imagine, they did a Gallup survey and they asked this question: "Is it okay for your son or daughter to marry someone of a different race?"
"Is it okay for your son or daughter to marry someone of a different race?"
So, an interracial relationship.
Of the whole population 1958,
only 4% of people said it was okay.
Now, we've kind of grown as a nation.
And if you do the same survey today,
87% of people say,
"Hey, no big deal.
If my son-in-law is black and I'm white, that's no big deal."
Well, what about politics?
Does it matter
who your son or daughter-in-law, or future son and daughter-in-law would be
as a Democrat or Republican?
Well, it turns out, it does matter.
They did a survey in 1958
and they asked this question.
All things being equal,
does it matter?
Well, 18% said I prefer a Democrat.
10% said a Republican, which might sound like a lot.
However, what that means is this:
72% of the population does not care, in 1958.
Do you think the same thing would be true today?
They did a survey.
And when they did it this time they said
28% would prefer a Democrat,
27% Republican,
which means that for more than half of the population,
it matters if you son or daughter-in-law
is a Democrat or a Republican.
Which also means,
it's not like when I go shopping for a car
and I want gray or grayer.
It doesn't really matter.
To a lot of people,
someone is going to be voted into office that you very
much disagree with.
What is that like
to serve under people that you disagree with?
Well, I think we look to the Bible and I've got
a section in the book of Daniel.
And it's got a lot of Old Testament words so stick with me.
So, just to get you up to date.
They wrapped around the city
and they took the stuff from their temple
and started using it in a pagan temple
and then one more thing:
Did you ever hear of Daniel?
Well, Daniel is, in this time, they besieged his city.
They take the stuff from his temple and now instead of being royalty in his hometown,
he now has to serve under a man who obviously does not believe in the same God.
So, what do we learn from this?
I think we learn this:
Just like Daniel, we have to look out and understand that God is ultimately in control.
Just like Daniel,
we have to understand that there's people in our political party,
and just because they're in your party doesn't mean you have to agree with what they say.
Some things they do are going to be good
and some things are going to be detestable.
You don't have to defend that.
But, just like Daniel,
we can advocate for the poor and just like Daniel,
we can pray to a God.
We know that God is in control.
And we can pray that God works in the minds and hearts of our officials
and that God helps them make wise decisions
that are good for all people, not just themselves.
Why don't we pray just for that.
Heavenly Father, we know you are in control
and there's days that are frustrating because we serve under people that we don't agree with.
But we know that you're going to take care of all things and most often you took care
of our salvation through Christ so help that be a security that we have
as we advocate for those who are marginalized and that don't have a voice.
And be with our officials.
We might not agree with them, but help them look in wisdom
for the good of our nation and not just themselves.
We ask this in your name.
Amen.
I have this ceiling fan in my house
that is so disobedient.
I can hit the button to speed it up and slow it down.
It always listens,
but when I want the lights to dim,
I'm going to have a romantic evening
with my wife and I want the lights to dim.
I can hold it. Nothing happens.
I can morse code it. Nothing happens.
It just mocks me.
And then I'll put it in the basket.
And when I do that, the lights will shut off.
I don't know if you know this, but life is a lot easier when you can control outcomes.
I like that the car starts when I want it to.
I like that doors open when I turn the knob.
I like that my dog listens, usually, when I tell him to do something.
But, you know what the best part is?
Like, truly the best.
Is that every single one of my friends
believes exactly the way I do politically.
We can have a conversation and there's never a disagreement
because I can control what they're going to say and believe and think.
Now, if you eat something wrong and that doesn't disagree with you,
do you really think it's true that you can control your friends?
The answer is obviously no.
So, how do we handle this?
Like, what do you do in that situation when you can't do this?
Well, there's a couple things that we need to know.
The only thing that changes hearts
is prayer,
and when it comes to morality and what the Bible says,
prayer,
the Holy Spirit working through God's word
in an open dialogue.
How many of those things can you control?
You can pray.
And you can control yourself.
Whenever it comes to politics, I like to think about
David's psalm. It's Psalm 24 and I think of this one because
it puts me in a mind of humility that the
things that I have from God have come from God.
This is Psalm 24.
And what he is doing
is he's describing the one who gets to enter God's presence.
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart.
Of course, why do you get to enter God's presence?
Not because you're so awesome.
Not because you're so great.
It's only because Christ has died and given you that.
So, what is our takeaway on this?
It's simply this.
If you're going to change someone's mind,
you think that it's really going to work with email forwards?
Do you think it's really going to work with Facebook reposts?
Do you think it's going to work with flippant comments at cocktail parties?
Or,
do you think it's going to work with a humble heart,
with an open dialogue
and let the Holy Spirit work?
I'm going with prayer and the Holy Spirit.
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, there's some things in politics that really don't matter.
There are some things that really do matter and it's hard on our hearts.
And it's difficult. And we want to change people's minds
and we know that it's not going to work because it doesn't change our mind.
Help us to have a humble heart
that approaches each conversation as an opportunity.
An opportunity to let your truth shine
and do that in a humble way.
And we pray that the Holy Spirit works on hearts
so that people can understand what is best for
your perspective, not just ours.
We ask this in your name.
Amen.
I don't know if you know this, but the world is crazy.
There's pedophilia and pornography and moral scandals.
There's lies, there's deceit.
It doesn't seem like there's a Christian leader in sight.
There's wars. There's rumors of wars. There's murder.
You know what's even crazier?
That the Christians who lived 2000 years ago, the very first generation of Christians,
could have said the same thing as they ruled with the Romans.
Moral decay and all this corruption.
So, where does this put this?
Do you ever wonder, like,
"God if you are in control
"and you can make the nations do whatever you want,
"why do you let the people that are so far from you rule the nations?
"Why do you let this happen?"
Well, once in a while, God pulls back the curtain of prophesy.
And, we see that in the book of Daniel.
And he has this statue and it shows a couple things.
It shows that the Babylonians were going to be defeated by the Persians.
And then the Persians by the Greeks.
And then the Greeks by the Romans.
"But still God, what are You doing?"
Like why do you let them thrive?
Well, we see that God even works through those ways.
He lets Pharaoh
bend to his will to let his people go.
We see God, unbeknownst to Pilate,
crucify the Savior of the world.
And you think, Nero and Diocletian were thinking,
"Well, this is going to spread the Christianity faith"
as they persecuted them?
No.
But God's in control, so what does this mean?
I don't know what's going to happen next week.
I have no idea.
But, I do know this.
That God is absolutely in control.
And there's no man, there's no woman,
there's no political country
that is outside of God's influence.
But, you know what I do when I'm really feeling a little bit scared?
A little bit worried about where things are going?
I think of passages back from when I was a kid.
And this is from Isaiah, chapter 9 that tells us what kind of God we have.
This is Isaiah, chapter 9.
And it's a prophecy.
No matter who's in office now,
their rule is going to end.
But God's reign
lasts forever.
So, go be salt and light in the world.
Be an informed voter and advocate and look out for our country.
And take a stand
to let God's will permeate,
but also know that God took a stand on this earth
and he went to a cross
so that we don't have to worry about this earth
because we have a place to go.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, the world is crazy.
You lived in it as you came here.
You left Your kingdom to come here.
The world crucified you and rejected you.
We pray that we have a heart that knows you
and that we have a heart that recognizes that
we can't control the world
but you can.
And when we don't understand it, we pray that we just humbly accept your will
and understand that you're going to make things work
the way that you want them to work
so that your plan always happens for the people that love you.
We ask this in Your name.
Amen.