Title: A Christian Perspective of the Upcoming Elections

Text: Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17

Humor:

• A politician dies and ends up standing in front of the pearly gates. The angel looks at him for a second, flicks through his book, and finds his name."Hmmm…so, you're a politician?""Well, yes, is that a problem?"

  "Oh no, no problem. But we've recently adopted a new system for people in your line of work, and unfortunately you will have to spend a day in Hell. After that however, you're free to choose where you want to spend eternity!"

  "Wait, I have to spend a day in Hell?!" says the politician. "Those are the rules," replies the angel, clicks his fingers, and the guy wakes up, curled up with his hands over his eyes, knowing he's in Hell.

  Cautiously, he listens for the screams, sniffs the air for brimstone, and finds... Nothing.

  Nervously, he uncovers his eyes, looks around, and sees he's in a penthouse suite. and there's a smiling man in a suit, ready to serve.

  "Who are you?" the politician asks.

  "Well, I'm Satan!" says the man, handing him the drink and helping him to his feet. "Welcome to Hell!"

  "Wait, this is Hell? But... Where's all the pain and suffering?" he asks.

  "Oh, we've been a bit misrepresented over the years, it's a long story. Anyway, this is your room! The room service is of course free, as is the, there's extra towels next to the hot-tub, and if you need anything, just call reception. But enough of this! It's a beautiful day, and if you'd care to look outside..."

  Slightly stunned by the opulent surroundings, the man wanders over to the floor-to-ceiling windows through which the sun is glowing, looks far down, and sees a group of people cheering and waving at him from a golf course.

  So they head down in the lift, walk out through the glittering lobby where everyone waves and welcomes the man. He spends the day in the bright sunshine on the course, having the time of his life laughing at jokes and having fun.

  Later, they return to the hotel for dinner and have an enormous meal, perfectly cooked after which he returns to his penthouse suite, and falls into a deep and happy sleep...only to be woken up by the angel.

  "So, that was Hell. Wasn't what you were expecting, I bet?" "No sir!" says the man. "So then," says the angel. "You can make your choice. Is it Hell or Heaven, which has choral singing, talking to God, white robes, and so on?"

  "Well... I know this may sound strange, but on balance, I think I'd prefer Hell," says the politician. "Not a problem, we totally understand! Enjoy!" says the angel and clicks his fingers again.

  The man wakes up in total darkness, the stench of ammonia filling the air and distant screams the only noise.

  As he adjusts, he can see the only light is from belches of flame far away, illuminating the ragged remains of people being tortured or burning in hot brimstone.

  A sudden bolt of lightning reveals Satan next to him, wearing the same suit as before and grinning, holding a soldering iron in one hand and a coil of razor-wire in the other.

  "What's this?" He cries. "Where's the hotel? Where are the golf-courses, the pool, the restaurant, and the sunshine?"

  "Ah", says Satan. "You see, yesterday, we were campaigning. But today, you voted."

Introduction:

• We are going to have our elections on Tuesday (November 8^th) & I would like to give you a Christian perspective of the upcoming elections.
• Here are three statements that I would like to set up a groundwork for my message:

1. All earthly kingdoms are ‘nothing’ when compared to God’s eternal kingdom:

• In Daniel 2, we read that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream of a statue made partly of gold, partly of silver, partly of bronze, etc.
• Daniel alone could interpret the dream, and revealed that it spoke of upcoming world powers.
• Babylon represented the head of gold, and then after Babylon, kingdoms like Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome would emerge as world powers.
• Finally, a rock (which depicts Jesus Christ) would come and destroy the statue.
• A key lesson I learned from this is that we humans value powerful political structures just as we value precious stones!
• But in Daniel 7, we read that God gives Daniel a vision of these same kingdoms.
• When God shows Daniel HIS viewpoint of political structures, God depicts them as different kinds of savage beasts.
• They were each powerful in their own way, but nonetheless still savage beasts.
• And in that same vision, God then shows Daniel a view of Jesus as the Son of Man.
• Jesus Christ stands out as a “Man” compared to the beasts.
• God created humans to rule & have authority over all beasts and the rest of creation.
• So also, God’s Kingdom is so much more powerful than every earthly kingdom.
• But we need to have God’s viewpoint to see the eternal kingdom of God.
• This point to the vastly greater beauty and majesty of the Kingdom of God.

2. The ‘mixing’ of religious and political power is an abomination to God

• Revelation 17 and 18 talks about the immorality arising from mixing religious and political interests (Babylon depicts spiritual harlotry).
• Spiritual Babylon is identified by religious leaders that clamor for power (kings) in the seven mountains of political/societal influence.
• This is a clear picture of spiritual purity adulterated by the appeals of political power.
• Jesus has warned us that we cannot serve God and this world system (mammon).
• Jesus warns us against that which is great and esteemed in the eyes of men (like power and honor and money).
• So here we see the end result of a religious Christianity that has “a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality” (Revelation 17:4).
• This prostitution of Christianity has nothing to do with Jesus, and in fact wars against the true followers of Jesus.

3. God resists political powers that ‘magnify’ themselves

• In Daniel 8, Daniel has a vision of political powers that “magnify” themselves.
• We find that soon after these political powers magnify themselves, they get defeated.
• God is Sovereign and God establishes and removes rulers & governments.
• Psalm 75:7: "But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another"
• 1 Peter 5:5: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"
• God is watching the political structures as raging beasts but with little worth.
• As they seek to increasingly magnify themselves, God increasingly opposes them.

So based upon these three statements, here are a couple of key perspectives:

Key Perspective #1: God values His church but He views ALL political powers as beasts

• There is only one “Man” among beasts, namely Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
• The kingdom of Jesus is not of this world.
• John 18:36: Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
• The fight that King Jesus fights is for the eternal destiny of individual souls.
• He laid down His life for this cause, and He counts the hairs on each person’s head.
• That’s how much He loves each and every human being.
• The church of Jesus Christ is the only special group of people to God today.
• Based on Galatians 3:14, the people of God who put their trust in Jesus are the recipients of the blessing of Abraham under the New Covenant.
• These blessings under the New Covenant are primarily spiritual, not physical.
• So the people of God are to be blessed with the life of Jesus in His purity, love & faith.

Key Perspective #2: There are really only two Kingdoms that are in an all-out war

• As a Jesus-follower, I must have a laser-focus towards the only two relevant kingdoms: The Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness.

• The kingdom of Light ruled by Jesus & the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan.
• The kingdom of Jesus is NOT of this world (John 18:36).

• So I am PRIMARILY a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
• My primary fight is against the kingdom of darkness, headed by Satan and his forces.
• When we don’t see this as the clear thrust of the message of Jesus, we will go astray.

• If I as a Christian don’t constantly live as a soldier who is in a fierce battle against Satan, then also I have a misplaced priority about the REAL fight I am supposed to be engaged in.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO BEFORE THE ELECTIONS?

1. Let’s reset our allegiance to point fully towards God’s Kingdom.
2. Let us OFTEN remind ourselves who the Captain in our Kingdom army is.

• Daniel 4:35: “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?”
• Matthew 28:18: And [the resurrected] Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

3. Let us ask ourselves if we have an overriding attitude of rest in this great God.
4. Let’s recommit to making the devil and the kingdom of darkness our only enemy.
5. Let’s realize that we are in the fight against the kingdom of darkness that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy souls.
6. Let’s commit to be soldiers for the kingdom of Light against the kingdom of darkness
7. Let’s use our weapons of warfare to fight the kingdom of darkness

• Prayer and fasting
• Fight against self-centered pride that rejects the true knowledge of God as both almighty, as well as our Heavenly Father (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
• Building our lives on the Word of God, which is our sword (Ephesians 6:17).

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ON THE ELECTION DAY?

1. We must strive to always maintain a clear conscience (Acts 24:16; Romans 2:15; 1 Corinthians 8:7-12).

• It is indeed a privilege to be given the chance to vote.
• However, if your conscience prevents you from voting for a particular candidate, you should not vote no matter what anyone tells you.
• To stifle our conscience is against the will of God.

2. The vote that we must make is to vote through prayer: both individually in our personal prayer time, and corporately through our prayers with our local church.

• “We vote in the prayer meeting. And our candidate always wins!” Because it is “God who promotes one and deposes another” (Psalm 75:6)
• “There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1).
• The Goliath we fight is the devil and his forces of sin…and the stone in our sling is prayer…that’s the stone (vote) we cast at the enemy of our souls.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO AFTER THE ELECTIONS?

1. Honor the next leader who gets elected as President

• And no matter who gets elected as the next President, we have our marching orders. from a man of God who lived under a king who was a 1000 times more anti-Christian than any potential political leader today.
• 1 Peter 2:13-17: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king”
• So after the election results are announced, we will honor whoever is elected as the next President of the United States – whether man or woman.

2. Speak about the next President only in respectful terms

• We will also ONLY speak about this person in respectful terms, because that’s what the command to honor very simply means.

CONCLUSION:

Let’s all have a greater heavenly (Kingdom of Light) perspective as we approach the U.S. national elections:

1. Every political power is some type of “beast” that slowly but surely seeks to magnify itself against the rule of Jesus Christ.
2. As Christ-followers, we must live as soldiers in the army of the all-powerful King Jesus, and in an all-out fight against the kingdom of darkness, headed by Satan.
3. Our weapons in this fight are prayer and fasting, and humble obedience to God’s Word.
4. Our vote is wholeheartedly cast for Jesus and against Satan.
5. The moment a person is made a leader of a country, we MUST honor the leader(s) of the government, no matter who they are.

• Let’s all rise as we pray for the United States of America.
• 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land"