The Red and the Blue
Notes
Transcript
politics
poly - Many
tics - blood sucking parasites
I remember a story about a government official who died , and his soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see an important government official around these parts, so we’re not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," says the man.
"Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."
"Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.
"I’m sorry, but we have our rules."
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course.
In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress.
They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and Diet Coke.
Also present is the devil, who, contrary to popular opinion...
really seems to be a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes.
They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
"Now it’s time to visit heaven."
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing.
They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns "Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."
The senator thinks about it for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage, and fire and brimstone...
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking through garbage as more garbage falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.
"I don’t understand," whines the senator "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank Diet Coke, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and fire and my friends look miserable. What happened?"
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...... Today you voted."
Now, for those of you who have voted, I want to publicly and from the pulpit thank you for your vote, for getting out and exercising your right to participate in the election of those who will oversee this great nation.
For those of you who have not yet voted, I want to encourage you to get out and vote . Make sure that your voice is heard. As the previous story illustrates somewhat amusingly, voting is important!
Its so important that I have been getting text messages and calls and emails for days wanting to help me “secure my vote”
In fact, I want you to know there was an election season miracle that happened yesterday.....I got more calls about securing my vote than I did about my car’s extended warranty....That’s a miracle of God right there.
Voting is important, but I know that anytime we deal with things that are important, there exists the opportunity for it to be polarizing, for us to have some issues and divisions, and so this morning I want to talk about politics.....specifically I want to assure you of some things this morning as we approach the upcoming election
God will NOT be Surprised Wednesday Morning
God will NOT be Surprised Wednesday Morning
No matter what happens on Tuesday night. whether your “guy” wins or loses, I promise you that God will not be surprised. none of what has happened this year, or will happen in the remainder of our lives is a surprise to God.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
From our limited vantage point, our lives are marked by an endless series of contingencies. We frequently find ourselves, instead of acting as we planned, reacting to an unexpected turn of events. We make plans but are often forced to change those plans. But there are no contingencies with God. Our unexpected, forced change of plans is a part of His plan. God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments. God does as He pleases, and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and our good.
…it is difficult for us to appreciate the reality of God sovereignly doing as He pleases in our lives because we do not see God doing anything. Instead we see ourselves or other people acting and events occurring, and we evaluate those actions and events according to our own preferences and plans. We see ourselves influencing or perhaps even controlling or being controlled by the actions of other people, but we do not see God at work. But over all the actions and events of our lives, God is in control doing as He pleases— not apart from those events, or in spite of them, but through them. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery— a malicious act in and of itself—but in due time Joseph recognized that through his brothers’ actions God was acting. He could say to them what we read in Gen 45:8
So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Brothers and Sisters, in spite of all the negativity, all of the doomsaying that we here about how this election will change the world forever, I want you to remember that God in His wisdom is not caught off guard by events in our world.
But in addition to the fact that God is not surprised, I want you to know that God’s Plan will not be changed
God’s Plan will not be Changed
God’s Plan will not be Changed
Not only is God not caught surprised, but God’s plan has not changed
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
God’s People are Called to Stand Together
God’s People are Called to Stand Together
This morning as all of you know we are going to be celebrating Communion, and today I want us to celebrate not just the facts of Jesus’ sacrifice, but the fact that as believers we were instructed to come together in corporate unity to clebrate our Savior.
A 2014 National Geographic article deals with the power of breaking bread together:
"To break bread together," a phrase as old as the Bible, captures the power of a
meal to forge relationships, bury anger, provoke laughter. Children make mud
pies, have tea parties, trade snacks to make friends, and mimic the rituals of
adults. They celebrate with sweets from the time of their first birthday, and the
association of food with love will continue throughout life—and in some belief
systems, into the afterlife. … Even when times are tough, the urge to celebrate
endures. In the Antarctic in 1902, during Robert Falcon Scott's
Discovery expedition, the men prepared a fancy meal for Midwinter Day, the
shortest day and longest night of the year. Hefty provisions had been brought on
board. Forty-five live sheep were slaughtered and hung from the rigging, frozen
by the elements until it was time to feast. The cold, the darkness, and the
isolation were forgotten for a while. "With such a dinner." Scott wrote, "we agreed
that life in the Antarctic Regions was worth living."
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
In this passage, Paul speaks against the church in Corinth for dividing themselves and neglecting the needs of others. This is what it means to take communion in an unworthy manner. They were treating others differently based on their place in society
But Gal 3:28 tells us something important that I think we ought to remember
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
See, so oftemn we get caught up in the need to divide ourselves. Red or blue, black or white, mael or female, and the list goes on, but Paul here is rebuking the Church because they have allowed the external divisions of man to invide the body of Christ.
Body of Christ I submit to you today, that it doesn’t matter your sex, age, race, political affiliation, or anything else.....if you believe in Jesus Christ as your ZLord and Savior then I want to embrace you as my brother or sister. I want you to know that while we may not agree on all things, that your worth and value before God is something that is undisputed, and something that we will stand with you and fight for. I want you to know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that your brothers and sister recognize it, and rejoice with you.
We are better together than we are apart.
With that said, I want us to receive communion together, but before we do, I want to take a moment and allow us to prepare our hearts and minds. To seek God’s mercy for anything that we have done ourselves, but also to repent and seek forgiveness for division, anger, resentment that we have harbored, for those that we may have treated badly through our zealousness in our ideals.
PRAY
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
