2 Chronicles 34:1-2

2 Chronicles 34:1-2

Our country is on the brink of what some may consider the most important election to date. An election that will determine the direction of our country for the next four years. And amid this election we are seeing a nation that is divided over so many important issues. It has become quite overwhelming. This year I have received 100s of emails related to a candidate that wants me to support and vote for them, I have received countless text messages telling me that I need to get my ballot turned in as time is running out, I have opened my mailbox and found what one could describe as massacre of trees with different candidates telling me why I shouldn’t vote for another, and I have seen so many ads on television and on the computer, that I just want to throw it in the garbage. And this is just the tip of it.

I know that many of us have become quite frustrated with this election and are ready to see it be over with. But it is important that we exercise our civic duty and cast our vote. But the question that is asked by so many, “who do I vote for?” Well, I am not a liberty to tell you exactly who you should vote for, but I can say that we need to vote according to the Bible. And that is what has led me to this passage today.

2 Chronicles 34:1-2 “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.”

Now from this passage we find some key indicators on how we as Christians ought to vote. Consider first…

That Great Leaders don’t always have a lot of Experience (verse 1a)

· Josiah was only eight years old when he began to reign in Judah. Could you imagine having someone that young leading you?

· We look at youth and we disregard them, that their opinion doesn’t matter.

· 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

· Some children have a closer walk with the Lord than some of us who are much older.

· Now do we learn from experience? Absolutely, however, just because a person may not be what we consider leader material doesn’t mean they won’t be a great leader.

Leaders can have an impact for many years (verse 1b)

· When Josiah began his reign, he sat on the throne of the southern kingdom for 31 years! What a lengthy reign. Imagine the impact he had on that country.

· When we think of a president, we think 4-year terms with 2 terms being the max. We say, well if we don’t like him, in four years we can vote him out. But listen, the effects of a person in the office of president has effects for the years to come.

· When we go and vote, we are not voting for the next four years, we are voting for many years to come!

· Now our country limits how long a person can serve as president, but there are some offices that don’t have term limits, and we have to remember that.

· The direction of our country can be affected with someone who serves a two-year term or a four-year term.

· One of the positions appointed by the president is for the supreme court. These individuals look at the constitution and they interpret what they feel the law is saying. Listen if we get someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus and His Word, they can appoint ungodly people to this position.

We need to vote for Leaders who live Godly lives (vs 2a)

· Now one of the best ways we can tell how to vote for someone, is by the way they live their life before God.

· Here was a leader in Josiah who in the Word of God did what was right in the sight of the Lord.

· A person who is leading our state or nation, needs to be a person that agrees and believes and follows the Word of God. And, has a life that demonstrates faith publicly and privately.

· Now this serves as a reminder to us, that as we lead our homes, we need to live lives that are right in the sight of the Lord.

· When a man or a woman who stands up and says that abortion is okay, or they say that it is okay to allow immoral lifestyles, or a person who is willing to lie about their personal life – is not a person that we can vote for.

· So, what does it mean to have a life that is right in the sight of God? It means, to be a person that lives by faith and according to the Bible, who is a “believer.”

· Now, I know that not everyone who runs for a seat or position are always Christian. But that is when we need to vote by the life of that person and their position on the issues.

· When Josiah was leading, Josiah was not living a life of immorality, he instead lived a life that was right in the eyes of God. Did this mean that Josiah was not a sinner? NO, it just meant that when he sinned, he turned away from it and turned back to the Lord.

· Now it is imperative, that we have a life that is righteous as well. That we get up each day with Christ in our heart and we live a life that is pleasing to God. Not a life that is approved by the world and its standards, but a life that is right in the sight of God.

· Years ago, the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor's saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.

· Listen, we need men and women who are going to live a life that is right in the sight of God, and that starts with us right here today.

We need to vote for the one who is not swayed by the right or the left, but steadfast for Christ. (vs 2b)

· In the world we live in, there are always these groups that are pulling at a person to be joined with them. Lobbyist and special interest groups try to appeal to a person with money and gifts.

· Well here was a young man, who came to know the Lord, who was placed as the leader of a nation, who didn’t look at politics, he looked to the Lord.

· Oh, if so many of us today would quit looking to democrats and republicans, to the right or to the left, and would just start looking to Jesus. Then we would find the way our families, churches and nations should go/

· Now you are going to the polls this Tuesday, don’t be swayed by the right or left, be swayed by God in how to vote and do your part.