Indecision 2020

The promises and plans of man will fail, but God’s promises are forever

2 Cor 1:20 “20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory”

Presidents make all sorts of promises that never come true, but God cannot lie

Heb 6:18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie

Spurgeon ““God never gives his children a promise which he does not intend them to use. There are some promises in the Bible which I have never yet used, but I am well assured that there will come times of trial and trouble when I shall find that that poor despised promise, which I thought was never meant for me, will be the only one on which I can float”

You cannot break God’s promises by leaning on them

Our morality and ethics are not determined by our country

Joshua 24:14-15 “14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

While we hope and pray that a Christian would lead our country, we do not need a Christian president to live out Christian ethics

Luke 20:21-25 “So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

No matter who is president, Jesus is still King

Rev 19:16 “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

On April 18, 1775 John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Rev. Jonas Clarke, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night Paul Revere arrived to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. The next morning British Major Pitcairn shouted to an assembled regiment of Minutemen; "Disperse, ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England." The immediate response of Rev. Jonas Clarke or one of his company was:"We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus."

God is called Sovereign multiple times in the Scriptures

Even when we are perplexed and confused- Jesus is still in control and worthy of our praise.

It has been a long week. A week of waiting, watching, and anticipating the call of the election. This election cycle has been extremely volatile and laced with conflict, attacks, slander, and hate. While I think it is safe to say that most people did not anticipate having a clear winner by Tuesday, a lot of the circumstance and variables caught many of us off guard.

On top of that, there is talk of lawsuits, potential recounts, perhaps even intervention by the Supreme Court. There is a high likelihood that the unrest and conflict in this nation is not going to be over anytime in the near future.

So, this week as I opened my Bible I found myself meditating on some Scriptures for this season, and today I want to share with you what God laid on my heart. Please hear me, there is nothing in this sermon that is meant to speak to either candidate. I went to the polls on Tuesday morning and voted; I voted for the candidate I felt like would do the best job; and that is done. This sermon is not meant to criticize either Mr. Biden or President Trump- it is meant to help us, as a community of faith, find a steady foothold for the next season of life in the USA.

So, today I want to share 5 thoughts for Indecision 2020

The Promises and plans of men fail, but God’s Promises are always Faithful

We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory”

So much of the political game is based on promises. The commitments that the candidates make every election cycle, many of which they fail to execute or deliver on. Why? Well, there are a few reasons, I think, but 2 stick out. First, candidates are still humans beings who have a tendency to drop the ball on their promises, tell lies, and give misleading cues because of sin and two, even though the President is the leader of America, they still have a limited scope of authority. Both of these are not true about God.

As for the first one, all of us have the potential to fall short on our promises, tell misleading facts, and even lie about our intentions, the difference is most of ours are not published in the NY Times like Presidential Candidates. But Hebrews 6:18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie.

And the second? No president is the ultimate authority in this country. The Congress, Supreme Court, and others have important roles to play. There is a limit to the authority of the President. But God speaks in Isaiah 45:18 “For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.” God is the ultimate authority, he can do what he wants when he want, there is nothing in Heaven or Earth that can stop him- period.

Think about that, you can visit either candidates website and go down their list of promises and plans, and be pretty well guaranteed that some, if not most of them will never happen.

The President says he will lower healthcare costs. Maybe so, but the Bible says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” and that is an unwavering 100% guarantee

The President says he will create new and better paying jobs. Maybe so, but God says he has plans for you to give you a hope and a future and that is a guaranteed promise- take it to the bank for God does not fail.

Do not embrace the spirit of confusion or division

Let’s be honest, Satan wants us confused and divided, because people who are confused and divided are easy to mislead. The Bible is clear about confusion:

1 Cor 14:33 tells us plainly “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace”

I once read a story about a speedboat racer who had recently survived a racing accident. He said that he had been at near top speeds when his boat veered slightly and hit a wave at a dangerous angle. The combined force of his speed and the size and angle of the wave sent the boat spinning crazily into the air. He was thrown from his seat and propelled deeply into the water—so deep, in fact, that he had no idea which direction the surface was. He had to remain calm and wait for the buoyancy of his life vest to begin pulling him up. Once he discovered which way was up, he could swim for the surface.

As Christians we need to resist the urge to react to the confusion that is surrounding us in these days. We need to be still and know that God is still present. We need to remain calm and wait for our God- our life vest- to pull us back to a safe place of living.

Just as dangerous as confusion is division. Listen to Paul’s words in 1 Cor 1:10-15

English Standard Version Chapter 1

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.

Does this sound familiar? Not too many Christians proclaiming Cephas or Apollos- but I sure have seen a lot of “I follow Trump” or “I follow Biden” Well, I got news for you. I follow Jesus!

Of all the sins that existed in Corinth when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians- drunkeness, sexual immorality, lust, adultery, and all the others- they FIRST THING he addressed was division. Why? Because Paul knew that division was a cause to the other sins, not that the sin was the cause of the division.

It really is the opposite on how we often operate. We think that if we all believed the same the divisions would be gone. We try and address the symptoms.

Paul was clear, the first step in this reconciliation was to lay down the claims of “Cephas is holier than Apollos, so I am a true Christian” or “Apollos is more Christlike than Cephas, so I am a true Christian” and pick up the conviction that Jesus- and only Jesus- is the one I have pledged allegiance too.

Ultimately, our Morality and Ethics should not be Determined by our Country

Yes, best case scenario is that our country always elects a practicing Christian with orthodox beliefs- but that is not the case in many scenarios. And, it is not a requirement for a faithful Christian life. So, while we should pray and work to call Christian leaders to office, we also need to remember that the direction of our country has no bearing on our moral stance as followers of Jesus.

A few years ago when the Supreme Court ruled on Same Gender Marriage I preached on Joshua 24:14-15 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. if th And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

At some point we must make a choice on who we will serve, and many times that choice will put us at odds with the world and the people around us. But, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to bow the statue of Neb, we too have a choice to make that when the laws, practices, and direction of the country we live in stand against our faith, it may cost us, but we are to stand on the truth of God. if we were honest, both political parties have policies and agendas that stand against the Bible, but those are not our ultimate authority. Even if the USA legalizes abortion, same gender marriage, drug use, or any other thing, I will still stand against them as a minister of Jesus Christ.

Even Jesus knew that we would have to do this. When he was confronted about taxes he offered these words to his disciples in Luke 20 ““So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus taught us that there would always be moments when we had to separate our faith from the country we lived in. In fact, a majority of the Bible is written with Christians swimming upstream against the political parties of their day.

No Matter who is President, Jesus is still King!

In Revelation 19 we read a description of what Jesus will look like when he returns to Earth and the climax of his description ends with “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

I am so glad that I do not need the Electoral College or the Board of Electors to tell me who the King of Kings is! There is no need to verify it, or authenticate the opinions of others, it is stated clearly that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The term that the Bible uses is sovereign- defined as “a person with supreme authority and power” Meaning it is God who sits at the top of the totem pole, the pecking order, the power structure of this universe. So, no matter who wins this election, or any other election for the rest of the history of the USA, it will not dethrone or eclipse the sovereignty of our God.

Many people have said that the President of the USA is the most powerful person in the world- and if that is true, the best they will ever been is second place behind The Good King Jesus.

So, the question for us is what do we do in response to that sovereignty? After all, God can be sovereign in the universe and never be sovereign in your heart or your life until it is too late. The call of Christians is to allow God to be sovereign in their lives and hearts just as he is in the world.

On April 18, 1775 John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Rev. Jonas Clarke, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night Paul Revere arrived to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. The next morning British Major Pitcairn shouted to an assembled regiment of Minutemen; "Disperse, ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England." The immediate response of Rev. Jonas Clarke or one of his company was:"We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus."

Even when we are perplexed and confused- Jesus is still in control and worthy of our praise

As I opened my Bible this week and was looking for some calm and foundation for myself- God brought me to Daniel 2. Do you remember the story?

Daniel is tasked with interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and he is plain out stumped for an answer. So, Daniel, being a man of faith, turned to God- the source of his knowledge and wisdom. He does not look for an Earthly answer to his questions, he does not consult man- he turned to God.

How about us? Now, don’t get me wrong, I have done my fair share of checking NBC news and FOX news, and other places this week for updates, but if that becomes my primary source of purpose, direction, or hope for this country, then I am really in trouble.