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Pray for America

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Over the last few decades there has been a lot of discussion about the separation of church and state. While I don’t believe a pastor should direct the congregation to vote for a specific candidate, I also don’t think that the church should stand idly by and allow corruption and immorality to govern our nation.

Dr. Adrian Rogers once said, “the church and state should remain separate institutionally, but the church should be the conscience of the state. “

The church is supposed to be the moral compass of the nation; unfortunately, the church has largely compromised with culture to gain acceptance and numbers. As a result, the church has lost the authority to be the voice of morality. Churches and Christians see themselves as poor victims, a weak and marginalized minority. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world…” As Christians and as the church, we are Christ’s ambassadors, sent to represent Him in all spheres of life. When we do not represent His heart and morals, Satan continues to destroy this nation.

“Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.” (Alexander Tytler 1747 to 1813)

Looking for Saving in All the Wrong Places

In 1 Samuel 8, the nation of Israel was going through a leadership transition. The great prophet Samuel was old, and the people began asking for a king. Under Samuel’s leadership, the nation had expanded, their enemies had been subdued, and the nation was at peace. But the people were not satisfied; they wanted a king. God gave them what they desired.

The Israelites saw the nations around them and asked for a king so they could be  like those nations (1 Samuel 8:5). The people were crying out for a savior. They thought that an earthly king  would prevent and solve all their problems. On the surface, the request for a king seems reasonable. Israel was coming of age as a nation and needed to fit the mold of a successful nation. But this request upset Samuel because he realized that the people had rejected God as their King. They were looking for an earthly leader to take His place (see 1 Samuel 8:7).

Israel was once again turning their back on God. God’s chosen people, the people of the promise to Abraham, the same people of the covenant that God made with Moses on Mt Sinai, wanted to settle for an earthly king to rule over them. Israel had forgotten who they were; they had lost their moral compass.

Sadly, in America today we are not much different; we look to a president or the leaders in Washington to solve our problems instead of turning to the only one who can solve the problems of this nation and the world – Jesus Christ.

Receiving What We Ask For

In response to their request, God tells Samuel to warn the nation that a king will do them harm. He would tax them heavily and require their sons and daughters to serve in his army and in his courts. Despite this heavy burden, they still demanded a king. God gave the children of Israel what they wanted. God in His severe mercy and sovereignty gives nations what they ask for because ultimately He uses the leaders of nations for His purposes.

God chose Saul, a Benjamite, to be the first king of Israel. It seemed that Saul was the right man for the job; he had amazing leadership skills and potential to be a powerful king. Unfortunately, Saul became a bad king and, just as God had said, the nation became Saul’s slaves. Bad leaders enslave their people, and that is what Saul did.

We need to prayerfully consider the choice of the election ballot; as a nation, God will give us the president we ask for. 

Finding Wisdom in the Word of God

As believers we have a divine voting guide—the Word of God. Don’t be misled for one minute into thinking that the Word of God does not apply to your choice on November 5; it has everything to do with it (see Psalm 119:105 and Proverbs 29:2).

Our nation is facing some incredible challenges. As Christians, who are we looking to? If we place our hope in the next president, whomever that may be, we will be disappointed. The day after the election, God will still be on the throne, ruling and managing the world’s affairs. God has never needed a king or a president; he raises them up and he puts them down for his purposes.

There are so many issues we can identify in the world that need fixing. There is no human leader who can possibly solve all of our nation’s problems. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, the Word of God.

Keeping an Eternal Perspective

There is nothing wrong with being involved in politics or voicing our frustrations with the leaders of our country, but we must view everything from an eternal perspective. As followers of Jesus, this world is not our home; we must put our trust in Him and in no one else. 

Some Christians are more afraid of their candidate losing the election than they are afraid of their friends and loved ones spending eternity in hell. 

Sometimes we get so anxious about the temporal kingdoms here on earth that we forget about God’s eternal Kingdom (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Do you have an eternal perspective?

Join with me in praying for our nation to turn back to God in repentance. 

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God and the Election Part 2, November 13, 2016

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Romans 13

Welcome to post election 2016. There is much anxiety in America right now, we see it in our streets and in the media. As the church, how do we navigate these turbulent times? What it really boils down to is the question, where do we place our hope? Do we trust in our government, or do we trust in our God?

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As an immigrant, I have the unusual experience of being a dual citizen. I have a passport from America, and I have a passport from South Africa. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you too have dual citizenship.

The Bible has a number of passages that guide us in our relationship with our earthly rulers. Paul writing in Romans 13 has much to say to us as Christians in 2016.

One of the more challenging verses in the Bible is Romans 13:1. Paul states that every authority has been established by God, and he repeats himself to ensure that the readers would not misunderstand the dramatic statement he was making. This article is too short to try to understand why God would allow rulers like Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and so many other dictators. There is much we don’t and won’t understand this side of eternity. But God is either Lord of all or he is a victim of unexplained circumstances.

I don’t for one minute believe God is reacting to sinful man. God is not the author of evil, neither is he the victim of evil.  God is the creator and sustainer of all things, he knew from the beginning of time who would win the election this past week. God alone is in control and he is not fretting about election results.

Looking at Romans 13:2, any thinking person immediately struggles – are we to obey everything that the government tells us to do, even if it is immoral? These verses written by the apostle Paul are not intended to be an absolute rule demanding unconditional obedience to evil regimes in the world, rather it is a general exhortation for believers to be good citizens of the nation, paying taxes, following the law and playing our part in society. However, when the government requires citizens to go against the stated will and law of God in the Bible, then we are compelled to follow the law of God rather than the law of the government. There are many occasions in the Bible where God approves and even commands disobedience towards the rulers of the land. Look at Esther, Daniel, Peter and the Apostles directly defying the Sanhedrin in Acts 5 by continuing to preach the Gospel as but a few examples.

As we read further in the chapter, it seems that Paul shifts focus entirely and begins to write about loving our neighbor. Paul is going back to the law of God, he started the chapter by writing about the laws of the land, now he is looking at the higher law, the law of God. If this portion sounds similar it is very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40. Paul confirms this and he ends verse 10 by saying; “Therefore Love is the fulfillment of the law”.

Paul continues in verse 11 by saying; “and do this…” do what? Obey the law of the land, and obey the law of God. Being model citizens of both the land and the Kingdom of God. Why?

Here is the most important verse of the chapter, verse 11 states; “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

Understanding the present time, the times we are living in are truly incredible, history is culminating towards the return of Jesus. What Paul says to the Roman church he says to us, “wake up”, wake up and focus on eternal things. If we have been living in sin, it is time to wholeheartedly live for Jesus Christ and his kingdom. If we have been compromising with the world, we cannot afford to do that anymore. Now is the time to wake up!

You may have been completely isolated and had your head in the sand, but the world around us is scared. There is uncertainty all around, we as followers of Jesus, do not need to live in fear and uncertainty.

As the Church we need to take very seriously the task of praying for our nation. In fact, if we really took seriously God’s word and we really cared for our nation and the world at this time, our prayer meetings will be the most well attended meetings in the church. The church doors would be open all the time as people would be gathering together to pray and ask God for mercy and healing for our land.

The well-known verse 2 Chronicles 7:14, recounts a pivotal time in the history of Israel. As we apply this verse to ourselves, we too are in a pivotal time. Notice that God does not say that if the nation humbles themselves and prays, rather he says “if my people”. We as followers of Jesus Christ need to start the process by humbling ourselves and by repenting of our wicked ways. Paul called on the Roman church to repent in verse 13, calling on the church to commit themselves to holiness and purity. We as followers of Jesus Christ need to set the standard in our own lives.  

Do you have dual citizenship? Are you a citizen of the land and a citizen of heaven? You may say yes, but you are living in fear and uncertainty. As a citizen of heaven, a citizen under Jesus Christ as the king of Kings, you need to repent of fear and begin to display the kingdom of God to those around you, being a light in your community. If we truly grasped the truth of the Word of God we should be the most hopeful and joyful people in the world.