The Election’s Over – Now What?
Various Scriptures
November 16, 2008
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me: The election was just under two weeks ago, and it wasn’t my intention to address it, other than to say that we need to continue to pray for our country and our leaders.
But to be honest, I’ve heard a lot of comments over the last two weeks about how ugly the election was and how the end of the world is upon us because the abortion ban failed and because Senator Obama was elected president.
I gotta tell you that I personally haven’t lost a lot of sleep about it.
Overall, I’m not too upset about the outcome of the election, in spite of the fact that the abortion industry’s lies won the day and the fact that Ronald Reagan isn’t still president.
We: Over the last two weeks I’ve heard elation about the election and I’ve heard depression. And everything in between.
If your candidates and issues won, then you’re excited, and that’s okay and natural.
But what about those whose candidates and issues lost?
I would have to venture that most people in the evangelical world, at least in South Dakota were disappointed.
So I don’t think I’m the only one, nor the only one in this room.
Well then, how do we move on? How do we come to grips with what’s happened and move on to effective Christian living and effective ministry now that “the other guy” is our new president, or because our issues failed at the ballot box?
I want to talk about that today, because I think it’s critical for Christians to display hope and faith in spite of the possibility of mounting difficulties.
I believe Scripture has some things that can help us be people who have a positive attitude regarding the election.
And before I get into that, let me make something clear: I’m not saying that we have to be happy about the election, or that we ignore the implications of it, if certain people have their way in the next administration.
I’m simply saying that we can be people who are hopeful and Christlike in the face of it, okay?
God/You:
Four ways to keep a positive attitude after the election:
1. Refuse to let “worst case scenario” thinking dominate.
Have any of you read the book, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht?
It’s a great little yellow book that describes all sorts of ways to get out of even life-threatening situations.
Here’s how they describe getting free from an alligator:
How to Wrestle Free from an Alligator
1. If you are on land, try to get on the
alligator’s back and put downward pressure on its neck. This will force its head and jaws down.
2. Cover the alligator’s eyes. This will
usually make it more sedate.
3. If you are attacked, go for the eyes and
nose. Use any weapon you have, or your fist.
4. If its jaws are closed on something you want to remove (for example, a limb), tap or punch it on the snout. Alligators often open their mouths when tapped lightly. They may drop whatever it is they have taken hold of, and back off.
5. If the alligator gets you in its jaws, you
must prevent it from shaking you or rolling over—these instinctual actions cause severe tissue damage. Try to keep the mouth clamped shut so the alligator does not begin shaking.
6. Seek medical attention immediately,
even for a small cut or bruise, to treat infection. Alligators have a huge number of pathogens in their mouths.
The next section in that chapter is:
How to Avoid an Attack
That’s easy, in my opinion. Stay away from alligators and any possible place they could be – especially New York sewers and even Reptile Gardens in Rapid City…
Every survival expert will tell you that getting out of dangerous situations hinges on the idea that you can’t panic. Panic takes away your ability to think rationally through the situation and take appropriate action, even if the appropriate action is to do nothing and simply wait for help.
So here’s what I’m trying to say about how to keep a positive attitude about the election: don’t panic.
God’s not freaking out about the election. God’s not worried about who’s in the White House.
His plans are intact no matter who is president.
Isaiah 40:23-24 –
23 God brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
If God doesn’t want someone in power, He removes them. It’s that simple.
And there have even been times where God has raised a ruler specifically to do His will about something. He raised Cyrus and Darius for the sake of bringing His people back to Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple.
These two kings were pagans who had little regard for the God of the Jews. Yet God used them.
We may have a liberal government coming up, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the end of the world is now upon us.
It could be, but for all we know, it might be another 2000 years. The apostles thought they were in the last days.
My guess is that when they got to heaven, they were slapping their foreheads going, “Duh! How could we think WE were in the last days?”
I’m not blind to the fact that the policies of Mr. Obama are contrary to what most of us believe to be biblical standards of morality and freedom.
But I really doubt that he or a liberal congress is going to be able to completely destroy the constitution during his term in office.
And even if they did, does that mean God isn’t still in control? Does that mean God is defeated in His plans? Does that mean God blew it and is now worried about what’s going to happen down the road?
No! God is sovereign. He is in complete control at all times.
He is also all-knowing. Before time began He knew who was going to win this election.
Don’t panic. God isn’t panicking. We don’t need “worst case scenario” thinking.
The second way to keep a positive attitude after the election is to…
2. Support our leaders.
Senator McCain pointed out that during the election Senator Obama was his rival, but on January 20th, Senator Obama will be his president.
That’s the case for all of us. He’s our president whether we voted for him or not.
Don’t get the mindset of “he’s not MY president – I didn’t vote for him.” Or he’s not MY senator, not MY representative, not MY councilman.
If you are a citizen of this country and this state, then he’s your president, congressman, senator, or whatever.
And Scripture says we’re to support them. Let me suggest three ways to do that:
* Obey them.
Romans 13:1-2, 7 –
1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves…7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
The idea here is that our obedience and support of our government leaders has absolutely nothing to do with who is in office.
It has everything to do with the fact that that government exists by the direct will of God.
Now remember who was in power when Paul wrote this: the oppressive Roman government.
Paul didn’t live in 20th century America. He lived in a government system that frowned upon Christianity, especially as it grew in influence across the Roman Empire.
And when it began to threaten the worship of the Roman gods and goddesses, that government moved decisively to destroy it.
It eventually cost Paul his life, as well as many thousands of Christians living at the time.
The Romans were brutal to those who opposed them. They were the ones who perfected crucifixion.
My point here is that even if our country lived up to the scariest estimates I hear about our new government, we are still to obey them.
The only exception to that is when we are commanded by our government to break one of God’s laws. Then we obey God before men.
Another way to support them is to…
* Communicate with them.
I don’t have a Scripture passage for this, because there is no passage saying, “Write to your Congressman.”
You need to tell your elected officials what you think about various issues, even if you know they won’t agree or change their minds.
Every time I have contacted my elected officials, I have received a response.
It’s not always the response I want, but at least they respond to my communication.
They need to know how you feel about the issues.
And they also need to know that you’re praying for them, which leads me to the third way to support our leaders, and that is to…
* Pray for them.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 –
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Hey – you want to please God? Pray for your leaders.
Pray for their success. Pray that God would bless them and use them for His purposes so we can have peace.
Pray for their safety.
Pray that they would surround themselves with godly counselors and that they would submit themselves to God and His Word.
Pray that they would not make quick and rash decisions and that they would seek to uphold biblical priorities and morality rather than caving to society’s demands for legislating immorality.
Pray that during this time of war and financial crisis that cooler heads would prevail and that a solid plan would come forth.
Pray for them.
I mentioned communicating with our leaders. One of the commitments I’m making during the next four years is to communicate with more of my elected officials to let them know I’m praying for them.
Here’s the third way to have a positive attitude after the election:
3. Continue to look for opportunities to serve your country, community, and church.
The election hasn’t taken away your ability or responsibility to minister to those around us.
Galatians 6:9-10 –
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Maybe now more than ever, our society will need to see Christianity lived out in every area of life, especially in how we treat those less fortunate than us.
But here’s an idea that you might consider taking on as a life mission:
Live the life you want to see reflected in society.
If you want a more compassionate society, be a more compassionate person.
If you want a society where abortion is gone as birth control, then become involved in the efforts to help people make choices that avoid pregnancy in the first place and in the efforts to aid those who are facing the prospect of abortion.
Contact the Birthright office here in Aberdeen. They’re always looking for volunteers to help in the fight to protect the unborn.
If you want a society that is more tolerant of biblical values, then live a life that displays biblical values in a positive manner – respectful of others who disagree.
If you want a more loving society, become a more loving person – especially to those who don’t know Christ.
In other words, don’t just preach a sermon, be a sermon.
Anyone can rant and rave. But unless your life matches what you’re talking about, then it’s a lot of empty words.
The fourth and last way I want to mention regarding having a positive attitude after the election is to…
4. Live as hopeful citizens of heaven.
Again, the idea behind all this today is that Christians should not be moping around and depressed about things that we can’t change.
We have to trust God that He knows what He’s doing in all of this.
And in the meantime, we can live as people filled with hope and faith in God Almighty.
We need to be people who display hope and not despair. If we wallow in despair, then we’re telling the world that our faith is in the electoral process, not in Christ.
And then what hope do we have to offer the world?
Here are three things you can do to live as hopeful citizens of heaven while living on earth:
> Anticipate your eternal home.
Philippians 3:20 (Message) –
But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ.
Folks, do you understand that if you are a believer and follower of Jesus, that your real home isn’t here, but in heaven with Jesus?
We will live here now, and our job here is to help other people find Christ so they can have heaven as well.
And in the meantime, we live as people looking forward to eternity in a place where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death, and most of all – no more politics! Can I get an amen?
Anticipate that time, look forward to it, and do all you can to help others become part of that other home as well.
That’s what I want to spend these next couple of minutes on.
> Help others become citizens of heaven with words.
1 Peter 3:15-16a –
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience.
I think I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve mentioned that Scripture here.
If someone were to ask you today how they could know for sure they’re going to heaven, could you tell them?
It’s not always enough to tell them to call me, although I’m more than happy to visit with them.
But it goes a long way if their friend can tell them. And that’s more effective in the long run than a pastor telling them.
> Help others become citizens of heaven with your life.
Colossians 2:5-6 –
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Yes, you need to be able to tell someone about Jesus.
But you also need to be displaying your love for Christ in how you live and how you interact with those outside the faith.
During this election cycle, I saw and heard some decidedly un-Christian things said by Christians about candidates and those who opposed whatever issue they believed in.
These people were more concerned about winning the argument than they were about winning the person.
Be a person others like being around, and you’ve got a chance at persuading people to join you and to follow Christ.
We: We can choose to be down in the mouth about what’s coming up with the new government, or we can choose to be filled with anticipation about what God can do in and through us in this new chapter in our history.
The choice is entirely up to you.
But let me suggest that the choices are based on one of two things: fear or faith.
If you let fear of what you think might be coming rule, you will be down about this whole thing.
But if you let faith in God and His purposes rule, then you can look on this as a great opportunity for God to work through His church to bring glory to Himself.
I hope you’ll join me and let faith be the rule. Our society needs to see that in us.
Let’s pray.
