THE BEST HOPE FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE
11-2-08
1. A politician died and was met by St. Peter. Peter said, “I was told to offer you something you are very familiar with. You will be allowed to vote for where you will spend eternity; heaven or hell. You will spend a day in each place and then cast your vote.” The politician took the elevator down and arrived in hell. As the doors opened, Satan met him with a warm handshake. Many politicians who had gone before him were there and greeted him. It was a place of incredible beauty and happiness. No one worked yet everyone had an abundance. Everyone enjoyed whatever relationship they chose. Everyone lived by their own rules and were outrageously happy. It was everything he had worked toward all of his political life. At the end of the day, he hated to leave! He took the elevator up and met St. Peter again. He said to Peter, “I would guess that in heaven I will have to live by God’s rules--His thou shalts and thou shalt nots. Therefore, I’ve seen enough! I’ve made up my mind. I vote for hell.” He entered the elevator again and pushed the down button. As the doors opened in hell, his eyes took in absolute devastation and ruin. People were starving and fighting everywhere. Satan approached him with a broad smile. The politician asked, “What happened?” Satan responded, “Yesterday we were campaigning, today we have your vote.”
2. To avoid bankruptcy, companies are merging with other companies. Here could be some future mergers:
a) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W R. Grace Co. might merge to become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
b) PolyGram Records, Warner Bros. and Nabisco Crackers may join forces to become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
c) Zippo, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining may merge to become: ZipAudiDoDa.
d) Knott’s Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women (NOW) would become: Knott NOW!
e) FedEx may merge with its competitor, UPS to become: FedUP.
f) Many of us are feeling fed up with this whole political process!
3. Our nation’s economy is a disaster!
a) Everything is covered by the F.D.I.C. which stands for: Foolish, Dumb, Innocent, Citizens.
b) Christopher Columbus has been called the forerunner of modern government.
He didn’t know where he was going when he started;
he didn’t know where he was when he got there,
And he did it all on borrowed money.
4. To find a creature in the animal kingdom that behaves like politicians:
• “It would need the ability to butt like a goat and turn like a worm,
• it would need the eyes of a vulture,
• the memory of an elephant,
• and the reactions of a skunk.
4. Two days from now the American people will again elect our next president.
a) There are many essential issues that Christians need to decide upon because our vote will shape our lives for the next four years and for the rest of our lifetime.
b) God has given us the opportunity to determine who will rule over us and establish policies for our nation.
c) The most important six words of today’s sermon:
Christian’s Votes
Should Reflect
God’s Values
5. Some advice from past leaders of our country:
a) Abraham Lincoln said, “A man may be loyal to his government and yet oppose the particular principles and methods of administration.”
b) Patrick Henry said, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”
c) James Garfield said, “Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption.”
d) Let me repeat this: James Garfield said, “Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption.”
e) A family recently visited our nation’s capital to see how our government works. They went to the Senate gallery where the chaplain of the Senate was praying. A child asked, “Is the chaplain praying for the Senate?” The parent answered, “No, he comes in, looks at the Senators and then prays for the country.”
f) Dwight Eisenhower said, “Every step we take towards making the State the Caretaker of our lives, by that much we move toward making the State our Master.”
6. This morning, we are going to be looking at Government, elections and politics from a Biblical perspective.
a) Remember: Christian’s Votes Should Reflect God’s Values
b) The Bible tells us what God’s values are.
I. GOVERNMENT BECOMES A TERRIFYING GOD
A. Government Is Man’s Best Attempt to Govern Himself
1. It is tempting for people who have no religious foundation to put their hopes in government and politicians.
a) The Lord’s prayer does not say:
“Our father who art in Washington,
thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done…
give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts.
b) Yet, many in Washington want us to look to them in this way.
2. A minister and his wife were worried about the future of their 18-year-old son. He showed no interest in anything. They decided to test him. They put a Bible, a $20 bill and a quart of whiskey on the table. If the boy chose the Bible, he might be a minister like his father. If he chose the money, he might be a banker or a businessman. If he took the whiskey, he might end up as a drunkard. The parents called him into the room and asked him to make a choice. He looked over the temptation carefully. Finally, he stuck the $20 bill into his pocket, put the Bible under one arm, the bottle under the other and left the room. The minister cried, “Good heavens! He’s going to be a politician!”
3. God tries to help kings, presidents and governments.
a) He helped America’s Founding Fathers.
b) Proverbs 8:15 By my power kings govern, and rulers make laws that are fair. Contemporary English Version (CEV)
c) Daniel 2:21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. New Living Translation (NLT)
B. Government Is Man’s Best Attempt to Play God
1. If God were running for President of the United States, would he win the election?
a) Israel replaced God with a king!
b) Samuel was their leader, but was growing old and soon would be unable to guide the nation of Israel.
And his sons who would succeed him were no bargains. They were corrupt and selfish.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 1 Samuel 8:4-5 New International Version (NIV)
2. Since every other nation had a king…they wanted one too. Until that time all they had was God to govern them.
a) They believed that a King would give them the feeling of security in an unsure world.
b) They were tired of waiting on God to supply their needs.
c) They wanted - what they wanted - NOW!
d) Plus, God told them that many of their desires were sinful and forbidden.
e) They didn’t want God’s interference in their lives.
3. Israel, voted God out!
a) 1 Samuel 8:7 “Do everything they say to you,” the LORD replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. New Living Translation (NLT)
b) It is a terrible thing to be rejected!
c) Several years ago, Pepper Rodgers was the football coach at UCLA. He said the team lost so many games, that, “My dog was my only friend. I told my wife that a man needs at least two friends, so she bought me another dog.”
d) That’s Rejection!
e) A man living in China submitted his manuscript to a publishing house there. They rejected his manuscript with this letter: “Dear Sir, we have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that in the next thousand years we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition, and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity.”
f) It would be nice if all rejections were so tactful, wouldn’t it?
4. The nation of Israel rejected the God who had been so faithful to them.
a) They weren’t tactful or kind.
b) How could an entire nation turn away from its God?
c) Listen to how God felt: This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves… I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ’Where is the LORD?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me… Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Jeremiah 2:5, 7-8, 11-13 New International Version (NIV)
d) What kind of people, what kind of nation could ever do this to Someone who has been so good to them?
5. Israel and America have done exactly the same thing!
a) They put their faith in an earthly king…and took their eyes off of God.
b) They believed that their “candidate” would supply for them what God would not: safety, prosperity and happiness.
c) William Penn, the founder of the city of Philadelphia wrote, "If we will not be governed by God, then we will be ruled be tyrants."
d) There is something worse than a tyrant!
e) We could be ruled by someone who rejects everything God stands for.
6. God tried to warn us about the limitations of human government.
a) 1 Samuel 8:9-10 Now listen to the people, but warn them what the king who rules over them will do." So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king what the LORD had said. New Century Version (NCV)
1) A king …will force your sons to join his army. 1 Samuel 8:11 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
2) A king will: …make weapons of war and equipment… 1 Samuel 8:12b New International Version (NIV)
3) A king will increase the number of people who work for the government: He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers…He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants…Your menservants and maidservants... 1 Samuel 8:13, 14, 16 New International Version (NIV)
4) A king will tax his people excessively: He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage…and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use…and you yourselves will become his slaves. 1 Samuel 8:15-17
Government started out imposing a 10% tax rate!
They wanted the same as the people’s tithe to God 10%.
This would put government as an equal to God in people’s finances.
God thought 10% was too much for government to tax its people!
7. Now government takes half of our money in taxes!
a) Are they content with that amount?
b) It was Benjamin Franklin that said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” [At least death doesn’t get any worse!]
c) Congress is working to simplify tax returns next year to only two lines:
What was your income last year?
Send it in.
8. One town in northern California elected a politician who would at least do no harm!
a) Tom Brokaw highlighted the mayor of Sunol, California on the NBC Evening News for Monday, Feb 26, 1990.
b) This mayor made world news!
c) Commentator Paul Harvey reported, “In Sunol, California the mayor is missing! His honor the mayor has disappeared. And it’s not the first time. He has disappeared before for short periods. Once he fell asleep in the back of a pickup with female companions, but the citizens of Sunol, 45 miles east of San Francisco always forgave him. This time they are genuinely anxious, because Mayor Bosco has not been seen for more than a week. Citizens of the community spent Thanksgiving day in nearby towns putting up wanted posters for their missing mayor. And some of the people went on the radio asking everyone in Northern California to be on the lookout for their beloved friend and leader. The AWOL leader, Bosco, is a black Labrador retriever. He beat out two human candidates for the job in a town election eight years ago and has since done such a good job that the residents of Sunol have felt no need for any further election.”
Bosco, the dog, was elected in 1981 as honorary mayor, easily defeating two human opponents.
It all started one night when someone told Paul Zeiss ‘If you were running for mayor, you couldn’t even beat the dog.’
Bosco served as honorary mayor of Sunol for 13 years until his death in 1994.
9. Pre-election-day, God warned His people:
a) When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 1 Samuel 8:18 New International Version (NIV)
b) 1 Samuel 8:19-22 The people would not listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle." Samuel listened to them and then told the LORD exactly what they had said. "Do what they want," the LORD answered. "Give them a king." Contemporary English Version (CEV)
c) Eventually they realized their sin. They said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king." 1 Samuel 12:19 New Century Version (NCV)
C. Satan Works Effectively Through Government Leaders
1. The Bible says that Satan has control over human governments.
a) This is why so many world governments are corrupt, evil, murderous and anti-God.
b) The story of the temptation of Jesus is found in Matthew 4 and Luke 4.
c) Satan tempted Jesus to sin by offering something that he controls.
d) Luke 4:5-7 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." New International Version (NIV)
e) Satan gives this authority to whomever he wishes.
f) Luke 4:8 Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’" New International Version (NIV)
g) Jesus rejected Satan by responding with Scripture—as should we!
h) Jesus did not dispute Satan’s claim over the world’s governments.
2. The Bible explains:
a) We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19 New International Version (NIV)
b) If we are seduced by a candidate that tempts us with what God forbids, it is like committing adultery with the devil.
c) James 4:4-7 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. New Living Translation (NLT)
II. HOW SHOULD A CHRISTIAN VOTE?
1. Christian’s Votes Must Reflect God’s Values!
2. We should vote values over economics.
a) America is always a land of promise—in an election year!
b) Jay Leno said George Washington’s inaugural speech lasted one half minutes! Leno said, “I guess there’s not much to say if you’re a politician who cannot tell a lie.”
c) Someone has said, “Vote for the man who promises the least; he’ll be the least disappointing.”
d) Promises are made and broken all the time.
e) God is more concerned about the character of a leader than the promises he makes.
f) In 1823 Noah Webster wrote, “In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate--look to his character.”
3. In the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville toured America. He made this observation: I have toured America, and I have seen most of what you offer. I’ve seen the richness of the fields and the wealth of your mines. I’ve seen your industrial might, the beauties of the rivers, streams, lakes and the grandeur of the mountains. I’ve noticed the abundance of the forests and the marvelous climate with which you are blessed. In none of these things did I see the cause of the greatness of America. It wasn’t until I went into your churches that I saw the reason for America’s greatness. America is great because America is good; and as long as America is good, America will be great. If it ever ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.
a) Jesus said, Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart. Luke 6:45 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
4. Look at a politician’s relationship to God.
a) Exodus 18:21 says, …choose some capable men from among the people—men who respect God, who can be trusted, and who will not change their decisions for money. Make these men officers over the people... New Century Version (NCV)
b) Whichever candidate we choose to vote for must be:
1) Capable of leading and one who respects God,
2) A leader who can be trusted.
3) Individuals who have not changed their decisions for money.
5. What happens when we make our decisions based on money?
a) In the 1700s, Alexander Fraser Tyler wrote The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic. He wrote: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It only exists until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess (a generous gift) from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that the democracy collapses, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence:
1) From bondage to spiritual faith.
2) From spiritual faith to great courage.
3) From courage to freedom.
4) From freedom to abundance.
5) From abundance to selfishness.
6) From selfishness to complacency.
7) From complacency to apathy.
8) From apathy to dependence.
9) From dependence back again into bondage.”
6. Christian’s votes should reflect God’s values!
a) Besides monetary concerns, we will be voting on issues God feels very strongly about.
b) Laws that promote homosexuality being taught in a favorable light in public school curriculum.
c) The immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq—regardless of the promises we have made as a nation.
d) The right to transport minor girls across state lines for an abortion without parental knowledge or approval.
e) A redefinition of marriage being not only between a man and a woman.
f) Should America be allowed to drill for oil?
g) What about the fate of babies who are born alive after surviving an abortion?
h) Should businesses be forced to hire homosexuals (including churches)?
i) The legality of partial birth abortion.
j) Limitations of parental rights in the education of their children.
k) Legend says in Ancient Greece, to prevent statesmen from passing idiotic laws upon the people, lawmakers--were asked to introduce all new laws while standing on a platform with a rope around their neck. If the law passed, the rope was removed. If it failed, the platform was removed.
7. The Bible is clear on topics we will be voting on.
a) About the status of a pre-born child: You created the deepest parts of my being. You put me together inside my mother’s body. None of my bones was hidden from you when you made me inside my mother’s body. That place was as dark as the deepest parts of the earth. When you were putting me together there, your eyes saw my body even before it was formed. You planned how many days I would live. You wrote down the number of them in your book before I had lived through even one of them. Psalm 139:13, 15-16 New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
b) On marriage being between a man and a woman: Jesus answered, "Don’t you know that in the beginning the Creator made a man and a woman? That’s why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together." Matthew 19:4-6 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
c) In case I haven’t said it before, Christian’s Votes Must Reflect God’s Values.
d) On legalizing homosexuality:
• 1 Corinthians 6:9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, New Living Translation (NLT)
• God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural. Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds. Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That’s why they do all sorts of indecent things. They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them. Romans 1:26-28, 32 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
e) On Social Security: 1 Timothy 5:4 …if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to serve God by taking care of her, as she once took care of them. This is what God wants them to do. Contemporary English Version (CEV)
8. We have the freedom to vote for men who stand in direct opposition to God’s commands.
a) But, we don’t have the right to escape the judgment of God
b) Proverbs 14:34 says Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. New Living Translation (NLT)
9. Around the world, Christians are tested by hardship.
a) In America we are tested by freedom.
b) Do you know how the famous Liberty Bell got its crack? The Declaration of Independence came into being after the Continental Congress, on May 17, 1776, asked all the colonies to observe a day of fasting and prayer. The Bible, God and prayer were given more reverence than they are today. When the nation was born, our forefathers rang the Liberty Bell with such enthusiasm that it cracked as they zealously proclaimed freedom. Years later, the White Chapel Foundry of London offered to recast the bell for free but their offer was refused. The crack was preserved as a symbol of our struggle for freedom.
c) This country is cracked and broken over its struggle for freedom.
III. CHRISTIANS ARE PART OF GOD’S GOVERNMENT
1. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” New Living Translation (NLT)
a) He says in Philippians 3:20 …we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ Contemporary English Version (CEV)
b) An ambassador is a representative from one government to another.
c) As ambassadors of Christ we should represent God’s kingdom and values.
2. God began as the Ruler of this world.
a) But, people wanted to do things their own way, so God stepped back and let them govern themselves.
b) We can support the things Satan promotes or we can put ourselves back under God’s government.
c) We can’t serve two masters.
d) We can follow God or follow our own desires.
3. The Bible asks us:
a) "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." 1 Kings 18:21 New International Version (NIV)
b) How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love what will certainly fail you? Psalm 4:2 New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
c) "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 1:22 New International Version (NIV)
d) …wash your sins from your hearts and be saved. How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts? Jeremiah 4:14 New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
4. Closing Prayer:
a) We Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God. 1 Timothy 2:2 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
b) We know …if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 New Living Translation (NLT)
