I Am Running For President
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Titus 3:3-5
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:
Philippians 2:3-4
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”
Today we will be reading from Deuteronomy 17:14-20
I am running for President!
OK. Everyone … please don’t leave … I’m kidding …
Of course, I am not running for POTUS. That would be crazy, but, if I was running what would my platform be?
Now, remember, I am running as a devoted follower of Jesus, my Lord, my Savior and my King.
So, what would my platform be? Should the vision I put forth as a candidate be dictated by the popular norms of the day or should it be informed and undergirded by the Word of God?
In this Scripture we are about to read, Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel is giving instructions for the future kings of Israel through Samuel the prophet.
With that in mind let’s go ahead and read Deuteronomy 17:14-20
(Prayer for help)
So, let’s read verses 18 and 19 again.
Deuteronomy 17:18-19
“When (the king) takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere Yahweh his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees …”
So, hopefully, as a devoted Christian running to be the POTUS I have immersed myself in God’s Holy Word for literally decades.
And, because of that, I am not conformed to the patterns of this world but I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I am able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 modified)
Right? I should be so knowledgeable of God’s Word and so faithful in obeying His Word that my stances on issues will be the SAME as His Word says it should be. Right?
As such, where do I stand on issues that are a high priority in the eyes of the Lord?
Do I stand with the Word of God or do I stand with the world?
Where would I stand on the topic of abortion?
When many in America hear the word abortion their reaction is, “Not that again!”
That very reaction is surely a sign that the moral fabric of America has become so corrupted that many cannot tell right from wrong.
Proverbs 6:16-17 says that Yahweh, the Lord, hates “the shedding of innocent blood.”
The shedding of innocent blood is warned against multiple times in the Old Testament.
Is there anything more innocent than the blood of an unborn son or daughter?
This isn’t exactly about abortion but in Amos 1:13 Amos is prophesying about the punishment Yahweh will impose on the Ammonites. Listen to this …
“This is what the Lord says: ‘The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders, they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.’”
These Scriptures alone should be enough for me to come out strongly as a pro-life candidate.
And by the Word of God I would have to push back not only against abortion itself but also against the recent calls for allowing doctors to kill a full-term, completely healthy baby while it is being delivered and yet still in the birth canal.
That is how the Word of God would inform my stance as a candidate on the issue of abortion; Pro-Life all the way!
What other issue that has become political would we as Christians be concerned about?
What about the issue of marriage?
What does Scripture say about marriage?
In Matthew 19:4-5 Jesus Himself says a group of Pharisees,
“Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?”
Here Jesus restates what has been from the beginning; a marriage is of one man and one woman. That’s it. Pure and simple.
But, fallen humanity, without knowledge of God and with a loathing of God, has strayed so far from God’s plan that it is literally mind boggling and horrifying to see where the distortion of human marriage and sexuality has gone.
I read a report on NBCNEWS.com about a couple who is raising their twin boy and girl toddlers as “theybies”; they are “gender neutral”! The children will get to decide what gender they are when they get older.
This lunacy was reported by NBC news as something “enlightened” and wonderful. Just imagine the dreadful life of confusion that is ahead for these children.
I realize that what is happening to these children is far from marriage of one man to one woman. But, it is a sign of how far we can fall into depravity when we reject not only God Himself but His plan for marriage as well.
Well, what do I have so far for my political platform in my run to become POTUS?
I am Pro-Life
I am Pro-Marriage as defined in the Bible
What else would I have as a plank in my platform?
What about our nation’s relationship with the nation of Israel?
In Genesis 12:1-3 …
“[Yahweh] the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND WHOEVER CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’”
Later on we see Isaac passing God’s blessing of his father Abram on to Jacob who would be renamed by Yahweh as Israel …
Genesis 27:29b
“MAY THOSE WHO CURSE YOU BE CURSED AND THOSE WHO BLESS YOU BE BLESSED.”
There was no termination date for this blessing. It is still in effect!
If God is going to bless the nation that blesses Israel and curse the nation that curses Israel I think it’s pretty important to be a nation that blesses the nation of Israel. Don’t you?
So, those are three of the planks in my presidential platform.
I am Pro-Life
I am Pro-Biblical-Marriage
I am Pro-Israel
Now, I know that there are many other issues involved in any election whether it is a local, state or national election.
On a personal note, if I can find a candidate who is Pro-Life, Pro-Biblical-Marriage and Pro-Israel I will vote for that person regardless of their political party, the color of their skin or whether I like them personally or not.
Why?
Because the Lord hates the shedding of innocent blood and I do too.
Because the Lord has defined Biblical marriage and He knows what is best for humanity.
Because Israel is STILL His chosen nation; He loves them and I do too.
My love for God is stronger than my love for a political party or any candidate and so I choose to follow His lead.
In America we have a unique opportunity. We may not be able to change laws and policy by ourselves but we do have the ability to “coax” laws and policies in a Biblical direction one vote at a time.
You may live in a state that leans so far to one political party or another that you believe your voting is useless.
I would implore you to vote anyway.
I would implore you to know each candidate’s views on abortion, marriage, Israel and other topics before you vote.
A “blind”, uniformed vote can actually be worse than no vote.
I would implore you to pray before you vote.
This sermon was NOT an endorsement of any candidate(s) or any political party. The sole purpose of this sermon was to help us understand how the Word of God is, or should be, intertwined with the decisions we make when it comes to the privilege of voting we have as Americans.
We acknowledge that America will not turn to God through our voting. And we understand that America will not start following Biblical teaching no matter who is elected for any position.
We know that nations can only be changed as people come to Christ one heart at a time and when they start living for His honor and for the King of Glory.
Final thoughts …
Benediction and dismissal …
