“Final Election Results”
TEXT: 2 Peter 1:10-11 – “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your ELECTION sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
INTRODUCTION: The 2000 Presidential Election Deadlock has captured the attention of America. We’ve sat glued to our television sets until the wee hours of the morning, waiting on the edge of our seats for the latest updates. My remote flashes back and forth between the FOX NEWS NETWORK and CNN so fast that I get a head rush! Speaking of RUSH, we’ve listened to 24-hour talk radio shows as the likes of Mike Gallagher and Rush Limbaugh have given us their spins and opinions. We are now into Day Number 12 of “America Held Hostage”! It’s been 12 days since we went to the polls and the Final Election Results still aren’t in. Our emotions have been on a roller coaster ride. We experience new highs and lows with each “breaking report.”
We can tell you all about Election Exit Polls, Florida hand re-count laws, overseas absentee ballots and “Smokes for Votes.” We can tell you all about James Baker, Jim Daley and Katherine Harris. We can debate with you on the pros and cons of the Electoral College and the Popular Vote. Our geography has improved across America – we now know where Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico and Oregon are located. We even know where to find the following counties in the state of Florida: Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Volusia. We’ve learned more than we would ever care to know about “CHAD’S” in their various forms – pregnant, dimpled, pimpled, hanging, loose in one corner and double-punched. I think everyone in the whole world outside of Palm Beach, Florida knows how to fill out a “Butterfly Ballot.” Who knows, one of these days we may even find out who pays to fly the Rev. Jesse Jackson all over the country and the name of the church he pastors.
We know the stories, we’ve heard the debates, we’ve watched the special reports, we’re on a first name basis with most of the reporters, we’ve heard the phrase, “the will of the people” quoted a million times. We know one candidate had a boil on his face and the other looks funny playing football in the front yard. We know all this stuff about what will go down in history as one of the most memorable and historical elections in American history, but the one thing we don’t know is, “Who will be the next President of the United States of America!?!?!”
It’s been twelve long days since I pulled my levers in the Butler Township Authority Building. I have prayed and prayed and prayed some more. This isn’t like a football game in overtime. There’s much more at stake than a Championship ring and a Super Bowl trophy. This is about our future. The future of America, our children, the lives of the unborn and more are on the line. The tension and the suspense is mounting. The votes are all in but the Final Election Results have not been announced. I can’t tell you who the winner will be, but I do know who I voted for. I was sure of myself when I went to the polls. I had made up my mind. I was ready. As important as this Presidential Election is for the future of our country, it pales in comparison next to the Final Election of All Time.
* The Presidential Election is about our country’s immediate future. The Eternal Election is about forever. Your eternity is on the line.
* You may or may not have voted in the Presidential Election, but everyone votes in the Eternal Election.
* It’s a two-party ticket. You aren’t registered as a Republican, Democrat, Independent or Reformed. You’re either a Christian or a Non-Christian. You either have an “R” by your name for “Redeemed” or a “D” for the “Devil.” You have one ballot and two choices and…
PROPOSITION: You cannot afford to be wrong in the final election of all time so cast your vote well.
INTEROGGATIVE STATEMENT: What are the things you need to know as you consider the most important election of your life?
I. THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES TO CHOOSE FROM. Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
It’s not a complicated election. There are no Independent or Reformed Parties in the Eternal Election. There are no confusing ballots. Just one ballot, two names. You’ve got a choice to make. Eternity is on the line.
YOU EITHER CHOOSE GOD OR CHOOSE THE DEVIL:
A. CHOOSE GOD. If God wins your vote, you will have elected to serve a proven leader. His record of personal integrity and moral purity is spotless. He has never sinned. He is not a man that he should lie. He has a 100% pro-life voting record. He wrote the book on education (hold up Bible) and it has remained a best seller having shaped countless lives down through the ages. He is anti-violence. He believes that if we get His love in our hearts it will take guns and other weapons out of our hands.
A vote for God is a vote for health-care and financial security. He “heals all your diseases,” (Psalm 103:3) and “supplies all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) If you cast your vote for God in the Final Election, you are electing as Lord of your life someone with unequaled interest and concern for foreign policy, racism, equality and human rights. He believes that every man, woman and child in the world counts and that they were all created equal no matter their race, color, language, gender or heritage. “God is no respecter of persons but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what it right.” – Acts 10:34-35. All of these things are important reasons to choose God as the Lord of your life.
But the MOST important reason to choose Him is this:
You can’t make it into heaven without Him. It’s election time. Your eternity is on the line, and God has set very clear election rules. You can’t make up the rules as you go along like they’re doing in our current presidential election. The Bible says we’re all sinners and that sin has separated us from God. But “God so loves the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son (His “running mate”) that whosoever…” – John 3:16. This is the rule for electing God as Lord of your life for all eternity: Receive the gift of His Son who gave His life in your place on the cross as a sin sacrifice.
John 14:6-7b – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.”
Acts 4:12 – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
All other votes are invalid. Votes for good deeds, church membership, giving to charities, religion and all other man-made methods for gaining heaven will be rejected. “For by grace are ye saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not of works lest any man should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9.
Listen to me. God wants your vote. He wants you so bad he gave up His only Son to prove it. God’s not into politics. He’s into sacrifice. He laid down His life for YOU. You can have your sins forgiven and heaven as your eternal home. But you’ve got to choose to do things God’s way. John 3:7 – “You must be born again.” What’s it gonna’ be? The choice is yours.
YOU EITHER CHOOSE GOD…
B. YOU HAVE CHOSEN SATAN. Now most people, if asked the question, “Who do you want to serve, God or the devil?” would not answer, “Oh sure, I want to serve the devil! Cast more vote for the Prince of Darkness.” But remember; there are only two candidates vying to be Lord of your life: GOD and SATAN. You’re serving one of them right now. Matthew 12:30 (Mark 9:40; Luke 11:23) – Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me.” If the Final Election Results were in for you right now, there would be a clear winner. You’ve either cast your vote for God as I just explained or you’ve chosen Satan. You sit here this morning either with the confidence that you’ve made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, or knowing that he’s not. And if He’s not, you’re on the wrong side.
Jesus said, John 16:23 – “He who hates me hates my Father as well.”
You may be saying, “I don’t hate Jesus.” OK, that’s great. But do you LOVE him? Do you love him enough to serve Him?
John 8:42-44 – “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.’”
Let me explain something to you. Satan is one smooth opponent. He is slick. He is crafty. He is deceptive. He knows how to say the right things to manipulate your vote. Let me give you some examples. You know it’s wrong to sleep with your boyfriend/girlfriend but the devil will whisper in your ear to do it anyway because it’s “socially acceptable.” If you give in, you’ve just cast your vote for Satan. The devil will convince you that you can lie, cheat, steal, sleep around, watch pornographic movies, rip of your boss, go out and get drunk or pop some pills with the gang and as long as you come to church once in a while, you’re OK. It’s NOT OK! None of that stuff is OK for a Christian!! What it IS is SIN and you can label yourself a Christian all you want, it you’re running around in sin and you don’t even care to confess it and get forgiveness, you’ve cast your vote for the devil!!! You’d better hope today’s not Election Day!!
Let me tell you what the devil’s campaign theme is: “Whatever’s best for you.” He’ll tell you he wants you to be happy and that you have the right to do whatever it takes to be happy. I’m telling you that THAT kind of philosophy will send you to hell! He wants to make you INDEPENDENT from God. And INDEPENDENCE from God is a VOTE FOR THE DEVIL. If you care more about what you want than what God wants, I question whether you’ve truly made Jesus Lord of your life. There are only two candidates on the ballot. Don’t tell me you love God when you run around all the time voting for the devil. “Choose you this day whom you will serve…”
Cast your vote carefully. This one’s for all the marbles. If you elect the wrong leader to govern your life, it will be hell to pay. These are the official election rules. Hiyra Krishna’s not on the ballot. Buddha and Mohammed are not on the ballot. They’re dead. Sun Myung Moon, Shirley McClain and Dionne Warwick are not on the ballot. They’re all wrong. It’s between God and Satan and a vote for anything else but God and His plan is a vote for Satan.
I. THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES TO CHOOSE FROM.
II. YOU MUST CAST YOUR VOTE BEFORE YOU DIE. “Today is the day of salvation.”
A. IF YOU’RE BREATHING, THE POLLS ARE STILL OPEN.
If you’re alive, you can still cast your vote. You can still change your mind. The polls are still open for you this morning. Get out and vote! Don’t mess around! Romans 10:9 – “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” You don’t know how many more chances you’ll get. Your life is a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. Good news! The polls are still open!
10:13 – “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
You’re alive. You’re breathing. You’re hearing this message. God’s reaching to you this morning. The election is still wide open. So are God’s arms. Run to the altar and cast your vote. Everyone here is a registered voter. My eternal voter registration card has a big “R” stamped on it in red. It’s stands for the “REDEEMED” party.
“Redeemed how I love to proclaim it…”
Come to the cross. Throw your life at the feet of the Savior. If you’re alive, the polls are open just for you this morning.
B. IF YOU’RE DEAD, THE ELECTION IS OVER. Hebrews 9:27 - “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment.”
How much time do you need? How much more time will you get? Some of you have had 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 years or more to cast your vote. Time’s tickin’ away. Life is uncertain. You can’t cast your vote from a casket. The polls are still open for you this morning, but tomorrow might be too late. When you’re dead, the election is over. And…
THERE WILL BE NO RECOUNTS! “Today is the day of salvation…” Get to the polls. Run to the altar. Kneel at the cross.
DON’T PROCRASTINATE! James 4:13-15 – “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”
DON’T MAKE EXCUSES! READ Luke 14:15-24 - Parable of the Great Banquet. Excuses, Excuses! Excuses won’t work once the polls close! No one will be called in to re-count or hand count your ballot in once you die because the One who knows and sees all will read your heart like an open book. He knows the score. He knows who you voted for. Stop procrastinating. Get rid of the excuses. Get to the polls!! Run to Jesus! Eternity is on the line.
John 15:22 – “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.”
I. THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES TO CHOOSE FROM.
II. YOU MUST CAST YOUR VOTE BEFORE YOU DIE.
III. WHEN YOU STAND BEFORE THE LORD THE “FINAL ELECTION RESULTS” WILL BE IN. READ Revelation 20:11-15
A. THE CANDIDATE YOU CHOSE WILL ALREADY BE RECORDED. Verse 12b - “The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”
If you’ve voted for God during your lifetime, your name will be in the books. Your name will be listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You will have been numbered among those Redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Lamb. Is your name in the book? Are you registered among the Redeemed? Or will the Lord search through the Book in vain finally pronouncing the following sentence: “Depart from me, ye worker of iniquity, for I never knew you.”? What if this were the day for you? What would the Final Election Results reveal? The polls are open this morning. Do you need to cast a vote? Eternity is on the line.
B. THE CANDIDATE YOU CHOSE WILL DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR FUTURE. Verse 15 – “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Those aren’t my words. We’re not playing by my rules. We’re not playing by the rules of the United States of America or the State of Florida. In fact, we’re not “playing’ at all.
CONCLUSION: These are God’s election rules:
I. THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES TO CHOOSE FROM.
A vote for anyone else is a vote against God.
II. YOU MUST CAST YOUR VOTE BEFORE YOU DIE.
If you’re breathing, the polls are open.
When you’re dead, the election is over. No recounts. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t make excuses. Get to the poll. It’s actually a poll with a crossbeam attached to it.
III. WHEN YOU STAND BEFORE THE LORD THE “FINAL ELECTION RESULTS” WILL BE IN.
Is your name in the Book?
Eternity is on the line.
2 Peter 1:10-11 – “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your ELECTION sure. (MESSAGE - “Confirm God’s invitation. Don’t put it off; do it now.”) For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
You cannot afford to be wrong in the final election of all time so cast your vote well.
