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One of the most misunderstood subjects in the church today is that the Bible overwhelming expects the Christian NOT to vote!
#1 Our Citizenship is not of this World
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
In fact it goes one step further than that
2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,
We are Ambassadors
An Ambassador is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country.
In other words an Ambassador:
- Represents their head of state or government
- Position by appointment
- Not citizens of the country they serve
Because an Ambassador is not a citizen of the country he is in:
- He does not have the RIGHT to vote
- And it is WRONG for him to do so
So because our citizenship is not of this country and we are ambassadors for Christ this alone precludes us from voting
#2 If We were to Vote it would have to be for the Whole Person
EVERYTHING that they stand for
Not the lesser evil or the lesser of two evils
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.
To look at a candidate and say that they are good in every way EXCEPT that they believe its okay to kill babies, is not acceptable. We are not allowed to turn a blind eye to that or any ungodly act or way. We cannot settle for less for a leader of the country.
2 Timothy 3 further highlights the fact that we cant vote for just the “good” in a person or the “good” that they may do.
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Not towards, not for, we can’t endorse
At the end of the day we are not really capable of judging a leader
We don’t know the heart of man (Who knows the thoughts of man; heart desperately wicked)
Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. [much less any one elses]
Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Example of Saul
How was Saul judged to be king – it was based on his appearance
1 Samuel 9:2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
God told them what would happen if they chose someone and it did
1 Samuel 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
1 Samuel 13:14 “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
That’s how the people in their wisdom did it
Now we see how God did it 1 Samuel 16
Example of David Chosen to be King
Samuel a prophet of God, a man that God spoke to, did not know who to choose.
1 Samuel 16:1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
1 Samuel 16:2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
1 Samuel 16:3 “Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
1 Samuel 16:4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” [they knew he was a man of God, one that God was working through]
1 Samuel 16:5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
1 Samuel 16:6 So it was, when they came, that he [Samuel] looked at Eliab [the oldest] and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:8 So Jesse called Abinadab [the second oldest], and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1 Samuel 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah [the third oldest] pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1 Samuel 16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass [presumably from oldest all the way down in order of age] before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”
1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
1 Samuel 16:12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
David proved to be this – a man after God’s own heart (because God can see and read the hearts of men.)
Act 13:22 “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
God is able to look upon the heart, we cant we don’t know the heart of an individual
The next thing that we have to consider is that this is:
#3 This is Satan’s World
Satan – the god of this world at this time
2 Corinthians 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2 Corinthians 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
It was his to offer to Jesus Christ
Mathew 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”
Christ didnt respond that it wasn’t Satan’s to give which would be the logical response if it wasn’t his to give
It is his world to rule at the moment
Satan is allowed to do many things in this world
One of the things that God allows Satan to do at times is place candidates into governmental offices
Hosea 8:4 gives us God’s warning in this regard: “`They set up kings, but not by Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.'”
There are times when God allows the ungodly or “wrong” person to be set up as a leader.
By voting for such a person we might be participating directly in Satan’s system
We need to make every effort to distinguish ourselves
Because Satan is the God of this world…that is why we can’t be a part of it and why:
Come out and be you separate
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.”
Come Out of the World
John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 17:14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
John 17:18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
He expects us to live in this world but NOT to be a part of it and it’s ways
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
Revelation 18:3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
He gives us a warning
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
Revelation 18:5 “For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
#4 God is Completely in Charge
He intervenes as it suits His Purpose
…of everything including the nations and their governments
To ensure that certain aspects of His plan are fulfilled, God Himself might intervene to see to it that the right person, whether best or worst in our eyes, gets the job
Daniel 4:17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’
Daniel 2:20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
Daniel 2:21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
Christ told Pilate in John 19:11:
John 19:10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above….”
Where did the power come from? FROM ABOVE
A vote in governmental elections from Christ’s disciples here below is at best ineffectual and at worse it is going against God’s Will!
Going Against God’s Will
We pray that God’s will be done – this is our goal
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.
How important is it to do the will of God
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
In the past, God allowed certain people to be rulers for very specific reasons
How fooled were those that voted for Hitler?
When the German people were asked to vote on the consolidation of the role of President and Chancellor to give Hitler a dictatorship, 9 out of 10 VOTED to give him an unprecedented amount of power – and look at what he did with it.
CAN YOU IMAGINE your vote going for Hitler?
They didn’t necessarily know that he was going to do what he did…BUT ISNT THAT THE POINT?
What about the upcoming election for the Beast power?
Should God’s church members vote for the beast power? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
- It is Satan, with God’s permission, who will give his power and authority to this person (Revelation 13:4-5).
- A Christian could not and should not vote for this person, of course, as he will persecute and kill many of the “saints” (Revelation 13:7)
- He will even attempt to fight the returning Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:19).
The real question though is: How do you avoid voting for him when you dont know who he is?
We think that we know best and in reality we VOTE against God’s will
We have spent our lives trying to live by every word of God, trying to understand His will
We are sending the message that we know better…than God
This is the last thing that we want to do
Acts 5:38 “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;
Acts 5:39 “but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it; lest you even be found to fight against God.”
We don’t have worry if this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it–lest you even be found to fight against God”
a battle that we don’t want – Satan lost, what chance do we have?
Democracy is Rejecting God
Samuel and Saul
1 Samuel 8:1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel.
1 Samuel 8:2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
1 Samuel 8:3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
1 Samuel 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,
1 Samuel 8:5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
1 Samuel 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.
1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
When we chose to vote for a man we are rejecting God and what He has said
1 Samuel 12:17 “Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.”
It was wicked …in other words it was a sin
Conclusion
We wait for our King and our City
Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
Hebrews 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
Hebrews 11:10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.