Please pray with me. Let's bow our heads. Our Heavenly Father, we come to You again in faith, in the name of our Lord and Savior. We ask, Lord, to give us every grace that we may use this time to hear Your Word, not merely the Word of man, but the Word of God, to encourage Your people to build up and edify that we may be strengthened to serve You with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And also, Father, to love one another as You have loved us. Be with us. Give us, Lord, as we ask You on the regular, eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts that understand, what You have to speak to us this morning. We commit this prayer to You in the name of Christ, Amen. Alright, so, we will deviate from the Gospel according to Nehemiah this morning, as I've shared with some of you. I have not been the most political person in my early days. I don't think I've ever given what you could term as a political sermon. I have not taken in my 13-some-odd years of ministry an opportunity to address from the pulpit in some detail an election season. Usually, it kind of comes and goes. don't really pay a whole lot of attention to it. And even today, I find myself sort of as Johnny come lately. This is something that could have been addressed probably a few weeks ago. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around this whole concept of voting early and in some cases voting often, you know, so that our guy gets in or what have you. You know, I'm used to hearing these things usually the Sunday before election day. And so here we are. So I hope that the words I say this morning will be an encouragement to you. And I do realize that given the candidates, and yes, we are talking primarily about candidate of the President of the United States of America. I know that some of you may have differing convictions, primarily about whether you vote at all. And so I would ask that no matter where you stand, as far as that is concerned, that we treat each other with grace. You know that each one is fully convinced in his own mind. If you're gonna vote, you're gonna vote by faith. If you're not gonna vote, you're gonna vote by faith also. You're not gonna vote by faith. And so we understand that as fellow believers in Christ, God has received us in Christ by faith, so we receive each other. Whether we view one another as mutually immature for the voting decisions we make, we also have to acknowledge, as Paul commands us to in the book of Romans, that God enables each of us to stand. That's just a simple way of how we can view one another in light of grace. So whatever your decision is, do with all your heart. So sermon title this morning is The Elect and Elections. So of course, we being the elect of God, we being his people, his holy nation, his chosen race, from every tongue and tribe and nation and people, we are called together to be the body of Christ. And so of course, every few years or so, two years, four years, We face this opportunity to vote from the American perspective, to hear our voices heard, to make sure our voices are heard. And so many of us entering in this election season do feel that weight of uncertainty. We're not really sure about what to do. We look at the candidates before us, we look at some of the amendments before us, so we vote nationally, federally, we vote on the state level, and sometimes we look at the amendments, we look at the candidates, and we just shake our head and we're thinking, how is it that we've come to this? Are either of these people, especially presidents specifically, are any of them worthy of our endorsement? And let's be honest, the majority of Christians vote solid red. We look at what is usually termed as the Republican Party, what they have to offer, and typically, I would say, at least in my lifetime, just turned 44, feeling it, but at least in my lifetime, I would say, what that platform presents is incidentally more consistent with the Christian worldview. And so it is much more common to see Christians vote what we classically term as red. And if I'm crossing any lines here, quite frankly, I don't care. 501c3s be darned. You know, it really doesn't bother me. I'm here to instruct you and encourage you from the word of God. We do not rely on the government, nor do we seek their permission to say certain things. Quite frankly, I'm disappointed on a very deep level with both of our presidential candidates. One seems to be completely anti-Christian and toe a more Marxist line, while the other just seems to be all over the place in many cases. He'll say one thing and do another. And so we see hypocrisy and then we see complete paganism. Again, it's all over the place. And so that's where I think the weight of uncertainty arrives. And I think it does teach us the folly of trusting in men, the folly of placing our faith too deeply in any one man, right? In any one politician. To think that somehow some dude is gonna come by, dude or dudette, and think that they're somehow going to make it all better, that they're going to make our lives better, that they're going to enrich us, that they're going to prosper us, that they are going to protect democracy. I see that word everywhere and I've said up here before, I don't see what the big deal about democracy is. It is overrated and in a true democracy, if you guys are students of of history and government and economics. True democracy always ends up in tyranny. The fact is, as Christians, we live under what we call a benevolent dictatorship, which is the best form of government. Jesus Christ is on the throne. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and he rules over all. And he's good. He is our benevolent dictator. And he's running everything by his own sovereign hand. And so the question arises, well, within this earthly kingdom or earthly constitutional republic known as the United States of America, how are we to, in a godly and even righteous way, steward this privilege or even right, as we say, this right to vote? And we're at a point where many of us are struggling with that. And so, What I want to offer today with God's word to guide us is an encouragement to each and every one of you that heading into this season, especially if you haven't voted yet, I mean, if you've already voted, please don't tune me out because there's plenty for you. But how do we righteously steward this right to vote under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And I've split this up into three sections. And the first is sort of the overall view, the overall reality that we sit under when we go to the voting booth, or in our case, where we just sort of drop our ballot in that little mailbox, trusting that it will be read accurately, trusting that our vote will count, So let's go through the first part of this. We'll get as far as we can. First of all, we need to recognize the inescapable truth that Christianity is political. It is common parlance still today to hear from Christians that, oh, they believe in Jesus, but they try to stay out of politics. I'm not into politics, I'm not into elections, or if I am, well, you know, I don't march, I don't picket, my voice isn't really heard, I don't make a lot of noise, I just vote quietly. But I think the very notion of a Christian trying to remain A or non-political divorces us from one of the most profound and earliest confessions in all of Christendom. You know what that is? Three words. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Now, I think the depth and especially the danger is lost on us today because in the first century, that was a very dangerous creed to hold because the saying going around at the time was that Caesar is Lord. And so to say Christ is Lord was to say that no, there is another king. There is a greater king. and even Caesar must bow the knee to that king. Christianity is inescapably political. Once we declare that Jesus is Lord, once we declare that Jesus is king, we have entered into the political realm. So I would just say the Christian needs to stop pretending that he is something he is not, that he is not involved in something that he is. Jesus is Lord, and if we dare declare that he is king, then we must acknowledge the implication of his sovereign reign over every facet of our lives, including the realms of governance, human government, and societal order. We need to let that marinate. We have to come to grips with that. You are a political person. If you are Christian, you are profoundly political. Your politics should be the clearest of any other person in this world. Clearer then, you know who your king is. You know where your allegiances lie. You know what his law says. You know what the gospel is going to accomplish. And I hope that we are wise enough and well schooled enough in the scriptures so that those lines are not blurred. So in the big picture, that's the first thing, Christ, Jesus Christ is our sovereign king. In the great commission in Matthew 28, 18, he says this, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And we look at that and we would say, wow, what a declaration, what a sweeping pronouncement that is from Christ himself. All authority in heaven and on earth, so visible, invisible. The entire cosmos, all the authority and power to run it, to judge it, to recreate it, has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he is, risen, about to ascend to the right hand of the Father, and he is declaring himself as sovereign of the universe. And so I think the time has come for Christians, for the church, not to only allow that truth to permeate our hearts, but to recognize that that reality is to permeate all of society. It's not a truth that we simply hide in our heart and keep to ourselves. And I'm saying, don't let someone intimidate you to do that. If you are a Christian, you keep it to yourself. You keep it in your church, you keep it to your home, you keep it in your family. But keep it out of every other place. Keep it out of the workplace, keep it out of the political arena, and don't you dare bring it into our schools. Do you realize you have the right to say, no? I don't think I'm gonna do it that way, because Christ is Lord of politics. He is Lord of Washington, D.C. He is Lord of education. He is Lord of all. And we are told in the book of Daniel, yeah, that the Lord, he removes kings, he raises up kings, he's running the whole show. And yet one thing is certain, as the throne of Christ has been established, and it has been, He will never be dethroned. His throne will never be disestablished. His reign will never be shaken or come to an end. And so our proclamation of His Lordship must remain the same, that is unshakable. And one of the concerns that is brought up every election, I've been seeing this more and more, especially if you guys listen to podcasts or listen to any kind of political punditry, one thing that I think is very concerning is the invasion of what we would call a Christless conservatism in conservative circles. And we would say, most of us as believers, if not all of us, would say that in most ways, as it is presented, we are conservatives. We are political conservatives. Now, that doesn't mean so much that we're uptight and afraid of our own shadow. What conservatism is based in is the assertion that there are eternal values, there are eternal standards, which must be conserved. They must remain the same. There are certain things that have a transcendent authority. And it is up to the Christian to ardently preserve that, to declare that there is a transcendent authority. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. And His word is our law. His word is our standard. Now, can you imagine a conservatism that hijacks the Christian worldview, and you will find this, you can listen to any number of people, and there will be a lot of crossover. There will be a lot of overlap concerning the things they say. It will sound Christian. It will sound conservative. It will sound right. It will sound biblical even. And yet, That person may lay no claim to Christ and His Lordship whatsoever, and yet they hijack it anyway without bowing the knee to Him, His Lordship, His law, devoid of Christ's hope and grace. What is a conservatism without Christ, without a transcendent authority? Here's the problem, folks. Liberalism as we understand it today, or leftism as it's become, is pagan and leads to tyranny and nihilism. So much of what we know as leftism today is atheistic in nature. Even though it may give lip service to God in a very vague sort of way, on the whole, it completely rejects him. Anyone's God is a God of their own making. It is inherently now idolatrous. But I would say Christless conservatism is the same way. It is also pagan. It also leads to tyranny, potentially in brutal fashion. What are we gonna refer to when we talk about all of these conservative, so-called conservative ideals and creeds and codes of conduct? What is it that we ask of the pagan when they try to assert a type of law or standard to us? We say, by what standard? The same thing can be done to a Christless conservatism. Okay, by what standard do you say this thing that actually sounds kind of good and kind of moral and kind of biblical? Do you realize that once you take Christ out of the picture, the same thing happens to conservatism as it happens to liberalism? The entire system crumbles. We should love the rule of law. We should fight for the unborn. We should fight for the traditional family. by for all these things which we would say biblically are inherently good. But it really comes down to one question, says whom? Who says these things? And that's where the Lordship of Christ is absolutely indispensable to the way we view this world, to the way we view politics and our involvement in the political realm. Remember Christian, that you take Christ with you wherever you go, wherever you go. especially when it comes to politics. So don't let unbelievers try to dictate you somehow divorcing your worldview from the Lordship of Christ, divorcing your political involvement from Christ's authority. We take it with us wherever we go, and we take it with us into these elections. So remember that. And with that, brings us to the second point. If you declare that Jesus Christ is sovereign over all, you are inviting an inevitable clash between the kingdom of God and earthly kingdoms. Jesus says, my kingdom is not of this world. And I know we sometimes take that out of context. That verse is used in many ways to try to defend Christians absence from the political sphere. that what is going on in our nation, what is going on in our city, right, in our state, stuff at the federal level, especially our elections, really we don't have to worry about that. We can just walk away from it and not be involved at all because, right, it's all gonna burn anyway. That's typically our mentality, a mentality I think we need to repent from. But we do know that qualitatively, Jesus' kingdom operates in a different fashion. It does not operate the same way that the world's kingdoms operate. And fundamentally, I point you back to the first point. The kingdoms of this so-called world, when we talk about the old creation that is passing away, they do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord. And we do. That is going to bring an inevitable clash. And so as we champion and proclaim the cause of Christ, we have to prepare ourselves for those inevitable conflicts. And so when we push our points, right, when we stand up for what we perceive to be a righteous law or a righteous candidate, we have the authority of Christ and his scripture, his word, to fall back on. And so when we proclaim the truth of his kingdom, what happens? We find ourselves at odds with the often prevailing ideologies that seek to undermine that authority. I'm just telling you this so that you know it's inevitable and to be prepared for it. And that is a call, of course, to persevere and remain steadfast in advancing his kingdom. And every election season, we are doing just that. We are making a statement about what we believe about the Kingdom of Christ. Not only as it stands by itself, but as it stands over and against other earthly kingdoms, and anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. Which brings me to the third overall prevailing point, is that we, as Christians, are ambassadors of his kingdom. And that is what is going to bring the conflict, right? We are ambassadors, which means, of course, we have something to say. We have something to say in the political realm to all of society concerning the righteousness of God. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.20, we are ambassadors for Christ. And I think one of the ways we embrace that high and holy calling is to be a voice and a representative of His kingdom, even in the realm of politics, and to bring his standard, to bring his law, to bring his gospel to bear, and to uphold what he says is righteous and just and true, rather than be passive bystanders, never having anything to say. That is not peace, my friends. That is cowardice, to stand idly by and not plea the righteous cause of Jesus Christ. And one thing I think that gives us a special privilege, especially in history, is that we do live in a constitutional or federal republic, where we do have a wonderful opportunity for our voice to count. You have to remember that the president is not a king. We don't live under an earthly king, as it were. Though occasionally they may try to act like it by executive fiat, But I was listening to an Ezra Institute podcast and Jeff Durbin pointed out that the president is more of a manager rather than a king. He has certain responsibilities. He must answer to the people who elected him. as our own constitution would support. And so we have an opportunity to hear our voices heard where we can support and push a Christian worldview, and where a Christian worldview flourishes, so do the people living under that Christian worldview and life philosophy. And so we end up being participants in this grand redemptive narrative, and we have an immense privilege in history to voice that which is consistent with God's word. And so out of that, we can make a call to that which is just and righteous. We can walk humbly before the Lord our God. We can instruct others to do the same, to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly, and all the things that accompany that. We can rescue those being dragged away to death. We can give loud voice to righteous laws. We can protect the most vulnerable. We can speak out against all the wrongs that continue to permeate our society. As God's kingdom citizens, we are citizens of action. We are citizens who proclaim the good news to every sphere. We are citizens who proclaim to all peasant or president, to bow the knee to Jesus Christ and to not shrink back from our duty to reflect his righteousness in every sphere of influence, be that education, politics, home, and yes, church. And so let's grapple faithfully with the fact that this here is a clash of allegiances. We do not give allegiance to any man but the God-man who sits at the right hand of God. We obey Acts 5.29 as the apostles say, we must obey God rather than man. So I believe that we are in a seasoned church where it is all the more necessary to declare who is Lord, who is King, who is sovereign overall, regardless of who is elected, regardless of the outcry that will inevitably follow from one side, should our guy win or lose, or our gal win or lose. But we must continue to obey God rather than man and continue to serve the King with our full allegiance. And we're going to encounter opposition. But no matter what happens in this election, right, if it is favorable, don't be lazy. Not the time to relax. If your guy loses, don't complain. Don't act as if God has abandoned you. We have more on that later. Continue to advance the cause of Christ. Continue to preach the gospel. Continue to be faithful in your family and in your workplace and in your church, knowing that you're armed with the truth of his word and the power of his spirit. And if you haven't voted already, take that mindset into the election. Here's another thing I'd like to address. One of my main theses of this sermon is to encourage you to vote. I am not a person who thinks that, yes, both presidential candidates are so far off, all of these amendments are so outrageous, sit on the sidelines and be a protester. I am not advocating for that at all. But it seems that, I believe Doug Wilson was the first one to point this out, but I'd like to comment on it a little bit. It seems that in our presidential election we are faced with a particular scenario that paralleled two kings from the time of the kings in Israel, right? We're not looking at a King David and a King Ahab or a King Hezekiah. Right? And a King Ahab. We are looking something similar like Jehu or Ahab. And I'll leave it to your imagination to decide who is whom. But I think understanding this scenario is key to not burdening your own conscience as to whether or not you ought to vote. But let's look at both of these kings. There is a King Jehu, and there is a King Ahab. Now, one of the most important things, I would say the most important thing in assessing the life of a king, whether Judah or Israel, is in the beginning of their biography, and typically something like this is mentioned about them. They either did evil in the sight of the Lord, or they did what was right in the sight of the Lord. I mean, all you really need to know about a man, right? Did they do evil before the Lord, right? Like in his face, knowing full well that he was their witness to it. He was watching their every move. It's not as if these kings rejected the Lord so bad that they were unaware of his watchful eye. Deny it though they may. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. Most of the kings, unfortunately, did. They did not walk in the way of the Lord like their father David. They did not do as kings like Josiah and Hezekiah did and then receive great blessing. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. And Ahab is just, seems to be the model of what it means to do evil in the sight of the Lord. He was one who just, you thought a king couldn't get any worse, and he just continually provoked the Lord to anger, led them into idolatry, married Jezebel. I mean, that's really the comparison, right? Jehu or Jezebel, let's be honest here. But Ahab was known for his wickedness and turned against the Lord, and the Lord sent Elijah the prophet to call him out on his wickedness. And still he did not repent. So you have on one hand, a guy like Ahab, right? Who's just completely turned from the Lord. His life is just marked by wickedness, idolatry, rebellion, in spite of the faithful voices that rebuked his behavior and the condition of his heart. I think you have that on one side, and on the other hand, you have someone who's like a Jehu. Though not a perfect king by any stretch, he was an instrument of God's judgment. He did some things right, as 2 Kings 9, 6-10 tells us. And we get into 2 Kings 10, we read this. And the Lord said to Jehu, because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. So what happens here is that God takes a very imperfect king, but who still does right on occasion. There seems to be enough of an open heart there where he actually does what is right in the face of the Lord, before the Lord. And he is used as instrumental in judging another king against Ahab's house, the aforementioned lifelong wicked king. And so the Lord is good to him and says, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But it goes on. But Jehu is not careful to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart. I think we have that present in one of our candidates. There is at least lip service, and based on this individual's platform, there are occasionally things that are consistent with the Christian worldview. Though it is unfortunate that his view on abortion is marginal at best, as if to placate those who want to make common exceptions to whether or not one should murder their child in the womb. It's interesting in this citizen stewardship, this election guide that we've been handing out. One candidate, late-term abortion supports. Late-term abortion opposes. Okay, that's right. Yeah, okay, where's early term abortion? It's nowhere to be found. And these candidates otherwise could not be more polarized in their convictions. And so that takes a lot of wisdom when you have that kind of scenario in election time. Jehu or Ahab. One person who just seems, based on their worldview and their track record, completely rejects that which is consistent with the reign of Christ and His revealed Word, and an individual who is very marginal. He may even claim to be a Christian, claim to be a believer, but in the next breath will say, well, I have nothing to repent from, who seems to be a very proud and brash individual. and who I think fudges on some very important issues. And it is that particular issue of abortion that I think many are, which makes many Christians hesitant to lend their vote to a candidate who has only an opposition toward late-term abortion and wants to make many exceptions. So what do we do? Of course, while Jehu was an imperfect man, he did fulfill God's purpose by bringing judgment on the evil that Ahab represented. So we know that. We've heard the saying before, even God can write straight with a crooked stick. But what happens when we're faced with the prospect of electing, seemingly giving our endorsement to that so-called crooked stick in question? But all that to say is when we cast our vote, we have to recognize that sometimes we choose between candidates who are imperfect, but are positioned to resist greater evils. And that's why I want to encourage you. Some of us, we let our conscience assail us. We're like, well, this election is basically choosing between the lesser of two evils. And I would say, no, it's much more complex than that. There are more issues at stake than that. It's not merely the lesser of two evils. So don't be too bummed out about that, because I don't think that's the case at all. Not to say even the lesser of two evils can bring a just and even satisfying judgment on the greater of those two evils. But the fact is, is that an imperfect candidate can be positioned well to resist even greater evils. So when we are facing an election like the one we are now, with the candidates that we have as options now, we can see that our vote is much more than that. And I think we can ask the question in clarity of conscience, who is best positioned to resist evil? Who is best positioned to resist all of the godlessness that is pervading our society and all of the laws that are coming our way, that are in direct contradiction to God's word. And of course, this takes a lot of wisdom. But that is why we use the minds that God has given us to investigate the candidates and their platforms thoroughly. And there's no shortage of information you can hit up today in mass media. But I do believe that it is crucial going forward to remember that our vote does represent our values and priorities. And we don't want to reduce our choice of candidate to merely a calculation of who is the lesser evil, but seek in a positive fashion to promote goodness and righteousness where we are able. That is, to support and even endorse whatever good and righteous thing that a candidate may be, may stand for. So hopefully that makes sense. That goes to the next thing. Voting does not necessarily mean endorsement, and I know that it can appear that way, but I would venture to guess that there is no candidate in here, some of you people might be voting for the first time, some of you may be voting for the 10th time, somewhere in between, but I would venture to guess that there has never been a candidate that you have voted for where you have agreed with every single thing they have supported. There's always gonna be, well, I don't know about this, or oh man, I agree with his position on abortion, on taxation, on funding the military, I agree with him all on that, but man, this part, he's way off, way off. And yet, you still vote for him. Because there is an intent underlying that vote. You are able to compartmentalize what you support and what you do not support. Now I realize that there is a line we can cross and it's actually immensely difficult to tell what that line is where when we vote for someone and it's just, you know, again, we can't in good conscience because they stand for so much against what we believe. And I don't think we're there yet in this particular election. But we can be, again, shrewd as snakes, Innocent as doves, to be wise and thoughtful going forward, that we don't have to, that voting for them doesn't mean endorsing every aspect of their platform, but rather is a tactical choice with the purpose of preserving the good that can be preserved. We understand from the words of Jesus, from Matthew 10, we are sent out, like the disciples are, as sheep among wolves. There are wolves everywhere, and that's what requires wisdom. Our vote can be strategic. I believe that Scripture permits that. Also understanding, fourthly, that God does work through human agency. We are his sheep, we are his people, but we do serve a sovereign God who is active in real time and in redemptive history, and he uses often human agency to fulfill his purposes. You know, even when we say something as simple as, oh, I don't worry about it because God is gonna take care of it, God is gonna do everything, he's gonna save the world. Well, absolutely, amen and hallelujah, but how does he do that? He uses agencies, right? sends the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin. But who does he use to preach the gospel? He uses people. And I think even in something as simple as an election, we also see a sovereign God using human agency to fulfill his purposes, his providential purposes. So even if we get a terrible candidate or a terrible law is passed and we mourn for a while, ultimately we can look to God and understand that in His good and providential purposes, He caused this to happen, and in due time, good will come of it, even if we have a hard time recognizing it. You know, we think of the life of Esther, right? Placed very strategically in the court of the Persian king and then was exalted to the position of queen and wielded immense influence in the kingdom of Persia. We understand that in Proverbs 21.1, the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. And often he uses the truth proclaimed by people to turn that very heart in question. And so we can see our participation in an election as a means through which God's will, his own sovereign, good, providential will, being enacted and that he can influence the heart of both presidents and citizens. Next thing to consider, this troubles some, but I would even say this, not voting is still a vote. Not saying something is still saying something. You guys have heard the phrase silence being consent or silence being violence. If you stand by and say nothing, then you are basically lending some kind of passive support to the evil that is occurring. And some may feel so disillusioned and so disappointed that they consider abstaining from voting altogether. Or they may vote, you know, they may do the down ballot. They may vote the bum judges out. They may support the amendments that they like. and reject the ones they don't. But even voting communicates a choice that is made. Voting communicates the expression of a particular conviction, often one of resignation or disapproval. And so that goes back to what I just mentioned, that voting does not mean endorsement, and those who abstain often do so because they see voting and endorsement as one and the same. And so if that's the case, I would question that to remain consistent, not voting means a disapproval of even the good and righteous convictions of that individual's platform. So it's very hard to draw the line of when that line is crossed when the good outweighs the bad so profoundly that to vote for any candidate is to by default partake in the evil they either support or at least will not combat openly. Now again, hard to draw that line, but we have to be consistent. And I would say it is consistent to at least be diligent and wise in investigating a candidate and their platform to endorse the righteous things that they uphold. And I think that is our case this year when it comes to selecting either candidate. We want one who is, again, even if we're faced with two candidates that are both unbelievers, in the case of one, it's hard to say where he stands because, again, he's all over the place, which doubles the frustration in my mind. But we have to ask ourselves, okay, is any one candidate sensitive at all to the voice of God? Is he listening at all? Even some unrighteous kings of Israel found themselves in such a predicament. Remember the one king who was led into captive by a hook in his mouth or hook in his nose, and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord was merciful to him. He knew he had done wrong, and he humbled himself, and he was known as a very wicked king. And so we have to ask ourselves, is there any sensitivity? Is there any sensitivity at all from either of these candidates to the word of the Lord? Even if it's muffled, even if it's fuzzy, even if they can't make any sense of it, is there still any recognition of its goodness? And that brings me to the next reason that we vote, also a controversial one. is the issue of slowing the rot, slowing the rot in our society and preserving our voice and our influence as Christians. The fact is we are called to be salt and light, right? What is salt used as? Not only as a flavor enhancer, but it's used also in that time as a preservative to keep meat from going bad, right? We have the same position in our own society, even though we see certain areas of society, certain areas of our country where there's just moral decomposition. Every man is doing what is right in his own eyes. We find that often in cities, which is why we find so much crime, so much poverty, and so much lawlessness. But as salt, Do we have some kind of responsibility of slowing the rot? And I would say, yes, we do. And so by participating in election, by voting even an imperfect candidate, we affirm the values of God's kingdom and resist moral decay. I was even thinking this morning about whenever I'm out and the guys who work for Dominion Fencing in here can recognize this. It is not uncommon for us to go through on a fence line and do landscaping. Because what is common on a fence line, which usually is on a property line, is there are weeds, there are trees, there are bushes that have been growing there since Colorado Springs was founded. And it is a royal pain to dig a hole where you can put a post in. And it's always in the way. And what doubles the frustration, too, is if there's a tree, a tree, if it has needles on it or something that can poke at you or scratch you, yeah, so you need room. You want room to work. Because if you have that room, if you're able to clear the fence line, you can work more efficiently. You can work without hurting yourself. You're not constantly bumping in and running into things. And I see this election process as something similar. When we slow the rot by being salt in our own elections, I think we preserve in whatever way we can the platform that we have, our room to work in society. We preserve the opportunity to make our voice heard, specifically the voice of the gospel. And from my own point of view, I would say that the choice would be simple. If I had a choice between a very tiny platform, barely any wiggle room, and then lots of wiggle room where there's been some clearance of the area and I can work freely, what am I going to choose? Well, that's a no-brainer. I'm going to choose where I have a wider platform where the rot of the moral decay of society is slowed down. Even if you are constrained. I mean, again, if you're going to be put in a cell, a jail cell, are you going to pick the one which is 4 feet by 6 feet, or are you going to pick the one which is 8 feet by 20 feet? That's a no-brainer. Of course, you're going to pick the one where you don't feel so confined, where you have room to move. And so I would say that in that sense, yes, your vote counts, not just for candidates, but for the preservation of the Christian values and worldview that we hold dear and continue to proclaim and assert. So the voting question that comes out of this, and this is where I think we can vote in clarity of conscience, the question is this, what candidate is most sympathetic to the Christian worldview? I think that is a question we must all ask and do our best to answer. And what that means, again, how do we find that sympathy? I think there's a couple of questions we can ask. What candidate seems to have a sensitivity to the working of the Holy Spirit? We could ask, is there any fear of God there, right? Is there any response to the authority of Scripture? How do they respond when the name of Christ and His kingdom is spoken and declared? How do they respond when they are confronted with the truth and the authority of Scripture? Who's doing that? And who's doing that more? Who's doing that more consistently? That is, which candidate has more of a fear of the Lord? Because that is the beginning of knowledge. The fool despises wisdom and instruction. We know that clearly. Here's another one. Based on that sensitivity, When we look at either candidate, can we perceive, based on both their deeds and their words and their platform, any prepared soil in their heart? Here's what I'm asking, and this may be impossible to actually answer, you know, definitively, but I would say, which candidate is more likely to repent and believe the gospel if they're not there already? We have to anticipate as voters the change that can happen. We've seen a lot of things change in the last four years, especially the price of gasoline. The price of food. And in God's providence, more of you ladies are baking sourdough bread. So hey, you know, these are good things. Even good can come out of what the enemy means for evil. But let's face it, we do live in a typically rapidly changing culture and world. We see things happen all the time that seem to change the direction of what's going on or change at least our perception of what is happening in our country to make us either pessimistic or optimistic or realistic. But we do have to be honest in all of this and say, wow, sometimes things can change very quickly. And either one of these candidates may go into the Oval Office and be a complete pagan. But we have to ask ourselves, is there any prepared soil? Is there a chance that they may become a Christian to repent and believe the gospel? and to endorse and support legislation that is consistent with God's word, that believes that Jesus Christ is Lord. I think that is something that every Christian should consider. Does any candidate have their heart prepared or is their heart being prepared at this moment to receive the good news of Jesus Christ? Because we know that good soil, when the seed is thrown on it, is the one that hears the word and then understands it. and then will therefore create policies and foster environments that allow the gospel to thrive. Again, we don't say here that politics will save you. We know that politics can't save you. God saves you, right? But this is what we see in action. The gospel take hold of someone to the point where they can now discern, because the Holy Spirit dwells inside them, between what is a godless law and what is a God-glorifying law. And they can support those things. And what does the law do? The law reveals sin, it reveals unrighteousness, and it points us to a Savior. And I think that reality can be present in any realm, right? We preach the law here to make you guys aware of sin, that you would humble your hearts, understanding that there's nothing that you can do to make yourself right before God so that you cast yourself at his grace and mercy and call upon the name of the Lord so that you are saved. Who says that the pulpit's the only place to do that? No, we do it in our homes. We do it in Christian schools, presumably. We can do it in the workplace. Why not Capitol Hill? Why not the governor's mansions? Why not city hall? There is no place that the seed of the gospel cannot be sown and then watered and then pruned. And so wouldn't we want a political field that has been cleared of weeds and stone and is rich with nutrients ready for the seed of the gospel to be planted? I think that question answers itself. We want a person who listens to godly counsel, who listens to biblical wisdom, who is sensitive to the truth of scripture. And if we have the opportunity to vote for that, I say let's do it. And so in light of those things, kind of come to the third section. And it's basically this. It's counsel to each one of you in here. Because we say, well, what happens? Let's say this. What happens if our guy loses? Our guy loses, like our guy. What if he wins? There are certain things, my friends, that absolutely have to stay the same. There are certain things that cannot change. And most of them will be very obvious to you, but I wanted to use this time in the word today just by way of reminder to say that, yeah, I mean, if the unthinkable happens Tuesday night or, you know, as they keep counting the votes as they continue to flow in till Christmas, right, so we know without a doubt that every vote has been counted, right? If you find yourself, oh man, we, whoever we might be, we lost this one. Our guy didn't get elected. It didn't turn out the way we wanted to. What do we do? What is our recourse? What is our consolation? How do we respond? Yeah, praise the Lord. Christ still reigns. I'm not saying that we're not gonna feel disappointment or even anger. But we have to remember that it is the sword of the spirit that prevails, not the sword of man. We do not rise up, we do not revolt, we do not inflict death and destruction. No, we recognize that the Lord is good, he is on the throne, and this is his doing. And that doing is an act of his love for his people. And we do have to reckon with the fact that we are entering a time of intense pruning. So if nothing else, we can declare to this unbelieving nations and to one another that which is most precious to us. And that is what your vote fundamentally should represent. What is most precious to you? What matters most to you? And if your vote in any way can declare from the housetops that Jesus Christ is that which is most precious to me, then vote accordingly. So here's what never changes, here is our recourse. These are the things that can stay the same, right? And remember, take a cue from Israel when they are about to go into exile, right? We all know Jeremiah 29, 11. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. I'm gonna put you in exile, right? But let's read a little beforehand. Verse four of Jeremiah 29, this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says to all the exiles who might have sent to exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and father's sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands so that they may give birth to sons and daughters and grow in number there and do not decrease. Are any of those commands any different than the commands given to them while they were living in the promised land in Israel. They're the same. Life goes on. This is what I want from you guys, the same things I wanted you to do when you were in Israel before I sent you into exile for your idolatry and injustice. Build houses and live in them. See, none of that changes. I love that quote from Martin Luther when he was asked, what would you do if you knew the world was gonna end tomorrow? And he says, I would plant a tree today. So in the broad sense, my instruction to you is that no matter how bleak things seem, Everything you do should point to the fact that Christ lives in you, that God dwells among us, and where God dwells, there is what? There is life. So if you lose, if we say we lose the election, it doesn't go the way we want to, that means an antichrist candidate or godless laws just down the roster are put into place, which in Colorado, there's a good chance it may happen. I would counsel you, if we weren't in the dead of winter, you know what? Go and plant a garden. Plant an indoor one, put a tree in the ground, right? Love your family, right? Have another baby if you are still of childbearing age. Because we live in a culture, my friends, that is obsessed with death. And so how do we counter that? We do things that point to our life in God himself. The world should look at us and say, wow, how is it you guys can just go on normally, right? If unbelief prevails in this election, what does the unbeliever, what does the pagan expect to hear? What do they want to hear? Because they see us as the enemy. They see Christians as the enemy. They wanna hear a cry in Egypt. They wanna hear wailing and mourning. They wanna hear a cry of defeat. And I'm here to tell you, do not give that to them. Do not let them look at us and see death. Let them see life. Let them see hope. Let them see light. Let them know and be reminded in profound terms and profound ways by our actions and by our worship. that Christ has not gone anywhere and so neither will we. So keep doing all the things, keep doing the normal things you've been doing. If you are building a business, continue to build your business. If you are out there at Planned Parenthood preaching against the murder of the unborn, continue going out there. Whatever you're doing now, be faithful. If you are raising a family, if you're just trying to find some consistency in discipling your wife and kids, keep doing that. Fight the darkness, fight death with light and with life, with the gospel itself. And do not decrease. Don't just roll over and die because this election didn't go the way you want to. And let me tell you, Tuesday is election night. So even if it's looking bad, you know what's also on Tuesday night? Buy one, get one free at Buffalo Wild Wings. Go and celebrate the goodness of God as expressed in yummy food. Do something that expresses a grateful heart. Hey, if you know, you know. We are thankful. And don't let an undesirable result rob you of a thankful heart. So here's some other things. That's sort of the overall picture. But there's a couple things I want to say. If it doesn't go your way, what never changes? Here's the first thing I think we should say to ourselves and to society at large. Repent. That never stops. Repent. See, our elected leaders are a reflection of our culture, and culture is the outflow of our worship. And in many so-called Christian circles, quite frankly, our worship stinks. Our worship is terrible. Our worship is half-hearted, insincere, not based in the Word. Our worship is based in the fields. Our worship is entirely circumstantial. Our worship is not thankful and Christ exalting. Again, Christ is not precious to us. Judgment must begin with the household of God, right? That pruning, that purifying. Let's look to ourselves first and repent and then cry out to God for grace that he will not remove our lampstand and ask ourselves how have our compromises and our silence contributed to the rise of godlessness in our own culture? We need to repent ourselves, but also to continue to confront the most grievous sins of our society that we've just let continue unabated. We constantly bring up human sacrifice, right? Molech worship. The murder of unborn children in the womb. Repent from turning our kids over to Caesar. Constantly releasing our children to be raised by someone else, by someone not named mom and dad. This one came up, I thought it was interesting, kind of a blind spot. We would even say in terms of taxation, right? We do not cry out against our elected officials, against the evils of stealing the inheritance that we try to build for our children. Think of property taxes as well. Our land is never our own. And if we fail to pay taxes even after you pay off your mortgage, you forget about it in your old age, government can come by and steal it or some lawyer can steal it. But here's the spirit of this exhortation. It's just to stand up against unjust, ungodly laws. And how do we do that unless we go to the scriptures first and be informed and convicted about what God says regarding just laws, just legislation, and then standing for that? Here's another one. This one's hard. Continue to pray for our leaders. I know we kind of go back and forth between imprecatory prayers and then prayers of salvation. I'm an advocate of both. Lord, if this person does not repent, and I pray they do, just smite them. Please remove them from office by your own providential hand. But in all things, we trust the Lord. If he does not remove them, again, we trust in his goodness. They are an instrument of discipline, an instrument of pruning and sanctification. But Paul says in 1 Timothy 2, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. So, if your guy gets elected, if your laws get passed, don't let that make you lazy. Don't let that make you prayerless. Otherwise, I will say, is God wrong in letting this cycle happen all over again? Man, you guys never seem to call out to me unless things are going wrong. Let's call out to Him with equal fervency when things are going right. When we see the gospel make very identifiable and objective and powerful inroads in our society, let us continue to raise up a sacrifice of praise to him, trusting that that good will be multiplied. It'd be nice to finally say, oh, look at all the good that is permeating our society. We're loving one another, the gospel's being proclaimed, just laws are being passed, life is being valued finally. What a day it will be when we actually see that, and I believe that day will come. It's inevitable because Christ reigns. But regardless of who is in power, regardless of who is in power, what does not change is the fact we cry out to the Lord with thankful hearts and we live out the gospel faithfully daily because we are the light of the world. We engage also in acts of service and love, right? Seek the welfare of the city, right? Again, through the ordinary course of life, We live our life before the Lord, to His glory, in love for one another. Right? For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And here's one more thing I would say that is very crucial to this whole thing. It is amazing to me how much federal elections get us down. It seems like the president is sort of the make-or-break thing, and I recognize the psychological impact that it has on us. However, where do we live? Where do we live? We live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We have mayors, right? We have sheriffs. We have all kinds. I mean, no matter where you look, government seems to be bloated, but be that as it may, we are called to be localists, right? When the Israelites went into exile, what did he say? Seek the welfare. Seek the shalom of the city. He didn't say, you know, While you're dwelling in Babylon, you know, you got to seek the welfare of Asher and Susa and Nineveh and whatever. No, be a responsible, faithful steward of God's grace and provision where He has put you. Don't let federal elections weigh you down so much that you basically freeze into inactivity. Focus on localism, focus on being faithful to your own church, faithful in building solid Christian relationships, knowing that God will add to our number, right? Think of Acts 2, right? Gospels being preached, the Lord is adding daily to their number, they're being baptized, they're making a public confession, those who are being saved, and they had all things in common. They were enjoying a common life, and their proximity to one another played a great role in that. work where you can actually partner and link arms literally with other Christians. I realize the burden of missionary activity and wanting to support that, but we can go over land and sea and into the jungle. And man, it's a jungle out there. There's plenty of pagans out there who are thirsty for the gospel. There's your mission trip, friends. What are you doing? You'll fly halfway across the country, preach the gospel in the streets, hand out tracts. Are you willing to do the same in your own city in Colorado Springs? That's a real question we need to answer. That's something that we need to confront ourselves with. Be localists and be faithful. And don't be afraid. Again, every city is going to have its own respective needs. And what does that mean? Is that our faithful God will equip us, right? He will equip us to be compatible with the needs, to meet the needs that need to be met, right? He gives the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, shepherds, teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. In a similar way, parallel way, He equips us to meet the needs of our city. And every city is going to have its own problems. And He's going to equip us with that. So don't hide yourself in the meantime. Think of how the Lord is using you to make a gospel impact in Colorado Springs. Be satisfied. We've talked about contentment, being satisfied with the gifts that God has given us, not envying others who have gifts that we don't or opportunities that we don't. But we all believe in the same Lord. We all worship the King. but consider our immediate surroundings, that that is the point of impact. Don't worry so much or fret what is going on in the rest of our country. As long as the Lord has preserved for us a platform in Colorado Springs, Whether it's safe or whether it's dangerous or somewhere in between on any given day, just be a faithful steward with the talents that God has given you. And in that time, we follow what Paul says in Ephesians 4, be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. And I think if we see the need very carefully and very purposefully of our own city, we are better equipped even mentally to link arms and proclaim the gospel in our own streets and anticipate that regardless of who is president, Jesus Christ remains Lord, not only of the United States, but of Colorado Springs. So no matter the political landscape, all of these things come to our attention, but they should remain at the forefront of our lives and experience as Christians, right? Our ultimate allegiance is to Christ and to Christ alone. And in all things, we are called to reflect his character, engage in his mission, and uphold the truth of his kingdom and its power. So in all these things, whether you vote or you don't, we are called to faithfulness and we are called to serve a king whose power and reign transcends any earthly government and election. So with that, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you again for your love for us. We thank you that we can come to you in a time where the very future of our nation is of great concern. We see the godlessness, particularly the anti-Christian mindset and worldview that is constantly pushed. often by mass media, efficiently reaching millions of ears at once. This godlessness that is constantly paraded and even celebrated, and it's demanded that we do the same. So Lord, in these times, help us to recognize, again, the reality of the situation. That you are the king, that we are your servants, your ambassadors, and that we want to be faithful, and that there is an inevitable clash that exists. So help us, Lord, to stand steadfast in the midst of that clash. Help us, Lord, to also be reminded that we are and can, with good conscience, vote. And what a privilege it is to be able to do that, to vote what is consistent with your righteous decrees, to vote what is consistent with the pleasure of the King that we serve, to be a voice for you, Lord, in the midst of so many other voices. We must, our Father, be faithful in proclaiming that You have exalted Your Son, Jesus Christ, to both Lord and King, Savior of the world, and that that voice cannot be ignored. So help us, Lord, to be faithful in that in whatever capacity. Lord, we desire to be faithful. Help us to have the mindset Your people of righteous men in Christ, righteous men and women in Christ who are like trees planted by streams of living water, who do not wither, but who are rather fruitful, that the rising tide of godlessness will not uproot us, will not make us hopeless, will not bring in unbelief, will not make us despair. Lord, help us to be reminded that whether or especially when an election outcome is unfavorable, we can look to you and we can search our own hearts to see if there is a capitulation to godlessness, to compromise, to cowardice, Lord, that we have failed miserably to stand up for righteousness. Lord, we are Christians and we serve our Lord and Savior Jesus. And that proclamation is political. No matter how we try to shy away from us, we proclaim a kingdom. A kingdom that will eventually subdue and crush every other kingdom. And we can rejoice in that promise, Lord. But in the meantime, as we see Your kingdom continue to advance, help us, God, to be faithful. Help us stand In the midst of all this godlessness and unbelief, and having done all to continue standing, faithful, dressed in the armor of God, dressed in readiness, ready to have an answer for the reason of hope that is in us, always ready to proclaim Christ as Lord. We press upon our minds this very thing, God, this morning. In Christ's name, amen.