Nov 9, 2022
As Christians what do we do when we see this country moving away from God? Should we become activists and try to change things through the political process? The Scriptures give us insight. When Israel moved away from God and asked Samuel for a king, the Lord said, “Give them what they want, but tell them what it will mean for their lives.” Politics will not work if people’s hearts are turned against the Lord. We will change their hearts only by being God’s voice to this nation.
Email Subject Line 1: These Political Times
Email Subject Line 2: These Political Times
Show Notes: As believers in Christ, we do not set aside our faith as we use the democratic process to elect representatives or vote for laws that reflect our values and beliefs. Today as our society moves further and further away from the morals and values this nation has held since its founding, we tend to want to change things by the political process. The reality, however, is that the policies taking our country off its moral foundation are being determined through the political process by the people of this country. And I want to bring a biblical perspective on what is happening and what we should do about it.
When Israel asked Samuel for a king to rule over them, rejecting God as their King, Samuel was deeply concerned because he knew this would be the wrong direction for Israel. The Lord responded by telling Samuel to give the people what they wanted so that they would learn the consequences of their choice. We too, in this day, are deeply concerned about the direction this country is going. But we have to face the fact that God may be allowing this to happen, saying just as He said to Samuel, “Give the people what they want.”
The Lord also told Samuel, “Warn them what will happen when they choose to serve a king rather than God.” We as believers need to rise up and be the voice to this nation just as Samuel was to Israel and warn this nation of what happens when they do not serve God. We need to teach from the Scriptures and show what happens to the nations that serve other gods. People may need to taste the error of their ways to understand the choices they are making. But we can be here persistently proclaiming God’s truths and believing to turn the hearts of the people back to serving Him.
Key Verses:
- John 5:19. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing.”
- Romans 8:14. “All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
- 1 Samuel 8:1-5. “You have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.”
- 1 Samuel 8:7-9. “Solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
- 1 Samuel 8:10-22. “The people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”
- Jeremiah 29:13-14. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
- Jeremiah 31:31-33. “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”
- Ezekiel 36:26. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.”
- Malachi 4:6. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”
- Joel 2:14. “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing.”
Quotes:
- “You don't need me to tell you how to vote, but I do think you need the Holy Spirit to tell you how to vote.”
- “I know that governmentally we have a separation in this country of church and state, but that doesn't mean that you leave your faith out of your decisions and your conscience and what you feel should be done.”
- “We may be in this country seeing something transpire as it did for Israel, where God is saying, ‘Give the people what they want.’”
Takeaways:
- As Christians we continue to exercise our faith through elections and the political process. However, that does not seem to be enough to change the course of this country that is more and more removing God from every aspect of our society and government, taking us away from the blessings of God that have been on us as a nation.
- Are we in a time when God will allow the people of the United States to choose a different type of governance, a different way of life, rejecting Judeo-Christian values, rejecting the blessings of serving God and instead choosing to serve other gods? Finding ourselves in this place, what is our leverage as believers? How do we reverse the political and social forces that are ruining this country?
- We need to speak up in ways that we have not spoken up before. We need to show our faith. We need to speak our faith. We need to tell of the blessings that come when we live according to the principles of God in following Yeshua as Messiah and retaining our Judeo-Christian values. These things need to be shouted from the housetops to those who are making a decision to go in another direction.