Today is the day. Whether you’ve already voted or not, and if you are eligible to vote I would encourage you to do that prayerfully and informed, by the time we wake up tomorrow morning we will have a new elected president of the United States of America.
I gotta be honest, this election season has been the most embarrassing one of my lifetime. There is always mudslinging and name calling but both parties took it to a whole new level this year. It seems like somewhere along the way we lost sight of the policies and started pointing out the other candidates faults and failures instead. But I digress.
Regardless of who you vote for and regardless of what happens in this election, what are we going to do if THEY are elected? As a follower of Jesus I think there are three things we should commit ourselves to do starting tomorrow when we wake up.
1. Pray for our president
I can’t imagine the weight of responsibility that sits on the man or woman who leads our country. Personally, I don’t know why anyone would even want that job, but all I know is this… THEY NEED OUR PRAYERS! Church, if we don’t hit our knees on behalf of our leaders, who will?
In 2 Timothy 2:1-3 the Apostle Paul says, I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
A. We should pray for God to help them — Whoever our president is we need to ask that God would help them. To give them wisdom, insight, courage, boldness and strength to do what is right. We need to pray that they succeed according to GOD’S will. That God would lift up His advice and confound the advice of the enemy. We should pray for purity, integrity, rest, energy and everything else that we would want prayed for us if we were in their position.
B. We should pray that God protects them (intercede on their behalf) — Our prayers of protection need to be around them and their family. That God would protect them spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally from ANY attack of the enemy.
C. We should pray for their salvation — More than anything, we need to pray that our leaders have a true, life giving, light producing relationship with Jesus. If they are a professing Christian, we should pray that that don’t just have a professed faith but a practiced one. That God would place people around our leaders to be true lights, examples and witnesses of faith in our Lord Jesus.
D. We should thank God for them — Don’t forget, the King who was in authority over Paul in Rome when He wrote this letter was Emperor Nero. Look him up! It will be a lot easier to thank God for your president when you see who Paul was telling Christians they should thank God for.
2. We should praise God for His sovereignty over our president
1 Timothy 2:5-6 says For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
There is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity. It’s not the next president, it is the person and work of Jesus Christ! God is not freaking out about this election. God is not worried about who is going to win. God is Sovereign over ALL kings and leaders. Daniel says that He removes Kings and puts new ones in place. Paul tells us in Romans that all governing authority comes from God. Jesus told Pilate, You would have no authority over me unless it were given to you from above.
Should we vote? Yes! Do politics matter? Absolutely. But ultimately I have to trust that God is in control! That no matter how out of control a leader or country might be, God is in control. He is not bound by any government and He is not limited by any law. He does not need a Christian president to advance His Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is not advanced by politicians, His Kingdom is advanced by His people. And that leads me to the last thing we should do if THEY are elected?
3. We should point people to Jesus in spite of the president
Not TO spite the president – some of you were getting excited. IN SPITE of the president.
Paul says this in 1 Timothy 2:7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
You are a preacher to! You may not be an apostle like Paul or stand on a stage like I do, but each of us as followers of Jesus are preachers with our words, attitudes and actions. The reality is, when we wake up tomorrow, regardless of who the president is, it is our obligation to point people to Jesus. Not to a political party and not to any politician but to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Do you know why Rome was eventually won over to Christianity? It wasn’t because they got a new leader. Rome was won over to Christianity because Christians overwhelmed their communities with the light, life and love of Jesus Christ! How will our world be won over to Christianity? Not by a politician, law, supreme court justice or political party, but by overwhelming our communities with the light, life and love of Jesus Christ!
God’s got this Church. What do you say we live like it?