Getting back on God’s side

How Should A Christian Vote?

There’s a famous Nursery rhyme that simply goes
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
& all the kings horse s& all the kings’ men
simply could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again

Mr. Dumpty’s world had become shattered, and he needed it fixed
But he didn’t go to his friends or his family or even his church…
He went to the White House
& we know he went to the White House because The King got involved.
& The King was sympathetic to Mr. Dumpty’s dilemma

So, he called a meeting of Congress.
And We know Congress got involved cause some of the King’s men got involved.
When they came together, they decided to pass a “Fix Mr. Dumpty Law”
because they wanted sincerely to make Mr. Dumpty’s world a better place to live.

The tragedy of the nursery rhyme is when it’s all said and done
All the king’s horses & all the king’s men could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

It is unfortunate today that far too many believers are expecting the solutions to our problems
to land on Air Force One. They are expecting the transformation to come from our Elected Officials. But 2 chronicles ch 15: vs 3-6 puts it in proper perspective. It says

For a long time, Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,
& It concludes in v 6 by saying
…because God was troubling them with every kind of distress

Now if God is Your Problem; Only God is Your Solution .If God is Your Problem,
then the 1st concern not ought to be Who’s in the White House?
but who’s in Our House?

If God is Your Problem…if He is causing Your Distress, then the maximum amount of our time should not be spent on getting The Right Person in Washington… but the bulk of our time needs to be spent in Getting God back on our side!

Thank u Pastor Tony Evans 4 this illustration way back in 2012.
It just couldn’t be said any better

But This is 2020.. & in the latest of Every Kind Of Distress the current 1 is COVID-19

Now, COVID 19 does not exactly kill you but as it breaks down r immune system and it sets you up 4something else to “do you in”, whether its in your lungs, heart, even brain cells because the immune system is down.. The bacteria in virus are up & it can bring destruction

In the culture, God’s Immune system…
• is The Church

So, if cultural colds are now Societal Covid, it’s because our immune system is down
and until the immune system of God, The Church, is brought Back Up… the bacteria and viruses of destruction will continue to destabilize our Country, ebb away our Freedoms, and take away our Liberty.

Now todays subject When the question is raised, How Should a Christian Vote?
I’m taken to Josh Ch 5 and I’ll just summarize
Joshua’s doing reconnaissance around the walls of Jericho…
And he’s trying to figure out how to take down this enemy

He looks over and he sees The Captain of another large army dressed in battle array
So, Joshua’s wants to know… Who Side Are You On?
Because if you’re on OUR SIDE we’ve got help against Jericho
But if you are THEIR SIDE we’ve got Double Trouble,
So, before I go out here & make a fool of myself, I need to know Who’s Side You’re On?

That’s when THE CAPTAIN said I think you’re confused…
I’m neither on Your Side nor am I on Their Side… I’m captain of the Lords Army…
I did not come to Take Sides… I came to Take Over!
You and I have to understand,
Our God does not ride the backs of Donkeys or Elephants
If You’re a Democrat, the best u can do is vote Democrat lite… L.I.T.E.
Or u are a Republican the best u can do is vote Republican Lite.. L.I.T.E.

This is Tony again…
because your job is to bring to either one, The L.I.G.H.T.!
Your job is to represent Another King & Another Kingdom

With that said…Lets tie it together by way of illustration…
In every fb game, 2 teams battle head-to-head in combat.
But in reality, there are 3 teams participating
There is the Home Team. There is the Visiting Team
and They’ll never get along because 1 is going This Way and the other’s going That Way
and they are built to resist one another
And there is nothing you can do to put them on The Same Page.
But then there is this 3rd team called THE TEAM OF OFFICIALS.
This Team of Officials are on the field but they’re not Of the Field
There in the middle of the chaos but they don’t belong to the chaos.
because they belong to Another Kingdom called the NFL or the NCAA
or the A I A A Whole Nother Arena

This 3rd team doesn’t take sides with either of the teams in the battle.
If they did, they would be dis-qualified from what they’ve been put there to do

& The Official’s Job is not to listen to the roar of the crowd…
Be they Boos or Cheers or to the factions that are against each other
because they’ve been handed a Book …
& every decision they make on the field is to be reflective of The book
that’s been handed down from the kingdom they are to represent.

As Christians, we do not belong to either kingdom on the field.
but the kingdom in the Front office… P.O. box 777 Pearly Gates

And our job on the field is to represent the King and present His wishes and His warnings
So, when we talk about a kingdom, we’re talking 1st about A King, and a Ruler has Power.

Now if there’s a Ruler, there also must be “Rulees,” kingdom subjects
A kingdom also includes A Realm: that is, a sphere over which the King Rules
Finally, if you’re going to have a Ruler, Rulees, & a Realm, you also need Kingdom Regulations — guidelines that govern the relationship between the Ruler and the Subjects.
These are necessary so the Rulees will know whether they are doing what the Ruler wants. God’s kingdom includes all these elements He is the absolute Ruler of His domain,
which encompasses all of creation… and His authority is total!

Everything God rules, He runs—even when it doesn’t look like He’s running it…even when life looks like it’s out of control, God is running its “out-of-controlness.” At the heart of the kingdom agenda is the fact that there should never be a separation between the sacred & the secular.
All of life is spiritual since all of life is to come under God’s rule.

Therefore, every issue in life— whether social, political, economic, educational, environmental, or otherwise is to mirror God’s principles related to the specific area & thus reflect & promote His agenda in history. God has made Jesus Christ the Sovereign over all mankind’s kingdoms.
His rule is to be represented in history by those who are a part of His kingdom & have been delegated the responsibility of dispensing His rule to the nations

Ephesians 1:22, 23 says it this way
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:13 says that everybody who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior has been rescued us from the domain of darkness, & transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son

Christian voting should reflect this kingdom reality.
And just in case there’s any doubt… There are No such thing as being In-Between Kingdoms.
There are only 2 realms in creation: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
You are subject to 1 or the other. This means your allegiance is in another order & no matter where u live, work, travel, or Vote

Philippians 3:20a “Our citizenship is in heaven”

To walk into a voting booth and simply pull a single lever because that is what your friends do, that is what your family does, that’s what your party obligation calls for, will be to neglect one of the greatest responsibilities u have which is to cast your vote for the values of the kingdom of God.

Rather, your vote ought to be determined by an intentional knowledge of God’s kingdom purposes on earth, combined w a thorough understanding of the issue or candidate at hand.
Then you will not only cast your votes for the betterment of your country, but you will also cast your votes for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

While this does not mean all Christians will vote the same way & I will tell u why…& this is important because we each have different experiences affecting us in different ways
with different maturity levels at different seasons of life… Therefore, we each wear a different set of eyeglasses thru which we see life

But when we become Christians over time, we learn that comprehending the Kingship of God leads to us desiring His Rule more and more so that His kingdom His will be done on the earth just as it is in heaven & our life view in our spiritual glasses changes

So, a major point of clarity comes when the question in voting moves from
Who Should I Vote For?… To, In light of God’s Divine Purpose in govt …
How should I vote?

Let’s go back to the FB illustration There are competing teams on the field, diametrically opposed…Let’s call them The DC Donkeys vs. The Washington Elephants
But remember there is a 3rd team on the field the Referees whose guidance is to reflect the will and authority of the league office to influence fair play They have a book. That book is to govern fair play on the field. God has the church as culture’s 3rd team to represent His interests on the field of play & serve as the conscience of the players, and the church knows from experience that the closer God is brought in relationship the more blessed that culture will be. The more you utilizes your vote to select leaders whether they know the king personally or not they comprehend & value the king’s values, the more blessed the culture will become.
Equally If you vote in leaders who not only don’t know the king but usurp His kingdom creating their own rules & regulations…you will live in a culture that has become the enemy of the king & reject his care. & as said in 2 Chronicles God will begin troubling them w every kind of distress

So, if the refs just get frightened by the home crowds or tired of the noise & retreat to the locker room… & they gather with other refs each Sunday to praise the commissioner in the league office to wait for the day they Collect their pension. rather than get back on the field
and do their job representing the face of the commissioner before the players and the fans.

The commish is going to 1st take action toward whom? The refs
which brings us to the king’s royal decree found in Ephesians 6: 10
Before God deals w principalities & powers behind the scenes causing the disruptions,
He 1st straightens out the bent values of His church

Listen to His word
‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

So, listen church, in tough times It’s easy for church people to begin looking to 1600 Penn Ave
& the landing of Air Force 1 to solve societies’ problem. So, unless we take it upon our-self to get back on the field & live, 1st as a sermon in shoes to society.
You can’t think that by simply knowing right theology God is going to be on our side.
& there is nothing worse in a game than an inconsistent or worse, a corrupt ref.
So, you are to step on the field & Make the Kings face telt and felt
And to vote for God because that is what you are doing. You are voting for God.

How? So when you go the voting booth
1. You don’t pick to ride straight donkey or elephant Instead you ask,
2. How will my vote in this issue, candidate, platform most advance God’s reign,
God’s rule and God’s kingdom values?
3. Take a sheet of paper
o 4 columns
o Key issues Dem Rep God
You see…. You are voting for God!

So, church 2020 it better be the time, because now we are running out of time moral cultural, political, economic areas must be nudged in God’s direction in order for God to move,
& no matter the outcome u stay on the field

And know this as well with kingdom citizens there will be a variety of convictions of non- essential biblical matters Some Lean to the left. Others Lean to the right
So, we need both in the boat to keep it afloat
As for Him, God is on His side and nobody else’s
He votes only for him in the meantime, there are No perfect candidates, cause the king is
yet to sit on the throne at 1600 Penn ave
But He will one day. He Wil .
So, vote your informed conscious and regardless of the outcome
Stay on the field to bring God’s view to culture to bear by ur L.I.G.H.T.
& you’re going to do it publicly, aggressively, responsibly, enthusiastically, legally, and clearly! Cause you are a citizen of the 3rd team on the field