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Well, it’s over.  And I thank God it wasn’t even close.  Who wants to go through another 2000 or 2004 circus.

My guy gal didn’t win.  So that’s that.  Obama will be my President and I will respect that.  My respect of the office is not an endorsement of the policies he MAY enact.  In fact, I am sure that I will disagree with the direction he HOPES to take this country in, but he is my President.  I will render the respect the office deserves.

I believe in THE TRUTH, the Word of God, and I do not assume to know the will of God.  Whether President-elect Obama will glorify God during his term(s) in office will remain to be seen, but I believe God appoints our leaders for our good and His glory.

With that said, my brother, recently gave a sermon on the suject of God and the role of our Government.  I found his summary of the subject to be quite enlightening and well constructed.  I have pasted the text of it here.  Thanks Todd.  God is growing you in wisdom that I envy.

The Glory of God in the Grace of Government

We must be thankful

1. Thankful that almost any form of Government is better than the unrestrained evil of the human heart unleashed in anarchy.

2. Thankful that God is Sovereign. He has raised up this leader for His purpose and for His Glory, though it may seem mysterious to us now. Obama is God’s servant, whether he knows it or not.(Daniel 2:21 Romans 13:1-2)

3. Thankful that the racial divides that once defined this country are no longer in place. This is a small picture of the what Christ did on the cross.(Ephesians 2:15)

4. Thankful that the the Throne that can not be overturned is not surprised today.

5. Thankful that we have a system of government that still listens to the will of the people and not just a select few.

6. Thankful that millions of people that have never participated in Democracy have now become engaged. They are now listening and no longer apathetic to what happens in this country.

7. Thankful that our joy and hope in the future are not tied to a man or to a temporal government.(

We must be prayerful

1. Pray for the safety for Obama, his wife, and his children. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

2. Pray that the God who holds the hearts of everyone would not harden Obama’s heart and give Him wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus to lead with wisdom.

1. Pray for the Christians in America to be respectful in their honoring of the position of president, articulate in their disagreement, and God glorifying in their pursuit of the unsaved.(Romans 13and 1 Peter 2:17)

2. Pray for those that don’t yet have a voice or a vote, the unborn.

3. Pray that people would see that the economy, a president they disagree with, or a war is not their biggest problem, it is their own sin.

4. Pray that as we render unto Caesar what is His, We must not forget to render unto God what is his. We must not confuse these two things.

5. Pray that greater taxes would not stifle our Christian duties to pursue excellence, creativity, or industry in our callings and vocations.

We must see this with an eternal, Gospel infused perspective.

1. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Church to articulate a view point that they have become apathetic and lethargic in doing because we left that up to leadership we thought would do it for us. We too long thought change in this country would come from the top down rather than the bottom up.

2. Realize that Obama was elected because the hearts of the people were turned toward him and his world view. This election was only evidence of that shifting that had already been taking place.

“Democratic systems inevitably reflect the electorate’s decisions, and these decisions reveal underlying worldviews. And, truth be told, all we can expect from democracy is the government we deserve. We must pray for a government and for leaders better than we deserve. May God grant us mercy as he reigns and rules over all things, including this election.” Al Mohler (Romans 1 and 2)

1. We must realize what delineates the Gospel from the liberal, liberation, social Gospels and be able to articulate it with confidence and peace.

No law Obama enacts can be written on the human heart, so we have hope that the Gospel is and always has been the only true weapon in changing our government. Therefore, the battle has always been and still is for the hearts of people and we have the only weapon that can truly change the human heart.

4. God’s judgments is also his mercy. Light shines brightest in the darkest times.

5.The key to changing the government is revival of the lost, so what happens in Washington is connected on a very personal, local level. The great commission is still in the hands of the people of God, not the government.

Lastly we must come the point where we are comfortable saying with confidence with John in Revelation 1:7

“Even So. Amen”

Review of Sermon

Colossians 1:15

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

God in Government

God gave man his image as a gift. This image gave man the ability and the stewardship to govern the things entrusted to him by God. This government worked because it was done it relation to and with the understanding that God was the giver of this authority.

The Fall marred this image and its duty. People still have the desire to worship God and avoid chaos through proper governess.

The people of God quickly moved away from the Garden government. They worshiped other gods and kings. Always wavering between avoiding chaos and wanted to worship something.

God was patient and merciful with His people. Giving them the rulers they desereved, but most often giving them the leaders they didn’t deserve.

The culmination of God’s government culminates with the arrival of Jesus Christ, who rules by justice rather than power.

Christ fulfills and establishes what was true in the Garden of Eden. Reconciles our biggest problem, our sin between God and us. Rules with perfect righteousness. Brings an end to eternal chaos.

American Government

Established on Christian ideas

Worked because it was based on a Judeo-Christian basis

Came about by not only wise men who knew this, but a population that was driven by a revival of Reformed Christian Gospel.

Successful because of the worldview that formed its foundation

Two Paths Today

Two world views

Christian world view and Humanist world view

Christian world view has tremendous implications

Humanist world view has tremendous implications

Humanist has wrong view of man, therefore social and common law will always be flawed.

Humanism tends toward chaos, anarchy, or/and totalitarin government

State allegiance over individual/ religious allegiance

Application

What is at stake is bigger than a stable government, it is the salvation of the lost.

Daniel 2:20-23

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Ephesians 2:14

“He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace an might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross.

1 Timothy 2:1-4

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions. And thanksgivings be make for all people, for kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

1 Peter 2:13

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as a supreme, or to governs as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Matthew 22:21

“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

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