Jesus and Politics Pt. 2 // 5 Ways to Flourish in Our Polarized Culture

Welcome to the Lookout Weekly Podcast.

Church of the Lookout is in Boulder, Colorado, and our vision is Jesus abiding in his presence, growing in his family, and living on his mission to transform the world with awe-inspiring love.

Visit us online at the lookout.church.

I was going to title the sermon How to Survive the Election.

I decided that was too negative.

I was going to do How Not to Be Stupid this week, which would probably really work.

But we're going to go more positive on this one, all right?

We're at church after all.

So we're going to do uh five ways to flourish in our polarized culture.

Five ways to flourish in our polarized culture.

I hope that you have either voted or you're planning to vote.

Like we talked about this last week.

Um, it is a privilege and a responsibility to participate in the voting process.

It's it's what we believe is we participate with God on this side of heaven and bringing heaven to earth.

We do that in every sphere of society, and one of the ways that we do that with government is we participate through voting, whether you think your vote matters or not, it is something that we have the privilege of in this nation.

And so I just want to encourage you straight up front, go and vote before Tuesday.

Um, in church world, though, election seasons are very important because they are very revealing.

And uh, and we've known this, especially over the last couple of elections, that uh political seasons are somewhat of a litmus test for the church, especially in the United States.

It's a litmus test that shows us where our deepest loyalties lie.

It's times like this that really expose what matters to us at a core level, evidence in our emotional well-being, our outlook on the future, and the way we conduct ourselves with the people we disagree with.

So on Wednesday this week, we will wake up and there will be a new president elect, and then we'll argue about it for three months or so, maybe, or four years.

No, we're gonna pray against that.

Um, but we'll wake up to the news of a new president and elect, and I just want you to just again settle that in your heart.

That is going to happen.

Can I just don't be surprised if that happens?

That's going to happen.

And uh for some of you, that will be terrific news, and others it won't be.

Um but it's it's important that we understand that next Sunday morning we're going to gather in this room and we're going to worship Jesus as King.

And we will pray for whatever president-elect we have.

Okay?

It's important I mentioned that to you because four years ago we did that.

I did that.

I stood up on the stage and I took the opportunity to pray for President Biden, Vice President Harris, and uh the next day uh we got uh an email, I got an email from somebody that was horribly offended that we would ever do such a thing.

Okay.

Like, where do we get off praying for our enemies on the stage?

Now, I'm not saying he's my enemy, but like, where would he get the where would we get the idea that we can pray for somebody we didn't vote for?

Maybe Jesus.

That's the right answer, Sunday school class.

That's the answer.

Jesus, if you don't know the answer, it's always Jesus in church world, all right?

He said, pray for your enemies.

Bless those who persecute you.

I mean, he he said he said this.

He said those words among many other scriptures that say, pray for your leaders.

And so we will do that.

It's going to happen, and if you just if if that still offends you, just don't even bother sending the email.

You're you're you're you're free to go, all right?

Um and this person left in a hurry.

I'm like, okay, that's great.

Um but this is going to happen, and we have to prepare our hearts for how we navigate these kinds of things.

Um, and that that's just one example of how Christians, how sometimes we get co-opted into the very same way of the world that drives the decision making and the narratives and the messaging and the behaviors of those who don't follow Christ.

And I believe that elections, while they can kind of expose where our deepest loyalties lie, they're also an incredible opportunity to remind ourselves that as followers of Jesus, our lives ought to be distinct in this world.

They ought to be distinct in the way that we do our politics and the way that we engage.

And we do engage and we engage boldly, and we don't, we're not ashamed of that.

But we do it from a different posture, from a different demeanor, from a different essence.

We are motivated by a different kingdom.

Is anybody with me here this morning?

It's easy to get swallowed up into the spirit of the age, but can be be reminded this morning that our politics, we should never see Jesus through the lens of our politics.

We ought to see our politics through the lens of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That is our call, right?

So this morning I want to share five things.

Five uh five things.

The list was 13 things, but for your benefit, I narrowed it down to five.

Okay, because you're not gonna remember any of them, anyways.

Um, I'm gonna do my best to give you five things.

And so you can snap photos, you can write these down.

Number one, remember your first love.

Remember your first love.

Please do not underestimate how living through a time like this shapes our loves and our desires from the inside out.

When we live, when we go through polarizing times, it actually forms us and maybe even deforms us from the inside out.

We forget what matters more or less than other things.

And I think specifically we talked about this last week in the United States, and I think probably actually a lot around the world, politics is becoming a new form of religion, where religion used to kind of uh demand our the passion and the zeal of our hearts.

Politics is now doing that, and you hear that in the way we talk about politics.

And so Pastor Josh Howarton said it like this because politics is our new religion, candidates start to feel like saviors, campaigning replaces evangelism, rallies become worship services, and elections are about salvation or damnation.

And it's very true.

And so, while we should be active politically, I just want to encourage us, just remember this week that our greatest passion, the greatest, deepest affection and passion of our heart should be reserved for God alone.

It's for God alone.

Revelation chapter 2 as the Spirit of God is sending letters to the different churches.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

He said this to the church in Ephesus.

He said, But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember, therefore, from which therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the works that you did at first.

And Ephesus in particular was a church there was a lot of things they were doing well.

A lot of things they were doing well.

But there was something about a first love place that got hijacked along the way.

They forgot what it is that was the deepest heart cry, the passion of their heart.

And it's not the idea of Jesus, it's it's the person of Jesus.

And I want to invite you, challenge you, call you, us as a church this week.

Remember your first love.

And if necessary, repent and do the things that you did at first.

Amen.

Number two an invitation this week to rest in the sovereignty of God.

Rest in the sovereignty of God.

So the ability to vote is a privilege that we shouldn't take for granted, right?

And even if you feel like it means nothing, it is again a way that we actively participate in the shaping of our government.

That being said, um, because we do have the opportunity to vote, sometimes uh the because we do have the opportunity to vote, sometimes we get overly emotionally invested in the outcome to the degree that we forget that God is actually sovereign over all of mankind and all of human history.

Can I just remind you of that?

The word sovereign means supreme and powerful.

Daniel 4, 17 says this the most high is sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.

So the most high is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth.

Okay.

So we vote and we participate, and God is sovereign.

And Jesus knows this too, because when he was before Pilate, he had this a similar conversation in chapter 19, John chapter 19, starting in verse 10.

John 19 · chapter mention

So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me?

Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?

And Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all, unless it had been given to you from above.

So even Jesus knew in his very being that all powers and rulers are somehow ordained by God.

Now, that that opens a can of worms and you start getting into that, but why this leader?

Why evil?

Why all these types of things?

And there's so some questions we don't know the answers to.

We don't know to what degree or or how that works.

We do know there's a participation with humankind for how leaders get into positions of power, but let us not forget that that God is sovereign over all.

This is part of what makes Christians distinct on earth.

And the reason this is important is because on Wednesday, there is going to be a line of people in your life that are, they're gonna want to tell you how bad things are going to be for the next four years or beyond.

There will be, that's going to happen.

All right?

It's not an item.

It's like that's going to happen.

They're gonna want to try to tell you and to give you an outlook of this and that.

And this is where quick Christians, we get to be distinct in our posture when the world begins to unravel, unravel.

Followers of Jesus, we can access peace that goes beyond understanding, knowing that God is over all and he can be trusted.

God can be trusted.

Okay?

And so for Jesus, this was such a critical piece as he was inviting men and women to put their faith in him.

In the Gospel of John, uh, I believe it's 98 times he uh invites uh his his listeners to believe in him, to believe in the Father.

In John chapter 6, he says they or they asked him a question, what must we do to do the works God requires?

John 6 · chapter mention

This is his disciples asking, what must we do to do the work God requires?

And Jesus answered, The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent.

The work of God is to believe in the one he has sent.

Now, they were hoping for a different answer.

They wanted to say, just pray more or you know, serve the poor more, do that kind of thing.

And Jesus said, believe in the one he sent.

Now, this word believe is synonymous with to trust, to trust in the one he has sent.

Theologian uh Frederick Dale Brunner said this is also akin to relaxing in.

Believing in and trusting in is the same as relaxing back into his words and his promises.

Can you just imagine just in your chair right now, just kind of just relax back into your chair for a second?

Take a breath, it's just just relax for a second.

There's there's a place of belief in Jesus and the work of the Father.

That what it ought to do in the lives of believers is while there's certain things that we contend for in our work on earth, and there's certain things we raise our voice for, and we say no is no, and and we you know we contend for even in the political realm, after we do our part, there is a there is a place where we just get to sit back and just like there there should be a demeanor among the people of God of deep trust, of deep belief that it's manifested in peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Where does peace come from?

It comes from trust.

It comes from nothing else.

I was sitting, uh I was in the park yesterday, enjoying a rest day yesterday, and I was on a bench while my daughter and her friend were playing, and a neighbor came by and sat down on the bench next to me and said, I need to talk.

And he he said, I don't, he's like, I I have been walking through such extreme anxiety uh for the last several months of depression.

He's like, I just I need some perspective.

Can you can you help me?

And so, you know, I it was like one of those God moments where I was just able to open up a space and ask some questions and help him see where maybe God was trying to get his attention in his life.

But you know, a lot of the conversation came back to um he he believed that God had all these expectations on him and he was mad at him and he wasn't doing enough and enough and enough and all these things.

But then I was just helping just walking him through some of these passages where Jesus paints a picture of the Father.

It's like, no, this is a Father that can be trusted, that we can relax back into him, and we don't need to know the answers to everything to be able to be at peace with God and walk in peace on this earth.

I don't need to know the answers to everything.

Do you know how relieving that is?

And people ask me, they think I have answers just because I'm a pastor.

Like, I don't have any.

I don't I I can I can maybe help you in a few different I can share my life experience with you, I can show you what the scriptures say, but I I can't fix your problems.

But I can introduce you to a God who can be trusted.

He loves us and he loves us and he gave himself for us through his son Jesus.

So we relax back into him.

So the Christian hope is that no matter what the kingdoms of the earth do, God is unshakable and he oversees the affairs of this earth.

And at the end of the day, the end of the book, Jesus still wins, guys.

I was expecting a little more than that.

That's what you're here for.

Come on, dude.

Let's go.

So we rest in the sovereignty of God.

We remember our first love.

We rest in the sovereignty of God.

But third, we we should be quick to listen, slow to speak.

Ooh, well, well, well.

This is the one.

This is the one.

Somehow, I don't know how, but Christians somehow have managed to do the opposite of this and become known for the opposite of this.

It's one of the clearest commands.

New Testament, Old Testament alike.

Not to be quick to speak and slow to listen, it's to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

James 1.19 says, Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

Now, our polarized culture has made it difficult to appreciate anybody else's point of view.

We tend to think of everything where all of politics, we we tend to think of one person's right, one person's wrong.

This is the right choice, this is the wrong choice.

And certainly there's there's certain things that are that black and white.

But a lot of politics is about angles and it's about perspective.

The difficult part for us is the middle is completely dropped out of all of our dialogue, all of our conversations, which is not particularly helpful because many things are more nuanced than just black and white when it comes to politics, okay?

Um we hear this, uh, and I hear that I hear this all the time, I hear this from other pastors.

You cannot be a Christian and vote for X.

And I've heard this on both sides, by the way.

I've heard it from people in this congregation.

You cannot be a Christian and vote for blank, okay?

Now, I get I get what you mean by that, but it's not particularly helpful as we're trying to manage, as we're managing to see and appreciate how people arrive to different perspectives.

Now, um, for instance, the early church, when you look at the politics of the early church, it is really fascinating because they were really known for about five things in the early church.

They were distinct in the world, and everybody was talking about them because nobody could figure out why they were living this way.

It wasn't just a vote, they were living a kind of life that was different.

Number one, they were extremely generous to the poor.

They were overly generous, nobody could figure out why they were selling houses and giving their stuff away and sharing possessions.

Number two, they had an incredibly high sexual ethic.

They actually believed that sex is reserved for a covenant between a man and uh and his wife.

They actually believed that.

Which is good, okay?

They had a high sexual, people couldn't figure out why you are not sleeping with everybody that you can.

They're like, we're not doing that because here's our view of sexuality.

But number three, they were a radically inclusive of ethnic groups, minorities, and different classes of people.

Nobody could figure out why they were building bridges outside of their little bubbles.

Okay, number four, they had a high value for the unborn and they would rescue babies that were thrown in fields.

And they they were the Christians were the ones that would go find the babies and adopt them.

And nobody could figure out why they were doing that.

Why?

Because they had such a high view of the image of God, the Imago Day that was in every single person, and that it shaped how they lived.

And number five, they were non-violent, they just didn't do anything with violence.

So if you take those five things and kind of map them over our current politic options, it doesn't quite fit neatly on American politics.

You guys see what I'm saying?

And here's here's what one thing that's very important.

It's okay to believe two things at one time.

People are gonna tell you that it's not possible.

I'm telling you it is possible.

You can believe in tight borders and legal immigration and still care for immigrants that are in your city.

Okay?

You don't have to choose between those two.

Thank you.

You don't have to choose between you can you can fight for the life of an unborn, of the unborn, you can be completely pro-life, and then you can fight for the protection of mothers and single mothers and and and those who who need help raising their children.

You can do both.

And for people to pit you against each other, this is the work of the enemy, this is what's happening in our culture.

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying everything is a gray area and we just have to find this middle ground on every particular thing.

There's some things that are that black and white.

For instance, uh, I think when you get into the realm of um school systems and governments being able to make health decisions on behalf of kids and sidestep of family and parental rights in order to do that, I think that's evil, all right?

I'm just gonna say it right now.

It's evil.

It should not be allowed, all right?

And there's other things like that, but you guys hear what I'm saying.

There are some things that are nuanced, and it involves us being able to ask good questions to each other.

And the invitation is don't dehumanize another person, don't turn them into a voting block or to just a political affiliation.

They are made in the image of God.

This doesn't mean passivity or indifference.

It doesn't, I'm not saying we need to be passive on everything or not walk or walk on eggshells.

I'm not saying that.

It's called principled pluralism.

It's use your voice and be intent to and be quick to listen to how somebody else shaped the worldview.

Okay?

Proverbs 17, 27, 28 says this whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise.

When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

You hear that?

So if you're a fool, just close your lips.

You will be deemed intelligent.

So here's a way to reframe some of the questions that we tend to ask that aren't helpful.

Okay?

Number one, instead of asking, who are you voting for, ask, are you going to vote?

Number two, instead of saying, are you Republican Democrat, instead say, what policies are you most passionate about and why?

Instead of saying, how can you support blank for president, instead ask what or who has most influenced your involvement in politics, right?

And the list goes on from there.

Instead of saying, how can you be such an idiot, say, how did you arrive at such a creative and unique position that nobody else is on board with?

You know, I'm saying, I'm not saying get passive aggressive about, I'm just saying there's other ways to frame in questions and ask, like, what policies matter most to you?

How did you arrive at that?

Why does that why does that matter to you so much?

And you learn a lot about the person and not just who they're voting for.

That's what we're after.

We're after knowing each other, and especially in the church.

I love that even last week after the service, I had a conversation with a couple people who were clearly on different uh shared different uh angles of politics, but their love for each other was very evident, and they were able to acknowledge where they landed and say, we don't agree on all that, uh, but there is a unity of spirit among us, and we can do we can we can make our way through this.

So that brings us to the point number four here.

Which is to fight for oneness.

Fight for oneness.

This isn't oneness in the scriptures is not superficial unity.

It's not superficial, just let's all get along and sing kumbaya.

That's not oneness.

Oneness in the scriptures allows a diverse group of people to be in the same room and manage to make it through with a deep love for God and a deep love for each other.

And this is this is where where Jesus would, when he prayed to the Father, this was one of his deepest prayers.

He said in John 17, verse 20, he's praying to the Father.

John 17:20

And he says, I do not ask for these only, referring to his disciples.

He says, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

Okay, so that would be you and I and generations to come, those who would believe in him through their word.

Verse 21.

That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Do you guys see how profound this is?

So according to Jesus, oneness is not just everybody get along.

Just can you just get along?

There's some of that in this in the New Testament where some of the writers say just get along with each other.

But what Jesus is saying here is like, no, you need to access a oneness because it's your oneness that is actually your witness to the world, so that the world may believe.

So according to Jesus, the way that the world believes that he came from the Father is manifested in the level of oneness in the body of Christ.

That's so profound.

And so that means that should have an effect on us, especially in this room.

But certainly, you know, in a couple weeks, you're all gonna be around Thanksgiving tables.

Woo! Have fun with that one.

You'll be around Thanksgiving, you've got to work it out with Aunt Betsy or whatever.

Grandma, grandma, grandma Jean, or why whatever.

And you've gotta you have to be able to work some things out.

And the the principle is this don't lose long-term relationships over short-term candidates.

Come on.

You're living with these people.

We're living with you got me.

Unless you leave this right, you got me, I got you.

We have each other, you have your family.

Do not lose long-term relationships over short-term.

It's not worth it.

It's not worth it, guys.

Jesus prays for our oneness that means that much to him.

And I hope that we can be the kind of church that we can bring different views to the table and we can wrestle it out when we need to.

We can throw down, right?

And we can make it out and we can sharpen each other into the image of Jesus.

That all of us would grow into the measure of the stature of Christ.

That's the actual purpose of the church.

Not that we agree on every particular issue, but that we sharpen each other into the image of Jesus until he is reflected in this body.

Do you understand that Jesus, he picked his disciples and he did it?

Uh he sneakily picked guys who would probably kill each other if they weren't following him.

He called a tax collector and he called a zealot.

Now, if you if you if you did that today, people would say, You cannot be a tax collector and follow Jesus.

You cannot be a zealot and follow Jesus.

Jesus said, Well, I invited them to follow me and they're following me.

So they're doing it.

And they're learning to lay down their identities and to become one with me in my way.

And he did that as an experiment for all of time, so we could look back and say, if they could do it, if you can get a tax collector and a zealot in the same room and they make it out alive, then God, there's hope for us.

Are you guys with me this morning?

Okay.

Fifth point.

Hey guys, we're doing good on time.

This is great.

I'll just do all 13 then.

It's not like there's a Broncos game on right now.

Number five, cling to living hope.

Cling to living hope.

We cling to living hope.

First Peter chapter one.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Come on, guys.

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Woo! I didn't expect that.

To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Jesus.

We have been born again to a living hope.

It's not an idealistic hope.

It's not a philosophical hope.

It's not a theoretical hope.

Our hope is alive through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

So you and I, right now, we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading.

It's kept in heaven, it's preserved.

And by God's power, it's been guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

If nothing else, guys, this changes everything for those who are given to following Jesus and have received salvation in Jesus.

This is why we follow him because our hope is not dead.

He's alive, he's not just a good idea.

Christianity is not just a good idea.

It's actually on the surface a bad idea.

It's foolishness to those who are perishing, but those who have tasted of the resurrection life of Jesus, it's the power of God for salvation.

This is the gospel.

It makes no sense.

It's a stumbling block to the Jews, it's foolishness to the Gentiles, but those who have tasted and seen, we know it's the power of God for salvation.

And so we are not left without hope.

We have a living hope.

And it's inside of us and it's imperishable.

It will not die, which means come hell out of high water.

I'm good with God, and God's good with me because of what he's done through his son, Jesus Christ.

Come on, and that's that better put a little jump in your step in the morning.

If that's got boring to you, then get on your face before the Lord, fast and weep and mourn.

Let God open your heart again because this is the most outrageous news that we could ever declare to each other, that we could ever receive, that we've been given something that actually cannot die.

So that means a lot of things for us, but one one that it's very important that we remind ourselves Christians can thrive in any environment.

Christians can thrive in any environment.

Well, some governments are better governments than other governments.

Some governments protect freedoms better than other governments.

Some governments protect religious freedoms and free speech better than other governments.

Throughout history, we have 2,000 years of proof that Christians can thrive under any government.

Okay?

When Paul was writing these things, as Peter was writing these things, there was no prayer in public schools.

Okay?

These emperors were evil.

They were cross-tressing, they were lighting Christians on fire, they were doing horrible things.

And somehow the church still exploded.

It doesn't matter what they gave them permission to do or not to do, their allegiance was to Christ alone.

Same thing's happening in China right now, the same thing's happening in Iran right now, and a lot of persecuted nations.

We don't want persecution.

But our hope is this that what God has given to us from the inside out cannot be stolen from us.

And so we live with hope.

And so that changes everything.

It doesn't just change how we vote, it changes how we pray, it changes how we conduct ourselves.

Graham Kepin wrote this to me uh last week.

He's one of our elders, and this is very insightful.

During the week of prayer, he just had the sense of, as believers, we ought to be casting our vote through prayer long before we cast our vote in the ballot box.

So we cast our vote with the way that we live.

We cast the vote, our vote with the way that we pray.

And we pray because we have a living hope, and our voices are not, it doesn't not just fall on dead ground.

It actually is received into the heart of Christ and the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And so this changes our demeanor, it changes our outlook.

This is the hope, the Christian hope is that God is intimately at work in the affairs of man.

And at the end of the day, he is working until all kingdoms of the earth become kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ.

Hebrews 12 28 says, Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

Therefore, let us be grateful.

You can't be grateful without smiling.

Try it.

You can't do it.

Right?

Just try to do it.

It's like, no, it's okay.

You're gonna smile, you can try to frown, but it's not gonna happen.

You can't be grateful without telling your face.

You can't be grateful without it producing joy on a core level inside of you.

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

Everybody up on your feet this morning.

We're gonna sing, we're gonna offer the Lord acceptable worship with reverence and awe today, because He's given us a kingdom that cannot be shaken, that changes who you are, that changes who we are.

And if listen, if you have not put your faith in Jesus yet, if you have not experienced what it is like to live in a kingdom where doesn't matter what happens to you circumstantially, you at a core level cannot be shaken.

There's life that is given to you that can never be robbed from you.

I'm telling you this morning, put your hope and your faith in Jesus Christ.

He paid for your freedom, he paid for life with his own body, with his own blood, so that you can receive an inheritance that will never be taken from you.

All you have to do is say, Jesus, I want it.

Jesus, I put my faith in you.

Jesus, I want you.

I need you in my life.

That's all you have to do.

It doesn't have to be a magic formula.

Just let your heart cry out to God.

And this morning, as we head into an election week, let's sing together.

Let's sing together.

Let's announce the lordship and the glory of Jesus over our nation and over our church and over our communities.

We thank you, God, Lord Jesus, that your name is the highest, your name is the greatest, your name will not be overcome.

And this this morning, Lord God, as a people of God, we come before you and we align our hearts and our minds with you.

We thank you to order us inside and out, Lord Jesus, that our lives would look like your kingdom this week and beyond, Jesus.

We thank you.