The Narrow Way, Part 1: Jesus and Politics

Good morning.

Good morning, welcome to church.

You glad you're here today, still considering some of us.

That's all right.

That's all right.

Hey, let me, before we jump into our message today, let's talk about Easter just for a second man.

Last weekend was a phenomenal weekend in church, across both campuses, and I just want to celebrate just for a second.

So, across five services last Sunday morning, so across five services last Sunday morning, we saw over 2,300 people worshiping Jesus last Sunday morning on Easter Sunday we can clap for that.

On campus here, we had 540 people.

That was the first Sunday.

We went past 400 and 500.

Did it on the same Sunday.

Why are we counting people?

Because people count to God and we want to see people in a place where they can hear the gospel and encounter Jesus.

The incredible thing last weekend we were able to baptize in every single service across both campuses.

We had people meet Jesus on both campuses for the very first time.

So what a phenomenal.

Yeah, we can definitely celebrate that.

The totality of Easter week, from Upper Room to Egg Venture to Sunday services, best estimates.

We saw over 4,300 people encounter Jesus through the ministries of this church last week, and so we thank you for serving, thank you for showing up, thank you for being part of what God is doing here.

We got a long way to go right and a lot more to do, but we do.

We just want to pause and celebrate the goodness of God for a moment together today.

With that said, let's pray and then we're going to jump in this morning, father, thank you.

Thank you, god, that you are good, thank you that you are gracious to us, thank you that you are gracious to us, thank you that you allow us to know you and to search your word for truth.

And, father, we're grateful, especially today, that you give us guidance in your word for navigating the difficulties of our day and time in which we live.

So, god, today, help us to see your truth and to see your heart for us, in the midst of a divided culture.

In Jesus' name, and everybody says amen.

So, kicking off today, a new series that we're calling the Narrow Way.

That title comes out of Matthew 7.

Jesus says this enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy.

That leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, but the gate is narrow and the way is hard.

That leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The narrow way is the way of Jesus.

If you decide to follow Jesus, you will find yourself running in opposition to much of culture, to much of the day and time in which we live.

It's the more difficult journey, but it is the journey that leads to life.

We believe that that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, that his way leads to human flourishing, now and forever.

And so, over the course of this series, we're going to dive into some fun topics.

We're going to talk today about politics.

We figured we'd start with a nice easy, non-controversial subject.

Today we're going to talk about money.

We're going to talk about marriage and sexuality.

We're going to talk about other religions.

We're going to talk about eternity.

We're going to talk about some big stuff.

And you're like well, james, why are we talking about these topics?

Because the entire world is talking about these topics.

Everybody's got an opinion on how you ought to spend your money.

Everybody's got an opinion on how you should vote and what you should believe politically.

Everybody wants to speak into the sexual revolution that's happening in our world today, and if we, as the church, are silent in these areas, we abdicate the opportunity to disciple people in the way of Jesus.

And what we do is we essentially allow the world to form us in their image, rather than allowing the truth of God and his word, by his spirit, to form us into the image of Christ.

And so today we're going to talk about politics.

Now, as we jump in today, a couple of things.

Number one I love Jesus and I want to honor him.

That's my primary goal today is to be true to his word and to honor him with what I say.

Second thing I love you and I want to be helpful to you.

I'm not just going to say what you want me to say because you want me to say it.

My goal is to challenge us with the word because I love you and I wanna be helpful to you.

And in regards to this topic today, I love our nation and I want to see our nation thriving, flourishing.

I wanna see our nation honoring God in the way that we govern, in the way that we make laws, in the way that we run our country.

Full disclosure.

I told the first service you know last Sunday talking about the resurrection of Jesus.

I slept really well last Saturday night.

I did because, like I know Jesus rose and I know he's alive and I can preach that and I love that.

I did not sleep well last night.

And then because, because I mean, let's be honest, right, it's an election year.

The political rhetoric is already ramping up.

Some of you are already nervous about Thanksgiving dinner because that uncle is going to be at your table and you're going to have to listen to him talk about whatever happened in the election, regardless of what happens in the election.

Right, like political rhetoric, political ideologies are divisive.

Our culture is divided, people are divided.

A survey said that one in two Americans over the last few years has lost a close friend or close relationship due to political differences.

Politics is a big deal and it is tearing people and families and churches apart.

And so, knowing that, what I did was I wrote more notes down than I normally do and I have them on my iPad.

It's sitting right here.

I'm going to stand right here I'm not moving around quite as much today because I want to be helpful and I don't want to get off and I don't want to chase a rabbit or chase my thoughts.

I want to give you scriptures and ideas that I think are from God for us at this time.

So, with that said, acts 17,.

To start us off today, context of Acts 17,.

This is the Apostle Paul's second missionary journey.

He's in a place called Thessalonica and he is preaching the gospel.

It's what he does.

He goes from city to city, from place to place.

He gets there and he begins to proclaim Jesus, the son of God has come, jesus, the son of God has died, jesus, the son of God was buried and on the third day Jesus rose.

That is Paul's message and it stirs things up.

He gets into Thessalonica and he's preaching that gospel.

He's reasoning with people in the temple, the synagogue.

People are coming to faith in Christ and the city is in an uproar at the preaching of the gospel.

So some authorities, some religious leaders, they go to find Paul and verse six says they could not find Paul.

So they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting.

So they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting.

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also and Jason has received them.

Apparently, jason and the brothers were housing Paul and his companions.

Jason has received him and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar saying that there is another king, jesus.

So what's the message that's turning the world upside down?

It's that Jesus is king.

It's that Jesus, the crucified Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, that stirred up Jerusalem.

It's that he's actually the king of the universe.

He's actually the Lord of Lords, he's actually the ultimate authority.

This message is stirring up the city and it's counter to what everybody in the Roman empire declared, which was that Caesar is Lord, caesar is authority, caesar is in charge.

And so in Thessalonica, this declaration that Jesus is king, everybody understood that this was inherently a deeply political statement.

It was a declaration of shifting allegiance.

No longer does Rome, does the state, hold our ultimate authority.

Rather, our ultimate authority is Jesus.

No longer is our allegiance solely to Rome, our allegiance is to Jesus.

Everybody in first century Thessalonica knew that, and so they're looking for Paul.

They're going to run him out of the city.

Tom Wright says it like this to say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Caesar isn't.

To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Caesar isn't To quote Jesus.

A man cannot serve two masters.

So obviously this is not ancient Rome.

We don't have a Caesar.

But our guiding question for the day is what does it look like for us to follow the way of Jesus in a nation divided by partisan politics?

We're divided, ideologies pitting people against people, families against families, us versus them.

What does it look like in this culture this day and time, to declare that Jesus is Lord and to follow his way?

To help us on this journey, let's do a little.

How did we get here?

Kind of cultural autopsy.

Why are we where we are politically in this nation?

And I'm not asking for participation right now.

We can talk about that offline after the fact.

I know some of you have.

Let me tell you why we are where we are politically in this nation.

Some of you are like James.

I'm already ready to object to whatever you say next, because you didn't give enough nuance, or you gave too much nuance, or you didn't say enough, or you said too much, or, dude, you're not a political pundit.

Just stay in your lane, bro.

But here's the thing.

Patrick Schreiner is the professor of New Testament at Midwestern Baptist Theological.

He said this.

He said Christianity is inherently political.

Again, for reasons that we just discussed Acts 17.

Everybody in first century Thessalonica and that region of the world knew the declaration Jesus is Lord is inherently a political statement.

It's this question of power and control and authority.

If Jesus has all power, all control, all authority, then everything else that exists exists under his authority, the declaration that Jesus is Lord.

It's inherently political.

So here's my attempt to synthesize some history, some information, in order to help us understand how we got to where we are today, at the risk of a little bit of oversimplification, but here's the deal.

Throughout human history, people have organized themselves into societies.

Right Like all nations, tribes, people, groups that have exist, we have organized ourselves by and large into societies, even the most nomadic people groups.

Throughout human history there was some form, structure, system that bound whether it was a small tribe or a family unit or a small group.

Together we have organized ourselves in society.

Why?

Because we have two great needs One, we need a sense of belonging, we need people to belong to, we need a group that we can call our own.

And two, we need a shared system of values.

Every function of society requires a sense of belonging and some shared system of values.

If people don't feel like they belong, they don't feel like they're part of the society.

If the system of values doesn't bind the community together, there is no common direction.

Have you ever worked in a place where there was no shared system of values?

You know the accounting department thought this was most important.

The leadership team thought this was most important.

You got you know the employee on the first floor in the cubicle who thinks they've got the best idea of what the company should be and everybody's pulling the company in different directions.

Nothing gets done.

Have you ever been part of a family that was like that, where there was no shared system of values?

Right and so.

For a functional society to exist, we need a sense of belonging, we need a shared system of values, in other words, some sort of organizing, thought, structure, system that binds the community together.

The Greek word for this is polis, and it's the root word for our word politics.

What is it that organizes people into communities?

Well, the ancient Greeks would say it's polis.

It's the polis of the people that binds them together, and that's the root of our word politics.

Now fast forward Western world, in particular our nation.

It is undeniable and inarguable that our nation was initially based and built on Christian values, ideas like freedom and equality for all people, the idea that all of us are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.

These are distinctly Christian ideas.

You don't see these ideas popping up in random societies throughout the ages.

These emerge from a Christian worldview.

Now, I am not saying that all of our founding fathers were followers of Christ we know they weren't, let's be honest or that the system that they built has always been perfect or even equitable for all people groups.

I'm not saying that either.

I'm not even arguing that they intended to found a Christian nation.

That's not the point.

I'm just saying that the values that bound our nation together emerged from a distinctly Christian worldview.

But here's what's happened over the last couple of hundred years.

Society has become more and more secular or separated out from God.

People have become less and less affiliated with religious groups.

Right, you can look at statistics and see church attendance is declining significantly.

More and more people today classify themselves as not religious at all.

It's what scholars, researchers call the rise of the nuns people that say I have no religious affiliation at all rise of the nuns people that say I have no religious affiliation at all.

And so, as you have fewer and fewer people identifying with a religious group, there's less sense of belonging and there's a loosening of this shared system of values that binds us together as people.

It's why, in our world today, depending on who you talk to, you may get a very different picture as to what flourishing looks like for the United States of America I think I just said United Stakes of America.

United States of America, like if you talk to somebody who ascribes to one political ideology and you say, hey, what does it look like for the United States to grow and to flourish and to thrive?

They're going to say A.

If you talk to somebody else who holds the opposite political ideology, they're going to say the opposite of A.

And this is where this conversation gets interesting, because A and the opposite of A cannot both be true at the same time.

If one thing leads to thriving, the opposite of that thing can't lead to thriving and flourishing.

And so you have competing visions for what it looks like for the United States to flourish.

And in the midst of all that, we as individuals are caught in this us versus them rhetoric, caught in this us versus them rhetoric, division, political system.

Now, as the sense of belonging has gone down and this sense of shared value has decreased as well, where have people turned for belonging and for a shared system of values.

Well, in many cases, it's the political system, is it not?

There's a guy.

His name is Shadi Hamid.

He's an American author, political scientist, a researcher.

He said this.

He said, even though there's this rise in the sense of nuns and people that are unaffiliated with religion as we know it, he says, american belief remains as fervent as ever.

Americans believe as much as they've ever believed.

Religious belief has now been channeled into political belief.

Religious belief, where we used to trust God, has now been channeled into political belief.

And so the end result is this we in our nation have created this counterfeit religious experience around the political system, to where politics, for many people, has become their place to belong and the shared value system upon which they build their lives.

And so what happens?

The end result of this no longer is our problem sin.

Our problem is the ideology of the other party Right.

It's them.

They're the problem.

Our worship is not directed towards God.

It's directed towards those we view as the heroes of our own distinct political ideology.

Our salvation is not through Jesus.

It's the party of my choice gaining political power and overcoming the enemy.

That's the system in which we find ourselves.

That's the world in which we live.

It's ultimately, it's power and control, it's win at all costs, it's us versus them.

So what happens from here?

One option is for us, as the church, to go nope, not being involved in that at all and we sequester ourselves off, we wall ourselves off, we build our own little communities, we don't care about the world around us, we don't engage, and I just don't think that's an option.

I think we've got a calling from God to engage the world around us.

How does the Christian today engage politically?

I'm going to give you three truths to remember and then four action steps that we can take as we go.

Number one we want to remember that God is the ultimate authority.

God, not human government, not human politician, not somebody we vote into office.

God is the ultimate authority.

Is anybody grateful today that God's in charge?

And come December of this year, guess who's still going to be in charge?

God is.

He's not on the ballot, he's not up for reelection, he's not running for office.

He's God and he's in charge.

In the Old Testament days, you see God working through all sorts of governmental systems empires, if you will.

God raises up Pharaoh in Egypt, and first God uses Pharaoh and the Egyptians to preserve the Israelites, and then Pharaoh.

That Pharaoh dies, new Pharaoh comes to power.

Power and over a couple of generations they don't remember Joseph and his contributions to the, the nation of Egypt and and Israel becomes enslaved in Egypt and Pharaoh's in charge and Egypt's the empire that's ruling the world.

But what becomes clear as the exodus narrative emerges is that Egypt has a lot of power and Pharaoh's got a lot of authority, but God is sovereign over all.

You fast forward a little bit and Israel has their own king A few hundred years later, david's king and then Solomon's king.

And then the kingdom divides after Solomon's death, and kingdom of Israel in the north, kingdom of Judah in the south, and both kingdoms turn away from God.

They reject Yahweh, the worship of Almighty God, and they do things their way.

And eventually, what happens?

Well, the Assyrians come in and they conquer the northern kingdom of Israel.

Except the Assyrians aren't actually the ones in charge, because God prophesied that Assyria would come.

And God said I will raise up Assyria from the north and they'll take over.

But then, guess what?

Assyria is wicked too, and God judges them.

How does God judge Assyria?

By raising up Babylon.

And Babylon comes in and takes over Assyria in the north, the former kingdom of Israel, and they take over the kingdom of Judah in the south, because Judah's wicked too.

They've turned away from God as well.

But then God judges Babylon at the hands of the Persians, and so all of these kingdoms are rising and falling.

All of these nations are warring against each other, but who is sovereign over all God is.

If you read the prophets that's the message of the Old Testament prophets God is the one moving the pieces of the world in a way that ultimately will bring him glory, in a way that ultimately, the story of God will be the story that everybody's talking about.

Of God will be the story that everybody's talking about.

And Assyria and Babylon and Persia, and even Israel and even us, we're only so much important in the story as we are useful to the kingdom and the story of God.

It's God's story.

He's the one who is ultimately in authority.

Fast forward to the New Testament days, romans 13.

Paul says this let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Therefore, whoever resists the authorities, resist what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Now, just as a caveat, a little bit of nuance.

Paul is not saying that if your government is mandating immoral or unethical or anti-God behavior, that we just blindly submit and do whatever the government says.

But he's saying as long as the government allows you to worship God and live according to your conscience, based on the word of God, honor the authorities that God has put in place, knowing that he is the ultimate authority.

As Paul goes on, he says rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?

Then do what is good and you'll receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.

Because of this, you also pay taxes.

Shout out to April 15th to the authorities, because you know that God is the ultimate authority.

When you honor the authorities God has put over you, you actually honor God, who is over all.

Now I do think it is worth saying here that you know.

We talked about Egypt and Assyria, babylon and Persia.

There are moments where God judges nations by allowing them to have poor authorities over them.

We see that all throughout the narrative of Scripture.

It's the Romans 1 principle If we rebel against God long enough, he eventually gives us what we want.

And so it's worth considering as we look at the status of our world today, as we wonder like why are things where they are?

Maybe we need to look inward and say, hey, am I honoring God in my life?

Am I honoring God as the authority in my own world?

Because, as Colossians 1, 16 and 17 says, 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, through Christ and for him.

So who's in charge?

Who's the ultimate authority?

God is.

Second thing we want to remember.

Remember where your identity lies In a world divided by political rhetoric, us versus them ideologies.

Remember where your identity lies you are as a follower of Christ.

You are a kingdom first, citizen of heaven.

Before you are a citizen of the United States or a South Carolinian or a Somervillian or wherever you hail as home, before you claim that identity.

You are a follower of Christ, a son or daughter of Almighty God.

Your citizenship, your primary identity, is son or daughter of almighty God, and that changes things, because what that means is, as members of the family of God, you and I, we have more in common with a Christian in Uganda or Thailand or Kenya or South Africa or South America than we do with someone of the same political persuasion that lives down the street but doesn't know Jesus.

The blood of Jesus is putting together a new family across the globe and in the family of God.

It is a family that is tighter and more unified and more beautiful, more incredible than any other system of organizing people in our world.

You're going to be worshiping alongside people from every language, every nation, every tongue, every tribe, forever as family, because that's what the blood of Jesus has done for us.

In 1 Peter, chapter 2, peter tells these dispersed Christians who are scattered across the known world.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

He tells them first who they are in Christ and then how that outworks for them as they participate in a culture that in so many ways, is counter to the teachings of Christ.

Peter says it like this you, as people purchased by the blood of Jesus, you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him, who calls you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

So, as November approaches, what do we proclaim?

Jesus, the beauty of God and what he's done for us in Christ that we were dead in the darkness of sin and Jesus, by his grace, moved us into the kingdom of light.

Where's our hope?

Not in the election.

Our hope is in God, who has the power to move us from not a people to his people, from not recipients of mercy to recipients of mercy.

Our hope is in the one who is building a new race, a new priesthood, a new nation from people of all walks of life across the globe.

That's our hope.

And Peter goes on.

He says once you were not a people, now you're God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, now you're God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, now you are God's people.

Or once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy.

And then he says this here's how this works its way out in our lives.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles, when's the last time you thought of your citizenship in this nation as being a sojourner in an exile.

He says abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Day of visitation is just the day that God shows up.

Live in such a way so that people who don't know God will see your life and give glory to God.

This is what Peter's saying.

Don't get so caught up in being right in this day and time or winning in temporary things that you miss the opportunity to bring glory to God with the way that you live.

He goes on.

He says be subject to, for the Lord's sake, every human institution, whether it be to the emperor supreme or to governors, as sent by him to punish those who do evil, 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.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

How beautiful is that?

Y'all I love Peter, because what Peter says here is fun.

Peter's like y'all people are crazy.

There are foolish people who speak in ignorance.

They call people who love Jesus names.

They say things about us that aren't true.

They act like we're evil.

Our job as kingdom citizens whose identity is in Christ is not to fight fire with fire.

It's not to return evil for evil.

Peter says do good and let your doing good silence the claims of those who don't know God and hopefully ultimately lead them into a relationship with God, because they see your life and they see the way that you love and that you serve and that you care for people and that you honor the authorities over you.

Even when you don't agree, you still find a way to do good.

What if the church in our day and time became known as, no matter what they said about us, no matter what people said against us, we just became known as people who do good said about us, no matter what people said against us, we just became known as people who do good.

And you can't deny that we're doing good because, no matter how much they try to deny it, we don't stop doing good.

We don't stop living out of the identity that we have in God.

And then Peter ends this section by saying this honor everyone, honor everyone, honor those who agree with you and are honorable.

No, honor everyone.

Love the brotherhood, love the family of God.

Fear God, don't fear men, don't fear what people can say, don't fear what the future holds.

Fear God and honor the emperor.

If you need some homework this week, go read about the emperor when Peter wrote this in 1 Peter 2.

Because what you're going to find is that for Peter to say this in this day is incredibly scandalous.

For Peter to tell the church to honor the emperor, and so for me to stand here today and say, hey, regardless of who's in power, honor them is, quite honestly, nothing compared to what Peter says when he says honor the emperor in 1 Peter, chapter 2.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

So question how do I know?

How do I know when I'm looking for my identity in my political views or when I'm filtering the world through my faith?

How do I know which one I'm doing?

Well, here's a test.

When someone comes to you and says, hey, what's your view on fill in the blank on sexuality or marriage or immigration, or what's happening at the southern border, or what's happening in the Middle East or in Ukraine, or what's your view on whatever political issue of the day they insert in the blank.

Is your knee-jerk reaction to say, well, my view is, and then offer them, whatever the party line is on that, issue them, whatever the party line is on that issue.

Or is your first knee-jerk reaction to say let me say what the Bible says.

Let me search the scriptures, let me see what God's word says about whatever that is?

And then I want to say that, regardless of whether or not it lines up with my political party of choice, where do we turn for our world view?

That's how we know where we're looking for our identity.

The third thing to remember is this we want to remember the role of the church.

Remember the role of the church, particularly within culture and empire.

What's our job as the church of Jesus Christ?

Well, matthew 5, jesus says our job is to be salt and to be light.

Or, to say it another way, our job as followers of Jesus in the church is to be the prophetic witness of what is good and right and true.

We say what nobody else can say, whether anybody else is saying it or not.

We know the word of God, we have the word of God and we boldly speak and proclaim the word of God to the culture, whether or not anybody celebrates us when it happens.

We, as followers of Christ, get to be the prophetic witness of what is good, right and true.

We get to say what nobody else is saying, and then we get to be an example to the world of what a life shaped by God can become.

One theologian said it like this we get to be both the conscious of the state and the example to the state.

We get to speak to what is right and true, and then we get to exemplify with our lives what it looks like to follow after Jesus In a secular society like we live in today.

You probably heard this.

I've heard this.

You know what about this idea of separation of church and state?

What gives the church the right to speak into these type of issues that we're talking about in this series?

I need the church to stay out of government.

The church has no right to dictate to us how we are to live our lives.

But here's the deal.

If you study history, what you know is that this idea of the separation of church and state was not intended to keep faith out of the public square.

That was not the point of the First Amendment at all.

Rather, it was to ensure that the government would not interfere in the work and the mission of the church.

One of the major reasons that people came to this nation to begin a nation was because they were tired of the state interfering in their religious practice, and so this idea of the separation of church and state was not intended to keep faith out of the public square.

It was intended to keep the state from informing us, as people of faith, how to practice our faith.

Does it make sense?

And so here's the deal.

In our culture today, what people are saying is that everybody has the right to proclaim their values as loudly as they want, except for the church.

In our job, we're just supposed to huddle up on our own and talk about it amongst ourselves, but not carry it with us in the public sphere, and we simply have to reject that way of thinking.

We can't let the culture bully us into silence, because here's the truth.

We can't be silent about what the scripture says.

Before, sexuality was a political talking point, a political issue.

It was a biblical.

There's a biblical theology on sexuality.

It was God's idea Before marriage became a political talking point that was intended to divide people.

It was an idea given to us by God that was intended to divide people.

It was an idea given to us by God that was intended to lead to human flourishing.

Abortion isn't just a political issue.

It's a Bible issue.

Right to life and sanctity of life isn't just a political conversation.

It's a biblical conversation.

Racism isn't just a political conversation.

It's a biblical conversation.

Immigration isn't just a political conversation.

It's a biblical conversation, and so on and so forth.

And so our job as followers of Christ is to be discipled according to the word of God and then, with boldness, speak the truth of God's word to a culture that needs to hear the word of God.

Now, when we speak, when we speak, two keys be clear and be compassionate.

Be clear, clarity is kindness.

We don't want to be confusing, we don't want to be unclear, we don't want to say things just to stir the pot unnecessarily.

Be clear.

Be clear about what we believe, be clear about what the Bible says.

Clarity is kindness.

But then, number two be compassionate.

Be compassionate, jesus told his followers they will know us, they will know you, by the way you love one another and the way that you love and serve the world around you.

We want to speak with clarity, but we also want to speak with compassion, carrying with us the love of Christ.

Our enemy are not those in culture who hold views that we would see as counter to the truth and the revealed word of God.

They're not our enemies.

We fight for people to meet Jesus, to know Jesus, to find life in him.

We want to see people have their lives transformed by the grace and the mercy of God.

We're not fighting against people.

Now we can push back on ideologies and ideas that are counter to God, because that's what everybody does right.

We realize that ideas have consequences and what you believe determines the future that you experience, and societies are built on ideas.

And if you build a society on bad ideas, what do you end up with?

You end up with a bad society, and so we boldly, with clarity and compassion, stand in the gap for what God says.

So action steps Number one pray for and honor your leaders.

First Timothy, chapter two, verses one through four.

Paul writes this.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications and prayers and intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our savior, who desires that all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.

Like you, want a priority for your worldview.

That's it.

We pray that God would grant us, by the authorities over us, the freedom to proclaim the gospel so that people can meet Jesus, be saved and find eternal life in his name.

Pray for and honor your leaders.

Number two love one another, including those who would be culturally defined as your enemies.

John, chapter 15, verse 12, jesus says this.

John 15:12

He says love one another as I have loved you.

So, church, what should we be known for in the midst of a divisive political climate?

Our love for one another.

Can we just say together today that in 2024, politics will not divide this church.

Politics will not divide your life.

Group Politics will not divide your family.

Politics will not tear your relationships apart, because our mandate from God is that we would love one another as Jesus has loved us.

But then Jesus in Matthew 5 takes this a step further and he says love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

So not only do we want to love one another within the body, we want to love those who would culturally be defined as our enemies.

People who want to see the church silenced, people who would be fine if the church shut down, people who don't want you to advocate for what is good, right and true in the public sphere.

We want to love them as well.

We want to pray for them.

We want to serve them in the name of Jesus.

We want to do what is good, even if we don't get that reciprocated in return.

Number three be involved.

Be involved.

Some of you are like I've been waiting on this one.

Tell me how to get involved.

Tell me who to vote for.

Not doing that today.

Be involved, but vote, vote.

We have the freedom in this nation to vote and elect our leaders.

Vote, vote.

Study the scriptures, pray and vote according to your conscience.

Advocate for what you believe in.

Stand up for what is good and what is right and true.

Pray, run for office.

Run for office Now, james.

This is getting a little crazy now.

Well, no ideas have consequences, right?

We want to see people who know Jesus and love Jesus and have the character of Christ in their life.

I want to see them in every sphere of life.

I'd love to see them in Hollywood, love to see them making art.

I love to see them in business, love to see them in the medical profession.

I want to see people who love Jesus elevated in all walks of life, because I believe that the world gets better when people follow Christ.

Believe that your world will be changed as you begin to follow Christ in your world.

This is what John Tyson calls cultural renewal.

Our job as followers of Christ is to bring the kingdom of heaven with us everywhere that we go.

Will it change our nation?

I don't know, but it'll change your office.

It'll change your family.

It'll change your neighborhood, your cul-de-sac, your subdivision.

It'll change your home.

As you simply say, I'm going to honor God and elevate Jesus, live out my values in every area of life.

This isn't a conflation of politics and religion.

You've probably heard the phrase Christian nationalism thrown around in today's world.

That's not what I'm advocating for.

I'm just saying that I want to see Christians following Jesus in every sphere of influence, and so does everybody else who ascribes to any other ideology.

Can we just say that Everybody wants people who reflect their ideas, representing them in all walks of life, who reflect their ideas, representing them in all walks of life, and I just simply believe that Jesus's way is the way to life and to flourishing.

So, as Christians, here's the deal when we look at the world and we see areas of brokenness and hurt and pain, we don't throw up our hands and go oh well, you voted for it.

No, what do we do?

We move towards the pain and the brokenness.

As followers of Christ, all throughout human history, in the areas of greatest darkness, the most pain, the most hurt, the most confusion, you have found Christians on the front lines, being the hands and feet of Jesus, bringing the light of the gospel to the most hopeless and desperate and dark places.

May our day and time find us doing the same in the areas of life where we're like there's no light of the gospel there.

Then let's be the light of Christ in the areas of darkness.

Let's get involved in the world around us in the hopes that those who are far from God will come to know God.

And then number four whatever happens, do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid.

The end result of this political system that we're in this cycle is that whoever doesn't win is terrified of what the future holds.

It's power, control and it's fear.

That's what feeds into this division and this brokenness that we see all around us.

Y'all, we know the end of the story, we know who's in charge and we know how the story ends.

So, whatever happens, we don't have to be afraid.

There's a phrase that's been used throughout history to talk about different empires, and it's simply this the sun never sets on the empire.

People said it about Rome, people said it about the British Empire, people said it about the Spanish Empire, but the reality is that is simply false.

The Roman Empire fell.

The British Empire is the shell of its former self.

Empires throughout history have risen and they have fallen.

Here's the truth the sun will never set on the kingdom of its former self.

Empires throughout history have risen and they have fallen.

Here's the truth.

The sun will never set on the kingdom of God.

So don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid.

Long after the empires of this world have come and gone, the kingdom of God will stand.

The Roman empire is faded from everything but the history books and some TikTok trends every now and then, apparently, the minds of men who think about the Roman Empire quite often.

But here's the reality.

The church of Jesus is still changing lives today and if I can just say this, that I don't know what the future holds.

But say 5,000 years from now, we're still well, we won't be here.

But if people are still here and Jesus hasn't returned yet, whether America is here or not, the church will still be being the church in the world.

It will, james, how do you know?

Because Jesus is king today and forever.

The bottom line, bottom line is this worship team, y'all can come back and get ready to sing.

Bottom line is this the greatest thing that you can do as a follower of Christ, for our day, our time, our world, is to live like Jesus is king and then to see the world from the perspective of the kingdom of God.

The greatest thing that you can do, regardless of what happens politically, is to live like Jesus is king and see the world through the lens of the kingdom, which means that in the midst of political division, you'll be a person of peace.

In the midst of brokenness and hopelessness, you'll be a voice of hope.

In the midst of a world of fear and anxiety, you can be a voice of calm and security that says no matter what, I know Jesus and so can you.

And then from that place, yeah, get involved, go, vote.

Be political, do all of the stuff to create a flourishing nation, but don't lose sight of the fact that Jesus is king, that his kingdom rules and reigns today and forever, and our job is to usher in the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven.

So will you bow your heads with me for a moment today?

If maybe you're here for the first time and you don't know Jesus as king, I want to invite you and we stand and we sing in a moment.

I want to invite you to step out from where you are and meet me at the tables at the back.

I would love to have that conversation with you about what it looks like to find your primary identity in the Son of God, who was resurrected for the forgiveness of your sin.

For the followers of Christ in the room today, I want to invite you just to take a moment right now and to pray for our nation, pray for our leaders, pray that God would be at work, pray for the churches in the United States, that our churches would be the prophetic voice of what is good and right and true.

We would stand firmly on the word and, with clarity and compassion and love, be the hands and feet of Jesus, we wouldn't get caught up in the divisiveness, the rhetoric, the brokenness of the system around us.

We would offer the world a compelling path of what it looks like to know and to love and to serve the true King Father.

May we be people marked by the resurrection power of Jesus, compelled by his love into the world.

May we see the world with a kingdom perspective.

May we live as citizens not only of this nation but primarily, god, of your kingdom, and may that inform how we see and interact with every human system and authority.

God, we love you, we trust you.

God, help us to live without fear, because we know that Jesus reigns In Jesus' name, amen.

As we stand and sing, this is the moment for you to respond.

If you want to join the church or you need to pray, meet me at the back.

We'd love to have that conversation, but let's stand and worship Jesus as King today.