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Hohenwald SDA Church

Norman McNulty

Jesus for President

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Sabbath day.

We thank you that we can worship you, and I thank you that we have a few moments to reflect on your word and of what you would have us to be thinking about during this time of earth's history.

So give me the words to speak now that will be helpful and Guide us to a closer understanding of what you are doing for us right now.

Amen Well in case you haven't heard there's an election coming up And according to my calendar, I think we're 24 days away now.

November 8, 2016, Americans will go to the polls throughout this country and vote for the President of the United States.

Interestingly, an article came out this week in the Washington Post entitled, People are so stressed by this election that the American Psychological Association has coping tips.

And in August, it says the American Psychological Association included a question in its annual Stress in America survey about this election.

It released the results of that particular query on Thursday, and it found that more than half of US adults, regardless of party, felt very or somewhat stressed by the election.

More than half of US adults, regardless of party, felt very or somewhat stressed by the election.

And it said, not surprisingly, adults who use social media were more likely than those who don't to say the election was stressing them out.

And the article goes on to say a number of other things.

But when you look at where we are as a country, and by the way, let me make it very clear today, and you can see from the title, the title of the message is Jesus for President.

I am not here today to tell you who to vote for president.

So if you were thinking I might say something along those lines, you're going to be disappointed.

I will say this though, if out of all the 300 plus million Americans that comes down to these 2 individuals, this tells us where we are as a country just before Jesus comes back.

So I'm not taking sides, I just say that if this is the best we can do, what does that say about us as a nation?

Please don't tell me that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton are going to save our country or make it better.

We need to be looking for a better leader and a better cause to fight for.

And I want you to go back to our scripture reading for today, John 18, verse 36.

John 18, verse 36, and this is Jesus speaking when he is on trial.

John 18, verse 36, Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world.

If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from hence, or not from here." Jesus, who is the creator of this world, lived in this world, and while he was present in this world, he is the king of the universe.

And yet he said, my kingdom is not of this world.

I want to read you a statement from Desire of Ages, page 509.

Today in the religious world there are multitudes who, as they believe, are working for the establishment of the kingdom of Christ as an earthly and temporal dominion.

They desire to make our Lord the ruler of the kingdoms of this world, the ruler in its courts and camps, its legislative halls, its palaces and marketplaces.

They expect Him, Christ, to rule through legal enactments enforced by human authority.

Since Christ is not now here in person, they themselves will undertake to act in His stead, to execute the laws of His kingdom.

You think you're doing a good work for God.

See, I'm doing God's will through the legislative bodies, but notice what we read here.

The establishment of such a kingdom is what the Jews desired in the days of Christ.

They would have received Jesus had he been willing to establish a temporal dominion to enforce what they regarded as the laws of God and to make them the expositors of his will and the agents of his authority.

Now here's 1 of the things that makes America the special nation that it has always been until recently we see a muddying of the waters.

But America has been a great nation because of the separation of church and state.

And as we see the waters of the separation of church and state being muddied, we start to see attitudes of the people of our country mirroring the attitudes of the Jews of old.

Ellen White goes on then to say, but Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world.

And she says, he would not accept the earthly throne.

Now, the next paragraph in Desire of Ages is very interesting to me.

The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive.

Now certainly we could make a litany of lists of things in our government today that are corrupt and oppressive.

We could list who knows how many things off the top of our head.

She says, "...the government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive.

On every hand were crying abuses, extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty.

Yet the Savior attempted no civil reforms.

You know, Jesus had better things to focus on than trying to play politics with a Jewish nation or with the Romans.

He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies.

He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power.

He who was our example kept aloof from earthly government.

So if Jesus is our example, and he kept aloof from earthly governments, then what are we doing thinking that a particular candidate is going to save our country?

Not because he was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures.

To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually and must regenerate the heart.

Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit." That is how Christ establishes His kingdom, It's by allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts so that we become representatives of the Kingdom that God is trying to set up.

Now let me also be clear we see in Daniel chapter 2, 21 that God sets up kings and takes them down.

Now the context of that verse is clearly delineating the kingdoms of the world that would come from Babylon to the end of the world.

But certainly God has His hand over every nation, and over every kingdom, and over who happens to be the ruler, whether it's a president or a prime minister or a king or a queen, whatever it may be.

God allows for that particular individual to be put into that position, and he will take them away according to his will, and we have to trust in that.

But the question for us today is what kingdom are we striving to be part of?

Are we looking to see America continue the way it has been to be a prosperous nation so that we can live the good life here and now and enjoy the fruits of being in the most prosperous nation on earth or are we seeking a better kingdom and a better country with a better leader where God will take sin away from the universe.

In Hebrews chapter 11, we read a thoughtful passage about the heroes of faith.

These all died in faith not having received the promises.

But having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Friends, if we are truly on our way to heaven, we will truly be strangers and pilgrims.

Now that doesn't mean we'll be strange, but we'll be strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

So if you happen to be someone who feels like you don't really identify with anybody who's running for president, that's a good sign.

We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, verse 14.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And truly if they had been mindful of that country from once they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned, but now they desire a better country that is in heavenly.

Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city." What country do you desire?

You know, it's easy, despite the fact that we know that we are seeking a heavenly country, to get caught up in the tempest of the current world that we live in.

Ellen White has a couple of other statements that she makes here that we're going to look at now.

This is Review and Herald, June 21, 1898.

How many there are who do not know what it is?

It is a life in wrought with the life of Jesus.

It means that we are wearing the robe of Christ's righteousness in regard to the world, Christians will say, we will not dabble in politics.

They will say decidedly, we are pilgrims and strangers.

They will not be seen choosing company for amusement.

They will say we have ceased to be infatuated by childish things." And I'm sorry if you watch the campaign, it's pretty childish.

We are strangers and pilgrims looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Then the next paragraph, "...the Lord has been greatly dishonored by His people catching up the issues that arise in this time of test and trial.

His people are to keep free from politics.

They are to stand as a separate and peculiar people.

The name of God, our ruler, is to be in their foreheads, showing to all that He is their sovereign." Is the name of God seen in your life to be your ruler?

Can it be said of us that God is our sovereign leader?

Then Gospel Workers, page 391, there are among those professing to believe present truth, some who will thus be stirred up to express their sentiments and political preferences so that division will be brought into the Church." Now seriously friends we are seeking the heavenly kingdom, right?

Do we really want to be divided about politics?

The Lord would have His people bury political questions.

Christ calls upon his followers to come into unity on the pure gospel principles which are plainly revealed in the Word of God.

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Jesus for President

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