"Divine Advice for a Presidential Election"
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
"So shall our prayers arise
To God above the skies;
On Him we wait.
Thou who art ever nigh,
Guarding with watchful eye,
To Thee aloud we cry:
God save the state!"
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
965:2)
Epistle Reading........................................... 1 Timothy 2:1-4
(esp. 1-2a)
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for all people, 2for kings and all who are in high
positions, . .
Prologue: It's indeed good, right, and salutary that we assemble on this,
the 236th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that
signaled the birth of our nation. We do so to celebrate what our founding
fathers ingeniously constructed as an experiment in a democratic form of
government that they intended to be a "republic" that would stand as "one
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." It was a
dream that grew out of various backgrounds that were largely similar in that
citizens were expected to serve the government instead of the government
serving the people, citizens were expected to defend the government instead
of the government defending the people, and citizens were expected to
provide for the government instead of the government providing a safe and
secure environment for the people to provide for themselves.
As we celebrate this annual momentous occasion much, if not most,
of our attention is riveted on the upcoming national election in which we,
the people, will decide who will occupy the offices of President and Vice
President for the next four years along with Representatives and Senators as
well as many state and local officials. It's only natural, then, that each
of us determines for him or herself what's most important in terms of
political, social, cultural, and economic considerations; which candidates
best match up with our personal determinations; and, therefore, for whom we
will cast our ballot on Tuesday, November 6, only four short months away.
So, did you come here today anticipating, desiring, or even
expecting me to give you some insightful pastoral suggestions regarding for
whom to vote? If so, you're about to be sorely disappointed. You see,
instead of giving you MY advice for the upcoming election, I'm going to give
you .
"Divine Advice for a Presidential Election."
That advice that Almighty God Himself gives is, simply, pray .
"Take it to the Lord in prayer" . take God at His word when He said "call
upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." (Jer 29:12 ESV) .
that we become, according to God's desire, a nation of people who "humble
themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways." (2
Chron 7:14 ESV) . that we "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks
in all circumstances." (1 Thess 5:16-18 ESV)
As we do so, let's review and take to heart the following eleven
"prayer principles." 1. "God commands and invites believers in Jesus Christ
to pray." 2. "Prayer is speaking to God in words and thoughts." 3. "We
should pray to the true God only, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not to
idols, saints, or anything God has created." 4. "Only those who believe in
Jesus Christ may pray to God and expect to be heard." 5. "In our prayers we
should ask for everything that tends to the glory of God and to our own and
our neighbor's welfare, both spiritual and bodily blessings. We should also
praise and thank God for who He is and what He has done." 6. "We should
pray A. in the name of Jesus, that is, with faith in Him as our Redeemer; B.
with confidence, that is with firm trust that for Jesus' sake our prayers
will be answered; [and] C. according to God's revealed will." 7. "God the
Holy Spirit prays with and for us." 8. "God hears the prayers of all
Christians and answers them in His own way and at His own time." 9. "We
should pray for ourselves and for all other people, even for our enemies,
but not for the souls of the dead." 10. "We should pray everywhere,
especially when we are alone, with our families, and in church." And, 11.
"We should pray regularly and frequently, especially in time of trouble."
(Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986/2008 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 174-179.)
We can succinctly summarize those eleven prayer principles by
saying that "Prayer is an act of worship wherein we bring our petitions
before [the one true triune God of the Holy Bible] with our hearts and lips
and offer up praise and thanksgiving to Him." (A Short Explanation of Dr.
Martin Luther's Small Catechism: A Handbook of Christian Doctrine.
Copyright © 1943 by Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 146.)
That is, our prayers don't inform God (He already knows all things) nor do
they influence, control, or manipulate Him (He is almighty, all-powerful,
and has already determined His course of action from the depths of
eternity). Rather, they obey His command for us to pray and serve to praise
and glorify Him by acknowledging Him as the God of gods and Lord of lords,
who is our Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
Now, in good American fashion many, if not most, of you are
thinking, "What good does praying do if it doesn't inform, influence,
control, or manipulate God? What do I get out of it?" Although that
question reveals a typical self-centered attitude that's symptomatic of the
post-modern individualistic age in which we are living, God does give an
answer to it, namely, .
I. Fervent God-Focused Christ-Centered Prayer Helps Us To Live a
God-Pleasing Life. (2b)
. that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every
way.
A God-pleasing life is one that's filled with good works, that is,
"everything that a child of God does, speaks, or thinks in faith according
to the Ten Commandments, for the glory of God, and for the benefit of his or
her neighbor." We are able to accomplish that only because "The Holy Spirit
sanctifies [us] in the true faith, that is, by faith He works a renewal of
[our] whole life-in spirit, will, attitude, and desires-so that [we] now
strive to overcome sin and do good works." (Luther's Small Catechism with
Explanation. Pages 153f.)
Such good works include most importantly what Jesus Himself
instructed, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first
commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself." (Matt 22:37-39 ESV) It means that almighty God, who created all
things and preserves them, is the authority that makes the rules for us to
follow, not governmental leaders, agencies, and courts. It means that we
owe allegiance first and foremost to Jesus Christ, who "is the radiance of
the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the
universe by the word of his power." (Heb 1:3 ESV) It means that when
sin-stained governmental leaders, agencies, and courts declare things that
compromise, contradict, and conflict with God's decrees, "We must obey God
rather than men." (Acts 5:29 ESV)
We play that out practically when we "honor our parents and other
authorities by regarding them as God's representatives" and don't despise
them "by not respecting them or angering them by our disobedience or by any
other kind of sin"; when we "help and support our neighbor in every bodily
need" and don't "take the life of another person (murder, abortion,
euthanasia) or our own life (suicide)"; when we remain "clean in what we
think and say" and "use our sexuality in ways pleasing to [God]" and don't
engage in sexual intercourse or activity that leads up to it with anyone
other than our married spouse of the opposite gender as well as "sexual sins
such as rape, homosexual activity, incest, sexual child abuse, obscenity,
and the use of pornographic materials"; when we "help our neighbor to
improve and protect that person's possessions and income" and don't commit
any "kind of robbery, theft, and dishonest way of getting things"; and when
we "defend our neighbor, . speak well of our neighbor, . [and] explain our
neighbor's actions in the best possible way" and don't "lie about, lie to,
or withhold the truth from our neighbor . betray our neighbor . or hurt our
neighbor's reputation" by gossip, half-truths, and innuendos about him or
her. (Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages 74-89.)
Of course, none of us is guiltless when we stare into the mirror
of God's Holy Law. The ugly reality confronts us that as both individual
citizens and a country "we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned
against [God] in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what
we have left undone. We justly deserve [His] present and eternal
punishment." (Lutheran Service Book, Pew Edition. Copyright © 2006
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 151.) In the face of that
stark dismal condition, God assures us as He did His Old Testament chosen
people, "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14 ESV)
God's merciful and gracious assurance is the Good News that Jesus is "the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 ESV) and "He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness." (1 Peter 2:24 ESV) We can now declare with Saint
Paul, "'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor
15:55-57 ESV) In view of such, God's further answer to the "so what"
question is that .
II. Fervent God-Focused Christ-Centered Prayer Pleases Our Savior-God
and Gives Evidence of Love for All People. (3-4)
3This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4who
desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
What this means for us as we celebrate the 236th birthday of our
great nation is that "Prayer for all [people] is enjoined by God, and it is
this prayer that is good, approved by God; it meets with His pleased
appreciation when Christians give evidence of the spirit of love toward all
[people], living in them. God's gracious will is universal, it has in mind
all [people] without exception . . It is not merely a pious wish which He
holds, but it is His earnest will that all [people] should be partakers of
the salvation earned by the atoning work of Christ. All [people] should not
only know about the message of perfect redemption as contained in the
Gospel, but it is God's will that they also should accept the saving grace,
apply its glorious assurance to themselves, and thus become the owners of
the bliss pledged therein .." (Paul E. Kretzmann in Popular Commentary of
the Bible: The New Testament, Volume II. Copyright © Unknown, Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 375.)
We still possess the blessed freedom (although it's being
infringed on more-and-more especially recently) to tell and practice this
very Christian religion that largely influenced the work of our founding
fathers in composing our Constitution. Although it's true that-and for good
reason-our nation has not adopted an official religion, the fact remains
that Christian doctrines and beliefs influenced much of the foundation on
which our great nation was built. As such, we can state along with King
David, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from
Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be
moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my
refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your
heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (Ps 62:5-8 NKJV)
Indeed, we can do so because of the untold numbers of American men
and women who served in the Armed Forces of our nation and are doing so
today, a lot of whom spilled untold gallons of blood, many even giving the
ultimate sacrifice of their lives, in order to defend and extend peace and
freedom both here on our homeland and throughout the world. The true
freedom that lasts, however, was won for us by and is found only in Him who
proclaimed about Himself, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. So
if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-32, 34, 36
ESV)
In conclusion, therefore, let's always remember that the
"Divine Advice for a Presidential Election"
is to passionately pray for our governmental leaders, agencies, and courts.
After all, that's "whom Paul names in particular, namely, 'kings and all
those in authority.' Perhaps he does so because we readily forget prayer in
behalf of those in authority over us, especially if they are heathen and
oppressive rulers. The emperor of the vast Roman Empire from a.d. 54 to 68
was Nero. During his reign Christians were persecuted, and Paul himself
suffered martyrdom. Nevertheless, heathen rulers are also among those of
whom Paul writes to the Romans, 'The authorities that exist have been
established by God' (13:1). Christians are to remember that the one in
authority, whether he is president of an entire nation or a city mayor, 'is
God's servant to do you good' (verse 4). They need our prayers, therefore,
especially those who may seek the church's harm." (Armin W. Schuetze in
People's Bible Commentary: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Copyright © 1993
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 35.)
May all of us ever faithfully do so, knowing that .
I. Fervent God-Focused Christ-Centered Prayer Helps Us To Live a
God-Pleasing Life. (2b)
as well as .
II. Fervent God-Focused Christ-Centered Prayer Pleases Our Savior-God
and Gives Evidence of Love for All People. (3-4)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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