Jump Start # 2717

Daniel 2:21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.”

The latest Presidential election has many Christians trying to fit things into their theology and thinking. For the most part, Christians are conservative in their thinking. There is a reason for that. The direction that the Bible leads us is a conservative path. Following authority, submission, and evidence based thinking leads to a conservative mindset. Many believed that God put Trump into the Whitehouse. But, now in this latest election, Trump lost. The conservative platform changed to a progressive platform. And, all of this has folks scratching their heads and trying to make sense of it.

Our verse today has been used a ton since the election to bring peace to troubled hearts. “I guess it’s what God wanted,” is what some have said. But I feel this verse is being used in places it was never intended and it has not fully been thought out. Now, I admit as I write this, that I may stir up some unwelcome comments and you may toss out my thinking, and that’s ok. Just let some of this soak in and think about it for a while.

First, the passage in Daniel has direct and very specific application to God’s promises, plans and provisions for Judah. The nation was being led away into Babylonian captivity. Isaiah had prophesied this. Jeremiah warned about this. So, the removing of Judah’s king and the capturing by Babylon was part of God divine plan. Later, after God had prophesied a specific time table of seventy years, Babylon would be crushed by another kingdom. That kingdom, the Persians, would allow God’s people to return to Judah, again part of God’s plans. All of this was in keeping with God’s promises to Abraham, very specific and ordained.

Second, I feel that it is a stretch to think that every single ruler in the entire world is put in place by God. Not all other nations, even during Daniel’s time, were involved in God’s eternal plan. To say that Biden won the election because God wanted him to be president, would also imply, every senate seat, every house seat, every governor’s office, every mayor’s office is just what God wanted. How far down the ladder do we go? City Council seats? School board seats? And, this, all over the entire world? Every nation? Every city?

If this be true, why even vote? God will put in office who He wants. My vote really never matters, because God will fill every single political office as He desires. Does this include judges? Does this include local sheriffs? But so many of these offices have nothing to do with God’s eternal plans.

Now, historically, what do we do with a Hitler? Wicked to the core, he was a mass murderer. Are we to assume God wanted him in that position? Some might say, “Well, each person is responsible for the actions that they make.” Yet, with a deranged lunatic like Hitler, would we expect any good out of him?

Third, we remember from Corinthians that no one knows the mind of God except what has been revealed. We must be careful about attributing things to the Lord that we are just not sure about. Did God want Trump? Does God want Biden? Did God want either one? There is a famous quote from Lincoln in which someone asked him if he thought God was on the side of the Union during the Civil War. Lincoln replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Did God appoint Trump and then Biden? Using our Daniel verse today may well be taking things out of context. Yes, God appoints and removes kings. But why? Because every four years their term is up? Or, because He has a divine plan that you and I cannot see, nor fully understand. No nation and no leader can alter the plans of God. If God’s plans involve the reshaping of leaders or nations, God is able to do that. Biblical history shows that. In an instant, the Pharaoh of Egypt was killed when the walls of the Red Sea collapsed upon him. The period of Kings and Chronicles in our Bibles are filled with wars in which leaders were killed or assassinated by those who wanted to rule. Most of these involved God’s people and God’s plans that led to Jesus, from the tribe of Judah and God’s promises to Abraham. Where America fits in this is not revealed to us in Scriptures.

Saying, “This is what God wants,” is dangerous when we have no revelation pointing to that.

Fourth, whether God intended for Biden to lead this country or not, what God expects of His people has not changed. We are to pray for our leaders, first written during the time of the Caesars. We are to be submissive to the leaders, even if we don’t like them. We are to render what is due to them. God expects us to walk in the light and be examples of righteousness, even when things are hard and difficult.

So, what are we to make of this latest election? I can’t say if it turned out the way God wanted it to or not. There may be some dark days ahead for those who hold Biblical values. The progressive agenda doesn’t have much tolerance for old fashioned, Biblical standards. God’s people have gone through many dark days before.  This won’t be any different. God remains upon the throne and Jesus is our King.

Those early disciples suffered during Rome’s heavy hand. But that empire is gone and the kingdom of Christ remains. It will always remain. Nothing will conquer it.

I hope these words have been helpful. There is a lot of anger, even from Christians. The country is very divided and may split even more. Our help has always come from Heaven, not the Whitehouse, or the courthouse. We must remember that no one can change what you believe. We must act as the Lord wants us to.

To God be the glory.

Roger

Jump Start # 2025

Daniel 2:21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.”

Our verse today reminds us of not only the activity of God, but what lies behind the curtain that the human eye often doesn’t see. The book of Daniel is a great place to verify this point. The Babylonians were used by God to punish Judah. God moved them to that position. After a period of time, God allowed the Persians to overthrow Babylon. This opened the door to end the captivity of God’s people. From the standpoint of world history, this was nothing more than wars and one county seizing the opportunity to take over another weakening empire. Babylon and Persia probably didn’t see their roles in Biblical prophecy or history.

But this isn’t just seen on the world scale. Consider, the story of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. Lazarus died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom. God doesn’t use fanciful ideas that are not true. This wasn’t a make believe story. The events line up to be factual and true. Are the righteous today carried by angels when they die? We can’t see angels because they are spirits. We can’t see the soul leaving the body. There is nothing that would make me conclude that this doesn’t happen.

Yet, another way we know that God is active on the personal level is in the answer to our prayers. We pray. Doors open for opportunity. The sick get better. Things happen. God is thanked for the good that He has done.

So, on both the national and international level, and even on the personal level, God is active and busy. We may not be aware of all that God is doing. We may not appreciate all that God is doing. We may never know on this side of things, just how many times God has been there for us. We may never know all the good that God has done for us.

It’s easy to think that God’s work is done and He is simply watching us from Heaven. Or, some may envision a giant stadium. God’s on one side in the stands, and Satan is on the other side in the stands. We’re on the field, journeying toward the goal. While God may cheer us on, folks in the stands do not change the outcome of the game.

Not realizing the activity of God can make one wrongly conclude that God isn’t doing much today. Habakkuk wondered that. God responded by declaring, “You would not believe, if I told you.” The Psalmist wondered why God didn’t hear him. He did.

All of this reminds us of a few simple thoughts:

First, God doesn’t have to explain Himself to us. He does things that are righteous, good and according to His will. We may not understand. We may question, “Why?” Don’t expect an answer. We are accountable to God and not the other way around. Faith and trust in Him will make us realize that He is holy and good.

Second, God does things that we do not see. Not everything is visible to us. Our examples above, the changing of kings, the carrying of souls to paradise, are things that happen all around us but we don’t see God’s thumbprint on that. There are prayers others have prayed and God answered and we benefit from that. The righteous farmer prays for rain and God sends rain. It rains out on the farms and it rains in the city. The folks in the city may complain about the rain, but they never understand that God is answering the prayer of the righteous farmer. We often do not see all that God is doing.

Third, God uses people and places people in certain positions to fulfill His will. Nebuchadnezzar is a good example of this. God continued to send that king divine dreams. God was using that pagan to accomplish His will. Babylon was an instrument of God. I doubt most in Babylon ever got that. They never saw past their idolatrous gods. Even King Nebuchadnezzar, who received divine dreams, struggled with all of this. God doesn’t work only through righteous people. What world leaders, what people of importance, is God working through today? They may never know it. We may never know it. But God has a plan and a will and nothing can derail that.

Fourth, God is greater than all of us. God was greater than Babylon. As large, fierce and powerful as Babylon was, God used them as a pawn on a chess board to accomplish His plans. The suffering Christians at the end of the Bible, felt the heavy hand of Rome. There was little that they could do. The Christians didn’t have armies. They didn’t have the man power, the provisions, nor the knowledge to overcome a crushing empire like Rome. But God did. In time, that nation fell apart. Historically, it was jealous and poor leadership that caused Rome to crumble. Biblically, it was the hand of God.

Fifth, God’s plan is greater than the individual righteous person. We, who walk with God, help fulfill His plan. Yet, we are not the plan itself. So, David died. James was murdered. Stephen was crushed with rocks. John was beheaded. Antipas was killed. Yet, the kingdom of God rolled on. It grew. It became mighty. It lived beyond all of the apostles. It continues today and it is greater than any of us. Preachers come and go. Preachers begin their careers and preachers end their careers. On my office wall, I have two old, old prints of preachers. Dozens and dozens of preachers are in those prints. A few many would recognize. Most are not know by this generation. Most have left little evidence of their godly work here. They lived, preached their hearts out. Established congregations. Held debates. Printed books. Traveled everywhere. Preached and preached and preached. Then their time here was finished. Time moved on. Generations later, they are a picture in a collection of preachers. Yet, the kingdom grows. It survived the great names. It will survive us. Now, some congregations die. Some congregations cease to exist. Some merge with other congregations. Yet, the overall kingdom of God thrives. It is that large tree that grew from the mustard seed. Our absence may be felt in the local congregation, but in the overall kingdom, it will survive without us. Our work is for today. If there are generations from now, we may be nothing more than another picture among hundreds of others. Our names may not be recognized in the future. What we have done will be remembered by Heaven. And, the kingdom will thrive.

Finally, we grasp how active, how complete and how thorough our God is. That little kingdom that was prophesied back in Daniel 2, crushed all the others and today it is world wide and strong. All through history, and all through our lives, God has been there. He has helped us. He has forgiven us. He has blessed us. He was protected us. He has used us to be His feet, hands and eyes today.

Our God is amazing. It’s incredible that we can be part of this eternal picture and plan of His. It’s remarkable that He trusts us enough to put His kingdom into our hands. What an honor it is to teach and preach the Gospel of this kingdom. How special it is to be adopted into God’s family.

When you are lonely, when you are discouraged, when you think things are not going well, when you get the thoughts of giving up, consider what we have shared today. You are part of something amazing, powerful and eternal. So large, that kings come and go at the will of God. So vast, that it crosses into every nation and is known in every language. It’s not going away. It’s not going to fail. History shows us this.

God is good. He is good to us.

Roger