Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

Two days before an election, a call to be the courageous voice in a culture that wants the church to be silent.

A Life-Changing Week

I had planned to share this with you last weekend, but at about four in the morning that Saturday my wife came upstairs not doing so well. I asked her, "Are we having a baby today?" She said, "Yeah, I think so." Twenty-two hours later, little Ethan came into the world. Talk about a life-changing event. I told someone at the harvest celebration that you work all day setting up, 1,200 to 1,800 people show up, and an hour after it's done it's completely dark and empty. That reminded me of last Saturday — doctors and nurses everywhere for an hour and a half, and forty minutes after the birth everyone was gone and we were sitting there asking, "Now what?" But God is good.

The Indicators of Judgment

Over the last three or four years I've spent a great deal of time studying the major and minor prophets, and the Lord opened the door to teach Isaiah at the Bible college. As I've gone through these passages, certain reoccurring themes surface — things I've come to call the indicators of judgment. When you see these things begin to happen in a nation in the Old Testament — Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Israel, Judah — you can say with a certain level of certainty that God's punishment is beginning to come, that He has removed His hand of protection.

Beginning the first Wednesday of December, we'll start a new series called Profiting in the Prophets, working through these things the Lord has been revealing. I know this church has a real anticipation for prophetic things — when I taught on prophecy a month ago there was a line out of the bookstore for the CDs, and Pastor Mark's study through Revelation keeps growing each week.

Egypt and America

I've been meditating on Isaiah chapter 19, where God begins to move in judgment upon Egypt. The very first thing is that the Lord causes the gods of Egypt to totter, shake, and crumble. Remember, a "god" or idol in the Old Testament is simply something people put their trust, their hope, and their investment in, expecting it to bring prosperity. As the gods of Egypt shook, the confidence of the people was shaken too.

We have seen exactly that in the last month here in the United States. The things people have put their trust in — their investments — have been shaken, and the confidence of this nation has been shaken as well. In the Old Testament that was an indication of God's punishment, or the removal of His hand of blessing. I know that saying God is behind such things is one of the most politically incorrect statements you could make.

In Isaiah 19 the next sign was civil unrest. After that came the destruction of the industries of Egypt, then the failure of the counselors and the wisdom of the nation, until the nation itself fell. Should the Lord not continue to pour out His mercy, I believe we will begin to see these same things unravel — civil discord, brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor. Some of the ladies in our Tuesday women's study happened to be in Isaiah 18 and 19 this very week, and they were amazed at how they saw Egypt's story repeating in America. God is on the move. As Paul told the Romans, it is high time to wake up.

Paul on the Road to Jerusalem

In Acts 20, Paul was headed to Jerusalem knowing he was about to face people with whom he had become very unpopular. His message was anything but politically correct; it would ultimately mean his arrest, conviction, and beheading. Yet he says, "None of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear to myself," because he was a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, determined to speak the truth boldly.

As I stand before you on November 2, 2008, I stand as one with a message growing more and more unpopular. There is a growing demographic in our nation that views Christians as ignorant, intolerant, hate-filled, Bible-thumping, homophobic, racist bigots. They would like to keep us out of the public square and shut us up. Paul faced the same thing nearly 2,000 years ago.

Punishment for Purification

I believe a day is coming when Christians in America will suffer persecution. Should the Lord tarry, this nation will go through difficulty and the church through trials. But notice: every time you see God's punishment in the Old Testament, it was always for the purpose of purification. Write that down. Through judgment God separates a remnant from the multitude, purges the dross, and divides the wheat from the chaff. When Jesus came, John the Baptist said the winnowing fan was in His hand to separate the wheat from the chaff.

So the question God asked Jeremiah comes to us: "The priests rule in their own power, the prophets prophesy falsely, but what will you do in the end?" What are you going to do in the face of all this? If the church does not speak — in this or any election — our silence becomes consent, saying everything is fine and we are content with the current direction of our nation.

The Sin of Consent

In Romans 1, Paul lists those filled with all unrighteousness — fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, haters of God, proud boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful. Then in verse 32 he says they know the judgment of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death — "and not only those who do them, but also they that have pleasure in those that do them," which can be translated those who consent.

God's judgment comes upon those who practice unrighteousness, but also upon those who sit idly by and consent. We will all stand before the Lord for judgment. First Corinthians says God, like a consuming fire, will test our works; the wood, hay, and stubble will burn, and only the precious stones remain. James warns me that as a teacher I will receive a stricter judgment. If we keep our mouths shut and confine the message to these four walls, we too will answer for it. One God-given way we can speak as citizens is through our vote.

Edmund Burke, a member of the House of Commons in the 1700s, said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." He also said, "When bad men combine, the good must associate, else they will fall one by one in an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."

Is Voting Biblical?

Over the last ten months several Christians have told me we are not supposed to vote, that we are citizens of heaven, not earth, and Jesus never commanded it. I have four responses.

First, God is the inventor of government. There is a hierarchy of government in heaven, and God has instituted government on earth, especially in our present state of degeneracy.

Second, voting is scriptural. Scripture records many votes — sadly, most toward wickedness, because the heart of man is desperately wicked. There was a populist vote in Numbers to return to Egypt, a vote under Korah's sons to depose Moses, and a vote in the Gospels to kill Christ. But Moses called the people to vote: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; choose life that you might live." Joshua did the same: "Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" — he endorsed a candidate. Israel by populist vote chose a king over God.

Because the heart is desperately wicked, we must not vote merely by our feelings. I've heard people everywhere say, "Vote according to your heart." But Deuteronomy 12:8 says, "You shall not do what is right in your own eyes." Judges repeats that in those days everyone did what was right in his own eyes — and at least seven times that the children of Israel did what was wicked in the eyes of the Lord. "There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death." We must vote according to the Word of God, not our own hearts.

Third, the representative form of government we live under is what God established for Israel in Exodus 18, when through Jethro He told Moses to appoint leaders over tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands — city, state, and national government — to judge the people by God's law, alongside the priests who led in spiritual things.

Fourth, we have rights as citizens that we ought to use, as Paul used his. More than once in Acts, when men wanted to beat or imprison him, Paul appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen. When they were about to put him to death he said, "I appeal to Caesar," and they had to send him to Rome. If it was good for Paul, it is good for me. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's" — not either/or, but and.

Bad Leaders Bring Judgment

Here is an interesting point: had Israel rendered unto God what was God's, they would never have had to render unto Caesar. Because they had not followed the Lord, they had wicked leaders who caused them to err. Over and over, bad leaders cause the people to err and bring God's further judgment. "When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan."

The wrong leaders in the United States in the 1950s and 60s brought the Warren Court, whose decisions in 1962 and 1963 fundamentally changed America for the worse by removing prayer and the Bible from public schools, standing on something they called "the wall of separation between church and state." Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe that phrase is in the First Amendment. It is not in the Constitution at all. It comes from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, reassuring them the government would not impose on their freedom to assemble and worship.

After 1963, very interesting things happened. America had led the world in literacy; afterward it fell to 68th and has never risen higher. Violent crime among youth rose by 694 percent. Teenage pregnancy rose by 700 percent. Coincidence — or connected to those decisions? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; remove it from teaching, and people lose wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

The Christian Foundations of America's Schools

106 of the first 108 schools established in America were founded on the Christian faith. Abraham Lincoln said, "The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next." The three leading scholarly schools — Harvard, Princeton, and Yale — were Christian.

Harvard, founded in 1636 and still ranked the number one school in the world, was established on eight statements. The second reads: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning." The third pressed students to read the Scriptures twice daily. The fourth warned them to stay away from all profanation of God's name, lest God give them over to a strong delusion and a reprobate mind. I spent two hours searching Harvard's website and couldn't find any of this; I'd wager 99.9 percent of today's students have no idea.

Princeton, founded in 1746 under Reverend Jonathan Dickinson, was established on this: "Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ." Yale, founded in 1701 by Anglican ministers, charged its scholars to live godly, blameless lives, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures and attending public and secret prayer.

Charles Finney, a great awakening preacher, wrote in the 1830s: "The church must take right ground in regard to politics... Christians must vote for honest men... The church must act right or the country will be ruined... Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God... God will bless or curse this nation according to the course the church takes." And all of that was just my introduction.

Drought in the Days of Ahab

Open to 1 Kings 18. "It came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth." God had withheld rain from the northern ten tribes because of their wicked king. First Kings 16 says Ahab "did evil in the sight of the Lord above all the kings that were before him" and "did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." God had Elijah pray it would not rain, and it didn't for about three and a half years. Now God says, go, and I will send rain. In this chapter we'll meet five groups of people.

The Compromised — Obadiah

There was a sore famine in Samaria. Ahab called Obadiah, the governor of his house. Obadiah feared the Lord greatly — when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, he hid a hundred of them by fifties in caves and fed them with bread and water. Yet he was compromised: he was the man who led and cared for the house of the most wicked king Israel had ever seen.

Ahab told Obadiah to go searching the land for grass to keep the horses and mules alive. This compromiser was searching for grass when he should have been praying for rain. As Obadiah went, Elijah met him, and Obadiah fell on his face. When Elijah said, "Go tell your lord, Elijah is here," Obadiah was terrified — he feared that if Elijah disappeared again, Ahab would kill him, for Ahab had spent three years scouring the country to put Elijah to death.

The Corrupt — Ahab

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" After three years of drought, Ahab had things backwards. Elijah answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." You are the wicked leader who caused the people to err.

But notice what God's man did: he showed himself to the wicked king and spoke. We too need to stand up and let our voice be heard. We are not the minority — but there is a minority in this nation pushing for things unrighteous and corrupt. Ahab was 100 percent corrupt, vile, cruel, hating God and His people, viewing God's man as the troublemaker. That is exactly how the world today sees us: if the Christians were gone, everything would be fine. Josh told me about a bumper sticker that read, in bold letters, "I can't wait for the rapture." But the trouble was never God's man; it was Ahab.

The Complacent — The People

Elijah came to all the people and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." These were the fence-straddlers, those with an appearance of godliness, half in the church and half in the world. The fool says in his heart there is no God; but the bigger fool believes there is a God and refuses to serve Him. First Elijah showed himself to the king, then he called the complacent to wake up — and we must do the same.

The Competitors — The Prophets of Baal

Elijah set up a test: two bulls on two altars, no fire, and "the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." The prophets of Baal were 450, plus 400 of the groves; Elijah stood alone. They cried from morning until noon, "O Baal, hear us," and leaped on the altar, but there was no answer. At noon Elijah mocked them: "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." They cried louder and cut themselves with knives until the blood gushed — there was the scriptural basis for the emo crowd — yet there was no voice, none to answer.

There are always competitors raising another standard, saying, "This is the way, walk in it." They outnumbered God's side 450 to one. But notice this: the world does not need a new definition of the gospel; it needs a new demonstration of it. Israel already knew the Word; they needed proof that God is God. The world needs to see in me and in you that we are different, that God is real because He has transformed our lives. For too long the world has looked into the church and seen hypocrites — and we are. We have been saved by grace through faith, but that grace ought to work out in a spectacular way that produces fruit. These competitors wanted to be followed, but they had no power.

The Courageous — Elijah

Elijah said, "Come near unto me," and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. That is the first thing the body of Christ must do — repair the broken altar. Last week Pastor Josh taught Romans 12, where Paul begs us to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, our only reasonable act of worship. The altar has been broken down in our lives and needs to be repaired unto God.

Elijah took twelve stones for the twelve tribes, built the altar, dug a trench, and had the people drench it with water three times until it filled the trench. At the time of the evening sacrifice he prayed. This nation needs to see a demonstration of God's power in our lives — and it needs us to stand and speak in the face of all those telling us to be silent. We have friends and family who claim to know the Lord yet have grown compromised or complacent, and we must speak the truth to them.

In this world we have the corrupt, the competitors, the complacent, and the compromised. May God make us courageous to stand and speak the truth. We have an awesome opportunity this week, on November 4th. I challenge and encourage each of you to consider it and to speak the truth through your vote.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I ask that You would stir our hearts and turn them back again. If we have drifted or backslidden in any way, may we remember how You have transformed us and called us. God, make us a light in this dark world. You called us to be light and salt in this dark age; You called us out of darkness that we would proclaim Your praises. Help us to be strong and courageous; give us boldness, I pray. I ask it in the mighty and precious name of Jesus. Amen.

If this message challenged you, made you think, or even bugged you, then I succeeded. This world needs to see and hear the truth of the Word of God. If you need prayer, the pastors and elders will be up here for you. May you go in the boldness of the Spirit as you leave this place. God bless you.