November 4, 2024 • 21 mins
A podcast to help believers renew their minds and reform their hearts.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to The Thinking Tree, a podcast to help believers renew their minds and reform their hearts.
(00:03):
I'm Adam Sanchez.
And I'm Jeff No.
And today we're discussing the 2024 national election.
All right. So the whole season, we've been taking on some tough issues, policy issues,
things related to our voting.
(00:24):
But we haven't been telling people go and vote this way.
We haven't been saying this is what you must do.
But I think most people can probably figure out where we stand on the issues.
And that's the point is promoting biblical principles.
Yet, yet there is going to be an election.
And by the time you're listening to this, it'll be right upon us.
(00:45):
Yes. And we do not know the outcome.
Yeah, you should probably. What day?
What day are we recording this?
Today is October 8th. October 8th.
Yes. So we're about a month out.
Yeah. Little less.
So if this if this doesn't age well, the folks won't give us a hard time.
They won't give us a hard time.
God willing, we can also delete it before it comes about.
But we wanted to help our listeners think well about what is about to occur.
(01:10):
Right. And no matter what, here's the thing, whether whether we're days from the election
or whether we're weeks or months or years from any election or change,
we know who's seated on the throne. Right.
And so we want to talk through biblical thinking about such a thing as a national election.
And so here's the question then for the day.
How should Christians think about the upcoming election?
(01:35):
That's the struggle. How do we think about it?
Yeah. So I think to start, let's let's talk a little bit about voting and submitting.
OK, that's that's kind of what we're doing.
Right. Yeah. What is an election about?
Election is about voting.
And what do we what do we got to do with the outcome?
Submit. Submit. Yep.
So I figure that was a good place to start.
Right. You know, I know this this whole season,
(01:57):
I've been encouraging believers to register to vote if they're not.
Yeah. I've known some who have registered this year, you know, for the first time.
And I think I think that's great.
I would encourage every every believer should exercise their right to vote if they're able
because we're so uniquely gifted, I think.
And that's the way I want to term it, uniquely gifted with a process here in the U.S.
(02:20):
that is really unlike anywhere else in the entire world.
Yeah. And so I do think that we should use this right, this privilege to have voted.
I think by this time, do you hear this?
Many will have already voted.
But I would encourage you to vote. Get out and vote.
We should be good citizens.
We should care about the nation that God sovereignly has placed us in.
(02:40):
And I think First Timothy two bears that out.
If you look at the first few verses of First Timothy two, he says, look,
I want you to pray on behalf of all people, including kings and all those in authority.
That we might lead a peaceful life.
We might be good citizens in this country and that we might be blessed by by God's hand
working through this particular authority.
Now, we don't always get the most godly president.
(03:01):
But yeah, we should be good citizens.
We are sojourners on the earth, right?
But God has sovereignly put us in a place and we have talked about this many times.
We should, if we can, influence our culture.
And one of the ways we can do that is to to vote.
So that we get the best possible outcome.
There's never going to be the most godly.
I'm not sure we'll ever find a truly godly candidate out there ever again.
(03:26):
But but the best possible outcome.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
You know, on that on that note of how we vote.
Yeah. Now, I want to encourage we're voting with biblical principles in mind.
And that's really why we've been taking on all these policies
throughout this season is that we would not be ruled by feelings
that we would not be even ruled by our culture or pressures that happen
(03:47):
in our culture, but we would really seek to vote and to pursue
biblical principles in our thinking first, but also in our voting.
The policies that we're encouraging.
We want them to be ones that we can stand before God one day and say,
I did my best to encourage our society to go towards you.
You know, that that really should be on our hearts and our minds,
(04:07):
you know, as we're thinking about it.
And you just mentioned about outcomes, right?
Like the nature of a vote, it doesn't guarantee an outcome. Right.
It's an output. It's something that we're doing,
but it doesn't guarantee the outcome.
The outcome is God's. Right.
And so exactly to your point, remember that the outcome is his.
You know, whatever happens, whoever wins that that is
(04:28):
God is using that for a reason. Yeah.
Whether we like it or not. Yeah.
No, I love that idea. Vote on biblical privilege. Line up the issues.
That's why we're talking about policies and which candidate
is going to fulfill those things.
Listen, if you're voting on personality, my goodness, wake up.
OK, the personnel, it actually doesn't even matter if you like your leader.
(04:49):
Hmm. It really doesn't.
Is he or she good for the nation?
Hmm. Is it is is is this going to benefit our country in such a way that that,
you know, we're going to continue to have freedom to worship.
We're going to have the ability to impact the world.
Policies are what matter.
And also, if you really want to get to my real pet peeve,
(05:12):
please don't vote based on debate performances.
I mean, imagine imagine you're going to you're going to cast your vote for the
person that performed the best in a two hour argument.
Argument. Right. Right.
That's getting interrupted and all that. But they had the best zingers.
Hmm. It's just it's this it's I think it's detrimental to the whole process.
Right. I mean, you can learn some things how smart that person is,
(05:35):
how well they know the policies.
But yeah, you should listen to the candidates when they try to explain
where they're coming from, what they will do for the country,
know that they're probably giving you only a half truth.
But you can discern some things, but don't go on personality.
Don't go on vibe. Yeah.
Or based on what culture is telling you or hey, there's this I like this movement.
(05:55):
It feels feels vibey to me.
I mean, come on, folks, Christians, Christians, we're about truth.
Wake up. Right. Take it seriously.
Yeah. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Christian should.
I think it's important, too, that as as you're going through this season,
don't be afraid to share why you voted.
I would encourage believers about that.
(06:16):
Sometimes we get so scared of being judged.
We get so scared of, you know, well, you know, others might not agree with me.
And I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
I would encourage believers if you have based your decision on biblical principles,
not on what is I think you said, vibe, all the things.
Right. But you based your decisions on biblical principles that I think it is incumbent upon you
(06:40):
to share with others when asked or when discussed why you did so.
Sure. And to point back to truth from God's word about why you did what you did.
I think that's great. That's a great opportunity to share people like I'm driven by this.
I'm driven by biblical principles.
By the way, do that person to person. Don't do social media.
Yes. Amen.
Right. Because if you if you put yourself out there in social media, you're going to get bombed.
(07:03):
Blasted. And then it's going to be fruitless and possibly damaging to the reputation of Christ.
If you get into arguments online, just we learned that lesson so many years ago,
but so many Christians are still doing that. But have personal conversations about.
Amen. It can be actually a really interesting door to share the gospel with somebody to go.
If somebody says, well, why did you vote for, I'll just use Trump. Why did you vote for Trump?
(07:25):
Trump's an awful person and you're a Christian. I don't understand.
You should have an answer for that. Yeah.
I'm ready to I'm ready to respond to that. But but you should be able to answer that and say,
well, here's why I think that was the better choice. Amen.
Right. And then you can say and biblically this lined up. And by the way,
yeah, I really think the Bible is important. It can open doors.
Amen. For conversation.
(07:46):
So yeah, that's a great encouragement. Now, when we think about the democratic process,
I think there's a couple key things here that are helpful.
When when there are elections, oftentimes people get very worried.
Yeah. Very worried about life.
Very worried about their future. Right.
They attach a lot to these four years. Yeah.
Right. There's, you know, well, I'm never going to get to retire.
(08:06):
You know, my whole life is ruined. And and sure, there there are some saints who may be towards
the end of, you know, their their season, this side of glory. But for most people,
it's a very short term. Not saying it doesn't matter.
It does matter. Yeah.
But it's a very short term in in the scope of things.
And I think it's important for believers to recognize that these elections, they don't define
(08:29):
your life. They will impact your life. Yes.
There will be impacts on you in so many different ways.
Yeah. And that's why it's important we take it seriously.
Right. But it doesn't define us.
I agree. Yeah. Yeah. As soon as you start defining your life by anything but a Christ follower,
but you're talking about I'm either with I'm with her or I'm with this group or, you know,
(08:52):
and you're you're the flag out front of your house actually reflects your political persuasion.
People on block don't know you're a Christian, but they know you follow this candidate.
See, that that's a problem. Yeah.
So, yeah, you want to make sure that that's not your identity. It will.
Voting matters. I'll tell you what. It's interesting.
Voting locally often will impact your life more than federally.
(09:12):
Yeah. And a lot of us don't even know who our local officials are.
But right. But the policies that are being promoted at every cycle.
Right. But whether your trash gets picked up or not, your property taxes, that actually is
oftentimes your state or your county or something like that. Those things matter.
But on the big picture, yeah, the economy crime, whether America goes to war. Yeah.
(09:35):
You should vote because because those things will impact your life. But you're right.
They don't define you because you're a Christ follower. You're a pilgrim in this world.
You want things to go well. You want the best for your country,
but ultimately your home's in heaven. Yeah. Amen. Amen.
Another thing along those lines in terms of what defines you,
(09:55):
we need to make sure we're not hating those that we that voted against what we voted for.
Right. They're not your enemy. Right. But I see so many posts.
I see and I hear so much vitriol. I can't imagine why they would do this.
Oh, yeah. They're terrible human beings.
And there's a lot of hate for people who vote against what we vote for. Yeah.
(10:18):
And I would just encourage the believer we've been not we've not been called to hate.
Now, we should hate sin. Amen. And I think that's how they would subtly and try to definitely,
you know, move the needle. But I would say rather didn't Jesus say, pray for your enemies?
Right. And that'd be my first question then.
Okay, you hate the sin. Amen. Are you praying for him?
(10:38):
Yeah. And most of the time, I don't I don't think that they know.
I've I've heard of families being split over politics, family, long term friendship,
relationships broken over politics, that it should not be true of us. So guard your heart,
think the best of people. You know, sometimes people are caught up in the vibe or they're
they're just poorly informed and they vote for the wrong reasons that can happen. But don't.
(11:00):
Yeah, there's no room for that type of hatred. Yeah. Especially among Christians.
Yeah, right. It's not good. Yeah. Right.
You know, a very simple encouragement I'll give to like, especially if
election night comes and we're all stressing out over, you know, if it's coming down to the wire.
I remember I went to sleep last time. Right. And it was one thing and I woke up in the morning and
I said, what in the world? What happened? Everything's upside down. That's crazy.
(11:23):
And that was that was wild. You know, I didn't stay up and you know, that's that's on me.
Wait, you're not going to explain what happened? Don't I mean, we can't. I mean, no, no, no,
I'm just kidding. It was one way. You haven't figured it out. It was one way.
Okay. And then it was another way. We're just going to let that slide.
And we're going to see what happens this year. Right. Four years later, do we get it?
Did we get anything changed? Because if the IRS is listening,
(11:45):
we're not taking a position here. We're not picking a candidate. Right.
Yeah. That's the that's the issue. Right. Is there a promotion now in such a case? I mean,
here's here's the basic principle. We do this in all of life and we've seen this model time
and time again in the Psalms. So for members in our churches, you've been going through that
series. Such an encouragement. You constantly see the psalmist, whether it was David or others,
(12:09):
they're reading God's word, they're practicing God's word, they're praying God's word,
they're seeing God's word, they're trusting God's word. They they keep going back to what is true
and stable. What is what is the standard for life? And that standard for life is found
in God's word. So that's that's a daily thing. So if you find yourself a little shaken,
(12:29):
a little upset, you know, as votes are going one way and stop, stop, pray, go to God's word.
Turn off the cable news. Turn it off. Turn off social media. And remember that your life going
back to identity is hidden in Christ with God and it is not your own. You've been bought with a price.
You are His and your eternity is secure. Right. And you know, start there so you don't just
(12:50):
start, you know, tweeting or posting or, you know, getting crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Anything else
to add on that one? No, no, just yeah, guard your heart. Yeah. Amen. Now, when we think about the
2024 election, there are some things that are going to be a big deal. And I think there's a
couple basic premises that we should hold firm to as we look to what's going to happen these next
(13:14):
four years. And we don't know even if even if a candidate that we're voting for wins, we still
don't know what's going to happen. And that is part of God's grace. Yeah. Because if we could predict
the future, what would this all be for? Right. It'll all be pointless. Maybe people need to
listen to my Ecclesiastes sermons. They should. To wrestle with that one. That's right. From the end,
(13:35):
from the beginning. So here's the first thing. God knows who's going to win. That's right.
God is not surprised. He's outside of time. I remember somebody preaching about that recently.
He sees all things, everything at once. There it is. You've said that multiple times this series,
but God knows who's going to win and he's not going to be surprised. Yeah. The world is not
on its own course. The world is on his course. Right. He is setting the trajectory and the aim
(13:59):
and is superintending. You love that word? Love it. Superintending in such a way that at the right
time Christ will come again. All things will be consummated unto him. There's a few details in the
midst of that, but we know that's the trajectory that things are headed in. So we don't need to
worry. Can you trust though, that that's, can you, before the election, can you trust? That's the
(14:20):
test. If your candidate loses, will you still trust it? That's the test. Yeah. Second thing I would say
here is no one can do anything outside of God's will. Right. No one, there's no one who can thwart
him. So to that end of what you just asked, can you trust him? I think the answer should always be yes,
but you got to test your heart. Right. Do you believe that other people can thwart what God
(14:44):
wants to do? And cause if you do, now you live in a very unstable reality. Right. You live in a place
where anything can happen and God's not in control. That's scary. That's the scariest place to be.
So no one can accomplish anything outside of God's will. God knows who's going to win.
No one can thwart what he is going to do, even if we don't like it.
(15:05):
Even if a Nebuchadnezzar, even if a Darius, even you name it. Right. Yeah. So I just
preach this on Sunday, right? David realized he got to that place in the cave where he said,
you know what? King Saul is not going to determine my future. God is. And so that's what we need to,
we need to just realize that it's going to go the way God has decreed it. So that'll preach.
(15:29):
Take a deep breath. Hard for us. Take a deep breath. But that'll preach. We may feel like we're in the
cave in a couple of weeks here. We'll see. Now, even if, even if more biblical principles win the day,
yeah, the victory is still partial. Yeah. Exactly. So if your candidate wins, right, it's still,
we're still in a fallen world. We're still in a fallen world. With a wicked government.
(15:51):
Those policies are not going to be what save us. That's right. There can be some helpfulness to
some things, but some of them are going to be partial. Like when we're talking about
the abortion dynamics, pushing it to the States is not the end all answer. There's a movement to
to help at least in some places it will be very restricted, but others it will not be. That's
right. And so the victory is not full and that's on purpose. Right. Exactly. So manage your
(16:18):
expectations accordingly. Amen. Yeah. You know, when we think about that, then things are partial
here. Let's remember when things are full. Things are going to be full. That true reformation,
the true renewal of this whole world is going to come with our savior. One more time, he will
come again. His second coming will inaugurate the beginning of those end times events that will
(16:42):
finally and fully culminate one day. Yes, there's some events to occur. Go listen to James Sonshake
while we go on some more of those, but it's going to happen. Yeah. And it's actually interesting.
Again, as people that want to share the good news of about Christ, we can use the chaos of the world.
We can use candidates, we can use elections as a tool to say, see, human beings aren't going to
(17:03):
solve problems. We really aren't. It'll be little blips here and there, but there's no savior out
there except for Jesus. Amen. I mean, honestly, you can use that as a tool to say, hey, you're
a candidate one, guess what? Life's still not perfect. Who knew? Yeah. It doesn't matter who
wins. That is going to be the case. And so for us, we need as believers, we need to look to the age
(17:26):
to come. That doesn't mean we don't care about today. That doesn't mean we're not responsible
in our voting and pursuing good and godly results for our communities, for our nation as a whole.
We do, and we're responsible before the Lord to be faithful, to be good citizens, but we look to
the age to come for our best days. That's right. Our best days are not here. No. There can be
(17:48):
goodness in these days. We would be thankful for these days, but these aren't the best days. No.
The best days are to come, and we need to keep orienting our mind to look to Christ, to look to
Him, and not just looking for this life here. Amen. The last thing I would say is be faithful
today. For believers, especially in our church, just bear in mind all of your areas of influence,
(18:13):
husbands and fathers and mothers and wives and singles and friends and grandparents and everything,
students, you name it. Bear in mind your circles because on that day, on that election day,
there's going to be a lot of emotions going through people. There's going to be a lot of
shenanigans going on in the world, and the media is going to make everything seem like the world is
(18:36):
ending, and then when the vote finally comes through, then there's going to be a settling.
This is the nature of elections. Yeah. So as that comes, as you expect that to come,
focus on being faithful with what God has given you today. Right. Be faithful with the relationships
you have. Encourage people to trust Jesus at His word. Be stable. Don't be shaken by the world.
(18:56):
Don't be shaken by society and news of rumors and wars and things that are happening. They are.
Right. They are, and the world is burning. The world is falling apart. The creation is groaning,
as Paul says, but Paul said that 2,000 years ago. That's true. And it's still groaning today.
And you're not going to fix it. None of us are. It's above your pay grade. And no policies are
(19:19):
going to fix it. No candidate is going to fix it, but one day Jesus will. Right. And in the meantime,
you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You can be sanctified by the Spirit.
Amen. You can bless your family. You can be a good church member. You can do all of these things.
That's within your sphere, within the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. That's within your sphere of
(19:43):
activity. But you know, you're not going to change global politics with your vote, but you do have
power by the Holy Spirit to change your life and those around you. Amen. So don't show up to work
on November 6th, right? A day after the election and mope. Right. You know, if you didn't get your
way, don't show up with your friends and act like you have no hope. Yeah. Yeah, right. Instead,
(20:09):
yeah, people live faithfully. People will probably be looking at you to say, how does the Christian
react? Oh, that's a big responsibility. I like that. I like that. That's a good challenge.
That's a good challenge. All right. Anything else to add on this one? No, that's it. That's it for
now. Now, who knows? Maybe, maybe the election comes and maybe you and I get together and we do
(20:29):
a post-election update. We'll put that out for the listener to think about. Based,
based on the reactions of our country, it might be helpful. It might be because,
because things could be wild. I have some ideas, but I'm not a prophet.
So I'm not going to predict anything here on the show. Not yet. No, privately. We'll talk about it.
Yeah. But I have some ideas about the way the country could react and it might not be pretty.
(20:50):
So we may be back to try to help with some of that stuff. So if we think that's prudent,
we'll be back. But until then, whether this is the end of this season or whether there's another one
coming, coming before the end of the year, listeners, please, we encourage you to trust
God at his word, to not be shaken by the things that are happening in this world, but to believe
him. And so to that end, that's why we've created this podcast to help you renew your mind and
(21:13):
reform your heart. So with that being said, whether we see you again before the end of the year,
or whether this is it for 2024, we pray this has been a blessing for you and we'll catch you next
time on The Thinking Tree.
Welcome to The Thinking Tree, a podcast to help believers renew their minds and reform their hearts.
(00:03):
I'm Adam Sanchez.
And I'm Jeff No.
And today we're discussing the 2024 national election.
All right. So the whole season, we've been taking on some tough issues, policy issues,
things related to our voting.
(00:24):
But we haven't been telling people go and vote this way.
We haven't been saying this is what you must do.
But I think most people can probably figure out where we stand on the issues.
And that's the point is promoting biblical principles.
Yet, yet there is going to be an election.
And by the time you're listening to this, it'll be right upon us.
(00:45):
Yes. And we do not know the outcome.
Yeah, you should probably. What day?
What day are we recording this?
Today is October 8th. October 8th.
Yes. So we're about a month out.
Yeah. Little less.
So if this if this doesn't age well, the folks won't give us a hard time.
They won't give us a hard time.
God willing, we can also delete it before it comes about.
But we wanted to help our listeners think well about what is about to occur.
(01:10):
Right. And no matter what, here's the thing, whether whether we're days from the election
or whether we're weeks or months or years from any election or change,
we know who's seated on the throne. Right.
And so we want to talk through biblical thinking about such a thing as a national election.
And so here's the question then for the day.
How should Christians think about the upcoming election?
(01:35):
That's the struggle. How do we think about it?
Yeah. So I think to start, let's let's talk a little bit about voting and submitting.
OK, that's that's kind of what we're doing.
Right. Yeah. What is an election about?
Election is about voting.
And what do we what do we got to do with the outcome?
Submit. Submit. Yep.
So I figure that was a good place to start.
Right. You know, I know this this whole season,
(01:57):
I've been encouraging believers to register to vote if they're not.
Yeah. I've known some who have registered this year, you know, for the first time.
And I think I think that's great.
I would encourage every every believer should exercise their right to vote if they're able
because we're so uniquely gifted, I think.
And that's the way I want to term it, uniquely gifted with a process here in the U.S.
(02:20):
that is really unlike anywhere else in the entire world.
Yeah. And so I do think that we should use this right, this privilege to have voted.
I think by this time, do you hear this?
Many will have already voted.
But I would encourage you to vote. Get out and vote.
We should be good citizens.
We should care about the nation that God sovereignly has placed us in.
(02:40):
And I think First Timothy two bears that out.
If you look at the first few verses of First Timothy two, he says, look,
I want you to pray on behalf of all people, including kings and all those in authority.
That we might lead a peaceful life.
We might be good citizens in this country and that we might be blessed by by God's hand
working through this particular authority.
Now, we don't always get the most godly president.
(03:01):
But yeah, we should be good citizens.
We are sojourners on the earth, right?
But God has sovereignly put us in a place and we have talked about this many times.
We should, if we can, influence our culture.
And one of the ways we can do that is to to vote.
So that we get the best possible outcome.
There's never going to be the most godly.
I'm not sure we'll ever find a truly godly candidate out there ever again.
(03:26):
But but the best possible outcome.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
You know, on that on that note of how we vote.
Yeah. Now, I want to encourage we're voting with biblical principles in mind.
And that's really why we've been taking on all these policies
throughout this season is that we would not be ruled by feelings
that we would not be even ruled by our culture or pressures that happen
(03:47):
in our culture, but we would really seek to vote and to pursue
biblical principles in our thinking first, but also in our voting.
The policies that we're encouraging.
We want them to be ones that we can stand before God one day and say,
I did my best to encourage our society to go towards you.
You know, that that really should be on our hearts and our minds,
(04:07):
you know, as we're thinking about it.
And you just mentioned about outcomes, right?
Like the nature of a vote, it doesn't guarantee an outcome. Right.
It's an output. It's something that we're doing,
but it doesn't guarantee the outcome.
The outcome is God's. Right.
And so exactly to your point, remember that the outcome is his.
You know, whatever happens, whoever wins that that is
(04:28):
God is using that for a reason. Yeah.
Whether we like it or not. Yeah.
No, I love that idea. Vote on biblical privilege. Line up the issues.
That's why we're talking about policies and which candidate
is going to fulfill those things.
Listen, if you're voting on personality, my goodness, wake up.
OK, the personnel, it actually doesn't even matter if you like your leader.
(04:49):
Hmm. It really doesn't.
Is he or she good for the nation?
Hmm. Is it is is is this going to benefit our country in such a way that that,
you know, we're going to continue to have freedom to worship.
We're going to have the ability to impact the world.
Policies are what matter.
And also, if you really want to get to my real pet peeve,
(05:12):
please don't vote based on debate performances.
I mean, imagine imagine you're going to you're going to cast your vote for the
person that performed the best in a two hour argument.
Argument. Right. Right.
That's getting interrupted and all that. But they had the best zingers.
Hmm. It's just it's this it's I think it's detrimental to the whole process.
Right. I mean, you can learn some things how smart that person is,
(05:35):
how well they know the policies.
But yeah, you should listen to the candidates when they try to explain
where they're coming from, what they will do for the country,
know that they're probably giving you only a half truth.
But you can discern some things, but don't go on personality.
Don't go on vibe. Yeah.
Or based on what culture is telling you or hey, there's this I like this movement.
(05:55):
It feels feels vibey to me.
I mean, come on, folks, Christians, Christians, we're about truth.
Wake up. Right. Take it seriously.
Yeah. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Christian should.
I think it's important, too, that as as you're going through this season,
don't be afraid to share why you voted.
I would encourage believers about that.
(06:16):
Sometimes we get so scared of being judged.
We get so scared of, you know, well, you know, others might not agree with me.
And I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
I would encourage believers if you have based your decision on biblical principles,
not on what is I think you said, vibe, all the things.
Right. But you based your decisions on biblical principles that I think it is incumbent upon you
(06:40):
to share with others when asked or when discussed why you did so.
Sure. And to point back to truth from God's word about why you did what you did.
I think that's great. That's a great opportunity to share people like I'm driven by this.
I'm driven by biblical principles.
By the way, do that person to person. Don't do social media.
Yes. Amen.
Right. Because if you if you put yourself out there in social media, you're going to get bombed.
(07:03):
Blasted. And then it's going to be fruitless and possibly damaging to the reputation of Christ.
If you get into arguments online, just we learned that lesson so many years ago,
but so many Christians are still doing that. But have personal conversations about.
Amen. It can be actually a really interesting door to share the gospel with somebody to go.
If somebody says, well, why did you vote for, I'll just use Trump. Why did you vote for Trump?
(07:25):
Trump's an awful person and you're a Christian. I don't understand.
You should have an answer for that. Yeah.
I'm ready to I'm ready to respond to that. But but you should be able to answer that and say,
well, here's why I think that was the better choice. Amen.
Right. And then you can say and biblically this lined up. And by the way,
yeah, I really think the Bible is important. It can open doors.
Amen. For conversation.
(07:46):
So yeah, that's a great encouragement. Now, when we think about the democratic process,
I think there's a couple key things here that are helpful.
When when there are elections, oftentimes people get very worried.
Yeah. Very worried about life.
Very worried about their future. Right.
They attach a lot to these four years. Yeah.
Right. There's, you know, well, I'm never going to get to retire.
(08:06):
You know, my whole life is ruined. And and sure, there there are some saints who may be towards
the end of, you know, their their season, this side of glory. But for most people,
it's a very short term. Not saying it doesn't matter.
It does matter. Yeah.
But it's a very short term in in the scope of things.
And I think it's important for believers to recognize that these elections, they don't define
(08:29):
your life. They will impact your life. Yes.
There will be impacts on you in so many different ways.
Yeah. And that's why it's important we take it seriously.
Right. But it doesn't define us.
I agree. Yeah. Yeah. As soon as you start defining your life by anything but a Christ follower,
but you're talking about I'm either with I'm with her or I'm with this group or, you know,
(08:52):
and you're you're the flag out front of your house actually reflects your political persuasion.
People on block don't know you're a Christian, but they know you follow this candidate.
See, that that's a problem. Yeah.
So, yeah, you want to make sure that that's not your identity. It will.
Voting matters. I'll tell you what. It's interesting.
Voting locally often will impact your life more than federally.
(09:12):
Yeah. And a lot of us don't even know who our local officials are.
But right. But the policies that are being promoted at every cycle.
Right. But whether your trash gets picked up or not, your property taxes, that actually is
oftentimes your state or your county or something like that. Those things matter.
But on the big picture, yeah, the economy crime, whether America goes to war. Yeah.
(09:35):
You should vote because because those things will impact your life. But you're right.
They don't define you because you're a Christ follower. You're a pilgrim in this world.
You want things to go well. You want the best for your country,
but ultimately your home's in heaven. Yeah. Amen. Amen.
Another thing along those lines in terms of what defines you,
(09:55):
we need to make sure we're not hating those that we that voted against what we voted for.
Right. They're not your enemy. Right. But I see so many posts.
I see and I hear so much vitriol. I can't imagine why they would do this.
Oh, yeah. They're terrible human beings.
And there's a lot of hate for people who vote against what we vote for. Yeah.
(10:18):
And I would just encourage the believer we've been not we've not been called to hate.
Now, we should hate sin. Amen. And I think that's how they would subtly and try to definitely,
you know, move the needle. But I would say rather didn't Jesus say, pray for your enemies?
Right. And that'd be my first question then.
Okay, you hate the sin. Amen. Are you praying for him?
(10:38):
Yeah. And most of the time, I don't I don't think that they know.
I've I've heard of families being split over politics, family, long term friendship,
relationships broken over politics, that it should not be true of us. So guard your heart,
think the best of people. You know, sometimes people are caught up in the vibe or they're
they're just poorly informed and they vote for the wrong reasons that can happen. But don't.
(11:00):
Yeah, there's no room for that type of hatred. Yeah. Especially among Christians.
Yeah, right. It's not good. Yeah. Right.
You know, a very simple encouragement I'll give to like, especially if
election night comes and we're all stressing out over, you know, if it's coming down to the wire.
I remember I went to sleep last time. Right. And it was one thing and I woke up in the morning and
I said, what in the world? What happened? Everything's upside down. That's crazy.
(11:23):
And that was that was wild. You know, I didn't stay up and you know, that's that's on me.
Wait, you're not going to explain what happened? Don't I mean, we can't. I mean, no, no, no,
I'm just kidding. It was one way. You haven't figured it out. It was one way.
Okay. And then it was another way. We're just going to let that slide.
And we're going to see what happens this year. Right. Four years later, do we get it?
Did we get anything changed? Because if the IRS is listening,
(11:45):
we're not taking a position here. We're not picking a candidate. Right.
Yeah. That's the that's the issue. Right. Is there a promotion now in such a case? I mean,
here's here's the basic principle. We do this in all of life and we've seen this model time
and time again in the Psalms. So for members in our churches, you've been going through that
series. Such an encouragement. You constantly see the psalmist, whether it was David or others,
(12:09):
they're reading God's word, they're practicing God's word, they're praying God's word,
they're seeing God's word, they're trusting God's word. They they keep going back to what is true
and stable. What is what is the standard for life? And that standard for life is found
in God's word. So that's that's a daily thing. So if you find yourself a little shaken,
(12:29):
a little upset, you know, as votes are going one way and stop, stop, pray, go to God's word.
Turn off the cable news. Turn it off. Turn off social media. And remember that your life going
back to identity is hidden in Christ with God and it is not your own. You've been bought with a price.
You are His and your eternity is secure. Right. And you know, start there so you don't just
(12:50):
start, you know, tweeting or posting or, you know, getting crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Anything else
to add on that one? No, no, just yeah, guard your heart. Yeah. Amen. Now, when we think about the
2024 election, there are some things that are going to be a big deal. And I think there's a
couple basic premises that we should hold firm to as we look to what's going to happen these next
(13:14):
four years. And we don't know even if even if a candidate that we're voting for wins, we still
don't know what's going to happen. And that is part of God's grace. Yeah. Because if we could predict
the future, what would this all be for? Right. It'll all be pointless. Maybe people need to
listen to my Ecclesiastes sermons. They should. To wrestle with that one. That's right. From the end,
(13:35):
from the beginning. So here's the first thing. God knows who's going to win. That's right.
God is not surprised. He's outside of time. I remember somebody preaching about that recently.
He sees all things, everything at once. There it is. You've said that multiple times this series,
but God knows who's going to win and he's not going to be surprised. Yeah. The world is not
on its own course. The world is on his course. Right. He is setting the trajectory and the aim
(13:59):
and is superintending. You love that word? Love it. Superintending in such a way that at the right
time Christ will come again. All things will be consummated unto him. There's a few details in the
midst of that, but we know that's the trajectory that things are headed in. So we don't need to
worry. Can you trust though, that that's, can you, before the election, can you trust? That's the
(14:20):
test. If your candidate loses, will you still trust it? That's the test. Yeah. Second thing I would say
here is no one can do anything outside of God's will. Right. No one, there's no one who can thwart
him. So to that end of what you just asked, can you trust him? I think the answer should always be yes,
but you got to test your heart. Right. Do you believe that other people can thwart what God
(14:44):
wants to do? And cause if you do, now you live in a very unstable reality. Right. You live in a place
where anything can happen and God's not in control. That's scary. That's the scariest place to be.
So no one can accomplish anything outside of God's will. God knows who's going to win.
No one can thwart what he is going to do, even if we don't like it.
(15:05):
Even if a Nebuchadnezzar, even if a Darius, even you name it. Right. Yeah. So I just
preach this on Sunday, right? David realized he got to that place in the cave where he said,
you know what? King Saul is not going to determine my future. God is. And so that's what we need to,
we need to just realize that it's going to go the way God has decreed it. So that'll preach.
(15:29):
Take a deep breath. Hard for us. Take a deep breath. But that'll preach. We may feel like we're in the
cave in a couple of weeks here. We'll see. Now, even if, even if more biblical principles win the day,
yeah, the victory is still partial. Yeah. Exactly. So if your candidate wins, right, it's still,
we're still in a fallen world. We're still in a fallen world. With a wicked government.
(15:51):
Those policies are not going to be what save us. That's right. There can be some helpfulness to
some things, but some of them are going to be partial. Like when we're talking about
the abortion dynamics, pushing it to the States is not the end all answer. There's a movement to
to help at least in some places it will be very restricted, but others it will not be. That's
right. And so the victory is not full and that's on purpose. Right. Exactly. So manage your
(16:18):
expectations accordingly. Amen. Yeah. You know, when we think about that, then things are partial
here. Let's remember when things are full. Things are going to be full. That true reformation,
the true renewal of this whole world is going to come with our savior. One more time, he will
come again. His second coming will inaugurate the beginning of those end times events that will
(16:42):
finally and fully culminate one day. Yes, there's some events to occur. Go listen to James Sonshake
while we go on some more of those, but it's going to happen. Yeah. And it's actually interesting.
Again, as people that want to share the good news of about Christ, we can use the chaos of the world.
We can use candidates, we can use elections as a tool to say, see, human beings aren't going to
(17:03):
solve problems. We really aren't. It'll be little blips here and there, but there's no savior out
there except for Jesus. Amen. I mean, honestly, you can use that as a tool to say, hey, you're
a candidate one, guess what? Life's still not perfect. Who knew? Yeah. It doesn't matter who
wins. That is going to be the case. And so for us, we need as believers, we need to look to the age
(17:26):
to come. That doesn't mean we don't care about today. That doesn't mean we're not responsible
in our voting and pursuing good and godly results for our communities, for our nation as a whole.
We do, and we're responsible before the Lord to be faithful, to be good citizens, but we look to
the age to come for our best days. That's right. Our best days are not here. No. There can be
(17:48):
goodness in these days. We would be thankful for these days, but these aren't the best days. No.
The best days are to come, and we need to keep orienting our mind to look to Christ, to look to
Him, and not just looking for this life here. Amen. The last thing I would say is be faithful
today. For believers, especially in our church, just bear in mind all of your areas of influence,
(18:13):
husbands and fathers and mothers and wives and singles and friends and grandparents and everything,
students, you name it. Bear in mind your circles because on that day, on that election day,
there's going to be a lot of emotions going through people. There's going to be a lot of
shenanigans going on in the world, and the media is going to make everything seem like the world is
(18:36):
ending, and then when the vote finally comes through, then there's going to be a settling.
This is the nature of elections. Yeah. So as that comes, as you expect that to come,
focus on being faithful with what God has given you today. Right. Be faithful with the relationships
you have. Encourage people to trust Jesus at His word. Be stable. Don't be shaken by the world.
(18:56):
Don't be shaken by society and news of rumors and wars and things that are happening. They are.
Right. They are, and the world is burning. The world is falling apart. The creation is groaning,
as Paul says, but Paul said that 2,000 years ago. That's true. And it's still groaning today.
And you're not going to fix it. None of us are. It's above your pay grade. And no policies are
(19:19):
going to fix it. No candidate is going to fix it, but one day Jesus will. Right. And in the meantime,
you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You can be sanctified by the Spirit.
Amen. You can bless your family. You can be a good church member. You can do all of these things.
That's within your sphere, within the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. That's within your sphere of
(19:43):
activity. But you know, you're not going to change global politics with your vote, but you do have
power by the Holy Spirit to change your life and those around you. Amen. So don't show up to work
on November 6th, right? A day after the election and mope. Right. You know, if you didn't get your
way, don't show up with your friends and act like you have no hope. Yeah. Yeah, right. Instead,
(20:09):
yeah, people live faithfully. People will probably be looking at you to say, how does the Christian
react? Oh, that's a big responsibility. I like that. I like that. That's a good challenge.
That's a good challenge. All right. Anything else to add on this one? No, that's it. That's it for
now. Now, who knows? Maybe, maybe the election comes and maybe you and I get together and we do
(20:29):
a post-election update. We'll put that out for the listener to think about. Based,
based on the reactions of our country, it might be helpful. It might be because,
because things could be wild. I have some ideas, but I'm not a prophet.
So I'm not going to predict anything here on the show. Not yet. No, privately. We'll talk about it.
Yeah. But I have some ideas about the way the country could react and it might not be pretty.
(20:50):
So we may be back to try to help with some of that stuff. So if we think that's prudent,
we'll be back. But until then, whether this is the end of this season or whether there's another one
coming, coming before the end of the year, listeners, please, we encourage you to trust
God at his word, to not be shaken by the things that are happening in this world, but to believe
him. And so to that end, that's why we've created this podcast to help you renew your mind and
(21:13):
reform your heart. So with that being said, whether we see you again before the end of the year,
or whether this is it for 2024, we pray this has been a blessing for you and we'll catch you next
time on The Thinking Tree.
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