Reflections

“Then He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”” Mark 8:15 HCSB

Jesus had warned his disciples against the yeast of the Pharisees and King Herod.  This warning is applicable today.  Two topics that can get very controversial and heated are religion and politics.  Jesus used the word “yeast” to warn about the Pharisees and Herod. Once you activate yeast it begins to ferment.  The definition of ferment means to Incite or stir up.  Today politics has agitated the people of God.  Jesus warned us against this.

The church’s focus on politics has led to more divisions, arguments and strife than any other area.  We have become consumed with political ideologies and obsession with power.  Some have even placed more value on their political ideologies than biblical doctrine.  Identity politics has become pervasive through the church.  We have become blind to many things pertaining to the church and our role in the world.   We have abdicated our role as intercessors and ambassadors of Christ.  Instead many have become disciples of political parties instead of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples by the love we have for one another.  What has the church’s role in politics revealed to the world?  Many have displayed rotten fruit including hate, strife, corruption, lies, and hypocrisy.  We no longer show the light of the gospel but the rottenness of the world.  This is why Jesus warned against the yeast of Herod.  Our focus is supposed to be on advancing the Kingdom of God not the power of Herod.

Historically, we know that the power of Herod and that of the Roman Empire was only temporary.  Unfortunately, often times the church has tried to remain relevant by aligning with political powers to advance the church’s agenda.  Some in the church have used violence to advance their causes.  This behavior has not helped advance the gospel nor the Kingdom of God.

Jesus pointed out many things that would happen before His second coming.  However, Jesus said that the end would only come when the gospel was preached in all the world (Matthew 24:14).  So this must be the church’s priority.  We are admonished to pray for our leaders.  Our goal is to advance the gospel and the Kingdom of God.  Do not allow the distractions of politics to cause us to lose focus on the bigger picture of seeing people saved.  We must complete the work Jesus has given us to do.

This work will cause us to be at odds with the world because the gospel is offensive and the Kingdom of God is a threat to those in power.  John the Baptist preached repentance and called out Herod’s sin.  As a result John was beheaded.  The apostles were also killed for the sake of the gospel.  Jesus promised that anyone that gave their life for the sake of the gospel would be rewarded.

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“When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies? ” “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship and asked Him, “What does my Lord want to say to His servant? ”” Joshua 5:13-14 HCSB

Every election the question is which candidate or party should we vote?  As Christians, we try to figure out which candidate is like us and holds our values.  Most of the time people ask the same thing – “who is the lesser of two evils.”  Of course, in order to win Christians most candidates will say they are Christian or they go to church.  We look for any evidence that the candidates are Christian either by their testimony or their lifestyle.

The policies of Democrats and Republicans have drastically changed over the years and both sides have become polarized.  Democrats have taken a more liberal stance and much of their platform does not match with our Christian values and the word of God.  So for many Christians it is obvious the Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates are associated with evil and promoting a satanic agenda.  The Republicans are more conservative and much of their platform would align with the values of Christians, so they are usually seen as more favorable to Christians.  However, over the years both parties have shown they are not the ideal party when it comes to the church.  No party has a monopoly on justice and righteousness.  Yet there is still this desire to showcase God’s chosen party or candidate.

For example, many Christians have used the gift of prophesy to declare God’s chosen candidate.  Many of these prophesies have conflicts with each other and even created confusion as to what God desires.  We have allowed the gift of prophesy to be used in the same way as sooth sayers predict the future.  We are using the gift of prophesy to justify our views and support.  When the prophesy is wrong there is mostly silence.

An example of this was in 2016.  There were prophetic words that were put out that Obama would not give up the presidency and find a way to stay president.  There were also prophetic words that said Trump would win which he did.  Yet in 2020 when the prophesies of Trump winning did not come to pass, some prophets double down and tried to convince people that he was still going to be sworn in as president in 2021.  The point is we are trying to convince people that God has chosen a candidate instead of using the gifts in their proper context.

Now we have a choice before us as always – which candidate do we vote for in this election?  Which candidate do we believe God has chosen?  This is not the right question.  If we look to the Bible we can see what is a priority to God.

When Joshua was going to go to Jericho to fight, he encountered The Commander of the Lord’s Army.  We know that this person was actually Jesus because Joshua worshiped Him and He received Joshua’s worship.  Angels would not allow men to worship them.  Joshua ask the question if Jesus was for them or for their enemy?  Jesus had His sword drawn.  He answered Joshua by saying “neither”.  Actually, Joshua asked the wrong question.  Jesus was there to lead and represent the will and purpose of God the Father.  Just as He always did.  He was to command the Lord’s army.  The question is was Joshua on the Lord’s side?  After worshipping Jesus, Joshua was given instruction on how to attack Jericho.  Joshua followed the instructions and the children of Israel were victorious.

We have to remember that our battle is not with flesh and blood.  We have been given authority over all demonic powers.  So our fight is not with men but against strongholds and principalities.  There are dark forces at work seeking to divide and destroy our nation.  This is where our battle lies.  So when we see issues that are contrary to the will and purpose of God, voting is not enough.  No matter who wins we still have those strongholds and principalities to deal with.  Hopefully, this election will bring the church together and we will get on our knees and pray.

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“They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.””  II Kings 17:10-12 NKJV

As a Chrisitian we live in the tension that we are in this world but not of this world.  Paul tells us in Philippians that our citizenship is in heaven.  Also, James tells us that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).  Finally, Jesus told us we could not serve two masters for we would hate one and love the other.

The MAGA sect puts a lot of emphasis on the greatness of America.  Many people see America (USA) as the greatest nation.  When people speak against America or complain of its past sins. there are those that are offended by those words and actions.  We especially see this in protests of wars or other events were the flag is burned or people refuse to stand for the flag.  These individuals are deemed unAmerican.  America has become an idol for so many including some in the church.

There is nothing wrong with being proud of the nation you live or are from.  What is dangerous is when we make the nation an idol.  We idolize the symbols, its leaders and other materials that represent the nation.  This is evident with the MAGA movement.  There are more prominent displays of either the flag or images of leaders and things sacred to the MAGA movement.  Anything that is against the movement is offensive and deemed unpatriotic.  Anyone that speaks out against the actions of America are also deemed unpatriotic.

The United States of America is not perfect and often fails to live up to its own pledges and declarations.  We are not a country that is equal for all.  This nation has its roots in violence, witchcraft and the killing of innocent people including babies.  There are injustices and wickedness all around.  However, many want to believe in this ideal image of America that fits their ideal and not God’s requirements of nations.  The Bible is clear how we are to treat others and how a nation is to operate in justice and righteousness.  We have ignored God’s instructions and believed a lie that this nation has been great and only ceased to be great when certain people feel threatened in losing their power.

America can be great, but as Christians our focus is to promote the will of God and not the will of the people.  James is correct that if we become friends with the world we create enmity with God.  People of the world including Americans seek the pleasures of the flesh.  That is why capitalism is seen as good and socialism is evil.  Many think it is far better for a nation to allow its people to pursue their own happiness and pleasures than allow anyone to waste the nation’s resources on people not submitted to this nation.  Even people full of national pride will feel enmity with those that do not put the nation first.

It is this foundation that idolatry is able to flourish.  We love our statutes of leaders, displays on high places showing the pride of our nations, we chant slogans and names of people that symbolize this nation’s greatness.  We forget that America is only is able to stand as long as God allows.  Throughout human history we have seen nations rise and fall.  What makes America different?

If we are truly a nation under God then our values, ideals, systems and society should reflect God and not the world.  So many of us are caught up in the worldliness of this nation that we have shown contempt for the things of God.  It is easy to blame our political opponents for the dwindling of national pride and worldwide influence.  However, in the Bible, God clearly states that Righteousness exalts a nation.  Since this is the case, who wins the presidency does not matter because God is looking for His people to walk in righteousness. 

If we truly want to see America to be great and the nation God intends this nation to be then we must obey and follow God.  We are supposed to be salt and light to a lost and dying nation.  How can we dare look upon the citizens of this nation that are perishing in their sins and not testify about Jesus?  When did we begin to think a political movement or some charismatic leader was going to save this nation?  The only one who can save is Jesus Christ.

It is a shame that with our obsession with America’s pride that we have substituted images of Christ with that of man.  We have prophesied about people saving this nation instead of speaking of true prophesy which is the testimony of Jesus Christ.  We have put more value and awe in our nation’s history instead of the Grand Story of Jesus Christ.

If we really believe that the Kingdom of God has come then we must also believe that this nation and all the other nations belong to Jesus.  It is His agenda we are to promote.  We are the ambassadors of Jesus Christ.  We have to learn to live in a nation that is not our home because our citizenship is in heaven.  Our allegiance is to our Lord and there will be times this allegiance will cause enmity with this nation.

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“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.”  Ephesians 5:11-12 NKJV

Spiritual strongholds are conflicts, stances and ideas opposed to God’s intentions.  The MAGA sect we see today did not come about just from the election of 2016 but it has developed from spiritual strongholds that have been developing for generations. Most Christians would agree that the Democratic Party have been the biggest promoters of darkness in the United States.  Their ideologies are contrary to the will and purposes of God.  Christians are being targeted.  Also many of Democratic Party values are being pushed onto our children through media, education, entertainment, etc.  For a long time the Republican Party was seen as the party of family values, morality and promoting the works of righteousness.  Satan’s attack is to create division and to get God’s children to be divided full of strife, fear, envy and hatred.

Satan’s temptation is to cause us to have fellowship with darkness.  Satan does not want his practices exposed.  Paul tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and strongholds.  God has given us weapons that are not carnal but mighty in pulling down these strongholds.  Satan does not want us to utilize these weapons but continues to build strongholds.  So we can see that as wickedness increased in our nation, the temptation to join forces with others to protect our rights also increased.  Satan was able to use fear to cause many to take their eyes off of God and find another means to protect their values.

As the far right political rhetoric rose up against the left, many Christians found a group that shared a common enemy.  Many on the far right were able to speak freely what many Christians could not say.  Political correctness silenced many people from speaking out against the immorality of this nation.  So some in the church made alliances with this group despite their history of hate speech and violence.  For a while this alliance was with only a small fraction of the church and had been done in darkness for generations.

Publicly, issues of abortion, the economy, family values were promoted and to the church at large.  However, in the darkness more sinister ideas are being spoken.  It was not just the immorality they opposed but there existed a deep hatred for certain people groups and fear that they would lose power.  To appeal to the greater population they begin to talk about how jobs were being sent overseas, foreigners were taking their jobs, favoritism was given to minority groups, protests were unAmerican, etc.  Suddenly people began to become the enemy and they became the target, not the policies promoting wickedness.

In politics many Christians wanted leaders who were morally upright and feared God.  However, even those leaders were not able to bring about the change they wanted.  These leaders appeared weak and incapable of making change.  Many leaders were simply giving into the will of the people.

The church which is still mostly segregated in this country began to witness more division along racial lines and denominations.   Our purposes were diverting away from the Gospel and the ways of God.  There was a time when we were united in prayer but as the various political ideaologies were voiced by the nation the church also began to take sides.  Prayer seemed ineffective because the liberal agenda was spreading and Christians were constantly under attack.  Most in the church want to see this nation change but we do not agree on what needs to be changed and the best method to use.  This is the opening that Satan uses to get us to focus on our differences and not realize the power we have against all demonic forces.  We became carnally minded. 

So the teachings of turning the other cheek, praying for our enemies, loving others was not working because those with opposing political views hated us and anything that had to do with God.  Their agenda was quickly advancing so some decided to align with the enemies of the left, a deal was made with the children of darkness.  However, these alliances were still done in darkness.  Also there was still a lack of cohesiveness with this emerging group because there was no one to lead the charge.   There was an agreement on the enemy but who would lead their cause and help destroy the works of their enemies?  Some Christians even stated they were not looking for another Christian but someone that would fight for their rights. They said we have Jesus as our Savior but we needed a strong man to stop our enemies.

We must remember that light has no fellowship with darkness.  If we want to effect change we must do it according to God’s plan.  It is important that we expose darkness in all areas of politics.  We should not focus on just one stronghold and ignore the others.

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“Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’””

Matthew 4:8-10 NASB

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus’ last temptation was the kingdoms of the world.  Jesus was not only the Messiah for the world but also the answer to God’s covenant to David that he would have someone sit on the throne forever.  Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  John the Baptist had announced the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ arrival.  However, Jesus’ arrival on the earth was to fulfill the Father’s will and desire to save the world.  It was not Jesus’ time to reign as King on the earth.  So Satan was offering Jesus a chance to take over the kingdoms of the world by Satan’s hand.  This temptation continued through others, as other people tried to convince Jesus to take his place as King and restore the kingdom to Israel.  “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”  John 6:15 NASB

When Jesus came to the earth, He was here to do the Father’s will – reveal the Father, teach others about the Kingdom of God, seek and save the lost.  Jesus also came to die for the sins of the world and be raised again on the third day.  It was not his time to reign as King. Even today we know that Jesus’ reigns.  All authority in heaven and on the earth have been given to Jesus.  As disciples of Jesus we live in this tension that the Kingdom of God is here but not fully revealed on the earth.  Jesus also said that only those who are born again and who born of water and spirit can enter the Kingdom of God.  “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  John 3:5 NASB

When Jesus commissioned His disciples and us we were told to go and preach the gospel to the nations, making disciples and teaching them to obey the commands of Jesus.  Jesus also tells us in Matthew 24 that the end of the world would not come until this Gospel is preached to all nations.  This is supposed to be our priority.  Unfortunately, Satan has tempted us with the same temptation as Jesus, we can have the kingdoms of this world to rule over them. 

For some in the church they have succumb to this temptation.  There has been such a zeal by some Christians to take over the kingdoms of this world by any means necessary.  In the United States of America, since 2016, the slogan “Make America Great Again” has dominated and taken on a life of its own. It is not only a slogan but a rally cry by many including Christians to take this nation back. 

When asked what  people want to take back for some Christians it is the the presidency and control of the government of the United States for God.  They desire to make this nation one that is ruled by God’s law and to stop the advancement of the liberal agenda and progressives.  This seems like a noble and good cause but the pursuit for this kingdom of the United States is by any many necessary.  However, when we look closely at this  movement to make America great again, we can see that the spirit behind this movement and the fruit of this movement have nothing to with God.  Political idolatry has taken root and men, not God, have been revered and glorified.  This is Satan’s temptation – to give God’s children the kingdoms of this world if only we would worship him.

To be continued…

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