IS GOD CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR POLITICS?
Jeremiah 23:1-9
With all that is going on in the world to day, is God concerned?
Is He concerned about your welfare?
Is God concerned about the condition of our government?
The answer is yes. It is always yes.
In 2020 our president and his cabinet, upset about losing the election,
decided to try to overthrow the election results to keep himself in office.
126 Senators, and 17 State Attorney Generals agreed together to discount
your right to vote. In other words, since you didn’t vote for me, you don’t
matter as a human being.
If I can deny your vote, the next step is to deny that you exist.
Is God concerned? The answer is yes. Is God concerned about politics?
The answer is yes.
Lets look at some Biblical facts.
The word politics is from the Greek word politika which means affairs of cities, making decisions.
After the flood, God gave Noah and his son the right of self government.
Gen 9:5-7
I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
6 \”Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God has God made man.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.\”
God gave Moses the laws and commands for man to live by,
Laws of self government
Ex 24:3-4
When Moses went and told the people all the Lord \’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, \”Everything the Lord has said we will do.\” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.
Under King David, God establish church and state.
The priest were given responsibility of the religious activities and the
King the responsibility of the state.
2 Sam 5:3
When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the Lord , and they anointed David king over Israel.
Exodus 28:3-4
Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.
God gave man the responsibility of self government establishing the
Politics of the nation. Religion, His commands and laws were the
guiding principles of government.
The problems with government and deceitful men is nothing new to God.
In our text the prophet Jeremiah is given a message from God of the coming
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the people and their captivity in Babylon for 70 years.
I want you to notice that the Lord held the leaders responsible
for the downfall of the nation of Israel.
I. GOD IS INVOLVED IN OUR TROUBLES
GOD’S DISSATISFACTION
Jeremiah 23:1-9
V:1 \”Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!\” declares the Lord . 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: \”Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,\” declares the Lord .
A. The word “woe’ is the Hebrew word howy which expresses pain and
dissatisfaction.
1. God was totally dissatisfied with the leaders of Israel because they
used their position for selfish gain and governed unjustly.
2. Leaders have great influence over people. Their influence can be
positive or negative.
3. Position carries the responsibility of leading according to the will
of God.
B. God is up to date on what leaders do, good or bad.
1. There is a reward for those who lead according to righteousness.
2. There is a severe penalty for leaders who mislead God people.
C. Leading people for your own personal agenda has negative and
devastating effects on the people.
1. Misleading can be destructive.
2. Misleading can be confusing.
3. Misleading can drive people away from the truth.
4. Misleading is a failure to look after the welfare of the people.Ask yourself these question?
1. How many people have died of Covid 19 because they didn’t have
the right information.
2. How many people are confused about the science of protecting
themselves against Covid 19.
3. How many people have died with Covid 19 believing they didn’t
have Covid 19.
4. Could more lives have been saved if the word about the dangers of
Covid 19 had been spread sooner?
II. GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR OUR TROUBLES
DON’T ABUSE YOUR LEADERSHIP POSITION
B. Leaders who abuse the power and authority given to them for their
Personal gain will pay a price. The leaders of this country who fail to look
After the welfare of the people placed under their charge have some dark
days ahead of them. Its in the text.
- God may uses evil men to bring trials and tribulations into
our lives.Jeremiah 27:6-8 Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate (defeat) him. If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord , until I destroy it by his hand.- God does not change. He is the same today as yesterday. Mal 3:6
For I am the Lord , I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed. - It is possible that the God we serve set up our present administration
and this virus as a wakeup call to the entire world. - We don’t want to believe that we had anything to do with this situation.
a. The sins of each of us are part of the problem.
b. God holds the leaders responsible, but the whole world suffers. - The good news is, God has planned our recovery.
- God does not change. He is the same today as yesterday. Mal 3:6
III. GOD PROMISES RESTORATION
GOD WILL BRING OUT OF YOUR SITUATION
V:3 \”I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries
where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where
they will be fruitful and increase in number.
A. God is in charge. But He is tolerant of us to wait and give us time
to get right with Him.
1. You have heard the saying, it was the straw that broke the camels
back.
a. Actually the straw was building up on the camel’s back for a long
time.
b. It was that one last straw that tipped the scale with devastating
effects.
c. Each of us adds straws to the camels back with our sins.
2. The world has been in violation of God’s commands for a long
time. God’s tolerance ran out.
B. The law was given to Moses around 1490 BC.
1. Israel ignore God commands. It was 586 BC when the Babylonians
took Israel hostage then came back and burned down the temple
and the city walls.
2. Jeremiah gave the last warning to Israel to get right before God
which was ignored, just prior to the Babylonian exile.
a. God’s tolerance came to an end (Jeremiah 26:6).
C. Like Israel, God tolerance with the world came to an end.
1. It is my opinion that this worldwide virus is God’s punishment
for the sins of the world.
2. It is a wake up call to get right before God.
3. The 1918 virus may have been a wake up call for the 2020 virus.
The 1918 Spanish flu killed 500 million people.
D. God’s punishment is a wakeup call to bring us to the realization
that He is sovereign, compassionate and loving enough in His
chastisement to bring us back into right fellowship with Him.
1. The proper way to see this virus is the loving chastisement of
the Lord before He set us before His Glory.
2. Instead of being sad, we ought to be joyful.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.GOD’S PROMISE FOR RESTORATION
V:4. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,\” declares the Lord .
5 \”The days are coming,\” declares the Lord ,
\”when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
A. there is a time of punishment and a time punishment will end.
1. The purpose of the punishment is to bring men to their knees
so they call on God and lean on Him.
2. God gives us time to know our sins and to know our weaknesses.
3. The time of punishment is a time of repentance.
4. The time of repentance is the time to strengthen our faith.
B. God revealed himself through His son for our salvation.
1. The time of repentance is the time of growth to open our
minds to His son, or draw us back to Him.
2. Once we are prepared, God introduces His Son, for our salvation.
C. God has planned an end to this situation we are in and our
restoration.
- In 2021, we will have a new administration in the US.
- In a couple of days, we will celebrated the birth of our
righteous king. - Jesus never left us this situation. He is sheltering us in place.
- It is the Lord Jesus who will administer justice and see that things
are done right.
1V. JESUS IS OUR RESTORATION
TOMORROW SUCCESSES BELONG TO THE LORD
V:6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.
A. Remember Saul the first king of Israel. God put
His spirit in him to lead Israel.
2. God removed His spirit because he disobeyed His command
to destroy the Amalekites and all they had. King Saul kept
the best of the goods for himself. 1 Samuel 15:1-9.
3. God moved His spirit from Saul to David.
a. God had anointed David as a teenager to be the King of Israel.
b. Saul fought David to the day he died because he
didn’t want to be known as a loser.
4. David remained faithful through his tough times until
God placed him on the throne.
B. According to the text, we will live in safety.
1. Our safety is not because of us, but because of the love
of our Lord and Savior.
2. God promised that He is in control of this situation.
3. God expects us to call on Him in times of trouble.
4. God expects us to trust Him live with His joy in our lives.
V. JESUS IS OUR JOY AND PEACE
V:7 \”So then, the days are coming,\” declares the Lord , \”when people will no longer say, \’As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,\’ 8 but they will say, \’As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.\’ Then they will live in their own land.\”
A. We have to put the past behind us.
1. We cannot change the past.
2. But we can look to the promises of the Lord
for today and tomorrow.
B. We are commanded to lay aside all our worries.
Phil 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1. We can change our focus from negative to positive.
2. We can quit focusing on that which is out of our control.
3. We choose to let God handle the problems we are not cabable
of solving
Phil 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. 9
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me
put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. IN SUMMARY
GOD IS INVOLVED IN YOUR TROUBLES
GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR TROUBLES
GOD PROMISES RESTORATION
JESUS IS OUR RESTORATION
JESUS IS OUR JOY AND PEACE
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
