An article this week reveals the division the church has orchestrated over this election season...

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Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world. -- John 18: 36 (ESV)

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. -- Philippians 3: 20-21 (ESV)

A week separated from the election and we can begin to see that the real loser was not Hillary Clinton. The real loser was the church and its witness for Jesus Christ. God has a plan beloved. That plan has nothing to do with the carnal politics of man. It has nothing to do with this temporary life so many of us now enjoy. When Jesus walked the earth his disciples thought He was going to deliver them from the oppression of Rome just like the church thought God would deliver them from their perceived oppression under the Obama administration. In both cases Jesus had another plan. That plan was deliverance of the world from the oppression from Satan and sin. The plans of Jesus Christ have not changed beloved. Just like He was apolitical when He ministered on the earth, He is apolitical now. Why? Our first key verse explains it perfectly.

Simply put; we are fighting for the wrong kingdom. The kingdom of He whom we call Lord and Savior is not of this world, yet we fight for this world so viciously and with such zeal it is easy for people to get confused. Jesus is speaking to Pilate here. He is facing His own death. The cross lies just ahead of Him. Pilate is trying to get Him out of this because he does not want a part in what the Jews are conspiring to do. Note however the explanation Jesus gives him. If this earth were the kingdom of Jesus Christ then His servants would have been fighting. The truth is that the Bible says that Jesus overcame this world. That we are supposed to overcome it as well through Him and His glorious resurrection. That we are to be a shining city on a hill showing the way out of this world. Not to be fighting for it. The second set of key verses reminds us that our citizenship is not of this world anymore if we claim to belong to King Jesus. There is no dual citizenship beloved. God does not desire for us to be split between His kingdom and the one of this earth. We are to come out from among them. Light is not to have any fellowship with darkness. None.

I know this flies in the face of a lot of poor teaching out there today. I know that most pastors and Christian leaders speak about a biblical responsibility to vote but there simply is none. Period. I know that the teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation and the Seven Mountains Mandate have skewed Christian thinking into being servants of this world instead of servants of Christ. Most Christians fail to remember that they gave up their citizenship in America the day they picked up their cross to follow Christ. So it was bad enough that so many in the church chose to ignore all of this but so many took it even further. They claimed God was choosing one of the two evil choices the world presented. They wrapped up a man so blatantly unchristian in the Bible. They pretended he was saved. They compared him to a second coming of Elijah or fulfilling an already fulfilled King Cyrus prophecy. Now that Donald Trump has won, they are doing a spiritual victory lap. Claiming God chose this evil. That they merely interceded for it and God answered their prayers. The problem is that there were other saved individuals praying on the other side. Hispanic Christians praying a man with such little regard for them would not be elected. Female Christians praying a man with such distasteful views of women would not get elected. Christians in general who believed there was no way this man could be considered the lesser evil. So who was right? When Christians are praying in such direct opposition to each other's desires it begs the question of veracity. Who was right? The winners will claim the victory proves them right but remember this world is not of His kingdom. Jesus does not ask His servants to fight for it. No beloved. The truth is neither side was right and the true victim here is the witness for Christ the church so casually tossed aside in their blind pursuit of carnal electoral victory. We are already starting to see the consequences:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/will-the-real-jesus-please-stand-up_us_58287d9be4b057e23e3145a3

I had already written about how major secular news sources had begun reporting on the blatant hypocrisy shown by Evangelicals in the run up to Election Day. Bill Maher actually thanked Donald Trump last week for proving beyond a doubt the hypocrisy of the Evangelical Church. Now many may try to be dismissive of this. After all, Maher hates Christianity and is an atheist. That is the point actually. Bill Maher and the millions of people who watch him should be our target audience. They are the people we are supposed to be a shining city on a hill for. They are who we are supposed to be redeeming the time for. They are the people who need to hear the Gospel and thus need our witness very badly. The link above is to an article that appeared yesterday. It is entitled, "Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?" In it, Khristi Adams delves into the dilemma she faces and many who consider themselves part of the church. The division that comes from fighting for the wrong kingdom:

I've been paying close attention to how our Christian leaders are responding. On the one hand, one leader says that she's never had such a heavy heart preparing for a Sunday morning before, while another tweeted that he believed God's hand intervened Tuesday night to "stop the godless, atheistic progressive agenda from taking control." One leader says they're angry and want to see God's justice during this "trying time for our nation" while another in his excitement, prayed God would grant the newly elected leader with "the heart of David, the vision of Daniel and the wisdom of Solomon." Huh? Which one is it exactly? -- Khristi Adams

Ms. Adams is 100% correct. Which one is it exactly? The majority of the American church may be doing a celebratory dance but at least 25% of the church is laying in sackcloth and ashes. The 75% will accuse the minority of not supporting biblical values while the minority will accuse the 75% of supporting a morally bankrupt candidate. Both are right and both are wrong. The damage has been done within the body of Christ because we failed to adhere to the Word of God.

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. -- 1Corinthians 1: 10 (ESV)

Specifically here, Paul is admonishing the Corinthians for being divided over who they claim to be following. Some said they were following Paul, some Cephas, and others said they were following Christ. Such a division is easier to spot and correct one would think although with the high rate of pastor worship in the church today that also might be debatable. The overall point here however should not be lost. These verses this year could be speaking about following Trump or Hillary instead of Christ. The body of Christ is meant to be one body. We are meant to be unified by correct doctrine. How can one Christian be praying that Donald Trump be anointed with a Spirit of King David and another be praying that God expose his evil works of darkness? But preacher! What about praying for our leaders! For starters I would be curious if our prayer lives were so solemnly pious when the winner was not who we wanted but looking past that let us examine the text referenced:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers,, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. - 1Timothy 2: 1-4 (ESV)

So yes, there is no question that we ought to be praying for all leaders, including our new president elect. We do not do so however for carnal means and goals. We do so that we might live quiet and peaceful lives, godly and dignified in every way. Beloved there was nothing quiet, peaceful, godly or dignified about the way the church behaved in this election or in the aftermath. It has caused not only a witness problem for the world but deep seeded confusion within the body, as Ms. Adams artfully explains:

I was once one of those people who prided herself on attending churches where the people in my pew were people who didn't look like me. How beautiful to worship with one another in Christ. There is no this church, or that church, we were One Church and One Body. But I think somewhere we went wrong when we began to focus on the intent behind that being just about color, because that's what it has turned into. A great photo opportunity to throw onto websites or promo materials to show that one Black face or that one Asian face. We're learning now, the hard way that is just not enough. The reality of the deep theological, racial and philosophical differences are being unveiled. You might be holding my hand in prayer, and while I'm praying for justice for Trayvon Martin, you're praying for the innocence of George Zimmerman. You might be holding my hand in prayer, but while I'm praying God would provide a place for the poor and marginalized, you're praying" those people" would just go away. You might be holding my hand in prayer, but while I'm praying for the walls to come down, you're praying the walls would go up. You might be holding my hand in prayer, but we're praying two different prayers and possibly to two different versions of who we think Jesus is. How do we reconcile THAT? I'm immediately brought back to a time when my ancestors who were slaves would gather together on Sunday morning and sing their songs of praise, and read scripture aloud and pray to Jesus. Right across the field in their big homes, their slave owners gathered together to sing the same songs, read the same scripture and pray to their own version of Jesus as well. Well which one is it? How do we reconcile THAT? -- Khristi Adams

How do we reconcile that beloved? How do we reconcile that so many of the people we clasp hands with in prayer may be praying the exact opposite of us and our view about what and who Jesus is today? Let me proffer that it must begin and end with where we view our citizenship. That much like Jesus had nothing to say about the daily morass of life under Roman rule, we ought to have just as little to say about cultural and societal arguments for the modern day Sodom we live in. His kingdom is not of this world and as Christians, with our citizenship in heaven, our concern must be for the things of HIS kingdom. This is what it means to be a servant under the authority of someone we call Lord. We talk a good game as the church. We go out on Sundays and raise our hands to sing songs about our Lord and then leave the church building and become enamored in the things of this world instead of His kingdom. We become obsessed with the cause du jour and try to wrap Jesus around it with pious sounding Christianese. We do so often times out of pure motives forgetting that our wickedly deceitful hearts are not to be trusted. The Trayvon Martin story was a tragedy but our responsibility as the church was not to take either side. We were not there beloved. We do not know. The Bible says to leave such matters to God. We ought to pray peace for all involved and salvation for all who are lost. Go back and read the Timothy verses and you will see that even our prayers for leaders are directly tied to salvation. That is what matters to God and what ought to matter to His servants. There are not two different Jesus'. How profoundly sad is it that we have divided ourselves in such a manner that opposing sides of the same body believe in two different and incorrect caricatures of the one they claim to serve? Ms. Adams concludes:

So this past Tuesday, some of us were celebrating a victory in Jesus and others, devastated and turning towards Jesus to give them strength in the midst of evil. And I'm stuck, trying to figure out if I should go to church, because I just don't know whose hand I'm holding or which Jesus is being preached"that Jesus is my Savior & my Redeemer and I just want the real Jesus to stand up. Will the real Jesus, please just stand up?

Listen to the anguish in her words beloved. They should mean something to us. When one part of the body hurts, it should be felt by all. Instead however I have seen nothing but brutality from those who perceived that they "won" last Tuesday. Berating fellow believers. Questioning their salvation. Unfriending them on Facebook over petty politics. Mocking those who may not share their glee. Meanwhile there are consequences for abandoning the Gospel and the Lord we serve. The Khristi Adams' of the world matter too and this week she doesn't know if she should even go back to church. Think about that for a moment. The Bible says we are either gathering people to Christ or scattering them away. What side do you find yourself on this day? Does Khristi Adams matter to you? Because she sure matters to Jesus Christ.

The only thing Khristi has wrong is the position of Jesus. He does not need to stand up. He already is. He always has been. The truth is we need to sit down. We need to stop drowning out the Gospel message with our pre-conceived view of a Christian utopia that God has not promised us. There is no end time revival in the Bible. There is however an end time apostasy promised. When John the Baptist was asked about Jesus when He first started ministering he said that he now must decrease so that Jesus might increase. The church could use some of that humility today. We need to stop be overly focused on this world, which we are no longer a part of. We need to realize that our brothers and sisters in Christ are far more important than our political affiliation. That we must decrease in order for Him to increase. Will the real Christians please sit down and stop blocking the view of the Savior the World so desperately needs.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- November 14, 2016

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.