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November 21, 2016

Thanksgiving, Carnal Politics and Dividing Christ

By Anthony Wade

As Thanksgiving draws near let us be thankful that we can always turn to the Word of God for direction and correction...

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Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. - Philippians 1: 27-30 (ESV)

This country stops once a year to be thankful for what they have. Thankful for what they have been blessed with. As the culture has moved further away from God we see this thankfulness become more generic and less about thanking God but for the church, we are supposed to be living a lifestyle of thanksgiving. Our posture towards God is supposed to be continually thankful. The cross alone should compel us to this. If God does nothing else for me, Calvary is enough. As we come to this year's Thanksgiving holiday however we find the church severely fractured and divided over carnal politics. It is time for us to reflect upon this and find our thankfulness within the Word of God, which will always provide us with the direction and correction we need.

The world is divided. It is constantly at odds with each other over matters which have no eternal value. They do so because they do not consider eternal matters. The things of God are foolishness to them. Think of the utter intellectual disconnect of holding an agnostic position. That you acknowledge the probable existence of a Creator but do not care to discover what He wants from His creation. Their minds are darkened. Their hearts are stone. They are fleshly focused on the carnality that this world brings to their lives and in this country with the myriad of distractions that come with the pursuit of material prosperity. While we see this reality as the church what we fail to see is that the bride of Christ is rapidly devolving into this condition as well.

Election 2016 in this country has revealed the darkness in many hearts within the church. In the efforts of appearing balanced this has always been approached from a non-partisan position but that has proven to be a disservice because it has avoided the more uncomfortable truth. That truth is we are primarily talking about Christians who have seemingly abandoned their Lord and Savior for their new messiah, Donald Trump. I understand that may sound harsh but we are not called to shrink from the truth. Please keep in mind this has nothing to do with who we voted for or who we would have preferred to win the election. There were no Christians defending Hillary Clinton as the choice of Jesus Christ. There were no Christians comparing Hillary Clinton to a new Elijah, King Cyrus, or the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. All of those descriptors however have been proffered and supported in relation to Donald Trump. So the issue is not who should have won but rather who we are supposed to be as the church. Are we supposed to be representing a man who is clearly the embodiment of evil, as being righteous in any manner or form? That question does not confer any righteousness upon his opponent either but she is no longer relevant because she lost and was never defended by the church. Her evil nature was correctly discerned by the church. His was ignored or even worse, made into somehow being the choice of God. Beloved, God might use evil for His won glory and plan but He does not orchestrate it. I had held out hope that now that these wayward brothers and sisters achieved their desired electoral goal that they would come back home to the body and to their commitment to the Gospel. Sadly, it appears I may be mistaken. The post-election victory lap currently underway by Christo-Trumpers has furthered the divide within the body of Christ in an increasingly mean-spirited and ugly way. Yet what did Christ command us?

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13: 34-35 (ESV)

Beloved we have a responsibility beyond ourselves. When we accepted the free gift of salvation we were supposed to pick up our cross and follow Him. That means kingdom matters are what we need to have in the forefront our minds. We are supposed to be about the Father's business not fighting for our own carnal vision of what might be better for this country or this world. We already know what is needed. It is called the Gospel. Why in the world would anyone unsaved listen to a person who constantly fights, demeans, and lies about their own brothers and sisters to support their chosen political evil? We are witnesses for Christ! We are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ! Not for Trump! Stop mixing the profane and the holy! Do not pretend that God has told you that the choice between Trump and Clinton is the same as the choice between Jesus and Barabbas (yes that actually happened). That is utter blasphemy. I say these things out of love for my brothers and sisters who have wandered off and away from Christ to pursue this electoral carnality. There is a difference between praying for our leaders as the Bible commands and supporting them as being representative of our faith and beliefs. The world is watching and what are you showing them? So I am thankful that as I reflected upon this and the upcoming holiday, I can always turn to God's Word for answers. As we turn then to the key verses today will you listen to what God has to say? Or will you continue to traffic in the immoral morass of earthly politics?

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,

God does not mince words beloved. This is the question for all of us today. Are we living lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? This should be a probing question that we take very seriously. I know I often fall short. Let's break this down so we understand what is at stake. What is the Gospel?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Romans 1: 16 (ESV)

The Gospel is the only power of God unto the salvation of man. No one gets saved without it. It is the vehicle through which the Spirit draws man. So when we ask if we are living a life worthy; this is what we are measuring against. This is what is at stake. The eternal destination of the souls of man. For our unsaved family members. For our unsaved friends. For our unsaved co-workers. For the lost and distant faces we come across every single day that are staring at an eternity separated from God without the Gospel that our lives are supposed to worthy of. That is an awesome and awe-inspiring thought that should make us shake off any carnality and politics. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, the GOP, the Dems, conservatism, liberalism - all of it - is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The worst part is we already know the ship is going down but we continue to argue over absolute temporal minutia while we withhold the only thing that has the power to save them. God continues:

so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit,

Standing firm in one Spirit. Wow. We talk a good game about unity but overlook that the indwelt Holy Spirit within us should bind us. Jesus said who is our mother and brother except he who does the will of the Father. Doctrine is what binds us. We have seen since the election believers express their confusion about how the Holy Spirit can be divided? How can one person be praying for Donald Trump to win the election and another believer be praying against it? The answer is simple. Both are wrong and the Bible assures us of this:

For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? - 1Corinthians 1: 11-13 (ESV)

While it is not exactly the same comparison the question can still be asked. Is Christ divided? Some say I follow Trump. Others say I followed Clinton. Still others say we should only follow Christ. The latter is the right answer beloved. We should not allow carnal matters and carnal people to divide us from following Christ. That is what Paul is saying here. Our unity may start with the shared Spirit but the result is a unified mind:

with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

Why do we stand side by side? Is it for who we think is the best choice for president? No. who we think will bring this country closer to a theocracy? No. We stand side by side for the sake of the Gospel! Our unity in the Gospel will result in having no fear from those who would oppose the Gospel. We are not called to force our beliefs upon an unbelieving world. We are not called to influence our culture outside of the Gospel. We are not called to conquer cultural mountains. Remember, we cannot save anyone! Only the Gospel has that power! Forget the empty promises of lying politicians. The only thing that matters is the Gospel. God continues to speak to us:

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Stop and seriously consider what this means. Our unity and refusal to take sides in carnal matters is a sign to those who are lost! A sign of the very stark divide between matters of eternity. That there are two choices; destruction and salvation. Instead they see believers sniping at each other over the same matters they snipe at each other over. This does not make us stand out and takes the focus off of eternity and places it back on this life. It does nothing to further the kingdom nor the Gospel. Every time we post or tweet about the righteousness of Trump is another opportunity to post or tweet about the Gospel lost forever. God concludes today's lesson from our key verses:

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

We are in a cosmic struggle beloved. We are in a conflict playing out through eternity. It is not our conflict but His. He had the conflict when He ministered here on earth. He brought the Gospel and while some came to follow Him many did not. Many refused to listen or believe. Many conspired against Him. Many insisted upon His death to stay in their sin. As this verse clearly states this same conflict He still has. As His ambassadors we serve in this struggle with Him. Representing Him. We are His witnesses. As such, that witness is a precious and fragile thing. Our true participation in this struggle will lead to suffering, as these verses indicate. Persecution far beyond what we think persecution is. We are too worried about losing our tax exempt status than real persecution. We are engaged in this conflict beloved on behalf of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Only His battle matters. Only His cause. The only thing that has the power of God unto the salvation of man is the Gospel. Lay down your carnal dreams of any man being your savior. Pick up your witness from where you laid it down for your politics. Stop dividing Christ. Time is running out beloved.

So we come to Thanksgiving 2016. I am thankful for the many blessings God has provided in my life. My family, my true friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the cross, Calvary, and His living Word. Sharper than any two edged sword. That we can always turn to His Word for direction and perhaps more importantly, correction. Let he who has ears hear what God has already said in His eternal Word. The wolrd needs us to be the church again. In Jesus name.

Reverend Anthony Wade - November 21, 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.

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