I don’t know what you were hoping for or expecting after the election, but today our nation faces the same problems we have been facing for years. We have the same president, the same House, and the same Senate; which means nothing worthwhile is going to happen in our nation.
If you read my e-book you know that I am not pro-Democrat or pro-Republican, I am pro Bible and Constitution. Other than Ronald Reagan, I haven’t seen anyone run for president in my adult life that I thought was actually good for the country. So, as I stated in my e-book, no matter who we elected to office the problems are not going to disappear. At best, the person we elected to office will just determine the nature of the deception. Either way we would only, at best, buy some time.
We must remember righteousness cannot be legislated. No matter how good the law that is passed, it will be interpreted by those with a wicked heart in a way that will eventually bring destruction. Even God’s law was corrupted because of the way people interpreted and applied it. The weakness of God’s law was the flesh. And… that is the weakness of any law. People who live to gratify their flesh can pervert anything, even God’s Word! Why would we expect anything less with man’s law?
This letter may sound pessimistic, but I’m not a pessimist. I am looking for a Kingdom whose builder is God! I have never expected much from the world system. I have never expected any political group to solve any of man’s real problems. I have learned that any time a politician acts on behalf of mankind it is usually for some political good, not human good!
For centuries the Church has fought the wrong battle. From the founding of the Catholic Church to twenty-first century America the Church has involved itself in politics in an unhealthy, unbiblical manner that corrupted the Church, the gospel, and the nations. But worst of all we have put our hope in legislation. We thought that changing the government would change the fundamental problems in our nation. But the fundamental problem in our nation is a lack of values that are based on the Word of God. Our founding fathers all knew and stated that apart from the values of God’s Word the Constitution would fail.
When Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom, contrary to what we have been taught, there will be people who have not died in the tribulation. Not everyone will be a believer or a follower of the anti-christ! There will be people who haven’t chosen sides, both saved and lost. For the first time the world will see what it looks like for the earth to be ruled in biblical justice and righteousness. But even in an ideal world, after a thousand years there will be one last rebellion. There will be people who do not want a world ruled in righteousness… even when Jesus Himself is the King! They will want power and dominion. The result will be one last battle and then the end!
We all need to accept that apart from a righteous heart men love darkness more than light. That’s why our founders framed the Constitution the way they did. They created the separation of powers based on Jer. 17:9, The heart is desperately wicked. Based on that they knew if any group ever had absolute control they would abuse the power. They did everything they could to put checks and balances in our Constitution because they believed what God says about people. They would roll over in their graves if they could hear Christians today who believe they can give power to the Government and expect it to come out well.
We have voted, the race is finished, and now we have to get on with the business of being believers first and then citizens. In the 70’s when Carter was elected we had skyrocketing interest rates, a huge expansion of government, the debt increased, and the country shifted left. There was gas rationing. I can remember as a traveling street evangelist not being able to travel at night because gas stations were forced to close at sundown. But we survived and America came back stronger. We endured both of the Bush administrations that took us into war in the Middle East and more government expansion. Then there were the Clinton years with a flood of ungodly laws and “reforms” that actually led to the collapse of the economy in 2008. But we survived. I do not believe it is over. I will not decide that based on who is elected president. I will decide that when I hear the voice of God in my heart! Until we hear from our Heavenly Father we need to get on with our commission from our Lord, i.e., the very reason we are here today. We need to preach the gospel to everyone. Those who believe and desire to follow Jesus should be taught how to be a disciple, how to follow Jesus’ teaching and example in real life. We cannot be downcast because of the political world. The Church has faced the persecution of Rome, China, Russia, the Muslim nations, and the world. The Church is still here. We will outlive anything that happens. Our King will return. There will be no election. There will be no voting on truth. IN THE END WE WIN!
The Kingdom of God is in our heart, not in the nation. If we live in the Kingdom we should display peace, joy, and confidence that bring stability to others. We should be the “rock” that people can look to when they need stability. We should be so different that as the Bible says, People will ask us why we have this hope. Then we can give them the Gospel of PEACE!
Impact Ministries will continue as we have for all these years to diligently take the message of God’s love to the entire world. I will keep writing books, producing teaching series, starting Bible Schools, winning the lost, and training leaders! When sin abounds… grace always abounds more!
As always, we are working behind the scenes to expand our capacity to touch and influence more people. We are in the final stages of renovation to our website that will make it easier to navigate and find products and services. This final step will finally allow our World Changers special access. We will also have a special section for iGroups and tons of new free material for you to share with your friends and family.
Operation One Billion is in full swing. Ed Elliott will start as many as one hundred Bible Schools across the continent of Africa over the next year. Dave Duell and the Faith Ministries team will keep preaching the gospel of peace and training leaders. Hundreds of influential leaders that we (you and I) have introduced to this message over the last 30 years will multiply it around the globe a thousand times over.
Please remember that you can now watch our weekly broadcast on Apple TV and Roku. If you use Apple TV go to the Vimeo selection and search for jimrichards.tv. On Roku just search for jimrichards.tv. Besides the fact that this will make it more enjoyable for you, this makes it very easy for you to involve your family, friends, iGroup, or church group in the broadcast. With the instability in our country now more than ever people need to be established in grace and have their lives fully rooted in the unconditional love of God.
Remember, if you have an iGroup we would like to know. We will not post any contact information about you or your group without your permission, but from time to time I plan on having some special broadcasts for iGroups and iGroup leaders and I want to make sure everyone who has a group is able to participate.
What do we do now? This is the question that many are asking. We keep our eyes on Jesus. We make sure that He is our hope in the face of all challenges whether personal or national. We keep doing the Lord’s work. We keep making an eternal difference in the lives of hurting people. We keep working together to change the way the world sees God! And then one day we stand before Him and hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”