January 13, 2021

“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 from the world.’” John 18:36

To those of you who are frustrated that I have not been publicly speaking about the presidential election and the aftermath, please read this carefully and humbly.

-   Am I ignorant of the events? In other words, do I have my head in

the sand?

No. I stay current on these and related matters.

-    Do I care and do I have an opinion on these matters?

Yes and yes.

-    Why is it, then, that I say so little about this when it seems as if so

much is at stake? Is Bob actually a liberal?

A liberal? Absolutely not. My conscience and my views are grounded in and formed by God’s Word.

My responsibility and the responsibility of the leadership of this church is to help you address and prioritize ultimate issues. The church is the people chosen by God to be a preview of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a true church is an outpost of the kingdom that is coming. We are an embassy of another nation, and ambassadors of the earth’s true King--Jesus Christ.

So, to those of you who are frustrated that I have not been publicly speaking about the presidential election and the aftermath, and wish I would, my response is, “wrong kingdom.” My mission, my charge, is not to take back or take over this kingdom. My mission and charge is to follow the true King who said that his kingdom is not of this world. Do not get me wrong. I love my country. I am deeply concerned about the direction of this country. But, I also know from Psalm 2 that this country is one of the nations that rages against the LORD’s anointed.

The fear that some of you have, the anger that some of you have, the amount of time that some of you are spending on all of this, and the willingness that some of you have to be dismissive of brothers and sisters who do not share all of the same views or at the same level of intensity as you, should all be red flags warning you. In the name of conspiracies, you are being duped by the greatest conspiracy. What kingdom demands your ultimate allegiance and governs your heart?

I can name you church after church and denomination after denomination that turned the pulpit over to commentary on current events and, over time, lost the gospel. My charge, as your pastor, is to preach the Word. If I am faithful in doing that, then I will say some things that you may not want to hear, but that you need to hear. I will also not say some things that you would like to hear, because you need to hear something else.

So, if I am frustrating you because I do not publicly speak about some of these issues all of the time, be grateful that I am doing my job. In fact, if I did keep drawing your attention to them, then you would have a valid reason for being frustrated.

This country cannot save you. This country is not your ultimate hope. Jesus is!

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text: Jude 3-4