Daniel chapter four, we have just experienced another presidential election and I have felt the need to bring a message on our response to a presidential election. response to presidential election. I believe that Daniel Foer has something to say about this situation, about our experience this week and the months to come, less than 75 days now before a new president, Lord willing, will occupy the White House. I'm going to commence reading. This is Nebuchadnezzar's vision of a tree. It's 37 verses long, but I'm not going to read the whole chapter. I'll take pieces from this. Begin with Nebuchadnezzar's words. It's very rare that an heathen king would be given such first-person space in the Word of God. That's one of the reasons why I think that the man did come to know the Lord in due time. But it's interesting how he writes this. He wants people to know this. Something that most people would like to see hidden. But yet Nebuchadnezzar freely speaks out on it. I've heard that kings who have been defeated in battles, they like to bury the defeats from the annals of church history, but certainly want to have their victories recorded and read and kept current. But if there was anything in the life of Nebuchadnezzar, personally speaking, that he would have wanted forgotten and buried lost, it would have been his being humbled to such a degree as to eat grass as an oxen. He writes, Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. Yeah, it seemed very bad for him at the time, but yet he's saying, I thought it good, profitable for my readers. So you see, the man has really been humbled, hasn't he? How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation. If this isn't a believer at that time, he certainly is very close, isn't he? Here's a heathen king supposedly saying such wonderful words about our God. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in mine house and flourishing in my palace. He's at where he said, I was at the top of my life. I was at the top of the world. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore, made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians and astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers, and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But at the last, Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God and in whom is the Spirit of the holy gods. And before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret trouble of thee. Tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine headed in my bed. I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the bowels thereof, and all flesh were fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a Watcher and a Holy One came down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus, Hew down the tree and cut off its branches. Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it and the fowls from its branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers and the demand of the word of the holy ones. to the intent, here's the purpose of this dream and this experience, that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will and setteth up over it the basest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof For as much as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation, but thou art able, for the Spirit of the holy gods is in thee." We read on that Daniel is very reluctant to give the interpretation of the dream to the king knowing that it is his demise. That the king is that very one who is going to be given the heart of the beast. It's a terrible, terrible malady, a disease, a mental illness that the king is going to experience. And Daniel does all he can to persuade the king to seek before God to cancel this terrible prophecy and this warning by repentance and righteousness. So Daniel hopes that the interpretation is to the king's enemies. He's hoping that the king's enemies, verse 19. Isn't it interesting that Daniel would say this to a king that did such terrible things to his own people years ago? You'd have thought Daniel would rejoice that Nebuchadnezzar would be humbled in such a way. And yet you see the heart of a believer where he loved the king, even though the man was froward, yet he was Daniel's king. He said, My Lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. So he interprets this as an omen, as it were, to the king from God. And he repeats the purpose of this judgment if the king does not repent in verses 25 and 31. They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will." Yes, it was 1725 and 32. They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomever He will. That truth, that phrase, continues to ring in my mind as I think about what happened this week with the election of president, with the selection by our states and by the popular vote of Barack Obama, response to presidential election. I want us to consider that tonight. To keep in mind what the Lord said about Nebuchadnezzar, to us in Daniel, He is still saying today, "...the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it whomsoever He will." And Nebuchadnezzar even went on to say, and he gives it to the basest of men. I'm not indicating necessarily that the one elected last Tuesday was the basest of men. I'm just saying to you that Whoever the Lord allows in government, whether it's by ballot, whether it's by inheritance, whether it's by a coup, the Lord is sovereign in the matter. On Tuesday, November 4th, Barack Obama was voted in to become the 44th President of the United States of America to be sworn in, what, January 21st? or January 20th, 2009, Deo Valenti. Our answer, Thy will be done. We have prayed. Our answer, Thy will has been done. Psalm 135, 6, Whatsoever the Lord pleased, He did. In heaven and earth, the seas, and in all deep places. Can we not say, whatsoever the Lord pleased He did in the United States of America on November 4, 2008. Psalm 115 begins our memory verses for this year. We read on, "...He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." And again, I say, Daniel three times mentions regarding Babylon and any nation, the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever He pleases." God is Most High. He rules in heaven. He rules the church on earth. But He rules the kingdoms of men on earth. And He gives leadership in every single nation. What should our particular response be toward this appointment? My proposition is that we accept, intercede for, and live righteously under the term and leadership of Barack Obama in the fear of God. We are, first of all, to have an acceptance of this God's decree. God has decreed that he be elected. I don't know if the decree will include his actual swearing in. I can't say that he's going to be alive. or that any of us are going to be alive on January 20th. But we need to have an acceptance of God's decree. Whoever it is, every four years, whether there's disappointment, fear, or frustration, we are to have an acceptance of God's decree. God's will be done. God's will is done. How does that all work out as a Christian? We are to thank God for the appointment. Have you been able to thank God for the appointment? I'm not saying that you have to agree with His character. Have you thanked God for His decree? In everything, give thanks. I'm not saying that he is a righteous man before God or that he's going to do everything in a righteous way, but he is God's choice for good or for ill for the Christian church. Can we thank God for this decree? We are to respect his position. Nebuchadnezzar was respected. He had slaughtered Daniel's people. As far as we can tell, Daniel and the three Hebrews may have become units. Never to have a possibility of marriage and children. Maybe it slain their families. Certainly it slain many, many people before their eyes. And yet, here is Daniel being able to say, O King, live forever. I wish that this prophecy was toward your enemies. The king could say to a king that in his arrogance signed a decree, virtually Daniel's death warrant. He could say from the floor of the lion's den, O King, live forever. Can you and I If we would see Mr. Obama say, Oh, Mr. President, may you live forever. That may not have been Daniel's way of saying, I wish you would become a believer. I think that was just a salute, a respectful way of saying, may God be good to you. Nevertheless, can we say, may God be kind to you? and also be willing to say, I hope that you become a believer. We need to respect his position. Nebuchadnezzar was arrogant. He was lustful. He was murderous, tyrannical, idolatrous. And who's to say how many abortions he actually had licensed? And how many abortions were performed in Babylon? In Rome? And yet, the Lord says we are to submit to the King and to respect His office. We are to end any second-guessing, whether it be the neglect of voters that we're guilty of or prayerless Christians. Let's end the second-guessing. God's will has been done. Let us repent of any hatred or prejudice that we may have. in our hearts. The Bible says, love thy neighbor as thyself. Honor the king. Is there any prejudice in our hearts? Is there any hatred toward any of our leaders? That's not becoming of a Christian. We are to accept God's decree. Secondly, the Christian's primary responsibility is prayer. We are to accept God's decree. Secondly, we are to intercede for the decree of God. 1 Timothy 2.1, I exhort therefore, that because of God's grace, He is the only wise God. His ways are perfect. I exhort therefore, that first of all, petitions, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, especially for kings. Be made, that is, the word is to show effort. This prayer should be not just mouth, lip service, but prayer, effort. And for, not against. For all men, kings, those in leadership positions. You know, how many Christians could say, oh, I'm going to pray against. But the Bible says to pray for. I'm not saying that we are not to voice our opinion against any sin that our leader commits or permits or promotes. We are to voice our opinion and to pray against that. The Bible says we're to pray for Mr. Obama. We're to have petitions. That speaks of urgency. What is urgent about this man and his administration? His soul? The soul of his wife and his daughters? We have urgency. The word prayers is especially, we're to worship God in speaking on Mr. Obama's behalf. We're to remember, we're praying for him, not to him. We're praying unto God. Intercessions, that means we're concerned for him. We're not just praying for Him. We're interceding for Him. If He's not going to pray for Himself, will you not pray for Him? Is He going to pray for Himself to become a Christian in truth and not just in name if He so says He is a Christian in name? Thanksgivings. Confidence in the sovereignty of God about the matter. I can thank God for this election because God's will has been done. Whether or not we agree with a decree, we should agree with it. How often the reason why we disagree is because it won't be so convenient for us, perhaps. Is our convenience the most important matter? Factor? Or is it what will the Lord use to put fire under the feet of His people and move them to seek His face and to become real? Get off our couches and seek the Lord. For the man we pray for, as Daniel respected Nebuchadnezzar and Darius We pray against his enemies. We should weep if any attempt on his life was ever made. We should not desire anything of the matter in any leader's life. What shall happen to Mr. Obama if he continues to promote abortion and sodomite marriage? influx of false religions. God knows. We are to speak against any unrighteousness that He commits, permits, or promotes. We are to pray for the church that we might lead a quiet and godly life in all godliness and honesty And you know, we should pray, Lord, what is this going to mean for the church? Are you going to allow persecution in the future? Is persecution on the horizon? What does this have to do with the church? And you know, the church is His kingdom. And His decrees are for His glory and the good of His people in every kingdom. works through kingdoms to bless His church and to help His church. Whether it be persecution or alleviation of persecution. Intercession for the decreed King to the decreed President. What about the ungodly things that may be promoted? if so, in His administration. We are to accept God's decree, intercede for the decree of God, and exercise righteousness under the decrees of the decree under His administration. Obedience to the non-conflicting decrees. Any decrees that He makes that are non-conflicting with God's law and God's Gospel. Taxation. Daniel learned the language and the education of the Chaldeans and taught. I'm not referring to evolution and the like, but he served under Nebuchadnezzar's administration, in his administration as a teacher. Does that mean that he never taught the religion of truth? Absolutely not. In his sphere, he did. Daniel was faithful. We need to be obedient to his decrees and the decrees of a new administration and a new Democrat-controlled Congress or Senate. If we go to war, we need to send our troops to war. the taxation raises, we need to, if we can't get the decree reversed, we need to submit. Separation, if it needs to be made, with grace. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself at Nebuchadnezzar's table. He requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he wouldn't do so. And he was going to take the consequences. But if we're going to separate, if we're going to disagree, there needs to be grace. A Christian should respond differently than the world because we should be able to have poise under the divine administration. A rebuke of a leader's sin. John rebuked Herod. He was respectful, but he rebuked him. He was wrong to possess Herodias. in a sense, gave Nebuchadnezzar a very mild, if so, it was definitely a rebuke. Look what he says. Yes, he said, let this be to your enemies. But what did he say? He sought Nebuchadnezzar to avert this judgment. Verse 27, Wherefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee. In other words, let my advice be Heard. Break off thy sins. He called him a sinner? Break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor if may be a lengthening of thy tranquility. How many people would step in here? Daniel's teaching works righteousness. Is it wrong to tell a lost person not to lie before you tell him he must be born again? Is it right or wrong to lie? Am I teaching works righteousness to tell a lost person not to steal or not to lie? You certainly need to factor the why in. Whose law says thou shalt not lie? Nonetheless, Daniel was not teaching works righteousness. He was teaching righteousness. But he called Nebuchadnezzar a sinner. There are those in the Christian church that are in a position to rebuke, whether it be a preacher from a pulpit, a writer, a Christian writer in a periodical, a waiter in the White House. Is that possible? He may lose his job. But is he in a position? Maybe he's not. Maybe there's a Christian in a position in the White House that should say it rather than the waiter or the guard. We need to be willing to suffer the consequences if they come. Daniel did. The three Hebrews were sent into a furnace. Daniel was cast into a lion's den. There was demotion under Belshazzar. Daniel was a has-been it seemed like. He was just retired. Shouldn't Belshazzar continue? Shouldn't he have made sure that Daniel continued under his administration after such faithful service under Nebuchadnezzar? But yet Daniel accepted it. Are we getting closer to the time when there will indeed be consequences for being a Christian more than on paper? We need to accept God's decree. Intercede for Mr. Obama and exercise righteousness in his administration. Trust the Lord for the consequences. This was God's will on November 4th. I am not saying that if the other one was elected that this would have been utopia for the Christian church. Not at all. Will someone say this was the lesser king that was elected? I would like to close with a an article by Jeff Roach's pastor in North Carolina entitled, Honoring the Lesser King. And his subtitle is, There's nothing Christian about joining in on the national sport of lampooning the leaders you voted against. Whatever the outcome of today's election, Most Americans will consider it one of their basic rights to complain about that outcome wherever it fails to meet their hopes and expectations. Many conversations will include terms of disrespect for the newest leaders of the land. Our First Amendment freedom to, among other things, speak our minds about our elected officials will be exercised widely in the days following the election. And many an American Christian will join in this national sport of lampooning the leaders they voted against. But there is nothing Christian about such a liberty. It may come as a surprise to some of us that though the denigration of our leaders is a liberty afforded by our society, it is not a liberty afforded by God. To be sure, the right of moral protest against unrighteousness in our rulers is one clearly derived from Scripture. And we should be grateful to live in a land where this right is acknowledged by our founding documents. Yet, where such civil liberties in the West have been accompanied by a widespread indulgence in the rhetoric of personal disdain for our leaders, the same Scriptures are being blatantly violated The call of God in His Word is simply and emphatically, honor the King. 1 Peter 2.17 The call to render honor to civil authorities is perhaps most striking when voiced by the Apostles. They preached the gospel of a risen Christ who was the rightful king of all the earth. Yet they did so in an era in which the highest civil authority, the emperor of Rome, was increasingly demanding of an idolatrous loyalty by his subjects. This called forth the most heroic defiance of civil authorities when necessary to obey God rather than men." Acts 5.29 Astonishingly, the same apostles retained the view that God has instituted all civil authority and that Christians were to render respect and honor even to godless rulers as unto the Lord, Romans 13, 1-7. What they recognized is that one of the ways in which God in Christ rules the world is through even pagan rulers whose hearts are in the Lord's hands." Proverbs 21. As the various ramifications of this election sink into our minds in the coming days, so also should the implications of what Paul said to the Christians in Rome. There is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13. All who rise to political power, whether by means of a privileged birth, a successful military coup, or a victory at the ballot box, do so only by the providential appointment of God in heaven. This consideration alone calls for not only law-abiding submission, but also the respect and honor of our hearts and lips. We may discuss whether God has brought blessing or judgment upon our land, through the various election winners. But in each case, they are nothing less than ministers of God. We honor or dishonor God himself as we honor or dishonor his servants. Indeed, the posture of Christians toward their rulers should be something of a paradox to a watching world. Like the martyrs of the church throughout the ages, we should be capable of a radical defiance of human rulers when faced with a conflict between divine and human authority. Yet we should also be mindful of Paul's example while on trial before the council when he accepted a rebuke for his strong words against the high priest and acknowledged the law's requirement, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. Acts 23.5 Christians should distinguish themselves among their fellow citizens for holding their leaders in the highest honor, despite even their most obvious character flaws, out of acknowledgement that they occupy their offices by the express appointment of God. Let us distance ourselves as Christians from the irresistible American pastime of deriding our politicians. Our first allegiance is to the King of Kings, But, for His sake, we must also honor every lesser king, whether we voted for him or not. It is God's will that we honor the President-elect. And if he is sworn into office, the President, the 44th President of the United States, let us remember that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and He giveth it to whomsoever He will. He demotes and He exalts. He's the King. Christ is the King of the church and as Nebuchadnezzar dreamed earlier, He's the one that's going to destroy every kingdom after kingdom until the last kingdom stands. It will fall. But He is the stone cut out without hands that is building the kingdom of the church. And the gates of hell and the gates of any human kingdom will never prevail against His church. It's a comfort to my heart that whoever is voted in as President of the United States, whether it be a Christian or a lost soul, a man or a woman, black or white or red or whatever color, younger or older, that it was God's appointment. And I am to love that soul and pray for that soul and honor that position before God. And in that case, I honor the Lord. Let us give the Lord the glory. And however He seeks to, Refine us in this new administration. We will give the Lord thanks and pray that God's will continues to be done willingly by us and with acceptance, with prayer for our new President and with righteousness under His administration. God bless His Word to our hearts. Well, Lord our God, we thank Thee that Thou art the King, that Thou art ruling through the Lord Jesus Christ in this dispensation. The day is coming when He will deliver up the kingdom to God and God shall be all in all. There will no longer be kingdoms of men. And Lord, we see the kingdoms that are mentioned in the Bible and they're all has-beens. And there are many kingdoms existing today that also shall phase out and shall be destroyed, including our beloved country. O God, Thou wilt avert major catastrophes and judgments by our leaders breaking off their sins doing righteousness. Oh, that even many of them would turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. May it be. But Lord, help us to be faithful to Thee. Bless the church in this time. You know what we need, Lord, whether we need persecution or quiet and tranquil lives. Oh God, Your will be done. Please help us. to respond appropriately to this presidential election, yea, to the decree of God. May your name be honored. May we all, O Lord, set an example. Let our light shine before men in the proper response to the presidential election, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. you.