The President-Elect: Servant of the Living God - Jay Younts

God has chosen the President-elect to be his anointed servant. God has specific tasks that he has chosen this man to accomplish. There is nothing that will be able to stop him from doing what God has called him to do.

In the mess that is the 2020 election, how is it possible to be confident that God will use the new President-elect to accomplish his purposes? Recall with me Isaiah 45 where God reveals that he has chosen Cyrus, king of Persia, to bring about his plan.

The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,

whose right hand I have grasped

to subdue nations before him

and disarm kings,

to open doors before him,

and even city gates will not be shut:

“I will go before you

and level the uneven places;

I will shatter the bronze doors

and cut the iron bars in two. 

Isaiah 45:1-2

One could think, from this description, that Cyrus is a faithful, godly follower, with whom God is abundantly pleased. After all, God has promised to lead him by the hand and subdue his opponents. The Lord will open paths of victory for Cyrus so that no human force can stop him. Cyrus most have been a righteous king. 

Not really! 

Persia was not Israel in disguise. They were not worshippers of the true God. Cyrus was not a good man eagerly seeking to do God’s will.  Yet, God had chosen him to do exactly that: do his will! As Daniel reminds us, it is God who sets up kings and deposes them at his pleasure. 

I am the Lord, and there is no other;

there is no God but me.

I will strengthen you,

though you do not know me,

so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting

that there is no one but me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:5-6

God was about to bring judgment on his enemies and Cyrus was his chosen instrument, his servant to accomplish that purpose. And here is the important part, Cyrus was the servant of God even though he had no clue who God was.  Cyrus had power because God gave him that power to bring about God’s righteous decree. But make no mistake, Cyrus was not God’s friend, even though he was his servant.

Fast forward to 2020, a year that no one but God knew was coming. God has literally stood the world on its head in the blink of an eye.  If you think back to January 1, 2020, and your thoughts for the year ahead, the events of 2020 were totally not on your radar screen. But, they were on God’s!  

Just as in the time of Cyrus, some 2,500 years ago, there are those who believe they can defy God.  As Isaiah foretold, God did bring his judgment on the Northern Kingdom. The countries of earth no longer feared or respected Israel and Judah. Yet God chose Cyrus to bring judgment on those who mocked Israel and her God.

I call you by your name,

for the sake of my servant Jacob

and Israel my chosen one.

I give a name to you,

though you do not know me.

Isaiah 45:4

God will always uphold the honor of his name. He will be faithful to his people, even when they have not been faithful to his name.

Today, Christians and those in the ARP church will be witness to God using this President-elect to serve the eternal purposes of God, just as he did with Cyrus. America is not a nation of repentant prayer. She has become a nation of infant sacrifice to serve her own desires. She believes she can govern by disdaining the written law of God. Shebelieves she can educate children to fear the rule of man and mock God’s written word. God will not sit idly by as this happens. This President-elect, in ways that only God knows, will be part of God’s purpose to bring honor to his great name. 

What does God want his people, you and me, to do in response? He wants us to make the most of this opportunity to be salt and light in a broken world. It is world that will know the hand of God’s judgment through this President-elect. We have the calling to bring the healing message of the gospel to people that are rebellious and hurting.  I believe the rebellion and the resulting pain will only increase in the days ahead.  God has called us to be a light in the darkness just like the church in the first century.  Without votes and without violence they used the power of God, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, to change the mighty Roman empire.

The President-elect may be an unwitting servant of the Living God and not know him. But we do know this great God and his Son, Jesus.  God will provide rich opportunities for us to bring the healing gospel of Christ to our broken land. The question before us is will we make the most of these opportunities? The future of our denomination depends on us accepting the challenge God has placed before us.