KASUMIGAOKA
2017/10/08
SERMON: “Election Results” 「選挙の結果」
TEXT: Matthew 16:13-24; 1 Cor. 1:10-17
I. INTRODUCTION
For a long time the session of our church has been thinking about our need for more elders and deacons to serve our congregation. Because of Elder Kitani’s illness we have had only one active ruling elder for quite a while. And Mrs. Kato needs to lay down some of her deacon responsibilities so that she can take care of the elderly members of the Kato family. So it seems clear that our church really needs more elders and deacons. The session has been discussing, planning, and praying about this need for over six months. Finally, as you all know, we held an election for church officers last week. The results of the election were surprising to some of you. Some were satisfied with the results; others were disappointed. Today I want to think about the results of that election and what we should learn from the election.
II. Lessons We Can Learn from the Election Results
The first thing the election results remind us is that we cannot always know God’s plan. Some of us may have been surprised that we could not agree to elect even one new elder. And some were surprised that only one person was chosen to be a deacon. But we must remember that God was not surprised! God was not disappointed! God knew exactly who would be elected. Please never forget that it is God who “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We do not always know the details of God’s plan, but we can be sure that God makes no mistakes! In that election God caused one person to be chosen for the office of deacon (Iwayama-san). And He caused no one to be elected as elder. Today we are gathered to worship the God who is sovereign over every detail of life. God often does things that surprise us. In fact, the reason we are gathered here at all is because of the amazing grace of God who surprised everyone 2000 years ago by choosing His Son to die on a cross!
This brings us to the second thing we should remember as we think about the results of our election. That is, that God’s plan is better than our plans! Long ago God spoke through His prophet Isaiah, saying, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9). This is a very difficult thing for us to learn and to remember. We expect God to think the way we think, but He does not! A good example is found in Matthew 16. Peter was a sincere disciple of Jesus Christ. He had true faith in Jesus. When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (16:16). But God’s thoughts were higher than Peter’s thoughts, and God’s ways higher than Peter’s. When Jesus explained carefully that “He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (16:21), Peter angrily rejected what God had planned! He even rebuked the Lord Jesus! He said, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (16:22). The Japanese translation is weaker than the actual words that Peter said: “This will certainly NOT happen to You!” But Peter was wrong. That was exactly what God had planned, and God would certainly cause it to happen. So Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan (Adversary)! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (16:23).
Peter thought as a man thinks. That means that he thought in a “small way.” But God’s plans are much bigger than ours, and God’s thoughts are much higher than ours. When Jesus gathered His disciples together with Him to celebrate one last Passover meal before His crucifixion, none of His disciples imagined what would take place in the next 24 hours. But God knew—Jesus knew—every detail, because God had planned it all, before the foundation of the world. It was not a mistake. It was God’s own, perfect plan for our redemption. And neither Peter, nor any other man who has ever lived, could think of a better plan to save our fallen human race.
The third thing we should learn from our election results is that an election is not a “contest.” It is easy to forget this. Sometimes we think that an election is a way to settle a disagreement between rival parties or factions. In our secular politics, an election is like a “battle” between enemies. Both sides want to “win” the battle or the contest, so they use all sorts of weapons to hurt their opponent. And they may use bribes and deception to gain the victory for their own candidate. But that is not the way we should think about an election. An election is a way of learning the will of the people. Elections are necessary in a democratic system of government. The idea of democracy grew up in the ancient Greek world. The word “democracy” in English is based on two Greek words meaning “rule by the common people.” In a democracy, the nation or the city is ruled by the common people, not by the “elite.” Because of our sinful human pride, people who are well-educated, or wealthy, or who enjoy some special “status” tend to think that they have a right to rule over others. But that is not a democratic way of thinking. The aim of democratic thinking is to know the will of the “common people.” The purpose of an election is not to “win” a contest, but rather to learn what most people think and want. But is there any connection between democracy and choosing elders and deacons for Christ’s church? After all, we say that Christ is our King, not our elected “president!” Isn’t the church a “kingdom” rather than a democracy?
That is true. We serve a King who has brought us into His kingdom. The church of Jesus Christ is not, strictly speaking, a “democratic institution.” But it is God Himself who has planned the structure of His Church. And God Himself has decreed that the “officers” of Christ’s church be chosen by election. This does not immediately seem to make good sense. Wouldn’t it be better if church leaders were chosen by other leaders? I can only say that God’s thoughts are far higher than my own, and leave this matter to God’s wisdom. It is clear that God long ago gave to common people the responsibility of choosing who will lead and serve them. Here are a few examples. (Deuteronomy 1:13) God said to Israel through His prophet Moses, “Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.” The people of Israel were told to choose from among themselves their own leaders. Why did Moses not simply appoint them? Because it was God’s command that the people should choose! In Acts 6:3 the apostles told the members of the Jerusalem church, “select from among you, brothers, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” The apostles were the first overseers of the church whom Christ Himself appointed. Why did the apostles not simply appoint the first deacons? Again, it was God’s plan that they followed, not man’s. The apostles waited to learn whom the church members would choose to lead them. Another example can be seen in 2 Corinthians 8:19. In this case, Paul refers to one of his companions, who “has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work.” The Greek word used for “appointed” is an unusual word, used only twice in the Bible. The Greek word means “to choose by raising hands.” In other words, it means that this companion was “elected by the churches.” He was elected because his job was very important: he was to accompany Paul and Titus as they delivered the offering of those churches in Macedonia and Achaia to support the churches in Judea. Paul explains in v. 20 why this brother had been chosen to join them: “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift.” The word used in this passage is used in one other place: Acts 14:23. Most translations use the word “appointed” to translate this word here. “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” But this word specifically means “to choose by raising the hands,” that is, “to elect.” So it seems quite likely that these churches elected their own elders whom the apostle Paul and Barnabas then “ordained” to the office. In all of these examples, it is the “common believers”—the church members—who elected their leaders.
This may seem strange to us. Why would God entrust such an important decision to mere “church members.” Wouldn’t Moses choose Israel’s leaders more wisely than the members of Israel’s families? Wouldn’t the apostles know who would serve the church most effectively as deacons and elders? But God entrusted these decisions to the ordinary members of the church. This should not really surprise us, however. Listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:26-30. “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’” Why has God given the responsibility of electing church officers to the ordinary church members? He did it so that we will not be tempted by our sinful human pride. God has not revealed His will only to the wise and the powerful of the world. One way that God reveals His will is through the process of elections. Wise men will listen to what God is teaching us through such elections.
III. CONCLUSION
Let’s summarize what we can learn from our recent election. First, we must realize that even if the election did not produce the result we had expected, it was not a mistake. Some of us may be happy, and others disappointed. But God did give us the result that we asked for. We prayed, “Lord, please show us whom You have prepared to serve our congregation as elder and deacons.” And God has given us His answer. Let us rejoice and move ahead with confidence. This is not an attitude commonly seen after most political elections! In America people continue to squabble among themselves long after the election that resulted in “President Trump.” But he is the president who was properly elected, according to American law. Americans of all political factions should stop their foolish bickering and work together for the good of all. As Christians we have much greater confidence that God has shown us whom He has raised up to serve our congregation. He makes no mistakes.
Second, we must remember that the guidance God has given us through this election will be for our good. His plans are better than ours. If He has given us only one faithful deacon, He will bless us through that one deacon! There will be other occasions to elect other deacons and elders in the future. But right now, He has given us exactly what we need. He will supply all our needs, just as He always has done. And He may have other ways of helping us, besides providing new elders and deacons through this election. It is in God’s power to do amazing things! Let’s not doubt the power and the goodness of our God! We do not always know what His plan is, but we know that it will be good.
Third, we must remember that an election is not a battle between enemies. It is not a contest between opponents or factions. An election in Christ’s church is one means God has given us for learning His will for our church. When we want to know whom God has prepared to lead and to serve us, we ask the members of our congregation to show us. That is the purpose of an election. This is according to God’s plan, not man’s. Our aim is to learn God’s will, and to follow God’s will. That is why we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Finally, we should learn from the election that we are one church, united under one Savior and Lord. We are not a collection of factions, each one competing against the others. We have one Redeemer, and we have all been baptized into His name. It is His gospel that we have been sent into the world to proclaim. It is His word that has brought us life and hope. He is the one Lord of His church. By the one gift which Jesus Christ gave for us–once for all–we have been saved. Thank God that His ways are higher than our ways. Thank God that the Lord Jesus continues to protect and to build up His church, even when our personal plans are not realized. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of our spiritual unity in Jesus Christ. Let’s prepare our hearts to join in this sacramental unity through Christ our Lord.