Today we are tempted to look to politic power as the answer to our problems but this is not a new phenomenon. 2000 years ago the people in Jesus day also looked to political power as the main means of solving their problems. In the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 in John 6, we tend to focus on the miracle of the Messiah as well we should, but what we often miss is the response of the people. Verses 14-15 reveal their idolatrous thinking: “14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” Their expectations centered around a political prophet, they were not looking for the Lord they were looking to law as the answer. While those that Jesus ministered to recognize his power they were governed by a sense of utility that redefines what they thought his messiahship should be. Their idea of messianic power is more in line with a world view than the Words and stands in sharp contrast, to the nature of the Kingdom that Jesus brings, and contrary to the kind of King he is. It is their desire of using Jesus to bring in the kingdom that they want that leads to their idolatrous ideology. For those of us that call ourselves Christians one of the questions we need to ask ourselves is, which kingdom are we living for, an earthly kingdom or an eternal one? The crowd saw the sign that Jesus did and responded by trying to “make him king by force.” The theology of the crowd was not scripturally based but self-serving; they reasoned that if this man had the power to feed that many people in the wilderness, then he had the power to rule over Rome. They were looking to Jesus as a Political Messiah with political power, and they missed the Prince of Peace. Many of us do the same thing today we try to force Jesus to fit our political persuasion but notice Jesus’ response in verse 15: “When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” When we try to force the Messiah to fit into our mold we forfeit not just His power but His presence. The Kingdom that Jesus came to inaugurate did not come by means of political power. We may be tempted to look down on the crowd for their idolatrous theology but remember the crowd was not alone in their thinking, the disciples were also distracted by political power. Peter displayed this same worldly theology when he willing used physical force to bring in the kingdom of God by striking “the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear” with a sword, John 18:10. Much to her disgrace throughout history the church has been willing to use not only swords, but bombs and bullets to eliminate those that Jesus came to save. Again we see the same response from the Redeemer, Jesus will have none of it: “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?” John 18:11, and in Matthew 26:52 he added “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.” In Luke 22:51 we discover that Jesus not only reprimanded Peter for using His power to hurt but turned around and used his power to heal: “But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” When Jesus picks Malchus’ bloody ear off the ground and put it back on his head the disciples are sure that Jesus’ political philosophy is unrelated to God’s Kingdom. It is here that those who supported Jesus based on their belief that He would overthrow Rome fled from him. You see a Messiah who heals the enemy cannot be their Messiah. When our wants clash with His Will one of two things will happen, either Jesus will leave or we will walk away from Him. It is important to note that this is Jesus’ last recorded miracle prior to His resurrection. Jesus used His power not for political gain but to serve and save. Peter was not the only disciple with a politically perverted perspective, James and John had the same theology in Luke 9:53-55, where they want to call down fire from heaven upon the Samaritans who do not welcome Jesus into their village, “53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them” Again we see Jesus rebuking His disciples, how sad that Jesus had to tell them that the Son of Man did not come to kill people but to save them. James and John were willing to use supernatural force to steamroll people in the name of Jesus. What is amazing about these two accounts is that they come toward the end of Jesus public ministry shortly before He was crucified on the cross. The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, they had heard his heart and yet their wants still outweighed His will. Instead of looking to Jesus as the solution to sin, they looked to him as the solution to their wants. What is amazing is that the first one to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God after his death was the Roman centurion, a member of the occupation army, the ones the Messiah was supposed to eliminate. Jesus healed the servant of the High Priest and saves the Roman soldier. In John 18:36 He told Pilate that his “kingdom was not of this world. If it was, my servants would fight.” Peter, James and John were all fighting for the wrong kingdom. There idolatry was redefining sonship based on their political preference, trying to make Jesus into the messiah that they wanted. Many Christians today are making the same mistake, trying to use Jesus to create the kingdom they want, as opposed to being disciples in the Kingdom Jesus initiated. Sadly today instead of being committed to the cause of Christ many Christians have become converts of CNN or followers of Fox news. We seem to have forgotten that Jesus didn’t die on the cross to save a country he came to save souls. I think that one of the reasons the world rejected Jesus was because the way God gets things done looks weak to the world. Which makes me wonder what kind of power does the church value? Today we seem to be more enamored with worldly power than Jesus’ power. I wonder if that is why we are so worried and worked up over the election. We need to remember that it was a handful of faithful disciples living under Roman rule but trusting in God’s power that changed the world. What about you what power are you trusting in, political power or the power of the Prince?

Both sides keep blaming each other for the condition of our country but the state of our nation is really just a reflection of the current condition of our hearts. We are telling each other that things are terrible but are things really worse that during the American Civil War, the dust bowls, or World War 2? And how did previous generations get through those tough times? They teamed together, today instead of teaming together we are tearing each other apart. Part of the problem is that we have left our first love, we are relying on our riches instead of the Redeemer. We have traded the treasure of togetherness and the richness of relationship for the trinkets of treasure. We have taken our independence to a new level, instead of celebrating our national independence we are now chasing after and championing individual independence. But this independence comes at the expense of inclusion, where we make it about me instead of we. Today we have a short sighted focus that only goes to the end of our noses, where we only see self and how things will impact us. How did the World War 2 generation save the world from tyrannical oppression and occupation, and then come home and build a powerful nation? Through selfless sacrifice that focused on the greater good not on personal greed. Today we are a nation deeply divided and we want to blame it on race or religion, but our greatest division is not the color of our skin but the selfishness in our core. When it comes to politics nothing is new, political leaders are still promising to fix all of our problems so we can live full and fulfilled lives. Liberals tell us that we need more money and education while Republicans claim that it can be found in economic stability. But if the answer is really found in more money than how come we have more that most and yet are the most miserable? What if the answer to satisfaction is not found in what we have but in who we have? Jesus said a full and fulfilled life is not found in riches but in a relationship with the Redeemer, John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Every person hungers for happiness, so we desperately seek satisfaction in people, places, and possessions. We want to know what will make our hearts happy and satisfy the deep desires of our lives. As kids we thought it could be found in a candy bar, or the perfect present at Christmas. We thought that new bike, video game or doll would make us happy but they all fell short. As teenagers we started seeking satisfaction in a significant other, or believing the wisdom of the world we looked for it in good grades or athletic accomplishments. But no matter how much we achieved all of it left us discontent. So as we stepped into adulthood we began to believe the lie that a bigger house, a better job or the right spouse would quench our thirst and satisfy the hunger of our hearts. Yet no matter how hard we try to fill our lives we are always left wanting more because we were created for more than just the trivial pursuit of pleasure. We will never find lasting satisfaction through possessions, places or even people because seeking satisfaction in the things of this world is like chasing the wind. The only thing we will find in chasing after the world is weariness. Many of us waste the treasure of time chasing nothing when we could have been pursuing true peace and pleasure. The problem is that apart from Jesus our hearts are black holes of discontentment that relentlessly devour relationships and riches all while screaming, “I need more.” We’re are constantly consuming any yet always craving, eating but famished and unfulfilled. It is this dissatisfaction in life that leads to disaster, because dissatisfaction in life is near the root of all kinds of damaging sin. Why do people cheat and commit adultery, why do they abuse alcohol and drugs, or mindlessly binge on entertainment, watching ridiculous amounts of television or scroll endlessly on social media? Often they happen because we haven’t found happiness, and our souls are searching for something that will satisfy. At the root of our dissatisfaction is a never-ending thirst that this world will never satisfy. We’ve been duped into believing that a better job, more money, different friends, another spouse, or a better life is the answer to what we need. Yet the only one who can satisfy our soul is the Savior, Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can exceed our expectations, meet out heart needs, and fulfill our deepest desires. Only He can provide the satisfaction we so desperately seek. In 1971 rocker Mick Jagger sang the now familiar lyrics, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” Despite having tried everything, “Cause I try and I try and I try and I try” that the world says will satisfy he couldn’t find gratification anywhere. But long before Mick Jagger stated his dissatisfaction King Solomon said the same thing in his quest for fulfillment, Ecclesiastes 1:2, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” No matter what they tried, that the world had to offer, in their quest for both Solomon and Mick come up short. The reason for their dissatisfaction, they were looking for peace in all the wrong places. Today we are looking to politics to provide peace, but lasting perfect peace is only found in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Psalm 63:5 proclaims, “You, God, satisfy me more than the richest of foods. I will praise you with songs of joy.” Because God created us, He alone understands how we are wired. He knows what we crave, and how we try to fill that empty spot with things other than him. The restlessness of your soul can only find rest in the Redeemer. The answer is not riches it’s a relationship with the Redeemer. Our problem today is that we are looking for peace in a political party instead of in the Prince of Peace. We believe the lie that more instead of the Messiah is the answer to our problems. Why are we in debt as a nation? Because we keep borrowing based on the belief that we can buy our way out of our problems, that one more policy or program will bring peace. We are looking to law instead of looking to the Lord. Our division is driven by dissatisfaction, today we care more about being right that loving right. We have replaced charity, compassion and caring with cupidity. We have traded mercy for money as we look to wall street as a major indicator of our nation’s health, but it’s not an indicator of health it’s an indicator of wealth. The truth is you can be wealthy and yet unhealthy. Today we are being taught that economics and the financial condition of our country is the most important factor in determining the success of our nation.  If you want to look at health you have to look at the heart. Today we have hearts of selfishness not service and sacrifice. We care more about how the election will affect us individually than how it will impact our country. It is no longer about we but about me. So what about you what is the current condition of your heart? Do you have a hard heart or a happy heart? Let me leave you with one final thought: If the answer is actually found in a political party then why are both of the candidates that representing those parties so unhappy and full of hate?