Not My President

by Pastor Andrew Wolfenbarger
08/22/2023

Luke 19:14 – “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.”

The political climate in the United States of America has always been a hotbed for discord and strife, but that has risen to a fever pitch in recent years. The last handful of Presidential elections were billed as the most important one in our nation’s history. The reality of every election is that almost half the country is disappointed by the result, no matter what. You may recall in one of our recent elections after the votes were counted and the winner announced, rhetoric began to arise amongst some disappointed voters. They would say, “he’s not my president”.

I am not here to enter into political banter. Frankly, I have found freedom in knowing that my God rules the affairs of men. That’s good enough for me. However, it is one thing to reject the rule of a human leader. Military coups and riots occur frequently all around the world resulting in the overthrowing of a governmental leader. But imagine the audacity of someone saying to Jesus Christ, “I will not let you reign over me”. This is an utter absurdity. Jesus isn’t a choice; He is reality.

Acts 17:28 says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Everyone is alive at this very moment because the sovereign will of the Lord Jesus Christ determines it to be so. Our lungs fill with breath the next time we inhale because Jesus gives us oxygen. The electrical impulses that keep our heart in rhythm, distributing blood throughout our extremities are all operational by His decree.

You can choose to not acknowledge that. You can be an agnostic or choose some other god that is either a cheap counterfeit of the Almighty God of Heaven or an image of something that He created. Yet, no matter your choice, Jesus is God. To disbelieve in Him is similar to rejecting the existence of Henry Ford. Just look around, if you search for any length of time, I bet you can find something with Henry Ford’s influence upon it. The Word who became flesh (Jesus) has placed His fingerprint throughout His creation. Just look around with eyes of faith and you will see it.

What we must acknowledge is that people don’t reject Jesus because they despise the idea of a benevolent Creator. They reject Him because they despise the concept of an overruling Lord. Notice, the servants say of their nobleman, “We will not have this man reign over us”. That is the core problem that most people have with God. They don’t want to submit to Him. That was Satan’s problem. When Pharaoh resisted Moses’ plea to let God’s people go into the wilderness, Pharaoh rebelled at the idea that he wasn’t in charge. We all struggle with submission, but God requires that every person submits in some way, and that begins with our submission to Him.

Things didn’t end well for these servants who rejected their ruler. Nor will they for any person who rejects the rulership of Jesus in this lifetime. Luke 19:27 - “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.”

Have you placed your life under the rulership of Jesus today? May I encourage you to verbally acknowledge in a prayer today that Jesus is the Lord of your life, and you will serve Him whatever He demands of you? Jesus did this in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42).