CHRISTMAS INTERLUDE

God’s Answers For Troubling Leaders

Part I: Solving The Disconnect Between Leaders And The People

(Isaiah 9:6a)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

This Christmas Season, many people are alarmed at the disconnect between troubling leaders and the people:

(1) It occurs in the cultural realm: “As the Financial Times has documented, progressive elites ‘hold views often well to the left of the average voter . . . on cultural issues’ . . . Most people . . . know how wokeness has been pushed into their lives as a deliberate choice by authorities . . . Surveys show that Americans are now afraid of speaking their minds . . . Livelihoods and reputations can be destroyed by an ill-considered comment or social media post, so the vast majority of people keep their heads down, even if they are mystified or appalled by what they are witnessing.” (Rich Lowry, “The age of whispered conversations,” Republican-American, November 20, 2024, p. 7A)

(2) It occurs in the ideological realm: “(L)eaders and activists hail from sprawling urban areas where people hold lots of exotic views on sex, life and culture . . . because many of them have been trained in elite institutions where pseudoscience and cultural Marxism are all the rage.” (David Harsanyi, “A lesson for Democrats: Don’t be weird,” Ibid., November 18, 2024, p. 8A) However, they hold to views that “wide swaths of the electorate . . . simply don’t believe.” (Megan McArdle, “The ‘Emerging Democratic Majority’ is no longer emerging,” Ibid., November 25, 2024, p. 8A) For example, at a recent forum in a packed auditorium in Naugatuck, Connecticut, leftist authors “Kurt Anderson and William Cohen” warned that “the country will be negatively affected by the election of President-elect Donald Trump.” Andersen claimed, “‘The Republicans had no mandate but to please their leader,’” as if the 76.8 million people who voted for Mr. Trump were brainwashed by him instead of Mr. Trump’s merely reflecting the views of those voters! “Both (Andersen and Cohen) repeated that they cannot even begin to figure out Trump’s thinking.” (Ruth Epstein, “Forum speakers bemoan election results,” Ibid., November 25, 2024, p. 3A)

(3) It occurs in the economic realm: Elitists “and their apologists in the news media . . . think the economy under . . . Biden-Harris . . . has been strong. Anyone paying attention should have noticed long ago that government’s economic and inflation data is manipulated and falsified . . . Maybe the . . . big thinkers can’t discern that rising homelessness and demand at food banks are signs of impoverishment, not prosperity. But people who live in the real world can . . . (N)ecessities from food to housing have soared in price and absorbed the savings and then some.” (Chris Powell, “Can Democrats ever admit true cause of their defeat?” (Ibid., November 21, 2024, p. 8A)

(4) It occurs in the realm of morality: Megan McArdle of The Washington Post acknowledged that “in 1976 . . . 72% of Americans reported in a Gallup poll that they had a ‘great deal’ of trust in mass media. But . . . (a)s the news media moved left, we lost that trust. By 2024, less than one-third of the country had a ‘great deal’ or a ‘fair amount’ of trust; another third said they had ‘not very much’ trust, and the remainder said they had ‘none at all’ . . . Trying to correct this problem by amping up the political outrage” as the legacy media tried to do in the campaign was “like trying to cure your lung cancer by smoking an extra pack of cigarettes . . . (For example, the) Democrats counted on us to downplay Biden’s shocking and obvious decline. The issue was handled with kid gloves, under threat of blowback from campaign operatives, readers and even fellow journalists,” but with “Biden’s debate . . . (t)he result was a disaster for their party . . . In the age of the internet, it’s no longer possible to win elections by working the refs, because the only decisions that matter are made by the folks in the stands. The refs can keep your coalition in line, but they can’t help you expand it – indeed, they’re likely to shrink it, as more people conclude that the game is rigged.” (Megan McArdle, “Liberal media bias is hurting Democrats. Really.” (Ibid., November 20, 2024, p. 6A)

Need: So we ask, “This Christmas, how is the disconnect between troubling leaders and their people solved?”

I. Scripture presents how the Creator God initially arranged for leaders to be connected to their people:

A. When God created the first human couple in Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:20-24), He brought Eve to Adam so he could name her as the leader in their marriage. (1 Timothy 2:12-13; Ryrie St. B., KJV, 1978, ftn. to Gen. 1:10)

B. Later, when God gave His Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12:1-3, He then expanded that covenant by giving the Palestinian, the Davidic and the New covenants, arranging for Abraham’s seed, the nation Israel, to rule over the families of the world and for God to bless them. (J. D. Pentecost, Things To Come, 1972, p. 71-72)

C. The kings who were to rule Israel were to be connected to their people as explained in Deuteronomy 17:15-20:

1. Israel’s king was to come from Israel’s people that he might adopt their Biblical faith and morals, v. 15b.

2. When he sat enthroned, the king was to function in ways that kept him connected to his subjects, v. 18-20:

a. Israel’s king was to obtain a personal copy of Scripture and read from it daily, Deuteronomy 17:18-19a.

b. This practice would make him (i) revere God, (ii) obey Scripture, (iii) keep him humble in relating to his subjects and (iv) keep him from turning in any way from Scripture’s precepts in his royal decisions (v) so that he and his descendants might prolong their reigns for the stability of all involved (Deut. 17:19b-20).

II. However, Adam’s sin negatively impacted his role as a leader over Eve (Genesis 3:1-6) until eventually Israel’s people turned to demons for guidance, despising God and their nation’s king in Isaiah 8:19-22.

III. To solve this problem, Isaiah 9:6a predicted that God would send Jesus as a Child and a Son to Israel:

A. God would cause Israel to have a Baby Boy named Jesus born unto her in accord with God’s creating a man to lead the woman (Gen. 2:20-24) and for Him to qualify to be Israel’s King as one of her people (Deut. 17:15b).

B. This Baby Boy would be born in king David’s line to qualify Him to rule not only Israel, but in time the world in fulfillment of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New covenants (Gen. 12:1-3; 2 Sam. 7:16; Ibid.).

IV. Since this Gift from God is the Word of God Incarnate (Revelation 19:11-16), He will fulfill Scripture’s righteous qualifications regarding perfect leadership of Israel and the world, Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 11:10.

V. Christ is thus connected to His subjects, and Hebrews 4:14-16 claims He understands our weaknesses since He faced temptation in every way like we do, and He is ready to help us if we go to God in prayer.

Lesson: The disconnect between troubling leaders and their people is solved in God’s Christmas Gift to the world of His Son, Jesus Christ, in Whom all who believe in Him as their Savior from sin find a future world Leader Who fully sympathizes with their personal weaknesses and is willing and able to help each one who prays for His help.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we live for Christ’s coming Kingdom, and (3) in this life, may we apply 2 Peter 2:21 that directs us to follow Jesus’ earthly example, patterning His leadership for the leadership connectivity that is so greatly needed in today’s world (as explained in our “Conclusion” section below).

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

We apply Christ’s example to the issues of concern in our introduction to solve its leadership problems:

(1) On the specific issues in our introduction, (a) the oppressive cultural views pushed from leftist elites are based on Marxist ideology that by design are meant to disrupt the social order in order to pressure people to submit to Marxism. (“Goals, ‘Communist Manifesto,’” p. 82-116; learn-usa.com/transformation_process/hdn003.htm) Isaiah 11:10 reveals that Christ’s reign will be the opposite of Marxism, for He will stand as a rallying signal for all nations, that people will willingly rally around Him to be taught God’s truth, and that His rest for them will be glorious! Thus, may we heed God’s Word that we might enjoy that rest in our personal lives today! (b) On the ideology of elitists who live in urban centers and adopt Marxism, (i) Joshua 1:8 with 2 Timothy 3:16-17 directs us to use Scripture to be fulfilled and blessed of the Lord. (ii) On the claim by forum speaker Kurt Andersen that “Republicans had no mandate but to please their leader” President-elect Trump, and Mr. Andersen’s and Mr. Cohen’s claims that “they cannot even begin to figure out Mr. Trump’s thinking,” what constitutes blindness to the views of half of the electorate in the United States who voted for him, these statements reveal an ideological blindness. Similarly, in the future Great Tribulation, Revelation 17:2 predicts that “the inhabitants of the earth” will have been “made drunk with the wine” of the false world religion’s spiritual fornication! We may be starting to see evidence of this intoxication of the mind that will ensnare the world’s peoples in the end! (iii) That being so, we have all the more cause to keep our minds immersed in Scripture to discern the truth, 2 Timothy 3:13-17. (c) On the leftists’ ignorance of the economy, Exodus 20:15, 17 call us not to covet or steal, what Marxist elitists uphold by touting heavy taxation, swelling government debt and the forced transfer of wealth from the “haves” to the “have nots.” Rather, God’s Word calls us to work for our livelihoods and provide for our own households, and that we do so as independently as we can that we not be in any material need (2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). (d) On the issue of dishonesty in the legacy media, Leviticus 19:11c opposes lying, and Ephesians 4:15 calls us to speak the truth in love.

(2) May we husbands who are to lead our wives, we parents who are to lead our children, we Church leaders who are to lead God’s people, we business overseers who are to lead our employees and we government officials who are to lead our subordinates, etc., devote ourselves daily to exposing ours hearts and minds to Scripture, to obeying it, and to living it that we might stay connected to our subordinates as we should, not turning proud in relating to them, that God might make us a blessing and prolong our functions as leaders for His glory (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we hope and live for Christ’s Kingdom and follow His example of connected leadership.