LET US DO SOME POLITICS

Now in our country, the politicians are busy campaigning.
As we all know, politics is a game of numbers. Let us see some places where numbers work.
ISRAEL AGAINST BENHADAD
1 Kings 20:1 And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
1Ki 20:10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 12 And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. 13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
Apart from his own army, Benhadad got the help of about thirty-two kings with their armies. Now compare them with Israel at that time.
The difference came when a man of God intervene and told them of God’s plan. However big a political party may be, if God is against that party, their numbers will work against them.
Benhadad was so proud because of his power, weapons, number of soldiers, chariots and horses, in addition he also had the support of thirty-two kings. The king of Israel had no confidence, no chariots and the number of his soldiers were negligible. With all that, when God was involved, the story changed.
ASA AGAINST THE ETHIOPIANS
2Ch 14:8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. 9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. 10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
2Ch 14:12 So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
2Ch 14:13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.
Asa had five hundred and four thousand soldiers whereas the enemy had one million soldiers and three hundred chariots.
What was the result? Asa cried unto the Lord and God gave him victory. Fear must be thrown away and faith in the power of God must be embraced. The party that has the greatest number of members, money and campaign strategies may not win the victory if they are not the choice of God. We must cry to the Lord to intervene.
As we look at the giant parties and we think that they might not help us if they win, we need to cry to the Lord.
JEHOSHAPHAT AGAINST AMALGAMATED FORCES
2Ch 20:1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2Ch 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
2Ch 20:22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
Three big parties join together against Jehoshaphat’s party. At the first instance, Jehoshaphat became afraid and he ran to the Lord. The Lord told him the battle was not for Jehoshaphat but for God. Jehoshaphat went to the battle ground (polling station) with singing and praises. The result was a resounding victory.
If the other parties join together and you know that they will not help our country, we should run to the Lord in prayer and our God will fight for us and we shall hold our peace.
There are many examples we can quote from the bible but let us stop here and learn some lessons.

1. The progress of our country is our concern.
2. We must not vote for anybody because he or she comes from our towns, villages or he is from our clan.
3. We must not vote because of our personal gain that we think we will get.
4. We must not vote anybody without a track record of success and progress in whatever he had been doing before.
5. We must not allow the big political parties to intimidate us.
6. Whatever they call vote-buying must not enter your mind because it is selling your tomorrow.
7. Do not allow the majority to dissuade your mind, majority are not always right.
8. Do not allow the money they are throwing around to dissuade you.
9. Do not vote for party, vote for credible individual who can perform and deliver.
10. Experience is very important in leading human beings.

There is the position of mobilizing everybody to vote but the greatest work is still CALLING UPON THE LORD

• God is highly interested in our country and we should be.
• Our tomorrow is greater than today.
• The future of our children depend on who we will vote in to rule us.
• Vote wisely but PRAY!

If God is leading you to a leadership role in the political scene, share with some meaningful Christians and go to the Lord in prayer.
In all situations, prayer is our biggest work, so —
PRAY! PRAY!! PRAY!!!