Kingdom & Culture
Have you ever heard your pastor say "we need to obey our leaders, after all God put them in place"? Although the mantra sounds good and theological, it is far from the whole truth. All scripture must conform to the whole of scripture, and our interpretations need to line up with the character and nature of God as our Father and the principles of His Kingdom.
As I pointed out in Part 1, we've seen some of the greatest prayer and worship movements in Canadian history over the past two decades, all the while seeing Canada slip further and further into darkness. A huge component of those prayer initiatives has been petitioning God for a righteous government that makes righteous laws, but we have seen only more and more corruption and the passing of laws that now openly make righteous behaviour unlawful.
The Psalmist states: "The heavens, even the heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind" (Psalm 115:16). If you begin to study the Old Testament and realize that self-government and democracy is God's idea, and you consider this verse, you will begin to understand that God has an expectation upon His children to be responsible and involved in their own governance.
Without the influence of His Church on the political realm in our Canadian democracy, it is a complete impossibility to secure His goal of having leaders who "represent Him" in our government.
In the heart of Canadian Democracy the power of choosing government has been placed in the hands of the people. The church really has a great responsibility to engage with the mechanism of political leadership within our nation to ensure that God's ideas of government are able to come forth.
If the Church wants to see revival in Canada, the church needs to stop only praying and needs to start taking the initiative when it comes to being involved in the mechanism of our democracy. Through participating in our respective political parties, involvement in local riding associations, attending party conventions, running for political office, and voting, believers can pick up their five smooth stones. It's time to take the initiative and do your part, Church.