God’s word has a lot to say about the horrible effects of immoral and corrupt leaders in a nation. But, what would God have us to do when the only two choices offered may have equally negative consequences? More evidence of open immorality and corrupt political practices will likely await us even after the election. Many of us have found ourselves searching the scriptures for an alternative means of hope. We are plagued with a horrible question. Why? God. Why?

If God, in His sovereignty, has allowed these presidential candidates to be our only two choices, then He MUST have a plan. Can BAD presidential candidates be GOOD for our country? YES! Let’s look at why…

#1. TWO NEGATIVE CHOICES FOR PRESIDENT FORCES US TO LOOK FOR POSITIVE RESULTS FROM GOD!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity (to prosper you and not to harm you) to give you a future and a hope.’ Jeremiah 29:11

My question for all of us is whether we believe these scriptures will still be true after November 8th. Anyone can feel good about a good situation. When all outcomes look bleak, it takes extraordinary faith, hope, and love to feel good about God’s plan.

#2. GOD CAN DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE WITH A CROOKED STICK!

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

These are the words that Joseph spoke to his brothers after they left him for dead, convinced his family he was dead, and then sold him into slavery. God is always playing the long game. He is stewarding national and global history for His own good purposes.

This is not a vote for fatalism or apathy. It is simply proof that no man or woman in history has ever been too immoral, powerful, or evil to keep themselves from being a tool in God’s hand. To be sure, there are evil people in the world. But like Pharoah, Hitler, and Satan himself, they are either used in God’s hand or crushed in it.

#3. THE PRESENCE OF SPIRITUAL DARKNESS IN THE WHITE HOUSE REVEALS THE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL LIGHT IN MY HOUSE.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

The bible has a great deal to say about the important platform policies held by both parties: The decisions of the supreme court justices, racial equality, women’s rights, abortion, gender identity, religious liberty in the workplace, honoring marriage vows between men and women, legalizing homosexual marriage, legalized drugs, caring for the poor, exploiting workers, paying living wages, providing for aliens and strangers among us, corrupt and lying leaders, and bullying those who disagree. These are just a few of the multifaceted issues at stake in this election.

It is important to understand that these issues are at stake in the election because they are at stake in the lives of our children and families, our homes, our churches, and our neighborhoods. Every political issue that matters nationally also matters personally and locally. These issues are alive every moment of every day, not just once every four years. We vote for righteousness every day of our lives in every move we make. The leader of the free world was never meant to occupy the job of being the light of the world.  YOU are the light of the world!  YOU!  

#4. IT ONLY TAKES ONE THING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. James 3:3-5

I don’t agree with many of the political points of view contained in the screenplays of Aaron Sorkin. However, the historical depth and intelligence demonstrated in the dialogue of television dramas like The West Wing & The Newsroom are truly spectacular. The lead character, Will McIvoy, In The News Room gave me some tremendous food for thought.

News Anchor Will McIvoy Speaking:

Sometimes is only takes one thing!

On March 2, 1955 A young black woman is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Alabama. Civil rights leaders rushed to her side and she will be a symbol of the struggle against segregation. Her name is Claudette Colvin and she’s 15 years old. She’s also unmarried and pregnant. The civil rights leaders decided that Colvin is not the best foot forward and stand down. Eight months later, Rosa Parks happens, but during that eight months, a brilliant and charismatic young minister gets the attention of the community and is chosen to lead the bus boycotts. If Claudette Colvin doesn’t get pregnant, if they’d gone in the spring instead of eight months later, Martin Luther King is a preacher you’ve never heard of in Montgomery.

Who is Giuseppe Zangara? I don’t really know. He’s a guy with a gun who fired five shots on February 15, 1933, killing the Mayor of Chicago. Why? Because Zangara was standing on a wobbly chair. And the Mayor of Chicago wasn’t his target. It was the guy the mayor was shaking hands with, the newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt. If Zangara’s chair isn’t wobbly, Roosevelt never takes office and we swear in his running mate, John Nance Garner, a man whose political ideology was the basis for his opposition to a package of legislation that would be called The New Deal and we don’t survive the Great Depression.

A dirty, smelly cave filled with animals in a tiny, insignificant village on the outskirts of Jerusalem was the birthplace of the savior of the world. Sometimes it only takes one tiny thing!

How could the political and religious leaders in charge of the oppressive Roman governmental rule in Jerusalem possibly be used by God for good? They were just as corrupt and immoral as our political leaders today. They crucified thousands of Jews during their military occupation. Jesus Christ was just one of them. His sacrifice gave us life and paid for your sins and mine. Sometimes it only takes one sacrificial and miraculous thing!

#5. CHANGING THE NATION FROM THE INSIDE OUT IS NOW CLEARLY OUR ONLY OPTION.

It has never been the role of politics to have a conscience. Politics is more about power than goodness. It is up to you and me to take up the fight. We can’t expect more from our political leaders than we expect from ourselves and the pure community of Christ followers. We don’t have the option for spiritual light and truth to trickle down from the White House.

We can pray powerful prayers! We can do powerful works! We can Evangelize, Disciple, and Serve our way into having a community and nation that demonstrates these words from the Lord’s Prayer:

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 

• THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION WE NEED IS A PERMANENT REVIVAL.
• IT WORKED FOR JESUS CHRIST AND THE EARLY CHURCH AGAINST A REPRESSIVE AND EVIL ROMAN REGIME.
• IT WILL CERTAINLY WORK IN THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE.

HOW TO GIVE:

There are three ways to give to RiverTown Church.

1. In Person – Bring cash or a check to church and use an offering envelope.

2. Online – Use this link above to give through your credit, debit, or bank account.

3. Automate The Important – Make your gifts go even further through automated giving!  Automated Giving FAQ’S

We are a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MESSAGE BELOW:

TWO QUESTIONS:

• Have you ever felt like you needed more than you had?
• Would it be OK with you if God multiplied your resources?

Dear RiverTown Family,

This Sunday morning, I’ll be teaching on God’s miracle of multiplying a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two small fish in order to feed a very hungry and angry multitude of over than 5,000. Did you know that, except for the resurrection of Jesus, this is the only miracle recorded in all four of the Gospels. Check out each passage for yourself: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-13. Or, all four gospel accounts side-by-side here. 

The powerful principle of this passage is this: Everything Has To Be RETURNED To It’s Creative Source BEFORE It Can Be Multiplied.

The benefit of learning and putting into practice God’s math of resource multiplication is SATISFACTION & LEFTOVERS!

See You Sunday,

Pastor David Rathel

P.S . – We are almost ready Flip The Switch and Light Up The Night with NEW LIGHTS to shine on our NEW CROSS!  It will all come together on CROSS WEEKEND! On Saturday night November 5th, we’ll celebrate RiverTown’s 15th anniversary with a special homecoming night. Our former Youth Pastor, CHUCK ODUM, will be our guest speaker. That’s the moment the lights will shine 30ft. in the air illuminate the cross.  Then on Sunday morning November 6th, we’ll gather around the cross again for our annual FALLBACK SERVICE and FESTIVAL.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS 

 Follow along during the message this Sunday with the entire outline below:

HOW TO GIVE:

There are three ways to give to RiverTown Church.

1. In Person – Bring cash or a check to church and use an offering envelope.

2. Online – Use this link above to give through your credit, debit, or bank account.

3. Automate The Important – Make your gifts go even further through automated giving!  Automated Giving FAQ’S

We are a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MESSAGE BELOW:

RiverTown Family,

Has the practice of Tithing ever seemed lifeless to you? Before you start tithing, it’s hard to have the facts necessary to bring your financial faith to life. For those who have practiced tithing for many years, it can be easy to fall into a habit that feels like a dead rut. God’s wants all His children to have the electrifying experience of seeing their tithe “Come To Life” in God’s hands.

This Sunday morning, Mat Cotner’s message will help you discover the shocking truth that awakens dead tithes. My prayer is that you’ll see the miracle of tithing come to life “before your eyes.” The power of God’s Holy Spirit can touch your finances and make you say – THIS TITHE IS ALIVE!

Pastor David Rathel

P.S . – Check out my message video from last Sunday GOD’S PATH TO PROMOTION and the IT’S ALIVE SCENE from the original 1931 Frankenstein Film.

Follow along during the message this Sunday with the entire outline below:

HOW TO GIVE:

There are three ways to give to RiverTown Church.

1. In Person – Bring cash or a check to church and use an offering envelope.

2. Online – Use this link above to give through your credit, debit, or bank account.

3. Automate The Important – Make your gifts go even further through automated giving!  Automated Giving FAQ’S

We are a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.

RiverTown Family,

This Sunday morning, we begin an adventure together.  I have been dreaming of this message series for a long time. Over the years I have seen two extremes. Some people lose life’s best blessings by focusing too much on work, finances, and getting ahead. They’ll never know the deep joys of sacrificial giving and precious time spent with loved ones. While others, run away from God’s principles and live a falsely humble spirituality. They always end up struggling to sustain the basics of life. The time for these two extremes has come to an end. God want’s a partnership with you based on trusting Him with your finances and your life.  

Pastor David Rathel

Follow along during the message this Sunday with my entire outline below:

HOW TO GIVE:

There are three ways to give to RiverTown Church.

1. In Person – Bring cash or a check to church and use an offering envelope.

2. Online – Use this link above to give through your credit, debit, or bank account.

3. Automate The Important – Make your gifts go even further through automated giving!  Automated Giving FAQ’S

We are a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Dear RiverTown Family,

I was so excited to have the opportunity to create this short teaching from the exact site in Judges 6 where God called Gideon and then selected just 300 soldiers to achieve victory over God’s enemies!

This Sunday I’ll show you how to apply this story in your own life to the exact situation you’re facing.  The fact is that one of the greatest enemies of moving forward with God is doubt.  We have to learn how to doubt the enemy of doubt, or we will end up doubting God.  If you don’t believe you can do deny your doubt and win, do what Gideon did. When Gideon was called by God to lead and achieve great things, Gideon didn’t find strength in Doing It – But in Faithing It!

See You Sunday,

Pastor David Rathel

Have You Ever Been Rescued From A Dangerous Situation?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the last few weeks, you know that our nation – our world – is walking through dangerous times. The steadfast societal structures we depend upon are showing us exactly how weak they are.

Terrorists continue to take lives in large numbers in our greates cities worldwide. The presidential election is as wild as a circus. Two lives were tragically ended in the same week in Louisiana and Minnesota during routine police encounters. Madmen commit mass murder against partiers in Florida and target police protecting protesters in Texas. To make matters worse, social media gives everyone with a phone in their hand the opportunity to vehemently vent their opposing views. Contagious hate boils over and anger is in the air! The command from Jesus to“Love Your Enemies” seems too hard for us to bear.

We need a rescue. Our societal structures were never meant to save us. They are man-made creations. They can be torn apart by mankind as well. It has been well said, “The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.”

The right question is not, “Why did he/she/they do it?” Any answer you decide upon will be inadequate at best. The Why? question leads most often to more hate, blame, and fear. The right question is, “How can I get involved in the rescue operation God is activating around me right now?” 

There is some benefit in understanding the mindset that produces the terrible act. The damage is already done by any evil you know about by the time you know about it! The time to act passionately and aggressively in someone’s life is NOW.

Every ignorant or evil shooter; every loud and violent voice; was once someone’s neighbor, friend or classmate. There is a old saying about lighting a candle in the darkness. These words in their original context are transformed into a powerful dividing line. Some only fret and vent, while others get personally involved in reaching out to rescue and heal.  

It was first said in 1907 by the English Wesleyan Minister, William Lonsdale Watkinson: 

“But denunciatory rhetoric is so much cheaper than good works, and proves to be a popular temptation. Yet is is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness.”

Prosecutors and investigators have long used a proven formula for finding suspects. They look for someone with these characteristics: Motive, Means, Opportunity, and the absence of an Alabi. When God provides these same factors as a bridge for you into someone’s life, then it is a sin NOT to ACT! 

Every crisis that erupts is another opportunity. There are always hurting people around us who need to be rescued from the edge of evil. 

This Sunday at RiverTown I’ll show you how to use God’s word in the story of Abraham rescuing his nephew Lot (Genesis 14) to determine when and how YOU could and should be His arm of rescue.

See You Sunday, 

Pastor David Rathel

Check Out The Video From Last Sunday’s Message: