Well, this morning, the message I have for you is unique in that it's a first for me. Now, I don't say that lightly. I've been here a long time. My family and I started attending and actually joined in 1996. And Pines Baptist Church is the church we know and we love. I was asked and I accepted and I've been serving as your pastor since 2006. So this is my 19th year. Yeah, thank you. This is my 19th year serving you. And I've never done this. And the reason is because today's message is unique. because it's going to deal with the biblical issues that you and I need to carefully consider, especially on this election season. I've stayed away from this kind of election cycle sermon, but I cannot. It's not fair to you, actually. You are the flock that God has given me, and as long as I stay grounded in God's Word, your issue will be ultimately with God's Word, not with me. I'm not here to tell you how to vote, even though there's preachers who use their pulpits to do the same. In the tri-county area, I know them by name. They not only say to the congregation what to say and what to vote on, but who to vote on, and they publicly endorse. I've never endorsed a candidate, and I don't think I will. Now you want to know who I voted for by the way, I voted yesterday. All right went on that early vote Yeah, yeah went on that early vote. By the way, if you want to go it's open today south, you know You go to BC South the library there. I went there. My wife is the one who convinced me I was the reluctant guy. All right, and she goes hey, let's just try it got there three I was out by 330 and when I walked out it was in the line and So A, I hope you're planning to vote. And B, hey, avail yourself of early voting. And believe me, November 5th, I might just go to watch. I might just go to watch, sit right there like, yeah, let's go. Are you ready for the rumble? You know, that type of stuff. And I say this and I use a lot of levity because the reality is that as I prepared, For this morning, I've been preparing for about a month. I let the leaders know about a month ago, hey, I'm going to be preaching this at the end of October, covet your prayers. And at that time, I had 10 pages of notes. I don't have 10 pages of notes today. I have nine. No, I'm just joking. I'm not going to tell you how many, because I don't want you to count the pages that I flip over. But the reality is that even as I stand before you, I fight to have the feeling of this, one on the screen there. Okay? And that is because sometimes when you deal with difficult subjects, you anticipate that someone's not going to like what you say. And I am sure that you may not like it, and from there you'll throw the proverbial ball, and I will go into the proverbial dunk tank. But again, what comforts me is the fact that as long as I'm rightly dividing the Word of God, and I'm rightly applying it to your life, again, our issue will always be the authority of Scripture. whether or not we want to live under that authority even as we take it into the ballot box. The Bible belongs in the ballot box. Your Christian thought, your Christian conscience should be bound and should be instructed by the Word of God. So with that in mind, let me tell you the title for today's message is, How Now Shall We Vote? And this might, I might just store this away and maybe four years from now when, you know, just cyclical, right? We're cyclical. And maybe bring it back out and revisit it under what four years from now will mean. And let me give you the sermon summary, so that way you know where we're going and what's on my mind. On the screen there, those who belong to Christ and His kingdom have a responsibility to do all that they can to live out the reality of being ambassadors for our King by being both obedient to the commands, precepts, and principles of His Word, including when voting. A pastor has a responsibility to teach the people the Lord has entrusted to him God's Word and apply it to every aspect of life, including political decisions, and even more so when such great moral issues are at the forefront of those political decisions. I'm not here to debate tax codes. I'm not here to debate this policy or that. I'm here to hopefully inform you from God's Word the big picture, these issues that you and I should consider when we go into the battle. If you've already voted, hey, thank you, number one. But if you're about to vote, and hopefully this will help. So we need to dig in. Number one, how now shall we vote? Some preliminary consideration. Let me just give you some three of them, okay? Just some prelim stuff. Number one, there is not separation of church and state clause anywhere in the U.S. Constitution, its amendments or any of our founding documents. Did you know that? Did you know that the separation of church and state that we hear touted time and time again by secularists on either side of the aisle is not found? You know how I know? Because I have my little pocket Constitution right here. When was the last time you read it? How many amendments? How many articles? I'm going to confess to you, I have not read it in, like, forever. So I read it. So, you know, when was the last time you read? This is the founding document for our constitutional republic. We're not a democracy, we're a constitutional republic. This is the founding document here. Well, this one's a pocket one, you know, I can, alright. But when was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence? When was the last time you read the preface to the Constitution? We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. And then it goes to outline 8 articles, and then there's 27 amendments, the last one being in 1992. When was the last time he did this? And you know what? You're going to read this, you're going to read every other founding document, and you will not find the separation of church and state. Yes, we didn't want the state in the church, but hey, the church can be in the state. And I say this because, listen, whether you like it or not, the founding fathers had Christian thought on their mind. They were influenced. If there was one system of belief that influenced the founding of our nation, it was Christianity. I'm not saying that every founding father was a Christian. I'm not saying that we were founded as a Christian nation. What I am saying is that those original guys that were here, those bunch of guys there, when they set this forth, what the philosophy, the system of belief that prevailed upon them, if they had one, was Christianity. There's no separation. Many states, in fact, at one time required those running for office to be members of a church. Read your history, at least not the revised one, but read your history. Preachers were often politicians. We've strayed from that, and for good reason, I think. But many pastors preached. What I have here is tame for what they preached. They named sins, and they named people, and they named organizations from the pulpit, because they saw themselves as prophets who needed to address it. So that's number one, number one, okay? So number two, no church has yet lost its tax status for political involvement. That's a big deal because I've been told time and time again from fellow pastors, from congregants, hey, hey, hey, be careful, you get too political, tax exempt goes out the door. Number one, never happened so far. And again, I'm here to tell you, I know the pastors, I know the preachers, I know the bishops that tell you how to vote and who to vote for. Number two, it wasn't too long ago when a presidential candidate walked into a church service, and this presidential candidate was given the pulpit, and then this presidential candidate gave a speech, and that church service became, for what, for all intents and purposes, a political rally. As we took souls to polls. Do you think, and listen, the church has every right to do that, but do you think that church is going to lose its tax exempt status? I haven't read anything yet. And my message to you this morning is tame. I am not going to bring somebody from behind. And ladies and gentlemen, no. But if that church can do that and still enjoy tax-exempt status, what we address today from this pulpit is legal. And you don't have to worry about us. You don't have to worry about me going to jail. Not just yet. Not just yet. Number three. Politics is simply the art and science of public affairs and the government of a state. And a politician is simply a person who is involved in politics. Now, it's tragic because, though it's true, the politicians have earned our disdain. They've earned it on both sides of the aisle. Listen, please, please, please, please, I don't care if you're red or you're blue or you're purple, all right? Or you don't even know what you are because you're an independent. All right? Both sides are corrupt. Both sides are bad. So the reality is that they've earned it. But the problem there is that, the reality is that there's many statesmen within our system, men and women who are serving the United States of America, the citizens, that are doing it well and are doing it right. And we need to pray for them, as the Bible instructs us to. Especially when we meet someone that's not beholden to political interest. Those are the ones that never make it on the ticket, by the way. They'll never make it to the ticket. So when you hear about them, that's when you pray for them. You go, man, I want to thank God for something. Listen, we've had one of our own run for politics here. He has not won, but we should encourage. If you are going to do it, we're going to encourage you. We're going to support you as best as we can in prayer. And if we want to help you individually, we're going to help you individually. But listen, it's easy to deride and make fun of politicians. I mean, if their lips are moving, they're lying. I say it all the time. If their lips are moving. Read my lips. I'd rather not. I'd rather not because you really don't mean it. Okay? So, this is just preliminary. Now we get into the mire and the thick of things. Number two, how now shall we vote the Christian in government? Let me start off by reminding you of the types of governments found in the Bible. You might be surprised that the Bible doesn't just always record just one type. There's many types. You might be surprised, listen, there's patriarchal, Abraham, there's tribal, early Israel, theocratic, Joshua through Judges, there's kingdoms, there's Saul, there's Caesar, there's a representative body, the Sanhedrin, And for those of us who believe in the coming millennial kingdom of Christ, that's an absolute dictatorship. He's not going to be asking you, hey, what do you think? A referendum. Can you amend my millennial reign? Child, please. So this is the reality. See, much debate occurs about which type of government is best, but the reality is who runs it is what really makes a difference. While we, those of us who welcome and hope and believe in a millennial kingdom, where there's an absolute dictatorship of King Jesus, we are well within our rights and wits to also push back against any dictatorship that's not King Jesus. In fact, many of us fled homes and nations of birth because there was a dictatorship that didn't work. So you can exist with the both and, it's not an either or. And again, the emphasis here is, listen, the type of government, listen, oh no, because the American government, capitalism is corrupt. Yeah, okay, really? You're not telling me anything I don't know. You don't think socialism is? You really, you're going to drink that Kool-Aid? Any form of human government is corrupt. Why? Because it has humans in it. So before you start trading it off and throwing out the baby with the bathwater, please do some research, don't be ignorant, stop tweeting, stop hashtagging, and let's just get along with each other here. Okay? And the reality of the truth of the matter. Number two, government's foundation. God is the foundation. Listen, the system of government was established by God. It is He who removes or establishes people in positions of power. We know this, not because I'm smart, but because we have the Scriptures and the Scriptures record this. One guy in particular in the Old Testament times, a guy who thought he was all that and he was roaming and he was seeing his kingdom, he's like, is there anyone else like me? And God came against him and put him on all fours for seven years. You know his name? Yeah, Nebuchadnezzar. And at the end of that time, reason was given back to him by the God who took it. And he then says in Daniel chapter 4, on the screen there, At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand or say to Him, What have you done? He is completely sovereign. He is the foundation of government. And if that's true, the ramifications are astounding. On the screen there, let me just give you three. Number one, those in positions of power need to be humble because God put them there. And He can take them out in a variety of ways. They tend to forget that they're the lesser magistrates. They tend to forget that they are servants and ministers of God. And in a secularistic and a... world that you and I live in the United States of America, they have forgotten this. They have forgotten that this is by God's grace. There was a time in our nation many, many years ago that those public servants understood that they served before the watchful eye of above, but no longer today. Number two, those in positions of authority need to be more concerned about pleasing God than pleasing people since ultimately they give an account or they will give an account to God. And three, Christians can be at peace regardless of who is in charge of government because we know that God is ultimately in control and will accomplish His will through, it might say though, through them, whether it is for a blessing or a curse on the nation. Sometimes God gives us the leader we want, so we get to live with our decision. Isn't that what 1 Samuel is all about when they ask for Saul? Oh, this is the Savior. He or she is coming from this part. He or she, he or she, he or she, that's gonna, if we have this person in the White House, revival will break out. Revival breaks out when God wants it to break out. Revival broke out under the Roman government. That's how Christianity spread. Oh, but if we have this person in the White House, then, no, no, no, no, no. Revival is God's work. And then we in the church and when we're revived it spills over to the streets and then you have spiritual awakening Romans 13 1 and 2 let every person be subject to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God Therefore whoever resists the authorities resist what God has appointed and those who resist will incur judgment. I Listen, Christians, you and me should be models of good citizenship. The best citizen in the United States of America should be a Christian one. You and I need to model what's so lacking out there, the civility, the getting along. Oh, we can argue, but we don't have to take it to the level of what I see. Some of us even have to protect ourselves from not engaging in certain activities and with certain people because we can't act like the crown of creation. We act like the, I gotta watch it, less than the crown of creation. And that should not be. Christians should be models of good citizenship of any nation. As long as the government is fulfilling its God-given purposes, you know, we're there. When it doesn't, and we'll get to that, we have every right to resist. But the reality is that, listen, the government will persecute the people of God eventually because you and I, and I read this today, okay, Dr. Martin Luther King, we're not the master of the state, we're the conscience of the state. And when the conscience of the state comes against the state, you think the state likes it? Who is left to tell the state what is wrong? You and me, as sisters and brothers in the Lord. Do you actually expect a secularist to tell the state that they're doing wrong? No. When it comes to moral issues, we're going to see. You and I are the salt of the earth. You and I are the light of the world. You and I are influential. You and I are the conscience of this community. And when you and I choose not to say anything, then we're not living up to what we should be doing. So this is the reality. It's going to persecute sooner or later. Number three, the purpose of government. Purpose of government. Let's stay in Romans 13, verses 3 and 4. Twofold. Twofold. Nice and easy. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. You keep the speed limit, you'll never get a stinking ticket. Guaranteed! And if you do, you can fight it and win. You don't even have to spend 80 bucks at ticket clinic. I have a friend. Okay? For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have fear, no fear of the one whose authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. For he is God's servant, that's my emphasis there, for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger, who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Twofold. Simple. Simple. The problem is we don't live in a simple society anymore. But the reality is what you and I need to be looking at. And therefore looking at the candidates and how they uphold these twofold purposes. Number one, the first purpose of government is to promote what is good. That's right there from the Bible. I mean, I don't have to say much, right? It's there. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. You now have fear of the one whose authority? Then do what is good. You receive his approval. You're supposed to promote what is good. Governments that cause those who do good to fear are in direct violation of God's Word. Simple. Simple. In fact, Isaiah warned ancient Judah with this. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. In other words, we change everything and what we know that God's Word says, well, they just, they try to spin it. Well, when government spins it, you and I are saying, no. God Word is the standard. The second purpose of government stated here is to be an avenger who brings wrath upon those who do evil, which is why government bears the sword. And the sword means discipline and authority of a ruler to punish evildoers, even to the extreme of death penalty. Now, you may not believe in the death penalty. That's fine. Try to argue from the scriptures. That's a different story. You can believe whatever you want. You can believe the earth is flat. But to argue from the scriptures, you're going to find yourself in a pickle. Because it says it doesn't bear it, you know, that's why it needs to happen. That's why it's there. The word sword represents that authority. Verse 4 there says, they're a servant or minister of God for good. All government officials are ministers of God in this respect. Regardless of their personal beliefs, they can say whatever they want. The reality is that God's Word sets the standard for that. King Jehoshaphat said to the judges he appointed on his day. It applies to us today. Consider what you're doing, 2 Chronicles 19, 6 and 7. Consider what you're doing, for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Can you imagine the impact if one of our judges, our Supreme Court judges, were read this? All of our judges, from local to federal. Can you imagine if they consider what you're doing? For you do not judge for man, but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no pardon on righteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe. Can you imagine? Revolutionary. Revolutionary. If government will not fulfill its God-given duties, then you and I, we may just see him chastised. And we see that recorded in the scriptures. When a government raises high, too high, God comes and removes them, or maybe leaves them so the people can suffer for their own decisions. In fact, in the Bible, you have one guy in Acts chapter 12, he gets up and he's like, oh, I'm so good, I'm all that and a bag of chips. And God says, the guy's name is Herod in Acts chapter 12. He cuts him down and he rots from the inside out with maggots. God doesn't allow rivals. The problem is you and I have just gotten used to God not doing this stuff. But He has every right to do it. So the purposes of government promote good and to stay the hand of evil. The Christian's responsibility to the government. Well, Paul, again, Romans 13, stay there. Now listen, 13, 1 through 7, I can preach weeks on this stuff, okay? So I'm giving you, you know, big, big, big, broad, broad brush strokes here. But here's the, here's the responsibility, verses 5 through 7. On the screen there, therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes. If you can't say amen, you better be saying ouch. For the authorities are ministers, by the way, same word as in verse 4, servants, ministers of God, attending to this very thing, pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. In short, we willingly subject ourselves to government out of both the desire to avoid the negative consequences of breaking the law, But to also give the good example. Child of God, this is why we don't cheat on our taxes. Because you want to give the good. Now, it doesn't mean you don't avail yourself of a very good accountant. Hopefully he won't cheat for you because then you're still held accountable. But a guy who knows the law and takes full advantage of it. I got no problem with that. And whether he's Christian or not makes zero sense to me. Doesn't matter. If he's Christian, brother, I can give him the business and praise the Lord. But I tell you what, what I need him to be is an accountant. The guy who reads the tax code and understands the tax code. that he understands and knows the Lord, just cherry on top. But when it's time to file my taxes, I want a guy who knows the tax code, right? So that's why we do it, because we don't want to break the law, and we want to give blameless conscience before God and man. This is what the Bible says in Acts chapter 24, and Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2, that through our godly living, we silence our critics. But we remember the words of Jesus who said in Matthew 22, "...Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." But pastor, they're just not using my taxes right. Well, you know what? That's their problem. God holds them accountable for how they use it. You still have to set the standard you still have to do that and you have to do what's right in this sphere We also render fear and honor that means respectful speech and gestures. Yeah, listen, I may not like a president But I still respect the office of Okay, that's a big deal and in our day we've lost that I there's still the office of the President of the United States. While God sovereignly sets in office the individual of his choice, in our Constitutional Republic, it's done through a vote. You have a say in it. Okay, you have a say. But pastor, you know what? This whole place is going to hell in a handbasket. It doesn't matter who comes next. It's just going to continue to spin out of control. I'm just going to let it go until Jesus comes back. He's going to set all things right. Okay, okay, okay. So that means that you bought your house and you're never going to fix it, because anyway, it's going to deteriorate. Right? I mean, who has that? Who's done that? We're so inconsistent. I'm just not going to vote. I really don't care. It doesn't make a difference. Of course it does. You and I are given the privilege of participating in the process. Yes, God is sovereign, but He uses us. If He ordains the end, He also ordains the means to that end. So the reality is that you and I need to be involved. We just don't sit and go, okay, well, the house is going to fall apart. Let me just not do anything to it anyway. It's inevitable. Well, we don't do that to our own house. We shouldn't allow that in our own nation. We should be involved in that. See on the screen there, the Christian citizen must apply biblical principles when choosing a candidate and addressing the issues of the day. Listen, you need, you are responsible, I am responsible to know what this Bible says, what the principles. God has revealed Himself, He's gone out of His way to let us know who He is and what He thinks. And then He calls you and me to understand it and to live it, to apply it. And that includes the day you and I go into that ballot box. On the screen again, the Christian citizen must be serious about voting, and then vote for the candidate that would best fulfill the purposes of government in promoting good and repressing evil as God defines them. Proverbs 29, 2, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice. But when a wicked man rules, people groan. And by the way, man, there's humanity. Don't draw, no. Don't extrapolate that it has to be a man and not a woman, or a woman not a man. When a man, when a human, At the same time, we must be very careful not to think that we can substitute the quest for a godly government as establishing the kingdom. We have to be careful with that. Next, the Christian citizen must also stand in opposition to governmental representatives, officials, and policies when they are contrary to the clear teaching of God's Word. There is such thing as godly civil disobedience. Not because this guy says it, but because you see it in the Bible. Don't preach, Peter. What does Peter go out and do? Preach. Why? Because it is better to obey God than man. And God has said, share the word. Oh, church, you can't gather anymore. You know what church is going to do from here on out? We've learned our lesson. We're going to gather. Why? Because that's what the Bible calls us to do. Do not forsake the assembling of each other. Oh, but it's going to cost us time and talent and maybe our lives. Okay. Welcome to the land of the persecuted church. Brothers and sisters today on the other side of the world have suffered loss because of their faithfulness to the gospel. We're just weak and soft and hollow and shallow. Get with it, brother and sister in the Lord. You're not meant to cater the favor of the Lord. I mean, a favor of the society. You should be worried about the favor of the Lord. That's what we're after here. When it's contrary, oh yeah, but God put this man or this woman in this place, whether it's the president, the senator, the local council here, our mayor and commissioners. Oh, we can't come against him. What? You're not reading your Bible. I mean, last time I checked, Nathan rebuked David. Wasn't David the man after God's own heart? Wasn't David the man who committed adultery and then murder? And then what? Oh, that's God's man. We don't touch God's anointed. What? Nathan came in and said, you're the man. You're the man. The prophetic voice of the church. The prophetic voice of God's people. It is Samuel who confronts King Saul and says, the kingdom has been taken from you. It is John the Baptist who tells King Herod, you've broken God's moral law because you've taken your brother's wife. She's still married to him. It is Jeremiah who rebukes the king because of being unjust and oppressing the stranger, the orphan, the widows, instead of protecting them in Jeremiah 22. Jesus pronounced plenty of woes upon the scribes and Pharisees. In John 19 11, Jesus points out the guilt of those who had delivered him to Pilate, but then looks at Pilate and holds him accountable for such a thing. See, you and I can stand in opposition when it's clearly violating God's Word. political organizations and media will control the narrative, or at least will try to control the narrative. You see it on both sides. I think it was DJ who told me that he saw something that both candidates have spent $95 million in ads so far. Fathom that, $95 million. We have people without health insurance in the United States of America. We got people paying up astronomical numbers, and we're spending $95 million, not because of either presidential candidate or youth political party to inform us about the difference. No, they're attack ads. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of them, both on the right and on the left, both whether you're red or you're blue. I don't care, I'm tired of it. I mean, if you're going to spend $95 million, at least tell me what the difference is. You know, propaganda has a way of swaying us. And you and I cannot be swayed by propaganda or preferences. We must be centered and focused and grounded by God's Word. You see, you and I can complain. I can complain about the taxes as much as anyone. I can make good, you know, arguments and economic arguments, benefits of low tax rates for everyone. You know, in that respect, I'm a little bit of a libertarian in me. You know, like, hey, hey, get your hands out of my pocket. I was talking to my daughter who lives in California right now, and she's a nurse out there, and she's like, she called me a few months back after her first one or two paychecks, and she's like, Dad, Dad, what is the state income tax? I'm like, hey, welcome to California, baby. You think all those programs are free? There's no such thing as government funded. Everything is taxpayer funded. Give me a break. Sweetheart, I'm sorry. She goes, Dad, do you understand? Last time I went to visit, Dad, do you understand that on given times, 30 to 40% of my paycheck is going to taxes? Yeah. I can make a call for, hey, you know, can we keep it at a less, put more money in my pocket? But you know, it doesn't matter what that is, because when I read the scriptures, Deuteronomy 16, God places a higher priority on a just judicial system. You know why? Because tax rates are going to go up and down. When the majority of, well, not with the majority, when the entire New Testament was written, it's written under the Roman government. The Roman government taxed however they wanted. But yet Jesus says, you seek the kingdom and its righteousness and I'll provide for you, regardless of the tax code, regardless of the tax rate. You keep me first and I'll work it out. But we want a just judicial system. You see, moral issues are much more critical than economic systems or policies. Listen, political candidates are a mixture of various moral standards. It's going to be rare to find a candidate that rates well on every issue. You're looking for the best candidate, not the perfect one. But Pastor, you know, I end up, you know, voting for the lesser of two evils. Okay, I've said that. I've said that but listen instead of voting for the lesser of two evils because you're still voting for evil It's like I think I mentioned it to Doug one time. He's a big start Star Wars guy, right? I go Doug Doug. Well, I mean should we vote for for Darth Vader or the Emperor Palpatine? The lesser of two evils, they're both detrimental to the Republic. It went well, it was a good thing because it's the Republic, right? They're both bad for the Republic. But instead of saying, what's the lesser of two evils? Why don't I make sure that my vote doesn't promote evil? It stems the tide of evil. That's what I want my vote to count. Not to say the lesser of two evils. I'm still voting for evil. But wait, on this vote between these candidates, which is the one that I can understand, using God's word, will stem the tide of evil. Make your vote count. See, if you can't in good conscience vote for any of the candidates, and I'm not just talking presidential, if you see your ballot, there's going to be all sorts of goodies there. Then don't vote. You can do a write-in. I was reminded in 2016, you know how many tens of thousands of votes Harambee got? You know who Harambee is? That was the gorilla who died in captivity. And they used it as a protest vote. They didn't like the candidates of 2016. If you don't remember, I do. And thousands, I think tens of thousands of people wrote in Harambee. It was a protest vote. Well, you can write a protest vote. It's part of the political system. Now, you use a protest vote, you're going to have to live with the winner. I just don't want you to go Harambee didn't win Hey, yo, come on, man. Let's hack your age. Not your shoe size All right. Let's go. You wanted your protest. You got it. That's fine But you're gonna have to live now with the winner, but listen if a good conscience you can't do it I'm not here to bind your conscience by telling you better because there's only in in the United States of America There's really only two political parties in about five or six that appear on the ballot But really two is where it was really it's gonna play the game, right? But if those two you go, not in good conscience, because anything not done of faith is sin, and I can't really, I can't go to sleep, I'm going to go against myself, then don't. Write in somebody or don't. But again, you're going to have to live with whatever the outcome is. Lastly, let me see how much time I have. I'm telling you, how now shall we vote? Yeah, thank you. Evaluating the candidates and the issues. Let me quickly go over some of the major issues and give you some questions to consider as you evaluate it. Evaluate those issues and the candidates before them, okay? This is my list. This is not God's list. This is my list. I'm taking it from God's Word, but I don't want you to think that, oh, because Pastor Lewis said it, this is, you know, the red letter of the Bible, okay? This is just mine. Number one, the issue of life. The issue of life. The first moral priority is human life. God is the creator of life, and all human life is made in His image. So all human life has inherent worth. Genesis 1, 26 and 27. That's why God prohibited the murder of human life. And He said, you kill it, you're killed. Genesis 9, 6. Way before the Mosaic Covenant, okay, way before the Mosaic Law, He told Noah. Genesis 9, 6. the innocent blood of those murdered cried out for justice. And that's one of the reasons Judah got destroyed in 2 Kings chapter 24. The Bible also is clear that human life begins in the womb. Begins in the womb. So the pre-born or the unborn, the child in the womb should be protected. This has very little to do with the woman. This has to do with the person inside the womb. If there's not a person inside the womb, then every argument in favor of abortion is moot. Do you understand this? If this is not what's in the belly, what God grants women, biological females, The ability to do, which is to cherish and to carry life. And if you don't think, if you think that's bad, you try it, man. I can claim to my wife, my ovaries are to my drop dead. I got no ovaries. The reality is that, listen, you and I need to understand that if it's what's in the womb is human, you got to protect it. You got to protect it. I didn't want it. That's not the right question you're asking. If you didn't want it, then don't tango. Because you've got to tango to get it. And if you need that explanation, see me after church. I'll take you to lunch and we can talk about the tango. To kill a baby in the womb is to destroy the work of God and attack His image. On the screen there, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia are all a murder of a human being. If you don't protect them on the front end, why protect them on the back end? So sister Alice at 93, you're 93 sister Alice, 94, 93, right? So when she becomes inconvenient, let's get rid of her, 93. So, all right. So my sister, whenever you're inconvenient or you're too costly, let's get rid of you. We do that on the front end. Why not do it on the back end? That's why the church stands on the sanctity of human life, from womb to tomb. to natural death, not because it's a political issue, it is a gospel issue, it is a Bible issue. Questions to consider, considering life. Let me just give you some questions on the screen there. What value does the candidate put on human life? What protections does the candidate advocate to protect human life? Is the candidate pro-life, indifferent, or pro-abortion? What is the candidate's position on euthanasia? Do they uphold capital punishment for those convicted of murder? You don't know it? Then look for it. Don't count on the media. Both of these candidates, at least the presidential ones, have served. One is serving, one has served. They both have made policies, they both have voted. Check their voting. Check their policies. That's what they believe in. Forget the stump speeches. What they believe in, they voted for. See, do you know their position on the Hyde Amendment? Let me just apply it to the United States of America. I'm gonna stay on my lane. Do you know what their position on the Hyde Amendment? Do you know what the Hyde Amendment is? The Hyde Amendment is, since 1977, it doesn't allow the US government to pay for abortions unless in case of rape, incest. or the health of the woman. Did you know that? That's the Hyde Amendment. Do you understand that each political candidate, presidential candidate, has a view on it? I've heard them. If you remove the Hyde Amendment, then your taxes can go support, directly, abortions. Do you know their position? If you don't, do some research. You can ask me over lunch. I just gave it to you. Well, no. Huh? I am because I always pay after this time message. I'm paying for all things Protection protection I need to go quicker protection protection encompasses both internal and external threats a Police force that protects against local threats while the armed forces that protect against external threats Do you understand that in our in our Constitution? Those are two of the articles In one it says you need to have a militia. You need to have an army and a navy. And the other one says, hey, the president is the commander in chief. You may not like the president being commander in chief, but that's what our founding document in a constitutional republic demands. We're not in Cuba. We're not in Venezuela. We're not in another country where they can have a coup d'etat. Oh, they can try it here. It's going to be a bloodbath. You understand? Says, that's why the founding fathers put that and understood this and they said, listen, you need it. Article 1, Section 8, Army and Navy. Article 2, Section 2, the President, the Commander-in-Chief. If the government is to protect and promote what's good and be an avenger to that which is bad, it has to protect the citizenry. So, questions to consider about protection. Does the candidate understand the protective role of government, both locally and nationally, and advocate law and order? Listen, there's one thing to demand proper police reforms. We have a policeman among us. He's a homicide detective from Miramar. We have retired people here who have served in agencies that have only three letters. in our midst. Do these agencies, do these police need reform? Yeah, I think so. Do they make mistakes? Yeah. Is there police brutality? Of course there is. You know why? Because we're human. You don't think they get spat in the face by less than perfect people? Of course they do. It's one thing to say we need to demand fairness and we need to take a look at police reforms and we're okay and we do this. It's another thing to say defund the police. You know why? You don't want police? Then don't call them when they're stealing your house. I'll say it again. You don't want police? You want to defund them? Then don't call them when you're in danger. Oh boy, how quickly we do. Even those who call, defund the police. We need to refund the police now. Let me keep on going. Let me see my beats per minute here. No, this is why protection of foreign policy does matter. A border security does matter. Not because I'm being political. I'm being biblical. If the government is supposed to protect me, then it needs to protect me. It needs to have policies and it needs to have a force that prevents me from being harmed. So you look. Whether it's the state senator, the senator in Congress, whether it's the president, whether it's your local yokels here. What is their position? You don't know it? Look at their voting records. Child of God, stop playing ignorant. Stop playing party partisans and the party person. No, this is much bigger than that. As a biblical person, you need to look at God first. What does He say and who applies it best? Let me quickly, well, does the candidate understand the necessity and proper use of armed forces as well as diplomacy and averting war? I don't want a war hunger, a warmonger, I'm sorry, for a president. But I don't need no soft jelly that everybody takes advantage of either. So somewhere in the middle, there should be someone somewhere, okay? Justice. I got two more to go and then I got to land this plane. Justice. Government has the responsibility to establish and execute justice. And to the degree that government deviates from God's standards of justice is the degree to which it is failing. And tragically, United States does fail in many ways due to political corruption. And those who need the help are not receiving the help. And those who are politically connected, politically flavored, they get the help. We have to be honest. We have to look in the mirror and go, yes, the voiceless have been remaining voiceless, and the disenfranchised have remained disenfranchised. And we as a people and as a government have failed in these areas of justice. We need judges that rule on the basis of law, because the Constitution is not a living and breathing document. The Constitution is a document that was written by a particular people and had original intent. Because if you think that this is a living and breathing document, then we can make the Bible say whatever it means, because we can take whatever God said and go, Oh, you know what? But we really meant in the 21st century, because this is a living and breathing document. Now, I know that the Word of God is living, breathing and powerful, but that's not what we mean when we say the Constitution is a living document. No, no, it's a document that was written. Constitutionalists, we want judges that are constitutionalists, that they look at the Constitution and say, this is what it means, and then this is how it applies. We don't have that all the time, but we should be wanting that. Let me quickly point out that this so-called social justice, it'll be on the screen there, is not biblical. Whenever it's an effort to bring about an equality of outcome, equality of outcome is a myth. Equality of opportunity? Absolutely. Let me give you an example. Tom, I forewarned you. Come up here, buddy. Even on a chair just there Equality of opportunity means that if he and I go out for the basketball team, we should have an equal opportunity to do so But all things equal Whether I'm beige and he's white whether I'm brown and he's white. I If all things equal, if he's a better player, they should take him. And I shouldn't be about it. Okay. Equality of outcome means I need you to play on your knees so I can then have the same outcome. So I'm taking away from him something that's inherently his, you know, the word has some, the word of God has something for that. It's called stealing. So play on your knees so you can have equality of outcome. No, that's not guaranteed. Thank you. And if you were playing against LeBron, you lose too, right? Because God didn't create everyone with the same skill set. Now, if Tom and I go to the bank and want a loan and they don't give it to us because of the color of our skin, now we got a problem. That's not equality of opportunity anymore. But you understand that the social justice is about equality of outcome. I can't. I'm not that good in certain things. God didn't make me that way. So be careful, child of God, when you start trumpeting something you don't understand. You see, the reality is, true social justice is an equality of fairness in the application of the law, and not the equality of outcome. Now, we have to be humble, because we've received mercy, so we should be merciful. So, questions considering justice. On the screen there, does the candidate uphold the rule of law? Does the candidate advocate interpretation of law according to what was written in an original intent? Is the candidate's advocation or opposition to a law based on biblical standards or something else? You know, some of these are going to go, no, no, no, you know. Is the candidate fair in his or her dealings with both supporters and opponents? Is the candidate subject to political corruption by influences either in or outside the government? Okay, but this is what it is. You and I need to be asking these things. And last, morality. Morality. Again, we quoted Isaiah 5. Those who call evil good and good evil and darkness is light and so forth and so on. Tragically, there's too many. Too many in our society that just do that. Too many politicians that do that. And there's something that we need to understand that there's degrees that we need to understand that we have to be careful. Listen the sexual revolution that's around us the LGBTQ plus and and all the letters that go behind it. That's a threat Because they're not just after just acceptance they want to they want to change our kids if you never read this book Irreversible damage the transgender craze seducing our daughters once they go through the surgery it is permanent once a little boy goes through a surgery you're not gonna get back what you lose and What is their position on that? See, the sexual revolution would say, oh, it's the reality is that this is like the civil rights. Well, listen, listen, listen. The reality is abortions are this nation's child sacrifices to the God of sexual promiscuity. Okay? We just don't want to deal with the consequence of just going at it. The horizontal mamba. If you don't know what that means, see me after service. We just want to have it, and then when nature takes its course, when God-ordained nature takes its course, then we just discharge, disregard the consequence. So the abortion is the sacrifice to sexual promiscuity. And then you have the sexual revolution saying, oh, this is like civil rights. Well, let me just give you something. Votie Bauckham wrote a book, It's Not Like Being Black, How Sexual Activists Hijack the Civil Rights Movement. In it, he writes the following. If we buy the lie that sexual proclivities and preferences are equivalent to race, if we believe that the fight for the rights of sexual minorities is the final frontier in the struggle for civil rights, we're not only opening Pandora's box, but are insulting whole swaths of people who have fought legitimate civil rights struggles. I'm a black man, a descendant of slaves. I was born in South Los Angeles and have spent the last eight years living and serving in Africa. Anyone looking at me can see that I am black. I don't define and express my identity as black. I was born black and I will die black. So allow me to state one thing here that will spend the rest of this book unpacking. Whether you identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, trigender, multigender, two-spirit, furry, queer, demiflux, otherkin, or as a mermaid, a British Columbian wolf, or an avian-human hybrid, none of those things are like being black. And he's right. And he's right. See, so the question is to consider morality on the screen. Does the candidate seek to uphold and protect the sacredness of the family and marriage between a man and a woman? Does he or she uphold the current unbiblical redefinitions and support new laws attacking the biblical model? Does a candidate seek to protect the children and family from the agenda of the sexual revolution? Now listen, let me quickly act. You and I can be strong in our biblical, but we need to be wise and kind in the application. We don't need to be jerks, religious zealots. Many here, many of our church families have people who are part of this LGBTQ They're no less human being. They're no less human being. We can differ with them, but we can still love them. That's the best thing you can do for them is love them. When I was growing up, you didn't love them. You beat them up. You beat up the queers in high school and you applaud the lesbians. No, that's wrong. That's wrong. You and I should be known for the love of God upon those who think differently Whose whose sexual orientation is different? Yes, it's sinful, but they're still human beings made in the image of God worthy to be loved and respected So be Jesus to them be Jesus to them What can we take with us this morning I got a transition to the Lord's Supper somewhere Again, you're not going to find a candidate that agrees with you on every issue, but evaluate and make the best vote. On the screen, as a Christian, our first priority is always to please the Lord and trust Him to bring out any good situation, even when they're not to your liking and are antagonistic to His stated will. So let me give you three things, and then we'll transition to the Lord's Supper. Number one, the gospel is bigger than politics. The media will paint or has painted the picture that both presidential candidates are an existential threat to the existence of the United States of America. I'm not going to stand here and defend any of that. But I will tell you that they are, that they do have a vision for our country and our vote is an affirmation of that vision. Excuse me. They're beholden to the political parties. Have you read? I've told you this months ago. Download the platform for the Democrats. Download the platform for the Republicans. 90 plus pages on them's about 20 pages for Republicans. Well, I don't want to read 90. Well, read what counts. But at least argue from there, not from the talking points from your favorite media outlet. Downloaded them. I read them At least the damn side 90-something. Let me be honest with you I read what I needed to read what I wanted to read stuff like this moral moral Our molar rights it provides good wisdom on the screen there in my ideal world I would vote for a candidate in whom the personal the principled and the practical earn my admiration. I don't live in that world I live in this world and I must act accordingly Someone else Wrote the following a vote is not a valentine professing your love for a candidate It's a chess move for the world in which you want to live That counts that counts See the reality is on the screen there in just a few moments. Well, the church is bigger than political parties I said I said number one was the gospel is bigger in politics number two. The church is bigger than political parties In just a few moments. We'll be sharing communion together. I And when we do, you know what? I don't want to know which way you're going to vote. Because that doesn't ultimately matter. We don't gather as Republicans or Democrats or Independents. We gather as Christians. We gather as Christians. And together, we say that through the death of Christ, we have found life. And lastly, God is bigger than elections. This is a good one to remember, not just on election day, but on the day after. Especially if your person doesn't win. God is still big. He didn't stop being God. He's not fretting like, oh my gosh, what am I going to do with the USA of A now? I was really counting on, but didn't win. And oh my gosh, we got, and God still remains seated on the throne. Total control, total control. last thing I leave with you on the screen there if the early church was able to worship God and spread the gospel under Emperor Nero and others if Contemporary Christians are able to worship God and spread the gospel in communist China We still will be able to worship God and spread the gospel under either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris Because they the the church does not depend on the government God is sovereign and God is in control and let us pray for the election and Let's pray for the election that will be fair and honest and represent the vote of the people. And then we support whoever is our president, because the Bible says, pray for your elected leaders. Pray for those in authority. And we need to, because we need to set the example. At this point, the Lord's Supper reminds us that politics aside, the reality is God is bigger than all this. and ask the men who are going to help us serve to come to the front row here and prepare to serve us the Lord's Supper. The rest of us, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, if you want to turn there, we'll reference that in just a moment. Just want to remind you that if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we welcome you to the table. Please come, partake. If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we fence it. We say, no, no, no, because this is not snack time at PBC. This is not just an interruption. This is God's people making much of the salvation that they have in Jesus Christ. So would you close your eyes and bow your heads for just a moment? Would you go before the Lord and ask Him to help you observe the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner?