1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:08,020 You are in the thick of things as we are in a country that is 2 00:00:08,020 --> 00:00:11,700 in chaos. We're trying to encourage people of faith 3 00:00:11,700 --> 00:00:16,740 really just all Americans to vote well. First of all, I just 4 00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:20,100 can't believe that so many Christians don't vote. Uh you 5 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:23,620 know it's anywhere from 40% to 45% of evangelicals who 6 00:00:23,620 --> 00:00:28,740 don't vote, and I think the fact that they're not engaging in 7 00:00:28,740 --> 00:00:32,180 the political process, not running for office, a lot of 8 00:00:32,180 --> 00:00:34,740 them are not running for office, but when you have that 9 00:00:34,740 --> 00:00:38,220 many people not voting, you're going to get what the Scripture 10 00:00:38,220 --> 00:00:40,860 tells you'll get. And, the scripture is clear. When the 11 00:00:40,860 --> 00:00:44,700 wicked rule the people suffer. But the thing that I want to try 12 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:48,940 to get across to people is I've I've literally had pastors 13 00:00:48,940 --> 00:00:51,980 defend themselves for not getting involved politically by 14 00:00:51,980 --> 00:00:55,980 quoting Romans Chapter 13. And obviously it says we're to be 15 00:00:55,980 --> 00:00:58,860 in submission to the to the those in government because 16 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:02,460 they're ministers of God. And they say we're just supposed to 17 00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:06,240 submit and that's not correct. When Paul wrote that, nobody got a 18 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,560 chance to vote for Caesar. Exactly. We live in a country 19 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,360 that I think we have a stewardship responsibility to 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,960 vote because I believe we'll give an account for it. Because 21 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,360 we have the right not only to pick who we place in 22 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,440 government over us - who we will submit to - it could be a 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,400 neighbor. It could be somebody that we work with, or our kid 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,680 plays ball with, or somebody that's in our church. We get to 25 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,400 choose and I think that's a stewardship that the church has 26 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:44,120 not exercised faithfully - to be totally blunt about it. 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,480 Chaos is something that you brought up. It's a sad thing to 28 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,560 see this country in such turmoil. Let me say about 29 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,000 George Floyd. That's an enormous tragedy. It's another 30 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,400 example of the failure to show the kind of compassion and 31 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,000 attention to the things that are going on in their inner 32 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,280 city that we should be. But that does not give people the 33 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,860 right to destroy other people's property. And what you have 34 00:02:09,860 --> 00:02:13,700 going on now in places like Seattle and in Portland, in 35 00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:19,780 particular, is anarchy. When we look at this, we begin to 36 00:02:19,780 --> 00:02:24,420 understand again the importance of engaging in this process and 37 00:02:24,420 --> 00:02:29,060 making sure that we have the right people in governance 38 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:33,220 instead of allowing people who are not only tearing down 39 00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:36,260 statues, they're trying to burn a federal courthouse. And they 40 00:02:36,260 --> 00:02:39,220 even have people threatening to tear down statues of Jesus or 41 00:02:39,220 --> 00:02:43,320 to break out stained glass windows that depict Jesus. And 42 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:48,520 we're just I mean we're just not very far away from a 43 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,960 serious attacks on our faith. I'm talking about government 44 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,200 that you can trust. Government that will allow people to raise 45 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,960 their families the way they see fit, that allow people to 46 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:04,040 live in safe neighborhoods so that they can not only have a safe 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,800 neighborhood to live in, they can prosper. And I think if we 48 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,840 did and we went about it, the right way again, not from a 49 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:17,580 theocratic perspective, but sound policies, sound economics, a real 50 00:03:17,580 --> 00:03:21,660 commitment to founding principles and realizing that the constitution 51 00:03:21,660 --> 00:03:24,780 doesn't say a perfect union. It says we the people of the United 52 00:03:24,780 --> 00:03:28,460 States in order to form a MORE perfect union. Our founders 53 00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:31,420 recognized the human condition - that there never will be a 54 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:34,860 generation that had a perfect union. It is a 55 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:37,900 responsibility of every generation to improve upon what 56 00:03:37,900 --> 00:03:40,860 the previous generation did, to admit to the mistakes of the 57 00:03:40,860 --> 00:03:45,160 past, but not let the mistakes of the past destroy us. To admit to 58 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,280 the mistakes of the past and find solutions to move us 59 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,840 forward together. What would you say to someone that says 60 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:56,680 well, it's beyond hope. England in the late 1700s was lost. 61 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:02,440 London was referred to as one giant casino. 62 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,680 Their government was corrupt and then along comes a couple of 63 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,880 brothers, John and Charles Wesley, and they lead a 64 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,160 movement called the Methodist Movement that sparked a revival 65 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,480 that caught a member of Parliament named William Wilberforce 66 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:23,200 In 1787, Wilberforce felt like God had initially 67 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,680 felt like he should get out of government because so corrupt, 68 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:30,160 but he got a letter from a guy that most Christians would 69 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,520 recognize the name. He wrote him and said it is to be 70 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,680 believed that God has raised you up for the good of the country and 71 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,480 for the good of the church and His glory. And that was John 72 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,000 Newton - encouraged him to stay in Parliament. He did and 73 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,200 he believed his mission was two fold. It was first of all the 74 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,200 emancipation of the slaves in the British Empire, but also 75 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,280 the reformation of the manners, the British people. 76 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:55,600 He wrote a book called Real Christianity that nobody 77 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,800 thought anybody read. By 1798, was in the sixth edition, but 78 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,960 he was focused on revival. And it took him 46 years on 79 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:13,680 July 26, 1833 Parliament finally voted to appropriate the money 80 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,360 to emancipate slaves in the British Empire and Wilberforce died 81 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,740 3 days later, and you talk about a mission call. A mission 82 00:05:20,740 --> 00:05:25,300 accomplished and what brought about that vote in Parliament 83 00:05:25,300 --> 00:05:29,620 was a great awakening that swept England and the same 84 00:05:29,620 --> 00:05:33,780 thing could happen here. You think we have a real stark 85 00:05:33,780 --> 00:05:37,060 choice in this upcoming November election for US 86 00:05:37,060 --> 00:05:40,180 president? No question. Just look at the issues. People say 87 00:05:40,180 --> 00:05:43,700 "Well, you're you're getting political." Yeah, you better get political. 88 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:46,420 You better look at the positions that people are taking.