This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Avalon Park Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar driving directions and more audio recordings. Well thank you guys for being here this morning and some of you know that Tuesday is a big day, right? What's going on Tuesday? Okay, it's kind of a small thing in this country, right? Something called a presidential election. Among other offices, they'll be voted on. And most of you know there are two things that you should not talk about in public. One is politics and other is religion. And we're going to do both today, right now. So this is going to be fun, this is going to be exciting. And what I want to do, I wanted to stay in our series of judges. And because I think actually chapter 9, the story of a bimolec, actually gives us a good backdrop. But I'll be honest with you right now, I'm going to use that as introductory. And I'm going to spend a majority of our time talking about implications from those truths and how they have a direct impact on us. 2008, living the United States of America, approaching election Tuesday with all that's at stake, with all the emotions that are running high, with all the tensions, anxieties that you feel if you're candidate or another candidate, whether it's on the presidential level or whether it's local government level, whatever the case is or an amendment being proposed, whatever it is. But whatever happens is God in control, is he working through it? What is his plan? So let's look at that little more detail. Judges chapter 9, yeah, there's an outline by the way in your bulletin, there's two sides to it. First side is a little brief introduction here, we'll talk about judges. And then the backside, we'll talk more about the implications of that. But we don't have time to read the entire chapter of chapter 9. So I'm just going to tell you really quickly what happens. Remember at Bemaleck is the son of who? Gideon, okay, we've been talking about Gideon in the last few weeks there, besides the break we took with the last couple of weeks, but we've been talking about Gideon. And Gideon, remember, is the guy that comes in and God uses only a handful of soldiers to deliver them from a mighty army. He steps out and steps out of faith to lead the people. He's one of the judges, but also remind me, too, in fact, we've got the next slide. What is the theme of the book of judges? Read it together. In those days, everyone did. Whether you were Gideon, or whether you're just an Israelite living among the people. And after Gideon died, his son, at Bemaleck, does the exact same thing, follows in those steps. In fact, at Bemaleck goes even farther, though. At Bemaleck realizes that there is no king in Israel, and he thinks it's his responsibility to fix that problem. And who better to be king, then? At Bemaleck, exactly. So, Bemaleck comes out with this big plan. All right, okay, I've got like 70 brothers who would also be rivaling for this opportunity to be king. We've got to fix that somehow. Send them off on a journey, put them in captivity, or kill them. So, he proposes and talks up to people in the community as they look. Which would you rather have Rulory at? All 70 of these guys, or just good ol' me. And he convinces the people. And sure enough, they kill all his brothers so that he alone could be king. Of course, one brother, lone brother, escapes Joppa, and gets away, and pronounces a curse on the people saying, look, you guys have done a wicked thing in the eyes of God to kill these other innocent men. And to raise up the king who God hasn't appointed, hasn't brought up to lead you. And bad things are going to happen from it. And bad things do happen from it. Eventually, at Bemaleck, and his army is wiped out. In fact, at Bemaleck, we're told in the story, which is the last thing. No king, no mighty warrior would ever want to be killed by a what? By what? Sorry, yeah, a woman. If you're a mighty warrior living this day and age, the one thing you wouldn't want to happen is to be killed in battle by a woman. And sure enough, a woman drops a millstone off a tower and it falls and hits him in the head. And he does like any good guy would do at that point. And he's like, quick, quick, somebody else killed me, a man, anybody. And it has his sword bearer killed him so that he wouldn't be said, although two ladies, history tells it now. He is taken out by God in a very word but a minute, a very disgraceful way to him. And the people in the town are destroyed through all this. Bad things happened in this situation. And that's a quick summary of the story. But let me give you a couple of principles that are going to have a lot to do about Tuesday. Let's go through this pretty quickly. Next slide. All right. What's your problem? And I don't mean that in a derogatory way because, you know, as a kid growing up, I can't tell you how many times, you know, I'd have kids. Hey, man, what's your problem, dude? Okay. Do I do that anymore? Do I say what's your problem? Kids, I'm asking you. Now, yes. No, you're all looking at me like, you have no idea what I'm talking about. What's your problem? The problem is there. Everybody has a problem. And you have one of three problems. And I'm going to ask you to pick in your heart which one is yours. First problem is this. The problem with no king. Okay. And I've been left to solve this issue here. There was no king. In fact, the whole purpose of this book is to point out there is no king in Israel. Nobody is in charge. And let's look at some of the implications of that. Everyone is their own king. When there is no king, guess who is you? And you. And you. And you. And you and you and you. Everyone becomes their own king. Next point. No one else acknowledges you though as their king. And here's where the problem begins. Nobody's king. And it's kind of like this thing. You know when you say, hey, it's everybody's responsibility. When it's everybody's responsibility, it's what? Nobody's responsibility. When everyone is their own king. No one else acknowledges you as king because they're king. And that leads to what? Anarchy. Anarchy. It absolutely happens. It happens all the time. History testifies to it. So that's the first problem. No king. But here's the second problem. The problem with the wrong king. First point under that. They rule in wrong ways. A wrong king rules in wrong ways. That's part of the reason why they would make him a wrong king. He does things in an oppressive way. He does things that are not considered and have the best interests of his people in mind. But he also does this. He rules for the wrong reasons. It's not ultimately about building and protecting his country or his people. It's about him or it's about her if it's a queen. So they rule the wrong way and the rule for the wrong motives. And it leads to this result, tyranny. And we've seen that happen and history will tell you. You can look at a culture and look at its history. You can see there were times of anarchy or there were times of tyranny. And they might vacillate between one or the other. But here's the third problem that you might have. Which is this. The problem with the right king. Next point. There is a king. The whole point of the book of Judges is helping the people of Israel to realize you need a king. The whole next section of the history books of the Bible. 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, is pointing out how, you know what? Human kings aren't going to cut it. And as good as David was and what he modeled, it's not going to be even David himself. But one is coming in the line of David. The Messiah, who will be the one true king. So if he is the true king, next point. You aren't him. If Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, sent here to earth, is the king. You aren't him. I'm not him. Nobody is him except for him. Next point. The result. Sovereignty that requires loyalty. And here's why I addressed it as a problem. Because as much as none of us would like the idea of anarchy. And as much, especially the foundations of this country, were escaping tyranny, the tyranny of England. And people, how many other people from other countries have come here in the big melting pot, escaping tyranny. Nobody, ultimately, in their heart of hearts, wants sovereignty that requires loyalty. And that's the problem with the right king. Jesus Christ is the rightful right king. He is the creator of the earth and took place in the creation process. He is the one that has come and redeemed and saved and called to people to himself that will come to be forgiven from their sins, to have a pledge and a promise of eternal life and the new heavens and the new earth. He's made all of that. But it is a sovereignty that requires loyalty. And that's where the rub is. It requires loyalty. And there are many in this country, especially who would say, Jesus, yes, is my king. I'm a Christian. But when it comes to the loyalty part, best case scenario, it's a marginal one. They hedge their bets. They're a little bit. But a little bit of loyalty is ultimately what? Disloyalty. Ultimately, this loyalty. Now we're ready to talk about November 2008 applications or implications. Three things I want you to take home and I want you to think about as Tuesday gets closer as you come to that time. Three things I want you to do and I think you've got to do if Jesus Christ is your king. Number one is this, believe. Believe there is a king who is raining. Believe there is a king who is raining. The Bible says this is true. The Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess because he is king of kings and lord of lords. The Bible says that all things work together for good. To those that love the Lord and calling according to his purpose is why? Because he is sovereign. Because he's in control. And whereas you might need to be worried. And I am about a rogue cell in your body called cancer. Could one day take control of all the other good cells in your body? God is sovereign. And he's in control of every microcosmic atom in the universe because he created it. And he's in control. And to have anything rogue against God would say he's not sovereign. We have a king who can make the promises of all things work together for good. We have a king who can write the book of Revelation and tell you what is going to happen and you might debate how and what's going to look like. But it has been written the final chapter. And why? Because he is perfectly in control. I don't care what your interpretation is of Revelation. But if you read it, you ought to take hope that something good is coming. And all the wrong is going to be righted. And when you feel like there's injustice in this world, one day it will not continue to be true. There will be ultimate justice. There will be ultimate healing. There will be ultimate forgiveness and reconciliation. All wrongs will be righted. We have that hope. We have that promise. Believe there is a king who is raining. That's number one. But we're on the backside of your handout already. If you're not there. Number two, I want you to remember this. Remember, we are to submit to authority over us because they are appointed by who? The king. I call him the king because that reminds us what his role is. Yes, God. But he is the king. Somebody, anybody out here, read Romans 13 right now. Next slide. Somebody read this. Romans 13, 1 through 2. Need a volunteer. We can read aloud. Excuse me. Read that line one more time. Okay. Leave that up on the screen for just a second here. There is a lot in just two verses here. And it has everything to do with Tuesday. November 4th, 2008. How much authority is appointed by God? According to God. All of it. Every single thing. Whether it's a school teacher. Whether it's a parent. Whether it's a police officer. Whether it's your local congressman. Whether it is the president of the United States. Whether it is head of al-Qaeda. Or country that promotes terrorism. All authority, God says, has been established by him. Meaning he has purposes to use even not good authority. And he has purposes, absolutely, to use good authority. But even through it all, his plan will not be forwarded. Even through it all, he wrote revelations. And it's coming and it's happening. That should make us all. Approaching Tuesday, be able to take a sigh relief going, okay. So whether you're candidate. Or the other guy is candidate is elected. To the biggest office or the smallest office. God has established it. Even I like that idea. You may not be comfortable with that idea. But God doesn't care. But he cares enough for you to be reminded that it's still true. So you can have hope. Trust. You can rest assured. It's been established by God. And by the way, this verse, too, those who do so as in rebel against that authority, will bring judgment on themselves. I don't want to sound too angst and immediately evil. But this is a curse. This is a pronouncement of a curse that if you rebel against the authority that God has placed over you, you're to be cursed. That's a pretty serious thing. And don't get me wrong. It's not to say that if an authority over you tells you to do something that directly defies the word of God, then no, you shouldn't do it. You should obey God first, not saying that, right. We have the book of Daniel, a great example in the Old Testament. By the way, a very good parallel for us here living today. You know, we tend to think we're living in a Christian country. And let me tell you, we're not. We're living in a post-Christian company, best case scenario. We're living in the days of like the people of God in exile. But Daniel honored authority so much that he was raised up to be right underneath serving the king. But when it came time to whether or not Daniel was going to bow down a worship the idol, the king had appointed, he worshiped God and he did not budge. And yes, the amazing story, remember, he was thrown into the lion's den. He was put on capital punishment and he was left for dead and God protected him. Daniel and the same other guy, Chaddrak Meshak and Abednego remember that story? The other three guys who were leaders underneath the king who were submitting to authority. But when it came time to bow down to worship an idol they refused to. And they were thrown into a fiery furnace. And the soldiers that threw the men were consumed by the flames while they inside were unscathed. And there were four in the furnace. God's presence was with them. God is in the business of saying because both those guys, Chaddrak Meshak and Abednego and Abednego submitted the authority over them and a non-Christian setting with high stakes and we're faithful to God. And God was faithful to protect them and take care of them. Great examples for us. Number one, believe there's a king who is raining. Number two, remember we are submitting to authority over us because that authority is appointed by God. So take comfort in that, rest in that. No matter what happens Tuesday, God is still on his throne. Number three, the last thing I want you to come with is exercise. Exercise your life as a loyal citizen of his kingdom. He is the king. And if you're a follower of Jesus Christ you are a citizen of his kingdom. But be a loyal citizen of his kingdom. Be a loyal citizen. Let me talk about different aspects of that. First, let me talk about the motivation. Next slide. The motivation. Matthew 22, 37 through 40. Somebody read this for me. You can read it loud. It's my distinction. Okay, man. Right. Now we're getting closer to what you should be trying to help you really know how to handle an election and what's going on in your life here. And God tells you as a citizen of his kingdom, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, what should be the motivation? Well, the two greatest commandments. And when Jesus put on the spot and said, hey, what are they? He sums them up right here. He says, look, you want to take the first four commandments of the ten and sum them up and what all the law and the prophets are based on. It's love. The Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Nothing is more important in your life than God. Nothing is more sacred that if it was taken away from you that you'd want to not live anymore than God. That's how central it is. Nothing in your life you'd base your happiness on more than God. That is what it means to have Him as Lord of your life. Number two, just like it. The second, summing up the second six commandments of the ten. Love your neighbor as yourself. Meaning that as concerned as you are about your own welfare and doing what's best for you, you better bring your neighbors right in along with you with those same passions, with that same concern. It's not you above your neighbors. It's not even saying in some kind of self de-gratifying way of putting your neighbors above yourself like I'm nothing good. God's saying, look, you cherish yourself. Bring your neighbors into the same sense and the same passion you have for caring for yourself. Bring the community of God's people, the community of people, human beings around you. Be concerned about them just like you are for yourself. Bring them in that same thing and the law and the prophets hang on these two greatest commandments. Here's the motivation that God is saying is supposed to be underneath everything. Everything you're supposed to do in life, everything including Tuesday morning or afternoon whenever you get to the polls and something you already voted. But Tuesday is supposed to be motivated by first, love for God and secondly, a love for your neighbor. Those are the primary motivations, primary for that to be true. First, loving for God, second, loving your neighbor. Let's talk about the spheres of influence now. Next slide. Spears of influence. Acts 1-8 says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. This is Jesus' words and promise. And you will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem where they were. Second, in all Judea and Samaria into the ends of the earth. Jesus said, hey, when my spirit comes upon you, right where you're at, right in your primary spheres of influence. You're going to make an impact. And it's going to spread even around that, but it's going to begin right where you are. And let me tell you right now, your impact with how about this more in a second is greater at the edge of your toes than it is in Washington, D.C. Your impact. We'll talk about more of that in a second. Primarily, you should focus primarily where you have the greatest influence. And secondarily, you should give your attention where you have lesser influence. And doesn't that just kind of make sense? Wherever you as a person have the greatest influence, you should focus most of your attention. Wherever you have lesser influence, you should focus less. Help me out here with a logic. Does everybody agree with that? Does that kind of make general sense? Thank you, Catherine. It kind of makes sense, doesn't it? So, for example, Ellen's a school teacher. Ellen has influence at Cybersprings Elementary to a degree that I never will have at that school and shouldn't have at that school. But she has ability. She has contact. She has relationships. She has influence there that she can exercise that I can't. Now, Janet Chick-fil-A, owner operator has another sphere of influence that I don't have. That he can exercise and work in, live with. And Rachel Celeg at Timmer Creek High School has a whole nother sphere of influence that she has to work and operate in. That I don't have and never will. Each of us have unique spots, areas of influence. And where you have most influence should be your primary area of focus as my challenge to you this morning. Well, let's get down to the difficulty. Let's talk about politics. This could get fun. You guys ready to talk about politics? Have you talked about it enough yet, this fall? Let's talk about it a little bit longer, okay? Micah 6A. Here we are. The prophet Micah talking about it. And he is pronouncing, you don't have time to read the whole passage here, but he is pronouncing kind of a prophetic judgment on the people. They've been so caught up in religious ceremonies, religious processes that God's gotten fed up and listen to his response. He says, you know, he has showed you, oh man, the prophet Micah saying, what is good and what does the Lord require of you to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God? God was using the prophet Micah to come and remind the people to look, hey, you're so caught up in the religious stuff that's going on. But there's something that's more dear to my heart than even are you doing the right sacrifices of the right times and doing this and that, that you're missing. Do you act and are you concerned to live justly, to act justly? Do you have mercy and do you love mercy? And you could translate this and talk about this to act justly and to love mercy as you walk humbly with God. To walk humbly with God is to take on the very characteristics of God. And if there are not two characteristics that represent God, I don't know what do better than justice and mercy. When you look at the cross, God punishes his own son on the cross because you know what? There was a need for justice. There was a need for sin to be dealt with and to be punished. And the cross, you see it. The wrath of sin has poured out on Jesus Christ instead of on the people that deserve it. And there at the cross, you see the mercy coming along right beside it. Those that are deserving the consequence of it, instead get the mercy, get the same righteousness that Jesus earned is given to them. Justice and mercy have met together in the life of Christ or evidence of that. So is it any surprise that even years before Jesus was even born, they got us to look. You got to see what's close to my heart. And if you are a follower of mine, this is God of you on your heart. Acting justly, loving mercy as you walk humbly with me. Here's the general rule that I want you all to go away with next slide. Rule for political voting. Vote for people and issues that represent the king best and bring him the most glory. If I were to try to sum it all up and put it in one concise statement, this is it. This is what I think the Bible would say because you're a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, which by the way is coming here to earth through the gospel and through his church and through Jesus Christ. Vote for people and issues that represent the king, not your own personal view, not your own personal benefit that represent the king and bring him the most glory. It is his kingdom that when you pray the Lord's prayer, your praying will come. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But let me tell you, in the heart of my heart, I'm often praying, Scott Puckett's kingdom come. Scott Puckett's will be done here on earth as I hope it will be in heaven. And that's not it. It is about him because he's the king. And by the way, he's the king that's botched and invited you to be a citizen of his kingdom because you don't deserve it. And you made a Sunday outcast in the judgment so that you could come in and be an adopted son or daughter. That's the king that's invited you in. Well, walking with God, just like Jesus did with passion for justice and mercy, that reveals who God is in his offer of rescue from the grasp of sin and death is what God's calling us to do. He's saying that we're supposed to walk here on earth just like Jesus did. We're supposed to be passionate about justice and mercy because that's who Jesus is. And he's the head of his church. His church should be taking on the same characteristics. So let me give you some real practical areas as you're thinking here about what are some of the issues that I think the heart of God speaks to. Since God is our creator, human life has sanctity and dignity and these are our priority. Human life has sanctity and dignity because Genesis 1, and he made them in his image. Male and female, he created them in the image of God. So you've got to say it is primary that we understand the sanctity and the dignity of human life. But the number one problem that I see right now in our circles is that we start down that logic will become a screeching halt very soon into the progression. What's the first issue is I say that that most people come up and come to their mind if they've been churchgoers for a while. What is the first issue? Abortion. Okay, that's the primary thing. We talk about the sanctity of human life. Everybody's thinking, yeah, come up though. Come up the whole abortion debate, aren't you? Yes, absolutely I'm talking about that. And I'm here to tell you unequivocally, there is no question in the Bible in the heart of God. And then when he says that he knits you together in your mother's womb, his hands are part of that. When he says I need before the foundation of the earth was laid, that abortion is incredibly grieves the heart of God. But don't stop there. Let me tell you why, because what about the unwanted babies? Are you as passionate about the unwanted babies in your community as you are those that have not been born yet? Are you as passionate about orphans that exist and live in our communities or live in other remote pockets and parts of the world? Sanctity of human life and the dignity of human life is extremely important and close to the heart of God. Are you passionate about children and education in general? That would be very close to the heart of God. What about single parents? Do you hear or do you know of or maybe you are a single parent? But if you hear and know of one that your heart go out and go wow, here's a family that's living in injustice. Because God's ultimate design is never to have a broken home. What am I going to do about it? How am I compelled to move to action? See, the sanctity in the dignity of human life is just getting started with issues like abortion. And by the way, I'm just getting started. These are all sanctity of human life and dignity of human life issues. These are all issues of justice, by the way. Poverty. Poverty is an issue of the sanctity of human life and the dignity of human life. And if you really, really think that if they just really wanted to and really were more hard working, they wouldn't be in the predicament that they're in, then you really are missing the complexity of what the issue of poverty is all about. And you really are condescendingly looking down on your brother and sister and even taking for granted the mercy and the grace that God has bestowed upon you in an extremely judgemental way. And you're missing the sanctity of the dignity of human life. You better be greed by poverty in your area. We better here in Orlando be thinking about that. I can't tell you how many times I'm so guilty of this. I will listen to the news and I'll hear of a homicide. And my next thing I'm listening to is thinking where, where, where, where. And as long as this is not near 32828, I'm kind of, and I kind of go on with it. But the moment I hear that it's near 32828, all of a sudden, what do I do? Kind of freak out a little bit, okay? I'm kind of thinking, all right, if it was something bad that happened on a high school setting, like when the student was murdered at university high school a few years ago. That, and then a whole lot more to me than hearing about something bad happening at a high school on the west side of town are far away. Why? Because they had a direct bearing on me. It could affect me. That's wrong. We have to have a compassion about the things that are affecting the community that we're part of. But it's a narcissistic, selfish, self-centered view of mine that shows and reveals my heart where it really is at when things like that happen. And maybe some of you are not different. Maybe you're similar to that with me. What about sickness and disease? How much does sickness and disease really plague you as you think about the dignity and the sanctity of human life? Because my guess is if you're pretty satisfied with your health care plan, you're probably not thinking about it a whole lot if you're seemingly pretty healthy right now. I'm telling you, there's people that don't have health care that are thinking about it a big time. What about just the handicap? Maybe you don't have anybody keeping your family. It's probably not impacting you whatsoever. But if you are, I'm telling you, that's a human sanctity of human life, dignity of human life issue, is taking care of all of those who are creating the image of God. What about just crisis? We've seen this happen, right? When we've seen hurricanes come through and wipe out sections of our country. We saw it happen here just a few years back. What about job opportunities? Maybe you got a job you're not too worried about, but what about the people that don't have jobs right now? These are issues of justice. These are close to the heart of God. What about the oppressed? What about racial prejudice that continues to exist in our country? What about religious prejudice? I've got to say, as a Christian pastor, we better be passionate about things like religious prejudice because you know what? The moment we don't fight for that, the moment we will find ourselves being victims of the very same thing, some of the very same things that led a group of pilgrims to leave and come to this country in that first place. We better be concerned. These are sanctity of human life and dignity of human life issues. What about oppression or over taxation? What about the wrongly accused? I mean, unless you've been wrongly accused, you don't even think about it. What about those that have been wrongly accused? Do you fight for justice in that? What about, here's a real potential example. What about the kid on my football team that I helped coach who shares a story with me about coming to practice? Why was he late that day? Well, because he got beat up on the way and some kids stole his bike and they just totally dismantled it. They told him. That's an issue of justice. And by the way, if anybody wants to help me figure out a way to get a bike to this kid, talk to me after the service. That's a justice issue. This is my community. This is your community. This is your neighborhood. What about the elderly? What about health care and social security issues for them? Are they being taken care of? Do we want to be in a society that cares about that? What about widows? You know, by the way, James says, you know, you want to know what pure and undefined religion is, taking care of what? When does an orphan? When does an orphan close to the heart of God? What about unjust wars? What about genocide and ethnic cleansing happening? What about terrorism? All of these are issues of the sanctity of human life and the dignity of human life. And most of those of us who go to church think it started and ended with abortion. We've got to go deeper. We've got to be more close to the heart of God. We've got to think more deeply about things. And hopefully I'm making Tuesday a little more complex of a decision for you than maybe it was we first got here today. But don't be oversimplified in this. Align your heart with God's on this and look at these issues. God has none of these in his kingdom. None of these issues that we've talked about will be in his kingdom. So to the degree that we fight and eliminate these kinds of issues, we are bringing the kingdom here on earth as it isn't heaven. That's why we call this place Christ kingdom church because that's part of our vision to see the reality of that. So as we fight against these type of things, we are helping to encourage that. If a kid in my football team gets his bike replaced, that is the coming of the kingdom. Thank you Alicia for helping bring the coming of the kingdom here in our community because there are two girls that did not have hope that have it now. And all the problems aren't fixed, but they know where to go now. They know who has the answers now. Well, only through the lens of human sanctity and dignity, do we address other less important issues because I haven't even really talked about the economy directly. But just so you know, that's a lesser issue. The only reason why that has has ultimate high values because how it has impact on those who are creating the image of God. But if you're passionate, if our passion is more about what it means in the bottom line, it's going to be in our pocketbooks, there's a problem. Do you know why you should want God to bless you with finances so that you can be more generous to give to others? That is a pure motivation that comes from the heart of God. God bless me financially so that I can be better positioned to give. That's a very different motive than saying God bless me because I work hard as the American dream, taxes, global warming, foreign policies, national debt, and I can't think of any others. All of those have emphasis only as they come to bear on preserving the sanctity and the dignity of human life and promoting justice and mercy here on earth. Because those are the things that are close to the heart of God. Take seriously your responsibility to vote on Tuesday. I'm going to tell you, take that seriously. Some of you may be a voted already. Some of you might come Tuesday, might come by, and you might see a long line. Vote. We do it. Don't you want to be able to tell your grandchildren one day that whether you're candidate or your policy, don't you want to be able to tell them that hey, you were engaged. You were part of fighting for what you thought was right and what was true with that. Pray diligently between now and Tuesday about how you will vote. And let me tell you this. Vote with faith in your king. Vote in faith with your king. Don't vote in faith for any person, any party, any personal issue of yours. Vote in faith for your king. I'm personally convinced of this. Some of you heard me already say this recently. I think if you took one half of the energy that I've already seen so many people, I can't tell you how many emails I've gotten. I can't tell you how many articles I've written, how many shows I've seen that are trying to put their spin on things or say this is important, this is not and make sure you do this, make sure you do that. There's so much emotional energy going out there and I honestly believe if we took one half of our emotional energy that we are pouring in to what happens on Tuesday. And we're instead to take that and say, what are you calling me to do? What are you calling me to do on Wednesday? Because honestly, Wednesday is more important than Tuesday. What are you going to do Wednesday? How are you going to live your life Wednesday? Regardless of what happens on Tuesday with that. Let me give you some examples here. Now we're going from your areas of lesser influence where you have one vote among millions. Now I'm talking about areas where you have greatest influence. Where your life vote can have impact. I mean, we have just so many issues that pop in my mind here. Have you thought about adoption or foster care? Have it a part of being part of a world crisis, whether it's unborn, unwanted children? Have you talked about how you might know a single parent on your street? It's your sons or daughters, you know, friend and class. Do you know some? Do you rub shoulders of a son? There's a justice issue at stake. There's a mercy issue at stake. Have you thought about widows that you might know or about the aware of your neighborhood, your streets, place you work? Have you thought about senior citizens in the area? Does it also or need? Have you thought about kids, the only kid at school who feels outcast, who feels disconnected? Have you thought about other injustices around you? I just shared one kid with a kid who kind of beat up and lost his bike. I bet if you think, I bet if you start looking, you will see injustice all over the place. Are we standing up or refiding those? You can think of many others. Let me give you a few examples of some people that took this seriously next slide. And they love it, which I don't know much about here, except that she was just a runner in the city of Philadelphia. How many of you have heard of her? Kind of just an average, you know, Jane type person here, but she was running, she would get up and run early in the morning through Philadelphia, and she kept seeing all these homeless people going by. And she kept thinking, man, that's really terrible, man. Somebody ought to do something about that. Then one day, what, she thought, maybe I could do something about that. She's holding an organization called Back on Your Feet, where she goes and she finds donations, and she does this full time now, where she will give homeless people brand new pair of running shoes and invite them to be a part of this running club. But now has, by the way, 300 people running every morning. Now she's invited lawyers and doctors to come and be a part of it. 50 of them are completely homeless, completely off the streets, but now they own a pair of shoes, and they run in the morning. And they're getting an idea, they're getting confidence in themselves, what they can do, and they're completing marathons and understanding that man. There's hope. Somebody believes in me. Somebody wants to encourage me. Somebody thinks I could be something more than making an impact. Just one lady, who ran in the morning? Look at this next one, Russell Jackson. Russell Jackson, well, he used to be a firefighter. He's a firefighter in a rural Alabama, and he started an organization called Kid One. Some of you may have heard about it. But what he saw was a need that there's so many kids in these rural areas that cannot get to doctor's appointments. They need to go to doctor's appointments, but there's no way to get them a ride. Gosh, what a simple concept. What a simple idea. Now those 16,000 kids from over 30 counties get rides, they'll be on time to be able to go to doctor's appointments and get the care they need. Look at this next person. Kaley, I'm not quite sure out of pronounce that. Rad Ziminski, but kids she's 16 years old, and she started an organization called Tunes for the Troops, where she collects and finds CDs, DVDs, and helps send them over to our troops who are serving. And so far she's already sent 200,000. Her goal is 500,000. To care about people who are putting their lives in the line for her. Look at Marilyn Mock. Nobody knew this woman right until this week. Somebody here knows what she did. What did she do this week? Come on, some eyes read the news this week. She went to go buy a home for her son, Jack, who? What did she do? There was a lady, look, I have her name down here, Tracy Orr. If you want to ask somebody who thinks that one life could make a difference, ask Tracy Orr. Tracy Orr's house was up for foreclosure. It was me taking away from her. And here you have Marilyn Mock, who went to actually help her son buy a home. And the process, here's this woman, talks to her a little bit, finds out about her story. She buys the foreclosed house. Tracy thinks her house is gone. Turns around and says, I want to give this back to you. $30,000. Because I really think this could help you out. That's why it's on the news this week. These are the kind of votes that are more impactful than even the votes you're going to cast on Tuesday. I firmly believe that. And by the way, you need a vote on Tuesday. Don't hear me saying that you shouldn't. These are real people. And I want to ask you, what about you? More important than the vote you cast on Tuesday, what is the vote you're going to cast on Wednesday? Thursday. Friday. In the weeks and the months and the years ahead, what is your life going to count for? Is it serving the king as a bringing the kingdom? My hope and prayers that it is. So pray with me. Follow me. Just ask right now that you went by your grace and mercy. Help us to respond. In obedience to your Holy Spirit, it is a very important time in the life of our country. But it's probably important for reasons that we don't realize and don't acknowledge as much. And probably not as important for the ones that we do. Because God, we are so prone to get distracted from where so much real life and heart change happens on the individual level with our lives touching others. And we touch so many other lives, whether people in our family or neighbors or friends or classmates, co-workers. We have votes to cast with our lives that can make a huge impact on those around us. God, will you reveal that to us? Will you show that to us? Will you come set us free to do that? And as we come to your table here in a moment, as we come to come and partake of what Christ has done for us, God will remind us that our motivations can be from a God who is just and merciful. Whose justice was poured out on Jesus and His mercy was given to all through Jesus. God, as we walk calmly with you, will you give us hearts of justice and mercy? Will you lead us in that? Will you come and transform our hearts? And therefore this church. And therefore this community. God, therefore this country. And therefore this planet. So God will be asked that you would come and work and do that. Let me pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.