1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,000 My name is Greg Hampton. If we had never met before, I would love to meet you. I'd love to buy you a coffee, take you out, hear your story, learn more about you. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:24,000 The last few weeks we have been in a series called Fully. Jesus told his disciples that the enemy wants to steal and kill and destroy, but he gives life to the full. 3 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:36,000 It may not always feel like it, but we can be full to overflowing, joyfully, generous, faithfully, trusting God, prayerfully shaped. 4 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Today, we can be full of truth. Now, I'm not sure what your online habits are like, but the latest data actually from this last month, 5 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:58,000 the latest data show that teenagers average about 2 hours and 45 minutes every day on social media. Is anyone surprised that that's not higher? 6 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:06,000 I think a lot of us probably thought that that would average out to be higher, maybe because some of us spend more than that on social media each day. 7 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Adults aren't doing that much less. Their time on social media goes from, if you're 25 to 34, you spend around 2 hours and 40 minutes, just 5 minutes less than teenagers. 8 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:30,000 35 to 44 year olds are 2 hours and 19 minutes. 45 to 54 year olds is 2 hours and 1 minute. Now, there is a disparity between male and female, but I've just averaged those together. 9 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:41,000 The biggest drop in online usage is actually 55 to 64. They drop down to an hour 38 every day. 10 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:58,000 The amount of time we spend on social media matters when we're talking about truth and our perceptions of it, maybe even especially as it relates to politics. 11 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:05,000 People worry about whether CNN or Fox is biased. There's a website you can go to called Allsides.com. 12 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:17,000 It tells you left, leaning left, center, leaning right, far right. It'll tell you where a news source falls, whether it's neutral or not. 13 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:33,000 If that's what you're looking for, you can find things that are neutral. But here's the thing. A lot of people don't go directly to a neutral news source to find out what's happening in the world. 14 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:48,000 A lot of us, if not most of us, go to social media where an article has been shared and shared and shared. So you're not looking to find out if it is a neutral source of truth or not. 15 00:02:48,000 --> 00:03:01,000 The reason is because you trust the people that have shared it. I'm here to tell me and us that that's problematic. 16 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:16,000 It's problematic and it's concerning because research shows that up to 33% of the content that you see on the site formerly known as Twitter is created by only 3% of the users. 17 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:28,000 And that 3% is what's called toxic users. 33% of what you might see on Twitter is created by 3% of the users that are considered toxic. 18 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:40,000 Or if you're looking at political content, did you know that 97% of the political content that is created by is created by only 10% of the users? 19 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:57,000 90, basically all of it, 97% is created by only a tenth of all of the users. It means that 90% of a populace on whatever side you're talking about is only represented by 3% of what gets posted. 20 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Did you know that 74% of all fake news is created by 0.1% of online users? 0.1. 21 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:15,000 Say it again. Getting your news on social media is problematic. 22 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Research that I was referencing also says that not only does this extreme minority stir discontent, spread misinformation, and spark outrage online, they also bias the meta perception of most users. 23 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Users being us. 24 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Anyone watch the Yankees and Dodgers this last week? World Series? Cut. 25 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:47,000 Here's an example of a meta perception, the opportunity to develop a meta perception. Anybody watch Game 4? 26 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Anybody see what happened in the bottom of the first? 27 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,000 In the bottom of the first inning, the Yankees were up to bat. 28 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:01,000 The ball got hit into foul territory along the right field line. 29 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:15,000 Mookie Betts runs into foul territory, reaches up with his left hand, catches the ball near the wall, just above the wall, and as he catches it, a Yankee fan grabs his glove, 30 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:24,000 pulls him to the stands, starts trying to pull the ball out of the glove when Mookie Betts reached up with his other hand to try and get the guy to let go. 31 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Another fan reached up, grabbed his hand, would not let him pull himself away from the stands until the first Yankee fan got the ball out of the glove with a giant grin on his face. 32 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:48,000 When the umpire came over and called that it was still an out, the Yankee fan was like, no, what, the ball's over there, it's not an out! 33 00:05:48,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Now, a narrow perception, a micro perception, would be to say that those two Yankee fans, in particular, lack maturity, they lack impulse control, and they do not know how to act in public. 34 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:22,000 A meta perception, when seeing that, if you didn't see that, I'm amazed, because it was shared broadly, because of how ridiculous it was that someone in the stands would grab a professional ball player and not let them go. 35 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:29,000 A meta perception would say that the Yankees have the worst fans in the world because they all act that way. 36 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:34,000 That is what Dodgers think. 37 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:40,000 A meta perception is what leads people to think that all Democrats are like so-and-so. 38 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:46,000 A meta perception is what leads people to think all Republicans are like so-and-so. 39 00:06:46,000 --> 00:07:02,000 The research continues, this can lead to false polarization and pluralistic ignorance, meaning that we are ignorant about the plurality of the world that we live in, that there are a plurality of things happening. 40 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:14,000 It's also linked to a number of problems, including drug and alcohol use, hostility between groups, and support for authoritarian regimes. 41 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:30,000 Moderate opinions are effectively invisible on social media, leaving the most extreme perspectives most visible for users. 42 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,000 I hope you're getting the point here. 43 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:38,000 What you see online, especially politically, is not reality. 44 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,000 It is not the full story. 45 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,000 It is not the full picture. 46 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Christians don't have to be the smartest people in the world. 47 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:59,000 But we should be aiming to be some of the most thoughtful, because we belong to the truth. 48 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:13,000 And so I don't think I've ever done this before, but with the presidential election in two days, I thought that we should talk about how we walk in truth in the current situation that we found ourselves in. 49 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,000 So with that, let's start by opening up our Bibles. 50 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,000 We're going to open to John chapter 18. 51 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,000 John chapter 18, it goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. 52 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,000 If you see any of those, you know you're in the right neighborhood. 53 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,000 There are Bibles on the table if you don't have one. 54 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Those blue books, those are Bibles, and we also have them on the bookshelf out in the lobby. 55 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,000 You're welcome to take one of those, take home if you would like. 56 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:43,000 We have a tradition of giving the scriptures our full attention. 57 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,000 One of the ways that we do that is by standing together as we are able. 58 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,000 If that is something you'd like to do, please stand with me now. 59 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:57,000 John 18, starting in verse 36. 60 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:02,000 Jesus answered, My kingdom does not belong to this world. 61 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:07,000 If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over. 62 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,000 But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. 63 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,000 Pilate asked him, So you are a king? 64 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. 65 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,000 For this I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. 66 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. 67 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,000 Pilate asked him, What is truth? 68 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,000 Let us pray. 69 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,000 God of every tribe, every tongue, every color, every nation, 70 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,000 we thank you for the scriptures that they have persisted throughout the millennia, 71 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 that we still have them to read, to consider. 72 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 Whatever you have for us to learn today, I pray that it would stick, 73 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,000 that it would become part of the framework of our faith, 74 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,000 that our faith would become stronger as we become more like your son, Jesus. 75 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Amen. 76 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:12,000 Alright, so first of all, it must be said and it must be understood. 77 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:19,000 How we think of politics was not the political reality of Jesus' death. 78 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:24,000 The first democracy dates back to 500 years before the birth of Jesus, 79 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:35,000 but Caesar Augustus had eliminated direct elections by the time of Jesus' birth. 80 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 Like, you could probably still elect like your local mayor, 81 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,000 but your governors, your senators, your representatives, 82 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,000 anyone that had power to control a region, 83 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:51,000 all of those people were put into position by Caesar Augustus 84 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:58,000 because he had consolidated all of the power into the position of the emperor. 85 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:03,000 So Pilate, as a governor, as we would think of as a governor of a region, 86 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:08,000 he was in charge of multiple regions, Pilate was appointed. 87 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,000 He was not voted in. 88 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:18,000 His job is to make his emperor happy, not to serve the people. 89 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,000 And the people that handed Jesus over, they were not elected, 90 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:28,000 they were not voted into those positions. 91 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:32,000 When the authors wrote about kingdoms and governments, 92 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:40,000 they were not thinking about representative democracies or democratic republics. 93 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:45,000 And they did not have presidential races in mind. 94 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,000 It is unique. 95 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,000 It's actually a gift, but it is very special and unique 96 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:58,000 that we get to both follow Jesus and play a part in who gets to lead our country. 97 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,000 That is unique. 98 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:06,000 Of course, one thing is probably exactly the same. 99 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,000 Whether it's an empire or a democratic republic, 100 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000 politicians always answer the same way. 101 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,000 What is truth? 102 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Pilate fits very well into the modern day spectrum of how politicians may answer questions. 103 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:31,000 So we ask ourselves, how do we as Christians, as followers of the ways, 104 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:37,000 people that look to Jesus, how do we walk in truth in the political climate 105 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:42,000 that we find ourselves in as those that are both Christian 106 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:48,000 and those that have the privilege of getting to vote? 107 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,000 Well, then a decade ago, a pastor named Brian Zahn 108 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:57,000 wrote a list of ten things for Christians to consider as they vote. 109 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 And we have that. We're going to put it up. 110 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:04,000 We're going to leave this up throughout the rest of the message. 111 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,000 You can keep looking back to it if you want. You can read it. 112 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,000 I'm going to cover four of these. 113 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,000 I'm going to cover four of these. 114 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,000 Some of them I find to be slightly redundant, 115 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:21,000 but I'm going to cover four of these. 116 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,000 And I hope that you find them helpful. 117 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,000 It's pretty easy to find this online. Just type in Brian Zahn, Christian Voter Guide. 118 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,000 You may have already seen it. Shared on social media. 119 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,000 Brian Zahn is the pastor that was leading the prayer retreat I was on in Colorado a few weeks ago. 120 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,000 I've been reading his books for a number of years. 121 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000 The first thing on his list says this. 122 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:54,000 The political process, while necessary, has little to do with how God is saving the world. 123 00:13:54,000 --> 00:14:02,000 Listen, Brian is saying this to refocus the Christian imagination onto God's kingdom 124 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 instead of obsessing on our earthly governments. 125 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,000 What was it that Jesus said? 126 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,000 But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. 127 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,000 See, earthly governments serve a deeply important purpose, 128 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:22,000 but our governments and God's kingdom are not synonymous. 129 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Governments can do a lot that is in line with God's kingdom. 130 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:34,000 But even the most altruistic governments throughout the entire course of history, 131 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:42,000 they do not have at their core the care and concern for the spirit of God's creation. 132 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:51,000 When we expect or attempt to force governments to take the spiritual route of God's creation, 133 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 to take the spiritual role of the church, 134 00:14:54,000 --> 00:15:04,000 history is borne out time and time again that they create as many, if not more, problems than they solve. 135 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:10,000 When the church and the state are married, it creates problems. 136 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:19,000 Now, that does not mean that Christians have no place or should have no opinion about government. 137 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,000 That's not what we're saying. 138 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,000 We're saying the government does not save the world. Amen? 139 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 The government doesn't save the world. 140 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:34,000 Who saves the world? Jesus saves the world. 141 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,000 So it doesn't mean that Christians have no role. 142 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,000 It doesn't mean that they should have no opinions. 143 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:45,000 One of the Bible commentaries that I was reading in preparation for this, in this passage, says this, 144 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Jesus' disassociating the origin of his kingdom from this world should not be taken as implying that the kingdom of Christ has no political concerns, 145 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,000 or that its righteousness is not to be applied in the political arena. 146 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:06,000 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this, specifically about the church. 147 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:14,000 The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, 148 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:20,000 but rather, listen, the conscience of the state. 149 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:32,000 It must be the guide and critic of the state and never its tool. 150 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 The point is for Christians not to be involved at all. 151 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:43,000 The point is for Christians to understand that our involvement in the government is not what saves the world. 152 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:52,000 Even though our involvement in governmental processes can serve some of the purposes that God desires. 153 00:16:52,000 --> 00:17:00,000 The Christian and the church should never elevate the government to the position of God. 154 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:12,000 And the Christian church must never lose its ability to be a voice of reason, even prophetic confrontation. 155 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:20,000 So, the political process may have little to do with how God is saving the world, but let me also say this, listen carefully, 156 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:33,000 in whatever little way it is being used by God, it matters that Christians carry truth in that space. 157 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:43,000 In whatever little way that earthly governments are used, the purposes of God doing work on this earth, 158 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:47,000 it is important that we carry truth into those spaces. 159 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:56,000 Second point that Brian has up there, it says the fate of the kingdom of God does not depend on a political contest. 160 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,000 That should be obvious, right? 161 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 The fate of the kingdom of God does not depend on political processes. 162 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,000 The future of God's kingdom is set. We sang it. We sang it. 163 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:16,000 I believe in the resurrection, I believe that he will come again. I believe that we will rise again. 164 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:22,000 It is Christian doctrine that we believe that God's kingdom has already come and is coming, 165 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,000 and will be made perfect when Jesus returns again and makes all things new. 166 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:37,000 It is throughout the scriptures, it is affirmed in both the Nicene and Apostles' Creed. God's kingdom does not depend on who wins on Tuesday. 167 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:42,000 But let me say this, God's kingdom does not depend on who wins, 168 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:49,000 but the needs of your neighbor may at least partially depend on who gets elected. 169 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:58,000 Why? Because there's things like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, school funding, taxation, police reform, 170 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:05,000 long list of things that affect you and your neighbors. 171 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 So what is the future of God's kingdom? 172 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:20,000 Because there's things like Medicaid, school funding, taxation, police reform, 173 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:26,000 long list of things that affect you and your neighbors. 174 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:37,000 So when we vote, again maybe this is obvious, we should not only think of ourselves. 175 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:48,360 only think of ourselves. Greatest command is this, love the Lord your God with all of 176 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:55,840 your heart, with all of your soul and strength. And the second is like this, to love your 177 00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:06,640 neighbor as yourself. For in these commandments are all of the law and the prophets. We have 178 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:16,320 a pretty self-centered world. I have been guilty I'm sure in the past saying, well vote 179 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:21,560 your values. Today I want you to hear me say pray about your values but also vote for your 180 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:28,400 neighbors that might have completely different values than you. But what happens politically 181 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:38,600 may very well affect their lives. So we should pray about deeply held beliefs and then we 182 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:46,400 should pray about our neighbors needs and then we vote accordingly. Because voting with 183 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:56,840 your neighbors needs in mind is one way to put your prayers into action. Now maybe you 184 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:05,680 think voting won't change anything and maybe you think that just praying about it is enough. 185 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,880 I'll pray and then I'll just pray my value I don't have to pray about my neighbor. Let 186 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:16,880 me once again quote Dr. King. He said, the idea that man expects God to do everything 187 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:24,440 leads inevitably to a callous misuse of prayer. A man said to me, I believe in integration 188 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:29,320 but I know it will not come until God wants it to come. You Negroes should stop protesting 189 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:36,360 and start praying. Dr. King replied, I'm certain we need to pray for God's help and guidance 190 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:42,040 in this integration struggle. We are gravely misled if we think the struggle will be won 191 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:51,280 only by prayer. God who gave us minds for thinking and bodies for working would defeat 192 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:56,840 his own purpose if he permitted us to obtain through prayer what may come through work 193 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:04,840 and intelligence. Prayer is a marvelous and necessary supplement of our feeble efforts 194 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:15,880 but it is a dangerous substitute. James would say, tell me you have faith and I would say 195 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:25,600 let me see your works. Let me see how you are acting on the faith that you have. The 196 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:31,080 fate of the kingdom does not depend on a political contest and the government may have little 197 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:36,120 to do with saving the world but the needs of our neighbors can very well be affected 198 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:46,360 by how we act or do not act even if we have prayed as much as we can. Maybe this is a 199 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:54,480 new idea for you but this time around don't just pray. Don't just pray about yourself 200 00:22:54,480 --> 00:23:04,120 and things that you believe. Pray and vote with your neighbor in mind. The fourth thing 201 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:11,760 that Brian Zahn has on his list says the bottom line for political parties is power. The bottom 202 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:24,080 line for Christians is love. Herein lies the rub he says. This problem, the problem of 203 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:34,480 power, is why I choose as an American citizen to vote for character above promises. I vote 204 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:41,240 for character above promises. What do I mean? Everyone, maybe even especially politicians, 205 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:50,680 are susceptible to power. They are susceptible to power and the abuse of it. Some of us have 206 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:58,040 work environments where we see that every single day. And for me, my personal belief 207 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:04,840 is that character is what tempers one's use of the power they are given. Character is 208 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:11,560 what tempers the use of the power that one is given. Strong character acts like a conduit 209 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:18,960 directing and redirecting power to and for others. Poor character acts like a bottomless 210 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:26,160 battery that can never soak up enough power. It gets as much as it possibly can while using 211 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:36,080 that power to shock their enemies. Politicians can make a thousand promises, but it's their 212 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:44,040 character that will shape how they try to accomplish them. Every politician will have 213 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:51,560 a moment, listen, every politician will have a moment where only their character will stand 214 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:59,240 between doing something ugly or doing something beautiful, even if it is at the expense of 215 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:08,120 their own benefit. Only their character will stand between doing something selfish or doing 216 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:15,040 something selfless. And those moments, their character could affect everyone that they 217 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:29,360 are meant to be serving. Lastly, number eight on Zahn's list contends that to dismember 218 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:39,400 the body of Christ over politics is a grievous sin. Over the years, but especially in the 219 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:47,480 last 50 years, things like abortion and immigration have become very divisive topics, not just 220 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:57,200 politically, but across the church in America. Let me say this as clearly as I can. There 221 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:10,680 are no political parties in America that should check all your boxes. Truth is, both parties 222 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:19,640 have policies and legislation that are not the greatest hope of God's heart. And both 223 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:33,000 parties have policies that honor God's heart. And if we, any of us, are ever in a place 224 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:39,360 where we cannot admit that, then we are not just a member of a political party, we are 225 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:48,620 dangerously close to being in a cult. Because there is no political party that can check 226 00:26:48,620 --> 00:27:02,960 every one of your boxes. That also means that we have to admit as Christians that neither 227 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:09,760 party is completely wrong. And to treat other Christians like they are less than, or like 228 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:14,600 they're not really trying to follow Jesus or they're no true follower of Jesus because 229 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:29,760 of who they voted for, is a mistake. And it's wrong. We are all misguided about something. 230 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:43,320 We are all wrong about something. And we are all still loved by Jesus. I know so much of 231 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:52,000 this world is working to shape our meta perceptions and to divide us. To say, if so and so votes 232 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:58,560 for such and such, they're just like so and so. You can fill in the blanks. And different 233 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:06,000 people in this room will fill in the blanks with different names. We are all created in 234 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:14,120 the image of God. We are all loved and beloved. We are all more alike than the one that steals 235 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:23,320 and kills and destroys what like us to believe. So listen, a lot of people that you know, 236 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:29,660 maybe you, you will wake up on Wednesday and feel a deep sense of loss based on whoever 237 00:28:29,660 --> 00:28:41,160 wins the presidential election. That's okay. Mourn for the moment. Mourn that your deeply 238 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:49,280 held beliefs weren't validated at the voting box. But do not develop a vitriol for the 239 00:28:49,280 --> 00:29:03,040 other side. Do not choose division. We will have to move on from the moment and embrace 240 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:10,360 the love of Jesus for our neighbors, our neighbors that believe differently, that act differently, 241 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:15,720 that vote differently. We asked earlier, what is something that was surprising when you 242 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:23,520 found out it was true? Well, how about this? Let's be part of surprising the world that 243 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:30,100 we really do love our neighbors no matter who wins on Tuesday. Amen. Let's be a part 244 00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:40,400 of surprising the world that we really do love our neighbor no matter who wins. Let's 245 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:53,160 be part of surprising the world that the love of Jesus can so radically transform us no 246 00:29:53,160 --> 00:30:22,640 matter who wins that they know that we love them. Amen. Let's pray. Jesus, it is humbling 247 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:32,680 to think that were you someone that needed to be elected, we... I don't know. Sometimes 248 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:47,160 it feels like the world would not vote you in. But I pray that today, those of us that 249 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:59,200 are in this room that we would so clearly choose you that no matter who gets chosen 250 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:08,680 on Tuesday, that the foundations of the throne in our heart that you sit on would not be 251 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:30,080 moved. We pray for our country. Right now as a church, every single one of us, we direct 252 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:36,120 the attention of our hearts to praying for our country. This country that can feel so 253 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:50,200 divided that we all share the same molecular makeup. We are all made of atoms. We all have 254 00:31:50,200 --> 00:32:00,960 flesh. We all have hearts that beep. We all have brains with electrical signals rushing 255 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:21,600 throughout our bodies. We all breathe the same air. We're not born and we're not meant 256 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:37,320 to live with an R or a D stamped on our hearts. I pray that your spirit would help us surprise 257 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:48,440 the world. That we would be active in all ways we're meant to be active. That we would 258 00:32:48,440 --> 00:33:00,000 trust you and walk with you and hold to you closely in all our ways. In the name of Jesus, 259 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:24,160 amen.