Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]: Hope you guys been having a great week. And, you know, last week, actually, somebody had approached me and talked to me about the the whole Halloween thing, and they had some concerns. And I really appreciated, the concerns they had. You know, just the fact is that are we celebrating Halloween? And to be honest, this is an outreach for us because, when the scripture says have no participation in the deeds of darkness, we really take that to heart. And so it's not that we're endorsing all the way that culture kind of interprets this, and that sometimes there really are dark days, dark things that happen at that time, but what better time than to show the light of Jesus in our communities? And so that we want there to be an alternative for people to understand that this is not a day we celebrate darkness. This is a celebrate we shine our light. And so if you want to make a difference, you want to reach out to families, you want to reach out to kids who are out there, it's a great opportunity to do that. And there's a number of lighthouses that we're doing around there, and really, it's one of the best. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:04]: It's one of the great ways to serve. And so, we're gonna be doing that in a couple weeks. But, you know, last week, I know when we talked about, just really inviting God's presence into your home, right, really saying that we wanted to make our house a house of prayer wherever it is that you live. I hope that was something that you guys got to engage in and do that for my own family. You know, we got to do that on a Sunday just because that's when everybody was home, and you know, my wife was still in Japan at the time, and so we FaceTimed her, and, you know, together, you know, we opened the front door, we gathered hands, and we were able to say our house, we're gonna serve the Lord, right, and we're gonna invite His presence. But I know that sometimes we talked about some sensitive things, and this evening we're going to actually continue, not talking about sensitive things per se, but we're going to be talking about something that can be sensitive, and that's just the election and voting and doing that from a God honoring perspective. So I'm just gonna call this impromptu series the I'm Stepping on Your Toals kind of series. No, I'm just kidding. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:15]: But, you know, for some people, that's what they think. But I think just with all the things that are going on, we want to be able to see God's perspective. And the scriptures say that, really, this is something that it's, I think, a privilege and a responsibility. And you know, in Joshua, this is what Joshua said. He says, But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your ancestors serve beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But he says this, but it's for me and my household. We will serve the Lord. Right? And there's always an ability to choose one thing or another. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:03]: To choose one influence or another, to move one way or another. And Joshua, as the leader of God's people, puts before them that you guys have to make a choice. And this call to choose God and His way over all the other ways and to whatever other way, in some ways, is in resonance with the English word that we have to vote. The English word to vote comes from the Latin root, votum, which was actually meant a promise to God. And so, that there's this aspect that when voting was done, it was a sacred thing, right? There was something that we made a promise to God that we wanted to follow His way. But there's a problem, today that the top pollster, especially in Christian circles, this guy named George Barna, said that through his research, he's noticed a great lack of voter enthusiasm when it comes to this election. And he reports this. He says that a 104,000,000 people of faith, 85,000,000 of which are self identified Christians indicate that they may not vote this election cycle, and that maybe 32,000,000 regular church attending believers say they probably will not vote in this election. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:28]: And when asked, What's the reason why? 68 percent said that they're just not really interested in politics. You know, it's kinda, maybe it's unappealing. It seems, you know, kind of dirty in the whole thing, and they don't like that whole process. 57% of them say they dislike both presidential candidates. Now I understand that the fact that both candidates, you know, they present some problems. Right? There's nobody here who looks like, you know, like I'm sitting standing in the white suit with the white hat and the other person in the black suit and the black hat. Right? And, and, you know, maybe over the last few years, we've seen some more than others, and and you might identify with some of these things. But regardless if you do, whether you say, hey, you know, I I just really don't I don't know who I can vote for either of them, but you find yourself in this situation, or maybe the fact is that how do we vote in this confusing array that what best honors God, what best honors Christ? And so I used to say these words like, go ahead and vote your values, right. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:42]: But you know, over the years, what I've found is that it's not so much us voting our values, but that God wants us to vote His values. God wants us to vote kingdom values. And so it is a privilege to be able to vote in this country. And if you ever talk to anybody who immigrated to the United States, especially those who come from oppressive regimes and come from places like communism, that they say it is like one of the greatest privileges to vote in this country. Because in China or North Korea, guess what? There's no elections, right? In places like Russia, there is an election and maybe a number of little other countries that are around there, but it doesn't matter who's on the ballot because the guys who's in power, no matter what, he's gonna win by a landslide. You know what I mean? And so there's this thing where, actually, your vote does matter. Your vote does matter. And so here, voting is not just a privilege, it's a responsibility. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:41]: You know what, 85,000,000 self identified Christians who may not vote, that's a lot of people not voting, right? And can we really let the world decide for us what kind of leaders we'll have? Can we really allow those who believe everything antithetical to what we have found in our connection and our relationship with God? Do we really want to just give them the reins without us having a say so? I think as the old saying goes, All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. If you're like me, this week you got in your mail, you got your ballot, right. And from the moment you got it, you can fill it out and turn it in. It is, in Hawaii, it is one of the easiest things you can do. You don't even have to go to the polling place, although you can go to, you know, the satellite city hall, right? You can go and drop there in person, but it's the issue is not that it's difficult. I think sometimes it's difficult to discern. And so this evening, what I want to talk about is just basically a couple of things that where we can approach this election with a spirit of wisdom. Because when we see this rising darkness that we talked about last week, and that we saw that it's not just the world that is responsible, but that we need to understand that not only do we not shine our light sometimes, and that's why there is rising darkness, we don't make our voice heard. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:23]: And so we need to make our voice heard in heaven first, but after praying, we said that before we pray, there's nothing more we can do, more important we can do than to pray. But after having prayed, there are many other things that you can do. And frankly, to vote is one of those things. And Jesus said this. He said in Matthew 10 16, He says, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. And that call is the call to have wisdom in the midst of making these decisions. And so I wanna give us 2 main points, to look at 2 main things, about this, that when we understand what we're gonna do and how we can vote with wisdom. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:10]: And one of those, the first point is this that, if we don't know what government is supposed to look like, then it's hard to know which vote to make, right? Which is the thing that pleases God. And so, we need to understand that God has a design for government because government is not simply man made though there may be man made forms of government, but the fact that there is a government wasn't decided by men. It was decided by God. And so we're gonna take a look at that this evening, and beginning in Romans chapter 13, can we look at this? And I'm gonna ask us to read together a few things. This is what the first one is starting in verse 1. Can we start out just reading that verse together? Ready? Let's read. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. Who established it? God. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:10]: God established it. The authorities that exist have been established by God, right. And so the one who's established is the one who's created government is really God, right? That it doesn't mean every government is a good government. No, I don't think so. I think there are evil regimes. I think there are evil governments, but that God has established government, there is a role for that. The authorities that exist, he says, have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:54]: For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Right? I remember, and maybe some of you identify with this, that in a previous season in my life, I might be driving down the road or hanging out with my friends in the parking lot late at night, and then you see a car roll in slowly into the parking lot, and then you see the blue light turn on, and then what does everybody do? Oh my gosh. Right at that moment, right? Now, why is that? Because we were not supposed to do in the parking lot, right? And so, when I became a believer and I put away a lot of those old ways, you know, sometimes I would see the cop and I would see the cop behind me in my thing. If you're speeding, what do you do? Oh my goodness. You let your foot off the gas. Maybe you tap your brake a little bit, right? But if you are just kind of driving right in that zone, it doesn't matter. You see the police officer, and it's like, Hey, morning police officer. Right? Morning officer. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:02]: And so the thing is he's saying that there is this aspect that government restrains rebellion. Right? Government is to restrain evil. Government is to restrain wrongdoing. And it says this, For rulers hold no terror for those who do right but to those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of authority? Then what? Do what is right, and you will be commended, he says. For the one in authority is God's servant. Let's say God's servant. Right? A government is meant to serve God for your good, it says. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:41]: So, but if you do wrong, be afraid. For rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. So understanding God's role for government, I think there's 2 kind of sub points in this. The first is understanding this, that God established government to promote a just society by restraining evil and ensuring security. Like, one of the big things that when we read this passage that it talks about the purpose for government is to restrain evil, right, and to ensure security because, you know, to be honest, if we don't have a just society, if we don't restrain evil, what do we find happening? Evil multiplies, right? During the pandemic, when there were this, when there was this riots that were happening. And how many of you guys were frustrated to say, why in the world do we let them burn down buildings and overturn the streets and and deface people's property, and beat people up on the street, and do nothing, right? And there was this movement called Defund the Police. And today, what we're seeing is a lot of these cities that went in that direction starting to reverse course. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:07]: Why? Because all you did was invite in escalating crime, right? And to be honest, sometimes what we find is that government that lies about stuff, right, because they said that crime wasn't going down, and then this week, they released the report that said, oh no no. Actually, it is going up, right, because they didn't account. They didn't add in certain things in the original report. And so what we find is that part of the role God says is to restrain evil. Why is that? Part of it is it's easier to do bad than it is to do good at times. Right? That it's easier to just, kind of, do what you want instead of, sometimes, to do what is right. And the fact is that a just society allows there to be other things that can happen, and we'll talk about that in a second. But it says it like this in verse 4 of this passage is that, Rulers do not bear the sword for nothing. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:08]: Would you do me a favor? Would you circle that thing, Rulers do not bear the sword for nothing? What is it talking about when it says that rulers or government doesn't bear the sword for nothing? That it talks about that, yes, there is a coercive power, right. It is a weapon of violence. And so that government has that ability. Why do you need that? 1, to restrain evil, but the second is to provide a secure, a secure country, a secure community, right, a safe place. And so sometimes, we talk about national security and sometimes, we talk about having safe communities in which to live, right, and in a place that where there's justice. This is a large part of why God created government because men without any governing do not just always do right, right. We need some accountability. James Madison said, If men were angels, we would have no need for government. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:14]: But the last I look, we're not angels, right? We're a little far from it. And that we all have that propensity, right, that it's much easier at times to do something off track than to do something that's great. And so people are created in the image of God, and it doesn't matter whether you're male or female. It doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter your religion. This is not a religious thing, right. This is a thing about people and living in human communities. Yet, at the same time, there's more that I think that that government ought to be doing. It says this in 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 to 4. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:59]: It says this. Let me read this. It says, I urge then, first of all, that petitions and prayers and intercession and thanks giving be made for all people. We've read this often in a prayer meeting, in a prayer gathering. For kings and those in authority that, what? Let's read from here. Ready? Begin. We may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. In other words, that you can live the life you were designed to live, right? That we want security. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:33]: We want there to be justice, and that we want to pray for our leaders. Why? Because so that we can live in a society that is at peace, that we can have quiet in our lives, that we can do it in godliness and holiness. And he says this, This is good. Let's say it's good. And pleases God our Savior who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. And so what is that talking about? It's really talking about that government, when it is just, when it restrains evil, when it promotes security, it then promotes human flourishing, right, and Kingdom and the Kingdom of God. You know, this, this morning, we had a board meeting for the Esher project and, you know, our ministry that we have overseas. And unfortunately, you know, the environment in which this ministry operates, there is not the restraint of evil. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:34]: There is not security. And, you know, as a result, human flourishing is very difficult. There's a lot of fear. There's a lot of scarcity. There's, there's a lot of inability to walk freely down the street, without having some concern about being picked up by the government or being accused of some kind of a thing. It's it's a difficult situation. And so we see sometimes governments fail, right, but the role of government that God has set up is to promote human flourishing and the kingdom. Now the reason why I say this is because this is the basic aspects that God created the, government. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:23]: Now, but today, we want something. Sometimes, we want government to do everything that God never designed it to do. There are things sometimes that are promoted out there. Universal basic income, and that everybody ought to be taken care of, and the government ought to, to to kinda pay for my student loan or whatever the case. Right? But or that government ought to provide everything. But to be honest, the scripture says God's our provider, right, not government. Government's not our provider. Government ought to do security. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:59]: Government ought to provide justice, right, but we ought to be able to live in a society that we understand, right? Otherwise, we try to make government do things it's not designed to do, right? Government wasn't designed to, to be honest, it wasn't designed to to give to the poor. You you know who's that supposed to be? The people are supposed to do that. The people are supposed to be. Today, you know what we had? We had food pantry today right in this room. And I don't know how many families we serve today because I was upstairs when we were doing, some of that downstairs, but but we gave this. Why is that? Because we need the government to this? No. Because we say, we'll take it upon ourselves. You know, in the, in the Old Testament, there was a, a scripture that talked about that when you if you were to farm a track of land and you were to harvest it, it says, when you harvest, it says, don't just be so efficient that there is absolutely nothing left in the field. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:09]: He says, go ahead, harvest, but leave behind the corners, the places that are a little difficult, that just let it go, and then the poor can come in. This is in Leviticus 23. The poor can come in and glean. Let's say the word, 'glean'. You know what it means? Glean? Glean doesn't mean clean, right. Glean means to go and work and walk through the fields and pick their own, Right? And so they can provide for themselves. So there is opportunity, not equality of income, of outcome, but opportunity for provision. Right? And then even in that moment, that those who were, that they ought to participate in some sense for their own need. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:54]: Right? So we see these things. Now, does it mean that we cannot do those things? No. We can. Governments can choose to do those things, but that's not God's design, right? God's design was that that we ought to have governments that are just, provide security, that you know, we can, you know, provide for human flourishing, create this environment. Right? Now, and when we did these things, it's like there were no such thing as Christian governments because the gospel, either like in the Old Testament hadn't even happened yet, but even in Israel, yes, there there still needed to be, you know, although it was a theocracy, basically, it was like under God's leadership. But in the New Testament, we had, like, wicked emperors and kings in which that flourished still, but looking for a sense of justice, security, and human flourishing. Now some people will say this though, when we talk about this aspect of, you know, what is God's design for government? Anybody ever tell you this that maybe you hear this thing? It's like, Hey, don't try impose your morality on me, right? You guys, you Christians and talking about all these things, But the reality is this, that morality is always legislated, right? That any kind of a law thing that we do is we're legislating some sense more morality, right? That when we think about the unborn and that discussion about that, I had mentioned last week, right? Or, that to be honest, that whatever view you hold, whether you are, say, pro life or you're pro abortion, you're pro choice, the reality is everybody's approaching it from a moral standpoint, right? Both sides of the argument. One is saying that a woman ought to be able to control what happens to her body, right? And I agree, all things being equal. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:55]: All things being equal. But what is the side of the pro life? It's saying this, that the life of the innocent unborn is worth preserving. And so, if you actually look at it, I think what we're saying is, of course, all things being equal, a woman should be able to make the choices of her own body except when you gotta kill somebody to do that. Right? Like, that's what they're saying. But these are both moral arguments, right? And so, everything that is legislated is basically saying, One thing ought to be done and one thing ought not to be done. It's even speeding, right? Why is there speeding? Because we're saying, especially where do you see, Slow down school what? Zone. What are we saying? The lies of children. This is the moral argument. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:50]: You have to slow down because why? The lives of children, and later on, even for those of us who are not children, there's an upper limit on the freeway. You cannot drive 100 miles an hour. I mean, you have a physical ability, some of us, but we're not supposed to. Why is that? Because we're saying life is precious. These are moral arguments. And so everything that when we legislate, it's it's actually, there, it's based on a moral argument. It's a legislation of some kind of morality. So when someone says, don't try to impose your morality on me, or somebody tells you, don't, who are you to impose your morality on me? What are what are you should we say, why is that wrong? Because often, what are they doing? They're trying to impose their morality on us. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:42]: Right? When it comes to should should boys or men play in girls' or women's sports. Right? Whether children's the decision for children's well-being is best left to the parents or to the school or the government. These are moral arguments, right? And so, legislated, it always, that morality is always legislated. And the only issue will be, whose morality? Whose morality? Because we're not legislating religion. Right? We're not pushing religion down at anybody's throat because religion is more about your relationship with God, but the moral things that are legislated about how we live with other people. That becomes the issue. Because nobody's telling somebody, you gotta go to church on Sunday, and you gotta go to this church. Right? That would be legislating religion. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:43]: Right? But legislating morality is how we live together in a community. And so that is what is there. Now, why don't we this is why it's important for believers to participate in this whole aspect. Now, politics, I understand. Sometimes people say, Politics is a dirty word. You guys ever heard that? Right? We say, Politics is a dirty word. But the thing is that if we don't get involved and we let the world set the agenda, I don't project that things will get better, things will continue to get worse. Right? Whether we whether we we mutilate children's bodies or not, we ought to legislate those kinds of things. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:30]: Right? We ought to legislate about that that marriage, I think, is probably one of the healthiest ways to perpetuate a society, right? That between a man and a woman and having a nuclear family. Are there other forms of family? Yes, there are. But I don't think that's the healthiest model, right? And so we're not saying that people cannot make theirs any other way. People will be able to live how they choose. Everybody does already. To be honest, when you look at someone and they talk about, like, you're taking away my choice, basically, you do whatever you wanna do. Right? But what we ought to say is that we're trying to make, decisions and and create an environment in which humans can flourish. There can be justice. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:16]: There can be security as well as, what does it say in that aspect, that it's fit so that the kingdom of God can take place. Now some people say, Hey, you know, churches should just preach the gospel and stay out of politics. And to be honest, I don't love talking about this so much. I'll just be honest. I don't love that, right? Because some people that we strongly hold, like, some political view. And I'll be honest, I have my own political view, right? And so if you want to have that discussion about a political view, we can always have that, but I'm not gonna have that from up here because that's not that role, right? To be honest, when it comes to that, I would say this, who cares what I think about that? In this role, we ought to look at what God cares about. And so, I think there's this aspect that when people say churches shouldn't, you know, get involved in politics, they should just preach the gospel, that, you know, the reality is that there's a sense of if and if Christians say this, it's an ignorant view because I think that what they were saying is, don't you realize that the gospel moves forward not in a vacuum, but in some kind of environment, right? Did you know that right now, as far as I know, there's no, New Hope, North Korea right now, right? Yeah, it's like, that don't exist, right? There's no, spire, in Saudi Arabia. You know why? Because those things are prohibited. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:58]: They're against the law in those places, right? So political environments make a difference for the furtherance of the gospel and for human flourishing, right, what is what we see. So politics in free societies like ours means this, it means that we have an ability to govern ourselves. So if Christians fail to get involved in politics, what are we saying? That only atheists and progressives and people who believe the exact opposite of what you and I believe, that they ought to set the standards? No, right? That we ought to talk about and promote and try to influence culture so that it is just, it's secure, it provides for human flourishing, and that it provides an environment in which the kingdom of God can be established. Does that mean that we, you know, we always just, we get our religious way? No. But if you look at what Christians have done throughout history, is that it's been involved in the abolition of temple prostitution. It's been involved that Christians, when they got involved, it, put to end infanticide. Before, in many societies, including the Greeks, including the Romans, that if you didn't like a baby, right, you didn't want the baby, you could just put the baby outside and let it die. Christians got involved. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:41]: It made infanticide, it it put an end to it. Gladiator games, that death sport, right? That that, killing people for fun, right? That for the entertainment value was was put to rest. The ending of child prostitution, the ending of slavery, abolition, these were at the hands because Christians said that what is happening is not right. And so we got involved. The ending of wives being property is, is the result of Christians getting involved. And so we need to be involved, right? We need to be people who do not retreat from it but because it is a privilege, but yet there's a responsibility to that. And what is that responsibility? I think part of that responsibility is to choose what God loves and reject what God hates, to choose what God loves and reject what God hates. Can we read what Romans 12:9 says? This is what it says. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:48]: Ready? Let's read. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. Right? And so, we ought to be a people that we reject evil. Right? That, to be honest, that we hate what God hates and we love what God loves. And so the scripture says in Proverbs, there are 6 things the Lord hates. No, 7 things He must have forgot. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:13]: And they say, oh yeah. No. But then, he goes what? Haughty eyes, a lying tongue. Oh my goodness. I guess God hates politicians. Right. No, you know, but, the thing is that you know, I think both of our presidential candidates have problems, right. I think it's fair to say. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:32]: For me, to be honest, I wish one could kind of keep his mouth shut sometimes, and maybe be a little less narcissistic. And 1, I think somebody said this, that, they're trying to distance themselves from themselves. In other words, everything that they used to say, everything they used to promote, now they say, No no no no. I don't do that. I'm the opposite, right? And, we have some difficulty, by just looking at what people say. And so what should we do when we come to this, right? If we're gonna choose what God loves and at the same time, we're gonna reject what God rejects, we're gonna do what God what God hates. And when we're talking about that, we're not talking about individuals, but we're talking about sometimes, the action, right? Like the old saying, right? That we reject the sin, but we love the sinner, right? That we're talking about that aspect. And to be honest, I think it's even beyond that because it ought not to be about a person or a personality as much as what will happen because you only get 2 choices when it comes to president. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:44]: Right? We only have 2 choices when it comes to senators. We only have 2 choices when it comes to to a representative. Right? Or maybe, sometimes, you got another party in there, but maybe 2 or 3 choices. And the thing is that, it's not just that person, but it's the agenda that they will bring is really gonna become the issue because I think we ought never to promote evil, but we ought to promote the most good, right? So what is it? Do we just minimize evil or do the most good? Well, we could do both. I think we can do both. And so, in terms of the platform, you know, when we look at this aspect, I think that sometimes we got to look at what's foundational in their beliefs. What is their party platform? What is it that they have said, This is our mission. In their closed doors, this is what we are about. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:43]: This is what we want to do. Because in Psalm 11:3, it says this. Can we read what it says? This is what it says. Ready? Let's read. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? If it became illegal to I mean, I was concerned about this when they legalized, let's say, gay marriage because, you know, one of the things I said, and I said it on this platform, is that if I was threatened with jail because if I didn't do a wedding that I didn't feel I could do, I would go to jail for that because I'm not gonna be compelled to do something, right? And we see this aspect, compelling people to do things that they don't believe to be right, right, that they have a moral standing. It would be like forcing a physician to do an abortion when he thought it was wrong. It would be the same as having the baker, who is a believer, to do something that celebrates a union that he feels like I cannot do, right? But would we make, would we make a Jewish, baker make a Nazi cake for the new No, we wouldn't do that. Or would we force someone who, is Muslim to then, make a cake with pork on the whole thing and it's a picture of Allah? No, we wouldn't do that, right? And so here's what happens though. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:23]: To be honest, when we look at situations, we have to look at what is foundational for them. Because if you look at the platforms, if you look at what they have said, and sometimes what they say behind closed doors, right, sometimes it becomes very obvious. 1 party, when in their in their convention, when they pled they said the pledge of allegiance, it says, 1 nation. Silence. It's not a mistake. When you come to the convention and you can get an abortion in the parking lot, think they're telling you what they're about. Is it all filled with everybody who's bad or you will know? But this is the machine that they're gonna have to function on. Because if we allow them to take away the foundations, you know what, then you're you're kind of stuck. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:37]: Right? If we enshrine lawlessness, we kind of stop. And so I think that we are created in God's image, but we're responsible for our actions and our choices. I don't think we ought to treat people who have been victimized historically one way and then solve past injustices with current injustices. We don't solve old racism with new racism. You know, I I I just don't I think these things are antithetical. I think these are against our foundation. And so today, I think that when we look at what people are promoting, look at what's beyond. And sometimes you have to do a little digging, and I wouldn't say I'm not the best person for that, but one of the things is that, to be honest, it's not what people say, but you gotta look at what they've done. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:44]: Right? Jesus said it like this. He said, beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way, what, they act, right. And so, you know, like, some people say, it's like, well, I don't wanna be so don't be so judgmental about people or politicians or whatever it is. And so you're not called to judge whether somebody is going to heaven or hell. I don't believe that's what we're called to do. That's God's job. God is the one who judges that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:19]: But what are we called to be? Fruit inspectors. Right? We're called to be fruit inspectors because he says, can you pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit and a bad tree can't produce good fruit, so every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Because the best indicator for future behavior is what? Past behavior. Right? You know, if I've been, you know, a smoker my whole life, I smoke 3 packs a day, Guess what is likely I'm going to do tomorrow? It's likely that I'm going to smoke, right? If I'm a speeder and I'm going like I never care, like guess what? When I get in my car, how am I gonna drive probably is how I've been before, right? Past behavior is the best indicator that we have. It's not always, but it's the best indicator for future behavior unless we have an explanation on why they changed. And so often, many of us that are like me, it's like, before I gave my life to Jesus, I used to do this. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:56]: But you know what? I changed, right? And there's a reason. When I've talked to my kids about my own past, I don't tell them this, Like, Dad is not saying these things that you ought to steer clear of because I judge the people who do them. I know from experience that this is not the right way to go. Right? And sometimes, I just, I don't need to experience certain things. I can just take the word of God for it. Right? And so, it is this aspect I can tell them, there's a reason why I changed. Because when I gave my life to Jesus, man, he turned my life around. Right? And so when people give a reason, then it's then it's often easier to understand. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:49]: And so people will say, what about character? What about I don't like this person's style. You know, it's the what's the most important thing when we vote? It's not somebody's style or not somebody's character. Although, all things being equal, I want the guy with the best character if they have the same skill level. Right? Character matters. But let me ask you this, if you needed heart surgery tomorrow and there's a brother who's a believer who got, you know, barely got through medical school, barely, barely passed this aspect of getting surgery on heart, or the guy who's kind of a pompous guy, but he's done. He's a cardiothoracic surgeon and he's recommended by everybody. How many of you guys just want the first guy? If I'm getting on a plane when I came home from Japan, you know what? I hope that person I don't know if that person is a great person or, you know, they cheat on their wife or whatever, like, they lie. I I don't know any of that, but I sure hope they know how to fly the plane. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:05]: Right? Because sometimes skill matters. And when it comes to leading, leading matters. Now, of course, all things being equal, if we had an equal skill level, well, I want the person with the rest of the character. Right? But I think for many of us, you know, when you choose, when you look at the things that you choose in your life, you want somebody who can do it. Right? So what if who you vote for doesn't win? Right? What if you vote and it's like, well, the other person won, or the other party won, or whatever it is. Then you know what? The thing is, you did your part. Don't despair, right? God is still on the throne. But what it doesn't excuse me is to say, so I don't participate in the process. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:56]: I don't make my voice heard. I don't stand in this process of being involved. Because if everybody there's this thing called, if you wanna check whether this is something you should do or not do, there's this principle. One of the ways you can kind of look at this, this is when moral ethicists talk about it, is what would happen if everybody did that? Right? So you universalize this prospect. So if everybody who's a believer like me decided, like, nah, I don't need vote because my vote, you know, if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Then what would happen? Then evil would triumph all the time, right? And this is kind of one of those things. And so, don't despair. God is still on the throne and it's more important that who's in the throne room than who's in the White House, right? But that we have a privilege and we have a responsibility because what is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people like you and for me to do nothing, especially when all you gotta do is write this thing on and send it in the mail. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:07]: Amen. Is this helpful? And you know, one of those things that you can do is, there's on your notes, there's a website that kind of has this thing. You can look at their platforms and what they've said and what the party promotes when it comes to the presidential thing. Okay. Yeah. You can take a look at that. We don't have anything that had we don't have any hard copies, but I think that this is one of those things is that the church, we ought to promote these things, and I just I just confess that there's a part of me that I kinda I don't really love to be involved in this. I don't wanna tell people who you should vote for or whatever. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:49]: Vote. Yes, I do want you to vote your conscience, but more important than voting your conscience is vote in a way that best aligns with God's kingdom because at the end, I never wanna get to heaven and said this, I know I promoted this thing and great evil occurred because I I didn't know I was doing that. You know what I mean? And so, let's do our best to vote God's kingdom values, not just what's easy, not just what's what lies in my pocketbook, but that we make a choice the best that we can in faith. Amen? Let us bow our heads. We're gonna close in a word of prayer. Father, we come before you and we know in this season, in the next couple weeks, there's gonna be votes happening. And in the next couple weeks, we might get bombarded by in the news and maybe in our our emails or texts, or some of you who are in social media, Lord, we're gonna be bombarded by all the things that are happening in this election cycle. And Father, what we're asking is for wisdom because it's not about what my parents did. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:10]: It's not about if that person has the same ethnic background as me, but Lord, it's help us have an insight and wisdom so we can vote for those who will promote justice and the restraint of evil. And, father, even if things are happening on an incremental level, but that there is this movement to the restraint of evil and security in our nation, security in our world, and that would promote human flourishing in an environment in which the kingdom can be expanded. Father, we know we're not voting for pastors, but we do understand character matters, but also help us to see that skill does too. And it's not just that one person, but it's gonna be all the people who will come along after them and execute their vision. And so, father, help us to understand the platforms on which they run, and, father, give us the wisdom. Have mercy on our nation. Lord, would you bring about a revival? We know we cannot legislate anybody's faith, and we don't try to, but give us a boldness to preach the gospel so that everybody can respond, Lord, that everybody has an opportunity, Father, that that people's hearts can be conditioned and understand that there is right and there is wrong, but so that we might be able to to make the U turns that are so necessary in our life to embrace You, to experience Your grace, and to experience Your mercy. So bless my brothers. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:05]: Bless my sisters. Lord, bless our our decision making and our research making and and the things that we do because we wanna honor you in all the decisions we make. Amen. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Amen? Amen. Hey, God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us.