James Merritt - God and the Governor
I just got some bad news for all of us over the next three or four months. Unless you move to the Amazon rainforest or you get into a soundproof bunker, over the next several months you're gonna be reminded again and again and again, there is a presidential election going on. And by the way, just to make sure you don't forget, this year 12 billion, not million, $12 billion will be spent on political ads just to remind you, there's an election going on. You cannot get away from it. So the bad news is there's not just an elephant in the room, there's a donkey in the room and we can't get rid of them. There just won't leave. So I'm gonna begin today a two-part series that I'm calling Political Correctness.
Now, before your blood starts boiling or your blood pressure goes up, I don't mean what you may think that I mean, because let me tell you what most people mean by that term. Here's what they mean. The concept of political correctness is based on the belief that speech or behavior that is offensive to various groups' sensibilities should be eliminated by means of regulations or penalties if necessary. Now that's what they mean. That's not what I mean. I don't agree with that. What they mean is I should never speak up about abortion. I never should speak up about gay marriage. I should never speak up about character in government. I should never speak up about religious liberty or all those kind of things 'cause I might offend somebody. That is not what I am and that's not who we are.
Let me tell you what I mean by political correctness. This is what I mean. It is being biblically correct in how we relate to politics, regardless of our own political preferences, philosophy, or perceptions. Now, there are two things, if you're a believer, you must not be this year, any year. There are two things, if you're a believer, you should never, ever do or be in any election that's ever, ever going on. First of all, we cannot be politically ignorant. Now I'm gonna say something and I can say it because I'm not running for anything. I'm never gonna run for anything. If you nominate me, I'm not running. If you elect me, I'm not serving.
So it doesn't matter. This will never come back to bite me on CNN or Fox News. I am amazed at the ignorance of the average American voter. I'm stunned. I'm just amazed. We owe it to our Lord. We owe it to our country. We owe it to the people who are running. We owe it to ourselves to be informed, to know what are the issues. Who are the candidates? What do they believe? Where do they stand? Who are they? We cannot afford to be politically ignorant, but I'm more concerned about this. We cannot afford to be politically indifferent. I've heard people say all my life, "Well, the church should never, ever get involved in politics".
And by response always to that is, well, now what do you mean by the word involved? 'Cause I may agree, I may disagree. So let me give you an example. If we're gonna speak up about abortion, and I am, and we're gonna speak up about gay marriage, and I am, and we're gonna speak up about the whole gender issue, and I am and we have. And we're gonna speak up about religious liberty or social justice, all of which the Bible talks about. Then the fact of the matter is we're gonna be promoting ideals and ideas in the political arena. So let me make this easy. When the political involves the moral and the ethical, it automatically becomes spiritual.
So if you mean by politics, am I gonna get up here and tell you how to vote or who to vote for? Nope, am I gonna get up here, am I going to endorse one candidate or another? Nope, am I gonna get up here and condemn you if you don't vote the way I vote? Nope. That's getting political. Not gonna do that. We don't do that here. That's not what we're about. On the other hand, just because an issue is political, if it's moral and ethical and therefore spiritual, we will talk about it. But all of that said, we do have a problem in the church. It's in this church. It's in every church. I don't think there's any church doesn't have this problem. And that problem is politics.
I've lived a good, long time, and some of you can relate to this. I have never seen the political atmosphere in our country, so incendiary and so fiery and so divisive and so hateful and so ugly and so mean. I mean, I've watched it divide families. I've watched it destroy friendships. But here's what tears me up. I've watched it dilute the gospel witness of the church and I want you to hear me clearly. I don't care who you vote for, I really don't. That's between you and the Lord. We're gonna talk about this more and more and whoever your candidate or, that's all good. But don't you ever put a party or a candidate above the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't do that. We're about the gospel. I will not put a barrier in front of anybody to the gospel.
Now that said, there are two parts to politics, right? There's what I call the government. I mean our entities, you know, the Congress, the White House, the Senate, whatever, we've got the government. But then there's also the governors. That's the leaders, the people that are in office. Now as followers of Jesus, you and I have been given biblical instructions on how we ought to relate to our government and their leaders, but we're also told how the government and the leaders ought to relate to us. So all of that said, let me set the table. I did a lot of thinking about this and I realize who I'm speaking to.
So let me just so you'll know, I realize in this room we're a very diverse church and I realize in this room we have what you would call dyed in the wool Democrats. And we have run in my blood Republicans. And we've got a growing number of people who say, "Yeah, about either one, I'm independent". So I thought, okay, I'm gonna take a bipartisan approach to this whole issue. I'm gonna be an equal opportunity offender. So I want you to hear me on two things. Number one, God does not ride the back of elephants or donkeys. God does not ride the back of elephants or donkeys. So what we don't do and what we will not do and what I will not allow you to do in our church, we don't make the political personal.
And I don't understand why people do that. You come up to me for example, and you say, "Well, I'm gonna vote for blank". And I say, "Well, I'm gonna vote for blank and I'm not voting for your blankety blank, but you're not gonna vote for my blankety blank". Why do you get mad about it? Why do you get upset? This is America. We're not Ukraine. We're not Vladimir Putin here. It's a free country, vote for who you wanna vote for. I don't have to agree with your vote here. Here's the thing I want you to hear. Listen to me, I don't have to answer for your vote. You don't have to answer for my vote. Why do you get upset about it?
Now, I will tell you this. You will have to answer for your vote. You not got answer for their vote, but I don't have to answer for it. So we don't make the political personal. So here's what I thought I'd do. On the other hand, I wanna tip my cap to both sides. I thought, okay, let me tell two jokes. If you're a Democrat, you're gonna like one joke. If you're Republican, you're gonna like the other joke. So we'll offend everybody. Alright? A Republican and a Democrat were walking down the street and they came to a homeless person.
The Republicans gave him his business card and said, "Hey man, you come to my office, I'll give you a job". Reached into his pocket and gave the man $20. Well the Democrat was so impressed and so moved, when they came to another homeless person, he said, "I'm gonna help that guy". He reached into the Republican's pocket and gave him $50. Now you're a Democrat, you didn't like that. Okay, this is for you Republicans. There was this woman in a hot air balloon. She was lost. So she shouts to a man below, "Excuse me, I promised a friend I would meet him, but I don't know where I am".
Well the man looked up at her and said, "Well ma'am, you're at 31 degrees, 14.57 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude". She said, "You must be a Democrat". He said, "I am, how did you know"? She said, "Because everything you told me is technically correct, but the information is useless and I'm still lost". The man looked back at her and said, "Well, you must be a Republican". She said, "Yes. How did you know"? He said, "Well, you've risen to where you are due to a lot of hot air. You made a promise you couldn't keep and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow it's my fault".
Now, today and next week, here's what I want you to do. I want you to put aside your party, your preference, your philosophy, your candidate, whoever it may be. I don't want you to think about who the president is today, who may be the president tomorrow, who may be elected president. Put all that aside. For the next two weeks, we're gonna be reading in the first of two letters that an apostle named Paul wrote to Timothy and it's Godly counsel on what every Christian should do politically for every political leader. So I want you to take your Bibles. Now I want you to turn to a book called 1 Timothy.
You say, "I have no clue where it is". Right before 2 Timothy, all right? I want you to turn to 1 Timothy, just go to kind of the back of your Bible. Go to 1 Timothy 2. Let me tell you in a simple sentence what I want you to learn today, all right? Every day always pray for those political leaders who lead the way. That's the thing I want you to remember. Every day, always pray for those political leaders who lead the way. So what is the politically correct thing to do for our political leaders, for our government, for those who are in charge, for those who are calling the shots? As a follower of Jesus, not as a Democrat, not as a Republican, not even as an American, as a follower of Jesus, what are we to do for our political leaders?
Paul says three things we're to do. Number one, we are generally expected to pray. We're just generally expected to pray. Now Paul is primarily talking to the church as whole, like I am right now. But what he said to the church as whole applies to individuals. So the way the church ought to praise the way, we ought to pray individually. So here's what Paul said, 1 Timothy 2:1 "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people".
Now do you see that phrase, "first of all"? That's the only time that phrase is ever used in the entire New Testament. And it doesn't mean first in time. Paul says, "The first thing you ought to do, the most important thing you ought to do about a political leader is not criticize him, not condemn him, not throw rocks at him, not say bad things about him or not even praise him". Paul says, "The first thing you ought to do is pray for him". That's the very first thing we ought to do. We're not to make the political personal, we ought to make the political prayerful. And we're obligated to put first things first.
So Paul said, "Look, when it comes to politics and policies and positions and partisanship, the first order of the church is prayer, not criticism, not complaining, not condemning, but prayer". By the way, Jesus did not say my house will be called a house of politics. He said, "My house will be called a house of... prayer". We start with prayer and then Paul does us a favor. He says, "Look, I'm not gonna tell you that you ought to pray. I'm going to tell you how to pray". So he goes outta his way to use several words to describe, here's how we ought to pray for our political leaders. You ready? The first word he says is petitions. We ought be giving petitions. That's a great word. You know what that word means? It means to offer a request for a felt need.
So let me tell you something about our president. Let me tell you something about our senator. Let me tell you something about our governor. Let me tell you something about our congressman. Let me tell you something about our mayor. They're human beings and they've got needs just like you and I have needs. And they got problems just like you and I have problems. And they face difficulties just like you face difficulties. And they need wisdom to know what's right. They need the courage to do it. So Paul says, "We need to pray for the physical, spiritual, emotional, and political needs of our leaders". Then he says, "But not only should we offer petitions", he says, "we ought to offer prayers".
Now what does that word mean? That word means to bring someone or something before God. Now watch this. You ready? This is gonna be tough. This means you bring something to God for his blessing. Now I know what some of you're thinking. You got to be kidding me. You're surely not asking me for God to bless this guy or this woman or this leader or that person. That's exactly what Paul said. He said, "Yes, you ought to pray that God would bless them with good advisors, with good health, with a heart that might worship him and be turned back to him. Yes, we're to offer prayers". But then he goes further. He says, "By the way, offer intercession".
Well that word means, you ready for this? It's some pictures of when you're meeting with a king and you're bringing a bold appeal for that king to do something. And what Paul meant by that was, be urgent in your praying. Don't be half-hearted. Well, Lord bless the president. Well Lord bless the senator. Well Lord... But he says, "No, no, no, this is urgent. This is a great matter. You're praying for the most powerful people in the world. They deserve urgency, they deserve passion. They deserve your sincerity. Don't be half-hearted in your praying. Be full throated". He said, "You ought to be praying for your political leaders with the same passion, the same sincerity, the same fervor whether you voted for them or not".
I pray for a lot of leaders every Thursday. I didn't vote for them. And I pray for leaders I don't like. And I pray for leaders that I think are passing policies I think are destructive. But I still pray passionately, God please put your hand on them. Please Lord, please love them. Please God turn their hearts back toward you. Partisanship, I missed this. Partisanship stops at the door of prayer. I meant to put that down because this is what I wanna tell you. We're talking about being bipartisan. We should be bipartisan and praying for people. Okay, Republican, Democrat, Republicans won't pray for Democrats, Democrats won't pray because we pray for all people. But listen what he said, he said, "Pray with thanksgiving".
Now Paul had a sense of humor. 'cause you know what he was saying. "I know some of you don't wanna do what I'm asking you to do. I know you don't like this guy, you don't like that one. You really don't. But while you're praying, be thankful". You maybe saying, "Well what in the world should I be thankful for"? Well, let's give some people credit. Can we just be thankful that they're willing to serve in public life? Can we just be thankful that if for no other reason our political leaders come time help us see more clearly, well that's not right.
This is what the Bible says, this is what God would want. And then Paul goes on to add, "We need to pray for all people. All these prayers should be for all people". He says, "Look, when you pray, you pray for Democrats and Republicans, you pray for capitalists and communist, you pray for liberals and conservatives, you pray for citizens and immigrants". Because one minute praying for political leaders, can I be honest, one minute praying for a political leader will do a lot more than an hour complaining about them. So we're generally encouraged to pray. But again, Paul goes deeper and he says, look, well not only are we, you know, generally encouraged to pray, Paul says, "We are specifically exhorted to pray".
Now he tells us, "Hey, let me tell you who you ought to pray for," you ready? He said, "Here's who to pray for". Watch this. "For kings," our presidents, our prime ministers, our dictators, put your word there, "and all those in authority". So Paul says, "We're to pray for people in high places, people of position and prominence and power". So you're an employee, you ought to pray for your boss. You're a student, you ought to pray for your teachers and your principal. You are a soldier, you're to pray for your general, pray for your commander. We're to pray for political leaders.
By the way, can I just tell you something about this letter that Paul wrote, that'll really help you maybe kind of change your mind about some things. When Paul wrote that letter, there was not one Christian ruler in the world, not one. There was not one nation that said, in God we trust. There was not one nation that gave a rip about religious liberty. There was not one nation that said the church is a good thing. There's not one nation that was not hostile to the Christian faith, not one. I mean by the way, you do understand that practically every ruler was a pagan, every ruler was an unbeliever and they were hostile to Christianity.
That's why I want you to understand something and I get it. Our leaders may not always call for our praise, but they always deserve our prayers. So you say, "But I don't like this person". It's irrelevant. I don't like the party. It's irrelevant. I don't like their policy. It's irrelevant. Do you know who the ruler was of the Roman Empire when Paul wrote this to Timothy? Nero. Do you know what Nero did as a hobby? He would take Christians, put them on poles and tie them up, pour hot oil on them and set them on fire. And yet Paul said, "We need to pray for Nero. We need to pray for him and ask God to move in his heart". 'Cause when it came to Christians and loving Christians, Nero was a zero. He loved to burn Christians just for the entertainment of it.
Now I know some of you saying what I've said at times, but wait a minute, what about these leaders that are pro-abortion? What about these leaders who are pro gay marriage? What about these leaders who are anti-Christian or anti-church? Well you ready for this? Have you ever thought about that maybe even a more reason to pray for them. They need our prayer more than a Christian person does. They need our prayer more than people that agree with us do. So that may be exactly why they're there 'cause at the end of the day, no matter how powerful a leader a ruler is, let me give you some great news. They're not God. They are not all powerful. They are not sovereign.
By the way, while I'm in this neighborhood, let me just make sure you understand one thing. I'm not trying to make anybody mad today, but I'm taking my shot. Not every ruler is anointed by God, but every ruler is appointed by God. Now you may not like that but I'm gonna prove it to you. Let me just give you some reminders. We hear it over and over and over. For example, listen to this verse. "Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly. No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another".
Here's another one. "He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning". Here's another one. "The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone He wishes and sets over them the lowiest of people". I'm a country boy and there's an old saying, if you ever see a turtle on a fence post, he didn't get there by himself. That is just as true for political leaders. It's true of presidents, kings, queens, and dictators.
At the end of the day, and we're gonna talk about voting in a minute, at the end of the day we should vote. I'm gonna talk about that in a moment real strong. But when the smoke clears on the first Tuesday of November, I know who's gonna be the president of the United States. Whoever was in the sovereign will of God to be president of the United States. Whoever God puts there. Nobody can win, I don't care how much you vote, how many times you vote, your man will not get elected if it's not in the sovereign will of God, he'd be elected. Your woman or whoever will not be elected. At the end of the day, it is the sovereign will of God. He sits one down, he puts up another.
Now suddenly you say, I just don't understand why God would allow that. Why would God do that? Can I be honest? Thomas Jefferson said, "People generally get the government they deserve". I hate to break the news to you, but maybe we deserve what we've gotten. I'm not saying that in a negative way. Either way, no matter who's up there, maybe we deserve what we get. So the point I'm is whether a president is right or wrong, whether you agree with him or not, we ought to pray for him. Whether we like him or not. Whether he's a liberal or conservative, we ought to pray for him. You say, "Well now wait a minute. What difference does it really make"? I had somebody ask me this after the service today.
"Pastor, what difference does it make"? Alright, I'm gonna make a statement, you're gonna do one or two things. You're gonna roll your eyes or say amen. You're gonna be one place to the other. I believe this with everything I have in my heart. The church can influence the nation more through supplication than the Congress can by legislation. You say, "Why do you believe that"? I'll tell you why. Laws come and go. And give you a great example, Roe v Wade. Laws come, laws go. One Supreme Court says it's right. One Supreme Court says it's not. Guess what? Lawmakers come and go. One day Joe Biden will be dead, Trump will be dead. Harris will be dead. I'll be dead, you'll be dead. Lawmakers come. Law maters go. Laws come, laws go.
But two things never leave, the Word of God and God, never goes anywhere. Never goes anywhere. And I don't have to answer for any political leader. I don't have to answer for the decisions they make, the actions they take, the policies they proposed. I don't have to answer for that. I'll tell you what I will have to answer for when I stand before God, did you pray for that person? Did you intercede for that person? Did you give petitions for that person? Did you do it with thanksgiving? Did you do what a Christian ought to do? Did you do what I told you to do? Well, yes, we have a responsibility to speak up for what is right, speak against what is wrong. But when all is said and all is done, thank God I don't have to answer for them.
I've got to answer for me. And just like we've done this every year, I've been the pastor of the church, whoever's elected in November, you know what's coming. Everybody knows you've been here. You know what we're gonna do, right? We're gonna get on our knees and what are we gonna do? We're gonna pray for the President. Now can I be honest, I have prayed for presidents and it was hard. I'm just being honest. It's hard. But I know that's what God wants. I know that's what God would honor.
So we are specifically encouraged to pray and we're specifically exhorted to pray. But then Paul says one last thing. This is the most positive part of the message. Ready? Ready for this? We are hopefully encouraged to pray. We're generally encouraged. We're generally expected to pray. We're spiritually exhorted to pray. But we are hopefully encouraged to pray. Now this is where I want, you got to watch this. This is important. What is the purpose of our prayer? And this is why people get discouraged. Well, I prayed for my guy to win. He didn't win. Where was God? Or I prayed for my God to win that He didn't do what I wanted him to do. He didn't do what he said he was gonna do.
By the way, do tell. He didn't do what he promised. And we've missed the point. Let me tell you why God wants us to pray. Now you're not gonna like this, but it's true. The primary reason we're to pray is not so we'll get somebody in there to do what we want them to do. That's not the primary purpose of prayer. It's good, but it's not the purpose. The primary purpose of praying for the person that we want to get in is so we won't have any more difficulties. We won't be criticized. We won't be persecuted. That's a good thing, but that's not why we pray. Here's the reason we pray. You ready? Paul said so, "That we may live peaceful in quiet lives and all godliness and holiness".
Now watch this. You're gonna learn something today. So why should we pray for President blank, whoever that is today and whoever that may be, why should we pray for them? It is not so, well, maybe if I pray they'll pass this law. Maybe if I pray they'll cut these taxes. Maybe if I pray they'll do this for the military. That's all well and good. That's not why we pray. Paul said there are two reasons why we ought to pray and here's what we hope will come out of our prayers. You ready?
Number one, peace in the nation. Peace in the nation. He says that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. Let me tell you something I'd get laughed at if I said this in Congress, but I believe it with all of my heart. I am convinced one of the reasons why we've had over two centuries of political liberty, financial prosperity, and for the most part domestic tranquility. The number one reason is not because who got elected to what office. The number one reason is because of the prayers of God's people, that's why. God has blessed us because of the prayers of God's people. You say, "Well, they don't realize that". I get it. I don't care. I know who's really behind the scene. I know who's pulling the leavers.
By the way, that word peaceful refers to outward tranquility. No, it's not a coincidence in my opinion that we've never had a foreign bomb dropped on our soil by an enemy plane for over 200 years. No foreign country set foot on our soil. It may happen to, you know, someday again. But don't underestimate the power of the prayers of God's people in the stability that we've enjoyed. And the word quiet that refers to inward tranquility, he said that we might live peaceful and quiet lives. What do you think he meant by that? I'll give you a great example. There is something about prayer that just puts a nation's heart at rest. I really can't explain it, but I'll just say this, I'm gonna give you an example.
Do you realize if we prayed more for our leaders, instead of arguing more about politics, we'd fight less and probably get more accomplished? I mean, you think about it. Think about all the hours that will be spent with people discussing, debating, arguing about politics, but very little time simply praying for our leaders. And I believe that prayer is more of a protection shield than we realize. Let me give you an example of how this worked out. Some of you remember 9/11. Some of you may remember the Sunday after 9/11. I'll never forget it. Churches were packed the Sunday after 9/11. Our people prayed like they hadn't prayed since World War II.
And you know what? Just for a short time, boy was there unity, was there peace, was there this final realization, you know what, we may not always agree and say eye to eye, but we're all Americans and we all care for and we all should love one another. That's what prayer does. It brings peace to the nation. But it's more important, not only does it result in peace in the nation, it results in purity in the church. He said, "You prayed". Now watch this, this is so strange. Don't pray that the President will do what you wanted to do. Don't pray Congress will sign the laws you want them to sign. Pray so that you'll live godly holy lives.
So I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna shock you. When you're praying for the President or you're praying for the senator or you're praying for the congressman or you're praying for the mayor or you're praying for the governor, you know who you're really praying for. You're praying for yourself. Because then even you're praying, you're saying to God, "God I can't control what they do, but I can control what I do. And I wanna be a godly holy man. And I don't wanna look to them. I want to look to you".
I mean, can you tell me, think about this. Can you tell me anything more Godly you do than when you pray? Can you tell me of anything more holy than when you pray to a sovereign God that our leaders would be holy so that we would be holy? You know why I want my president to be holy? To set an example so I'll be holy. To set an example so our kids will be holy. To set an example so our parents would be holy. That's why. That's why it's so important. We're praying for ourselves. See, we got to realist how important prayer is both as a church and as individuals 'cause let me tell you something I've learned.
When you pray something happens. And here's what I've learned 'cause I've done it a long time. When you pray, it's not so much that something happens to your circumstances. What happens is something to your character 'cause when I got along with the Lord this morning in my study and I just prayed. You sense the presence of God. You realize the power of God. You want to accomplish the purpose of God. You realize how dependent little old you is on a sovereign holy God.
When you pray, you understand the need of God in your own life. And when you pray for political leaders, can I be honest with you? When you really pray the way you ought to pray for the political leaders, it's hard to them. It's just hard to hate them. I mean, you don't like what they do, but it's hard to hate them. Listen, when you pray for other people, it is hard to stay mad and get mad at people you pray for. But again, the reason why we wanna pray to be godly and holy is because part of being godly and part of being holy is voting and lending a voice to the political process.
So I wanna just take a moment and I wanna kind of get on a soapbox. If you're a Christian, shame on you if you don't vote, shame on you. Shame on you, if you're a Christian and you don't vote. If you don't vote, you don't even realize this. The person that doesn't vote in America is no better off than the person who lives in Cuba who can't vote. It's a disgrace. You should vote. And oh by the way, I'm gonna be real strong. If you don't vote, then don't criticize. You don't have a dog in the fight. You don't have any cards in the game. Criticism demands that you vote. However, all that said, let me just make something plain. Don't miss the void of my message. We will have far more influence in the prayer closet than we ever will at the ballot box.
So we should pray for our political leaders and at the same time live such godly holy lives that the world will sit up and take notice of just how powerful the church really, really is. That's why the church, our church, this church, we will never be identified with any political party. We're not gonna get on the backs of a donkey or an elephant. We're gonna be identified with any one political candidate because let me tell you something, I hate to break the news to you, but we forget it sometimes. You do realize we're not even citizens of this world. We belong to another kingdom. We belong to another king. We just passing through, this world is not our home.
I'm not gonna put any candidate on a political pedestal and say he can solve our problems. Ladies and gentlemen, we're American second. We are kingdom people first. We are kingdom people first. And my ultimate authority is no president and no king and no dictator. It is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And that's why you will see next week. Yeah, it is the duty of the government to protect the citizens. But in the meantime, it is the duty of the citizens to pray for the church, to pray for the government.
Now, wrap this up. Some of you're still going, "I know where you are, you're going, boy, I'm just so mad, I'm so ticked. He didn't do what I thought he was gonna do. He didn't stick it to anybody, I just, I'm so mad. And I can't believe he's gonna ask me to pray for just fill them... I can't believe it". Alright, let me give you one last reason that you ought to pray. In fact, let me tell you one last reason you'll want to pray. Let me you one last reason you'll be excited to pray for whoever the president is, whoever the senator is, whoever the congressman, even if you don't like them and you can't stand their policies, let me tell you the best reason why, Paul knew what he was doing when he did this. He said, "This is good and pleases God our savior".
So when I pray for a Joe Biden or a Donald Trump, or a Kamala Harris or a Raphael Warnock, name it, just put it up there. I may not agree with them. I may not like their policies. I may be diametrically opposed to everything they stand for. But when I pray for them, there's two things I know. This is good and it pleases my savior. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. You don't need any of the reason.
Let's get real. I'm gonna tell you something you already know, but it just is what it is. Somebody's gonna win and somebody's gonna lose. Somebody's gonna get it and somebody ain't. Somebody's going to the White House and somebody's going to the outhouse. Somebody's gonna win. Somebody's gonna lose. Your candidate may win. Your candidate may not. Your party may be in control of Congress. Your party may not.
On that Tuesday, some of us is going to be excited and some of us are gonna be incited. But as we pray for our leaders, regardless who gets elected, the most important person we ought to pray for is ourselves. So here's a good way to do it. I'll be done. You'll love this. This is good. This is such a sweet thing. There was a pastor you never heard of, his name was Fred Hollomon. Fred was a chaplain, a southern Baptist pastor, and he served 30 years as a chaplain for the Kansas State Senate. Well, brother Fred wasn't really educated. He was really kind of a country preacher. But the reason he became the chaplain was because he was just a funny guy.
Even his prayers were funny. He didn't mean to be funny, but they were funny. His prayers were so entertaining in a good way that whenever he came to pray, as they would open the session, both houses would come, even though it was over the Senate, they'd come in there standing in the middle. They wanted to hear Fred Holloman pray. They never knew he was gonna pray. So he got up one day at the beginning of a session.
Matter of fact, they loved his prayer so much, somebody published a book, they're called "The Book of Uncommon Prayers". So on one occasion he gets up before the state Senate of Kansas, and this was his prayer. You're gonna love this. "Omniscient Father, help us to know who's telling the truth. One side tells us one thing, the other just the opposite. And if neither side is telling the truth, we'd like to know that too. And if each side's telling half the truth, give us the wisdom to put the right halves together".
It's a great prayer. But there was a man who was born to a teenage girl. And he lived such a perfect life. He got himself crucified. But because of who he was, he came back from the grave. And it was that man who said, "I am the truth". "I am the truth". So my brothers and my sisters and my friends and my fellow Democrats and Republicans and Independents, no matter who is elected in whatever office, no matter what power or influence they may have, let me tell you what we're going to do. We're going to look to the only king, the only Lord, the only savior, and the only ruler that really, really matters. And his name is... Jesus.
So would you bow your heads and close your eyes for just a moment? You've been so sweet, so wonderful, so precious, so great to preach to this great church. I just wanna ask all of you one question. Those of you're watching online right now, I've got a question for you. When it comes to Jesus, how have you voted? Everybody has to cast a vote. You don't get to skip this election. You don't sit this one out. Jesus said, "Who is not for me, is against me".
Some of you listening to me right now, television, around the world, next door to our church, you have never given your life to Christ. Some of you in this room, you've never truly trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, never. Whether you realize it or not, you've cast a vote against him. And I'm here to tell you today, the most important vote you will ever cast is for Jesus Christ. He did die on a cross. He did come back from the grave. He is alive right now. He wants to come into your heart. He wants to change your life, but you got to cast the vote. And I just wonder who listening to me right now would say this:
Lord Jesus, today I cast my vote for you. I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died for my sins. I believe God raised you from the dead. I believe you are alive today. I confess you as my Lord. I trust you as my savior. I ask you to come into my heart. Forgive me of my sins. I repent. Turn away from my life, the life I've lived. And Lord Jesus, I surrender everything I am to everything that you are.