Better Kingdom, Better Citizenship

Oh, crossing family. It is good to be with you.

In 173 days, around 160 million Americans will vote in the

upcoming presidential election. Over $5 billion is going to be

spent trying to get your attention and influence your

vote. Your social media feeds are

going to be littered with political ads and hot takes from

friends and family members. Your TV advertisements are going

to have lots of black and white commercials with doom and gloom

messages. News programs are going to cash

in on the coverage with non-stop news alerts and campaign

updates. Which is why I would like today

to announce to you, no, I'm joking, I'm not.

That was a good presidential voice.

Sadly, over the next six months, people are going to lose

friendships. They're going to lose their

reputation, they're going to lose their influence.

They're going to lose their peace, and they're going to lose

their minds. That's why today we are starting

a new series called Don't Take the Bait.

I want to welcome those of you joining from our different

locations to those of you who are in here at 48th St. to those

of you in Macomb, Kirksville, 929 Pike County, Hannibal, Lima,

Mount Sterling, Keokuk, Monmouth, Jacksonville, as well

as those of you who are part of our online and inside family.

What if this political season, we could gain friendships,

strengthen our reputation, increase our influence, maintain

our peace, and keep our sanity? This series is going to last for

four weeks, and there are some of you who are already upset,

and I haven't said anything yet. You're trying to figure out like

there's a lot of red, there's a lot of blue, like the donkey's,

the one with the fishing poles. So obviously Clayton's a

Republican. I get it.

Take a deep breath. You might need this series the

most. There are some of you who are

already wanting to check out because you could care less what

happens. I would caution you not to

neglect the privilege that we have as Americans and to be a

good steward of your vote, your influence, and your reputation.

And there are some of you, most likely most of you, who just

want to honor God with your life and your vote.

You're looking for some wisdom in trying times, and I want you

to know that I see you. I want you to know that in large

part, this sermon series is dedicated to you.

I don't want you to take the bait.

I don't want you to get hooked, dragged out of your mind, out of

your calling, and out of your faith.

So anytime I do a sermon series like this, we establish some

ground rules. Ground rule #1.

No emails until after the series.

There is plenty that could be said.

I could go for 16 weeks on this topic, but I don't think you

want a 16 week sermon series on politics.

OK, if you can wait until the end of the series after you've

heard everything that we're going to say.

If you have questions that still need answered, we would love to

have a conversation with you. Ground Rule #2 emails asking

questions about the series or what was said in this series and

emails providing criticism will be met with this response.

Thanks for sharing. When can we meet in person to

talk? We are not going to be a church

that is ruled by keyboard warriors, OK?

There are campus pastors and staff at each of our locations

and we would love a chance to meet with you face to face to

discuss these important issues. It is impossible to assume the

right tone over e-mail and text message.

Civilized people engage in civilized conversations face to

face, and I am on a mission to civilize America.

OK, we will. There we go.

And now you know my party Platform ground Rule #3.

I want you to take time to process the information before

you respond to the information. I'm going to do my very best

every week to do what I do almost every week to the best of

my ability, and that is expose ourselves, our hearts, our

souls, to the word of God. Before you come to the

conclusion that I said something you don't like, I want you to

ask yourself, did God reveal something to you that you just

simply didn't want to hear? Any time I do a sermon series

like this, I have all of my notes.

I've written 98% of what I'm going to say.

There'll be a 2% slip and you'll just have to live with it like

you've lived with it before. I also have all of the words I'm

supposed to say on the back wall.

I'm going to be reading this message that was written in love

to you. The Bible describes itself in

many, many ways and it uses imagery to help us understand

the beauty of God's word to those who are young on their

spiritual journey. Hebrews calls it milk.

In that same chunk of Scripture, it says to those who are mature

in their faith, it is solid food which requires more work and

more time to chew or to chew and digest.

Time is part of the process. The Bible also describes itself

as a light and a lamp to illuminate the way in which we

should walk. So if we are walking in a way

that is not in the Bible, that means that we are walking in the

wrong direction and we are walking in darkness.

The Bible also describes the Word of God as precious as gold,

as sweet as honey. That means that the Word of God

is something that Christians should value, and it is

delicious for our consumption. Jeremiah the prophet, records

God saying that his word is like a fire and a hammer, a fire that

is hot and it purifies, it burns away the things that should not

be there, and it refines the things that should stay and that

it's a hammer. And it breaks things to pieces,

which means sometimes when you encounter the word of God,

you'll feel it burning away things in you that don't belong.

Other times you'll feel the word of God breaking down walls and

idols and beliefs that should have never been built in the 1st

place. The Bible also describes itself

as a sword. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double

edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing

soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

It judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.

That means that the word of God is a scalpel that cuts away

things in us that are growing, that need to be removed.

It confronts us, convicts us, and should ultimately change us.

And while the cutting and the piercing are painful, they are.

There is purpose in that pain. It is for our good.

Here's what this means. There will be times at church

when you will leave feeling encouraged, empowered, seen,

heard. There will be times when you

show up for church and it will feel like cold milk on a hot

day. There'll be times when you're

listening to the sermon and it will feel like a light and a

dark hour. There will be times when you are

engaging in the word of God and it will feel like honey and a

bitter season. But there will also be times

when you and when those happen. What?

This is what people say. I feel like you were talking

just to me, But how come is it when the word of God is just

saying something good about you? You're like, oh, that's exactly

what I needed to hear. God was speaking to me.

But when it says something that you didn't want to hear, what

happens when you feel like you've been burned, hammered,

pierced? There are two dangerous

responses. The first one is that that

sermon was good for somebody else.

There's a difference between I wish somebody could hear this

and I wish somebody else could hear this as well, that I need

to go on this journey, and I wish some other people that I

care about could go on this journey as well.

It's not just good. It's not just good for somebody

else, it's good for me. Response #2 is to reject the

message altogether. The Bible is clear that all of

us are sinners and the role of the Word of God and the Spirit

of God who lives inside of you when you come into a right

relationship with Jesus is to transform us into the likeness

of Christ. And since we are sinners and

Christ is perfect, there is a lot of transforming that needs

to take place. What that also means is that

when we reject the very message that's designed to transform us,

it is not only to our detriment, It is to the detriment of the

people we love because we rob them of us, becoming the person

that God commanded us to become. That Christ died and sacrificed

and bled for us to become, and the Holy Spirit has empowered us

to become. The author of Hebrews recalls

the words of the Old Testament where he says where the people

are commanded. Do not harden your hearts.

And there may not be a more hardened soil in the hearts of

Americans than our political beliefs.

So I'm elevating the word of God to you for a second.

But you might be going. But Clayton, what if you're

wrong? That's been known to happen.

I've been married. I didn't know I was wrong.

Got married. Realized I'm an idiot.

OK, and let me show you if you're going.

Hey, I hear some. I don't necessarily know how I

feel about it. Acts chapter 17 gives us a

Acts 17 · chapter mention

blueprint. Paul commends the people of

Berea for their behavior. Let me show you what their

behavior was. Acts Chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in

Thessalonica. Here's what happens they Paul

shows up, preaches the gospel in Thessalonica, the people there

get mad. They riot, They kick him out of

town. In fact, the people of

Thessalonica are so upset that when Paul ran to Berea, the

people of Thessalonica chased after him to make sure that they

punished him some more. And so Paul shows up in Berea.

And notice how the Bereans responded to Paul's preaching.

For they received the message with great eagerness and

examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was

true. And guess what?

The result of people listening to the word of God, going home,

and daily examining the word of God.

What do you think happened? I'll show you next verse.

As a result, many of them believed, and also a number of

prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

In other words, when people dedicate themselves to the Word

of God, expose themselves to the preaching of God's Word, what

happens is the people around them fall in love with Jesus,

Which if we could make more Republicans, more Democrats, or

more Jesus followers, which would you choose?

Now you have a blueprint, so when you hear something that

doesn't sit right, go home and study, process, pray before you

ever try to defend God. Just might be up to something

for your good. So what's the target on the wall

for this sermon series? Well, first, Peter chapter 2

says this. Live such good lives among the

pagans. This is anybody who is not in a

right relationship with Jesus Christ.

So that's what they're talking about.

There's Christians, people who have a right relationship with

Jesus, and there are people who don't have a right relationship

with Jesus. The Bible calls them Pagans live

such good lives among the pagans.

Christians live such good lives around people who don't have a

relationship with Jesus that though they, the pagans, accuse

you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God

on the day that he visits us. We are told in scripture to make

every effort to live at peace with all men and to be holy.

As it says in Hebrews, we are to be kind to one another.

That's what it says in Ephesians.

We are all to allow our gentleness to be evident to all.

That's what Paul writes to the church in Philippi.

The prophet Malachi cries out, stating the obvious.

Don't we all come from one father?

Aren't we all created by the same God?

So why can't we get along? So how do you and I live such

good lives among the pagans? How do we strengthen our

reputation, increase our influence, maintain our peace,

and keep our sanity? Week 1 Remember, we are part of

a better Kingdom and have a better citizenship.

We are part of a better Kingdom and we have a better

citizenship. Now before I get too far into

this series, I at least need to give some disclaimers.

In high school, at the awards ceremony on graduate was we were

preparing for graduation. They invited me up to the

platform and they gave me this award most likely to become

president of the United States of America, and I'd be a good

candidate, folks. Then I went and I sat down and

then they had me come back up right after that, and they gave

me a second award most likely to be impeached by his own party.

And that's a true statement. Someone.

Well, I should also tell you this, when I was in high school,

I was arrested for political activism.

So when it comes to politics, you are talking to somebody who

has a proven track record of passion.

So if you get riled up during an election, I get it.

What I want us to do is I want us to figure out a way to

maintain our influence, maintain our peace, keep our sanity, and

still honor God. I was talking to one of our

campus pastors and I love how he said this.

He goes, Everybody likes to go to a church.

That hits hard up until the point that they get hit.

I would like you to keep that in mind because you very well might

be the party that would try to impeach me.

OK? Therefore, let me walk you

through some funny things that have happened over the history

of our beautiful America, which I love.

But for as awesome as America is, she gets it wrong sometimes.

And every four years we go through the privilege of

electing a president of the United States.

And since the beginning of our system, there have been

candidates who are flawed, who have stepped forward, and they

have pitched their ideals. We have bought into them, and we

have elected them. And our presidential candidates

are always pitching. Let's go back to 1848.

Zachary Taylor for president of the people.

There's presidents for the land owners.

There's presidents for those who have wealth and influence.

But I'm going to be a president for the people.

And the people said yes, and he became president. 1860 Abraham

Lincoln, vote yourself a farm and horses.

Catchy. How many of you would like some

farmland right now? Like, yeah, I'll take an acre.

OK. Yeah.

People were like, hey, I would like a farm and I'd like some

horses. That's my guy.

Then next one little bit different.

Union, Liberty. Peace.

You guys know what was happening?

1868, Ulysses S Grant. Let us have peace.

He has a spicier 1 the next time. 1868 vote as you shot

Spicy. This is one of my favorite

stories. 1884 Grover Cleveland was the first Democrat elected

after the Civil War. It went Lincoln, Grant, Hayes,

Garfield, Arthur. Depending on how you count.

Who was it? Johnson, who assumed the

presidency after the assassination of Lincoln, which

was a big event in our nation's history, and Grover Cleveland,

had rumored that he had an illegitimate child.

And so the naysayers led by James Blaine, who was running in

opposition to him, they used to chant at Grover's rallies.

Mama, where's my Pennsylvania? And after the election, where he

won, they said on his way to the White House.

Ha ha ha. I was like that.

Away Get them 8 or 1916 War in the East, Peace in the West.

Thank God for Woodrow Wilson, 1920 America First, Warren G

Harding, 1932 Franklin D Roosevelt.

Happy days are here again. To those of you who know what

happened around there, don't think so. 1956 Eisenhower Peace

and Prosperity. 1968 Richard Nixon.

This time, vote like your whole world depended on it and people

did. 1880 Ronald Reagan, Let's Make America Great Again, George

HW Bush 1000 Points of Light. He also said, to those of you

who remember read my lips, No new taxes until the

Democratically controlled Congress and Senate in fact

raise taxes. He couldn't keep his promise and

it kept him from a second term. So who did we get?

A guy right After that? It's time to fix America, right?

Stick to the script. In 2004 something happened.

In 2001 and 2004 George W Bush ran on this platform.

A safer world and a more hopeful America. 2008 What was the

promise of Barack Obama? Hope 2016 Donald Trump, Make

America Great Again. 2020 Joe Biden Restore the Soul.

Of the nation. And if you go to Trump's

website, the banner reads. They're not after me, They're

after you. I'm just standing in the way.

Every president makes promises, promises that appeal to our core

fears and concerns. We want peace, not war.

We want freedom, not restriction.

We want hope, prosperity, money, happiness.

Yet no temporary government can give you eternal benefits.

And so America, as great as she is, she's flawed.

She gets it wrong. Sometimes.

She makes mistakes, which is why we have amendments to our

Constitution. Our Constitution came into

effect in 1789. The 14th Amendment 186879 years

later extended citizenship to all natural born and naturalized

Americans. Two years later, in 1870, the

15th Amendment prohibited the restriction of the right to vote

due to race. Then we introduced the 18th

Amendment, which introduced the prohibition of alcohol.

Then, 50 years after the 15th Amendment, in the 19th

Amendment, women were given the right to vote.

In other words, we said no to beer before we said yes to

women. Interesting.

Then a mere 4 elections later, men were like if women are going

to vote, we need to drink. So they passed the 21st

Amendment repealing Prohibition. OK, we're still here.

God bless you guys. As great as America is, she gets

it wrong sometimes. And as great as America is, she

is not worth comparing to the Bride of Christ.

Doctor Gina Zerlo, who is the Co director of the Center for the

Study of Global Christianity, gives us unique insight into the

Bride of Christ, the Kingdom of God.

She says there are presently 2.5 billion Christians globally.

I love sharing stats like that with you.

And here's why. I want you to know that you are

not alone, That there are more people than you can possibly

imagine who are calling Christ their Lord, who are believe that

the Bible is true and are living in submission to it.

And she says, if you were to take all 2.5 billion Christians

and you were to reduce them to the number 100, here is what

Christianity looks like globally, 26.

Live in Africa 24. Live in Latin America 23.

Live in Europe, 15. Live in Asia. 11 Live in North

America. We are not the most godly

nation. We are not the most godly

continent. One lives in Oceana.

That means that global Christianity is not white.

It's mostly brown and black. 65 live in urban communities and 35

live in rural communities. That means that the power of God

can make headway in both rural communities surrounded by

farmland, and expand an elitist, sophisticated cultural hubs. 16

speak Spanish, 10 speak English, 8 speak Portuguese, 5 speak

Russian, Three speak Mandarin. Only 19 live in highly developed

countries, while 81 do not live in a life of luxury like you and

I do. Only 21 live in low corruption

countries. That means that 79% of global

Christians live with daily oppression from corrupt

governments. 18 live on less than $10 a day. 63 live on

between 10 and $100 a day. That means that 81% of our

Christian brothers and sisters live on less than $100 a day.

No doubt when they pray, Lord give us this day Our Daily

Bread, they mean something so much sweeter and rawer than when

we pray. She concluded her research with

this. A typical Christian today is a

non white woman living in the global S is non-english speaking

with a lower than average level of income, safety and

healthcare. That means that when you and I

get to heaven, we will be the minority group, and I can't wait

to be there. America, or any nation for that

matter, is simply limited by its borders.

It is a land of mass that has been defined on maps, codified

in legal documents, purchased with money, and defended in

blood. However, the Kingdom of God does

not elect a president, for we have a king.

Our documents need not be amended, for God himself is

their author. We need no military for the

Kingdom, for the King of Peace is the commander of Angel

armies. As Tyler McKenzie puts it, God's

borders are not geographical, they're individual.

His nation is not a mass of conquered land, it is a mass of

repentant people. Paul confirms this in Galatians.

So in Christ Jesus you all are children of God through faith,

for all of you were baptized into Christ, have clothed

yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor

Gentile, neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor

female, For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs

according to the promise. When you place your faith in

Jesus, you become part of the promise, part of the lineage,

part of the family, and part of his eternal Kingdom.

Paul goes on to say this in his letter to the Philippians.

But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake

of Christ. What is more, I consider

everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I want to pause here for a second.

He's saying knowing Jesus is preeminent, it's number one.

That means that your pursuit of him should trump your pursuit of

everything else. In other words, if you have a

love for the Republican Party and it's here, or you have a

love for the Democratic Party and it's here, and your love for

God is here or here or here, it's in the wrong place because

it's not worth comparing. Now listen, I'm not being anti

American. I love America, Love it, Love

it. Can I?

Can I, can I say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Yeah, but the allegiance I'm giving to my country is a

remnant of the allegiance that I'm giving to God.

It's a remnant. Am I glad to be an American?

Yeah. But that is that is not the

primary thing that defines me. The primary thing that defines

me is that I have been purchased, bought, redeemed,

loved by God through the sacrifice of his son.

Satan tries desperately to get us to take the bait, and we

can't. Let's keep going.

I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in

him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the

law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the

righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of His

resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like

him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection

from the dead. Not that I have already obtained

all of this, or I have already arrived at my goal, but I press

on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me,

that you and I should be relentlessly pursuing the grace

that Jesus brought us, because that was exactly what Jesus did.

He took hold of grace on our behalf.

He took hold of the pain and the punishment on our behalf.

And so our preeminent concern should be to chase after the

grace and faith that we have through him.

Let's keep going, brothers and sisters.

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do forgetting what is behind and straining

toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize

for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us. Then who are you?

Say this word. I'm going to let you self

identify for a little bit. Mature should take such a view

of things he's saying. This is the view of mature

people. So if we're going to have the

conversation, let's at least have it acknowledging whether

we're being mature or immature. And on some point, if you think

differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters.

And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those

who live as we do. As you get ready to go into this

political season, keep your eyes on people who are pursuing

peace, who are maintaining civility, who are trying to

honor God and not being disruptive.

Keep your eyes on those people. Follow after those people,

people who are emanating or emanating the fruits of the

Spirit, not spewing talking points from political parties.

Let's keep going For as often as I've told you before and now

tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the

cross of Christ. Let's keep going.

Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach.

Their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly

things every A presidential candidate pitches you what you

already want to hear. They want you to reach into your

carnal nature and vote based on your carnal nature.

What is good for you? They want to get your mind set

on earthly things so they can manipulate you, control you, and

this is both parties both. And what they will try to get

you to do is to think that somehow the vote for this

particular party is a vote for Christ.

He doesn't need elected. You need to remember that the

election that matters is the election that you do in your

heart as to whether or not you are going to surrender your life

to Jesus. So when someone says, hey, I'm,

you know, you. If you love God, you got to vote

for this. No.

When Donald Trump tries to sell you a Bible with the

Constitution in it, that is stupid.

It's incredibly stupid because Jesus doesn't have a political

party and the Constitution, as beautiful as it is, has no right

being next to the Bible, to the very words of God.

You are setting your mind on earthly things.

Let's keep going. But our citizenship is in

heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord

Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring

everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies

so that they will be like His glorious body.

Satan tries desperately to get you and I to take the bait to

live as if this is all there is, that America is the only nation

that matters, that this election is for the soul of America.

Don't take the bait first, Peter.

Chapter 2 says this. But you, talking to those of you

who are in Christ, are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a

holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare

the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his

wonderful light. Pause.

There is no candidate that has done more for you than what God

reveals on your behalf in these verses.

He gives you a new identity. He lets you understand you have

a new role, a new responsibility.

And he says that we are to declare the praises of him who

called you out of darkness and into the light.

Let me ask you this question. As you get ready to go into this

political season, do you use your words, your social media

platforms, to declare the praises of God or to elect a

fallen president? Use the energy you have to

promote Christ More than anything.

Let's keep going. Once you are not a people, but

now you are the people of God. So we belong to somebody else.

We belong to him. Once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you as

foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage

war against your soul. Pause.

He is not only called U.S. citizens, he's not only called

us a royal nation or a royal people, but he's also said we

are foreigners and aliens in this world.

America is where you live. It's not your home you're

passing through. There were Christians before

America existed, and there will be Christians after.

America exists unless Christ comes back beforehand.

So I'll go back. We'll go back.

Go back, Go back. Go back.

Right there. What do you think the next verse

is? You've seen it.

It's the target on the wall. Live such good lives among the

pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see

your good deeds and glorify God on the day that he visits us.

The sad truth today is that many Christians are better Americans

than they are Christians. I want to do an exercise with

you right now, and I want you to know that this exercise is in

love. Would you please take out your

phone open to your calculator? Once you have your calculator

open, I want you to type in your age.

You don't have to show it to anybody, just type in your age.

Then I would like you to subtract 18.

Then I'd like you to divide by 4.

That is the number of presidential elections that you

have participated in. Now, I know that there are some

of you who are voting before 1971 and the passing of the 26th

Amendment, which changed the voting age from 21 to 18.

Yeah, I did my work. Folks, I want you to look at

that number. That is how many presidents you

have elected. And if you have not discipled,

baptized 1 to Christ, matured in Christ more than that number,

that means that every four years you have voted for a president,

but every four years you have not completed the Great

Commission. We have become better Americans

than we have Christians. We have woefully missed the

mark. Our ultimate goal is not for

there to be a Democrat in office or a Republican in office, but

for Jesus to be in the hearts of our neighbors, friends, and

family members. Satan is trying to get you to

take the bait that the next election is the only way

forward. The truth of the matter is that

our apathy, our fear of rejection, our laziness and

accomplishing the Great Commission is sad in light of

Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.

Peace and prosperity hope, 1000 Points of Light.

There's only one person who can give us that.

That's Jesus. They're not coming after me.

They're coming after you. I'm just standing in their way.

There's only one person who's ever done that.

My sin. My past, my evil deeds were on

their way. After me, Satan, the accuser who

knows all of my wrong, stood accusing me, and someone stood

in the gap. And it wasn't Trump.

It was Jesus. And he bore my sins on his body

and by his wounds I have been healed.

I have very little to give. Very little to give, Donald,

because so much of it belongs to Jesus.

Restoring the soul of America. How dare you?

How could you? The only way you could restore

the soul of America is for Christ to reign in people's

hearts. And we don't have to get access

to the gospel through Joe. He gave us the access to the

gospel through his spirit which descended on us on Pentecost

today when 3000 people, the church was started, gave their

life to him. Your hope is not in an office,

it's on a throne. Satan is trying to get you to

take the bait, and some of us already have.

But by God's grace, we can break the line.

We're moving to a time of decision.

If you're here today and you've never started an intimate

personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or if this is your first

time, this is not typical crossing.

But if you can survive the next three weeks, you're going to

love it here. And I want you to hear me say

this. I believe the fact that you are

here is a sign that God is wanting to come into a right

relationship with you, and he is using the circumstances of your

life, the courage of your friends, to bring you into an

intimate, personal relationship with Him.

If you want to know what an intimate, personal relationship

with him looks like, I'm going to encourage you to go home and

read the 23rd Psalm. One of the most powerful and one

of the most popular passages in all of Scripture defines what it

looks like to be in an intimate, personal relationship with him.

And if you're here today and you've never started it, you can

have it. You can become a part of his

Kingdom of peace, a Kingdom of peace that surpasses all

understanding. You become part of the family of

God that is full of love and grace and mercy.

And in just a few moments, the people around you are going to

stand and sing, and some of them are going to come to the steps

and pray. And what I want to do is I want

to encourage you to maybe make a walk that could absolutely

change your life. And walk from wherever you're

sitting right over there underneath that screen, next to

the baptistry, and somebody will be waiting there to talk to you

about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The testimony of thousands of people who call the crossing

home is that starting a relationship with Jesus Christ

is not only the best decision that we've ever made.

Our biggest regret is how long we put it off.

And we would love God to have an opportunity to write a better

story for you. But he's not going to do it

unless you surrender to him. The way we come into His Kingdom

is we abandoned our own. We wave a white flag of

surrender and say I give up. You rule in me now instead of

me. To those of you who already have

a relationship with Jesus, Christians, I'll be quick.

But what I want to encourage you to do is I want to ask you to

pray. Pray that this election season,

you would maintain your influence, increase your

reputation, keep your peace, not lose your mind.

I'm going to ask you to pray that God would show you point

you, compel you to talk to people about how to have a

relationship with Jesus Christ, that you would promote Christ

more than a presidential candidate.

Maybe some of us, we're kind of looking at that number that we

were left with, and we realize that we have not been as serious

about our faith as we have been about our elections.

Maybe we would repent over that. Go.

God, I'm sorry I've been misaligned.

I don't want to draw back to you.

Maybe we need to just repent for a radical allegiance to a

political party and a lukewarm commitment to Christ.

God promises that he meets us in our repentance.

God loves a humble heart because he can do anything with it.

So if he we would humble ourselves, he promises to lift

us up. Would you stand with me,

Heavenly Father? I'm asking you to do a work in

our church that could only be described as you.

That nobody gets the credit, nobody gets the glory.

God That none of it is shared, that it solely goes to you.

Stir something loose in US. Break something loose in US so

that way we more fully cling to you.

Soften our hardened hearts. Remove the scales from our eyes

so that way we can see your will and your purposes more clearly

over our life and your name, I pray.

Amen.