Miracle Of America

My name is James Buntrock.

I'm an associate pastor here at Glorious Way Church and I want to tell you about another pastor.

Reach back in history a little bit.

Some of y'all have heard about this guy.

John Peter Muhlenberg stood up in his pulpit and preached a fiery message out of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

He talked about a time and a purpose for everything under the sun, and as he finished his remarks he said there's a time to preach and there's a time to fight, and the time to fight is right now.

We've come a long way as a nation since that moment in history.

He recruited 300 out of his congregation.

That day, when he said those words, he shed his clerical robes and revealed the uniform that he was wearing the Continental Army Soldiers' uniform.

He recruited 300 to fight against the British, and it's because of pastors like that that we have a nation today.

Without pastors, we would not have a nation.

That's how important these pastors were in the beginning of our nation's founding, and I want to know where those pastors are today.

You know, everybody likes to call themselves a patriot right up until it's time to start doing some real patriotic stuff, and I think we're coming into a time where we need to start doing some patriotic things, but it's got to start in the pulpit.

I want to talk about Houston for just a moment.

We've got an increase in crime in Houston, a significant increase.

From 2019 to 2020, the crime rate in Harris County went up about 42% and then from 2020 to 2021, it's gone up about 39%.

So you do the math on that we're up over 80% over the course of two years.

We've got judges that release people back out on the street, violent criminals back out on the street for no cost and low cost bonds.

These are evil people sitting in office.

This nation didn't become a nation because evil people thought it was a good idea to set this up.

I want you to know that this nation was a God idea.

It was a gift from God to the world and we've got evil people in office and we need godly men and women to serve in office.

You know, when we opened up our church roughly a year ago on Palm Sunday, there were rumors that Lena Hidalgo was planning on sending law enforcement officers here to prevent us from doing that.

We were told not to open up, that the church was not an essential part of our society.

Only essential businesses can open up and the church didn't make that list.

But we opened up a year ago on Palm Sunday and we've been open ever since.

And I know that there are a lot of churches out there that closed up during that time and have still yet to open and some are afraid to open because they're concerned about some pandemic.

Well, I want you to know that Jesus did not shut down his ministry when the leper approached.

We are charged to heal the sick, and so that is part of the role of the church, and the churches have abdicated their duty in recent times more and more and more, and we need to wake up churches.

That is part of what this ministry is called to do.

We've got Raphael Cruz here tonight.

That's part of what he's called to do is to wake up churches to the truth, and we don't need churches who are going to just be ministering a watered down version of the Bible, where they tear out whole pages of the Bible and minister just bits and pieces.

We need the whole counsel of God's Word, and I'm told by the Barna survey that roughly 20% of those churches who have closed up during that pandemic period will never reopen.

And I say good riddance.

We don't need that kind of church.

We need churches that are going to rise up and do what they're called to do.

Now there are some pastors out there that are concerned about their 501c3, and they won't speak out on political things.

Let me just go ahead and break through that line right now and let me just say don't ever vote for anyone who runs on a platform or for a party where they support taking God out of our pledge of allegiance, out of our government, out of our schools, for any party or platform that supports the dismemberment of innocent life and the womb.

That is evil, that is demonic.

Don't ever vote that way, and I can say that as a pastor and I'm not afraid to do that.

The IRS doesn't make a church a church.

They didn't allow us to become a church.

We are a church.

The IRS has nothing to do with that, and there are churches and boards out there that are afraid of losing this precious 501c3 letter and, quite frankly, that's the fear of man over the fear of God.

I care more about what God thinks than what the IRS thinks, and if you came in the lobby, we've got a table out there with a group called Christians Engaged and let me tell you a little bit about Christians Engaged.

They're a relatively new organization.

Their stated purpose is to educate.

They're here to educate Christians on the political process, to educate Christians on issues and go into churches and get churches to become more aware of what their rights are in this nation and help them exercise those rights.

They're there to encourage people to pray on a regular basis for our people in our government, to pray for our country every day.

In fact, there's a pledge card out there.

I'd like you to visit that table before you leave tonight.

Go ahead and take that pledge to pray every day and include our nation and our leadership in your prayers.

And they're also working to get more Christians voting and engaged in the political process.

They are a Christian organization and they applied for their 501c3 letter and the IRS recently denied that tax exempt status.

And this is coming from the reason why.

So the IRS said that it's because this organization is engaged in prohibited campaign intervention.

Specifically, they alleged that Christians engaged, their Bible teachings, are typically affiliated with the Republican Party and candidates Listen to that.

Their Bible teachings of Christians engaged is affiliated with the Republican Party and candidates.

You know who else teaches the Bible Churches.

So they should deny our tax-exempt status because we are teaching the Bible, which there's one party, the Republican Party, which honors God and their platform, and because we're too closely aligned.

They call Christians engaged a political organization.

It's shameful.

Well, I'm telling you right now that that will fall out, just like Paul said.

That will fall out rather to the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because the devil that does that.

He always overplays his hand, he took it too far, and now these guys are going to get smacked down in court and the IRS will lose.

They stated their purpose.

They're on the wrong side of God's law, they're on the wrong side of the Constitution and they're going to lose.

And so Christians engaged has gained so much more traction and a national level awareness of this organization because of what the IRS has just done.

So I would like to personally thank the IRS for your efforts to stop the gospel going out.

Thank you, it won't work.

And before we get to Reverend Cruz tonight, I want to tell you about another thing that we have going on here in Texas.

I'd like to talk a little bit about the Texas Youth Summit.

I'm not going to say too much about it, other than we need to get our youth involved.

Our youth are our tomorrow.

It's a little bit cliche, but it's very true.

And we've got a problem in our schools where we, as parents, pour godly principles into our kids and then we hand them over to public schools that are teaching critical race theory, which is godless, it's demonic and it's Marxism and it's just pure evil.

It's a lie.

And we've got schools that are teaching that, indoctrinating our kids.

We've got the state indoctrinating our kids against us, and so we have to combat that.

Remember we're at war.

Whether you want to be at war or not, you have to realize we are at war and it's time to do some patriotic stuff.

And so I would just like I can't explain it any better than this video here.

So, if you don't mind, watch this short video.

And then I'd like to introduce a friend of mine.

The left has control of Hollywood, the mainstream media, our education system and in social media, and so we've got to do everything that we can to educate youth on conservative principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, american exceptionalism and the Judeo-Christian values that our country was founded on.

There are so many young people that just they don't know.

And if they do know, maybe they're scared to speak up, and so a place like Texas Youth Summit reminds them that they're not alone, that these things are worth fighting for, and we're going to give you the equipment, however possible, to be able to do that confidently.

The reason we do this stuff is to give you tools to think and to argue and to defend the tenets of liberty and the tenets of conservatism and good governance.

I think Texas is one of the most important states because we're seeing leftist ideologies creep across the state very rapidly, and this is one area that, if Texas goes, so does the rest of the nation.

And yet somehow we've woken up in society where this is permissible and this is being taught inside of the classrooms.

And the question is why.

It's so important to know why you believe what you believe.

Not just the right answers, but why you believe what you believe.

Because you can come from a Christian conservative home and yet you go off to college and these colleges are liberal indoctrination camps.

It's like the house built on sand they fall apart you have to go after the false idols, the Hollywood people that are leading these people to stray.

Can you believe that America is truly an oppressive, racist society?

Of course this is going to happen.

The left wants to convince you.

The country is bad and it needs a revolution.

Young people have to now embrace an activist culture to save America.

I believe we've been made for a moment like this.

I've been talking about how we're in a culture war.

We're in a culture war.

We're in a culture war.

Young people have to start to take responsibility for our country.

You may not realize this, but you guys are so important.

You are our future.

President Reagan said freedom is only one generation away from extinction.

You gotta fight for it.

There is a responsibility of this younger generation who knows the value of liberty, who knows the value of church and the traditional family, all the institutions that have made America great.

It's their responsibility to help their peers understand why these things are working on too.

I am so optimistic about what I'm seeing today and I'm optimistic about our country at large, our founding is based on good principles some of the best ideas that mankind has ever had, and we wrote them down in the Declaration of Independence.

America is the greatest country in the world and the most exceptional nation, and we live in the greatest state in the Union, here in Texas, right.

Well, I'd like to introduce to you my friend, Christian Collins.

He put this together.

He is the founder of Texas Youth Summit.

You've got some amazing speakers coming up.

Tell me who they are.

Tell me about some of these speakers, Well first, I just want to say thank you to the leadership of this church.

Love the heart of this house, and thank you so much for having me today.

We have our Youth Summit August 27th and 28th and we're excited to announce that we have Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk coming back.

Senator Ted Cruz we have Congressman Madison Cothorn.

He's the 25-year-old congressman that stood up at the convention.

He's in the wheelchair.

Graham Allen he has a podcast.

He's a turning point speaker.

He's doing great things.

He's running against a guy that tried to impeach Donald Trump in South Carolina.

We have Kaylee McEnney.

We're really excited about her.

That's August 27th and 28th.

Where is this being held?

Mims Baptist Church in Conroe.

This is free to youth.

The way that you can sew into the next generation is you can buy an adult ticket.

Adults can pay in.

Youth High school college can get in.

A little bit younger than that can get in also if they have adult chaperones.

We want to engage our youth.

One of the messages that I have to youth is that you can make a difference right now.

Youth need to be catalyst for change.

If we look at our nation's history this is America's birthday.

We look at our founding fathers.

We had so many of them A dozen signers under the age of 30.

That's incredible.

And we look at George Washington he was 21 when he received his military commission.

Abraham Lincoln was 22 when he first ran for public office.

Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

James Madison was 25 when the Declaration of Independence was written.

And we look at the Bill of Rights and the Constitution James Madison, who is the author of that, was in his 30s.

So young people can absolutely make a difference.

They don't have to wait until they're a lot older.

We're way behind the curve on that.

So how many people in here are over the age of 21?

You haven't done enough when you compare yourself to that.

So what's the age cutoff?

I feel pretty young.

Am I a youth?

Everybody's welcome, everybody's welcome.

Just, we make it free to youth, obviously because they're in the stage of life where they don't have as much money, so we want it to be free to them.

Okay, is there a place where they can register for this?

Yes, we have some flyers out in the hall and it's Texasyouthsummitcom, and I'll just say one more thing.

I've been a college teacher for eight years and I've seen firsthand how important it is to reach the youth, and in my life I was going to this same school that I'm now teaching at.

10 years ago I had a really awesome teacher.

She was a wonderful person.

She would go the extra mile in me and help me get some of the work done that I needed to get done.

I'd make a B and I'd ask her how can I get an A?

And she'd spend that time on me.

She didn't make me wait until the next time.

She'd let me correct it that time and get the A.

But she'd also give me a lot of her liberal ideology.

She was a liberal, and so she showed us Michael Moore videos, and so, even though I thought she was a great person, I started to soak some of that in, but thankfully my dad, who's a pastor, turned me on to Rush Limbaugh.

So well, full circle.

Yeah, train up a child and the way they should go when they're old.

They will not depart from it Amen.

Make sure your children listen to Rush Limbaugh.

Yeah, amen, and I'll bless him and may he rest in peace.

And you know, I look at that situation and it was full circle because I had a student later on who was coming to me asking.

I taught public speech.

So he came to me and he came and asked how he could make an A, because I think he'd made a B and so I didn't grade him on the content.

I was grading him on how he was presenting and he was advocating to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and he worked at Waterburn and so I showed him what he needed to do.

I spent the extra time on him, but I did also tell him about some of my opinions and I told him to look into it capitalism versus socialism.

He did his own homework and he came back and told me he was a capitalist, and so that's awesome.

You know, god's a capitalist.

Yeah, yeah so.

But for most of my life I kind of compartmentalized my education work.

You know teaching, and then I did my ministry.

I did college ministry at the campuses that I taught at for Lone Star, and then I did my politics.

I worked for Governor Abbott, senator Cruz and we worked with Congressman Brady and did all these different political jobs with great leaders in our community.

But I compartmentalized them.

And Texas Youth Summit to me is really special because it brings all of that together education, ministry and politics, and it's just so much fun.

Well, you know, we don't look at politics around here as most people do in the world today.

Politics is influence and we are charged by God to be an influence on society.

We're charged by God to be salt and light In politics today.

You know, a few years ago it was very partisan.

There was one party and another party.

It is not partisan anymore.

It is good versus evil, it is truth versus lie, right versus wrong and we've got to help people know and love the truth and do what's right.

So Christian was here maybe a year and a half ago and he wrote a book and I asked him to put this out there and make this available to you guys.

How much is this book?

So it's one for $22 for $35.

And some of the proceeds go to a special needs camp that helps with Down syndrome.

So he was a little bit embarrassed to put his books out there, and I want you to know that this is a great book.

This is a devotional book titled Second Wind.

The forward is written by Raphael Cruz, and so if it's good for Raphael Cruz to write the forward, it's good for you to read.

There is rich truth in here that will help you in your daily life.

This is a great book right here and I'm happy to make that available to you out there in the lobby.

A good cause right there.

Now I want to ask you about something else, and you may not be able to give me a straightforward answer.

I've heard rumors that you might be considering a run for office, and I think it was US Congressional District 8.

So that's where Kevin Brady Now.

You worked for him and now he's not running for reelection now.

Can you say anything about that?

Well, he's stepping down.

He's stepping down.

So I've gotten a lot of phone calls, a lot of people encouraging me to run, and so I'm seriously looking at that.

And I had my name to list of people encouraging you to run for office.

We need more godly men and women to run for office Normal people, not people who want to build their own kingdom and office and make a political career and further themselves.

We're not in this to further ourselves.

We're in this to build God's kingdom, and this, what he's doing, is an extension of his ministry and what God has called him to do.

You cannot lose.

It's impossible for you to lose when you're doing what God called you to do.

Competition breeds excellence and we can sharpen each other and there's going to be other people in this race.

I know and I can't tell you the outcome of this race, but you simply being a part of the process of that means that you cannot lose and I want to thank you for doing that.

Well, I just want to say that being a pastor, I think, is the highest calling and how much respect I have for you and yourself and the leaders here at this church, and I just just grace to be in your presence and all the work that you guys do in this community.

And for most of my life I actually have wrestled with whether I should go into ministry or politics and my dad he was my best friend.

Yeah, that's the short answer, but my dad, he's my best friend.

One of the things that he taught me is he asked me to watch the movie Amazing Grace, and so in that movie there's a young man named William Wilberforce who had been in the British Parliament for five years and he had just become a Christian, and so he was so gung-ho about Jesus, which is a good thing but he went to his pastor, who's a former slave trader, and said look, I think I need to quit politics and I need to go into ministry, like you.

And his pastor said something that I think was really important.

He said what you're already doing is important as well, and you can make a difference.

And so he dedicated his entire life to ending the slave trade, and so God used him tremendously to end the slave trade and to abolish slavery in the British Kingdom.

So, all that being said, one of the things that I've seen in my life that you know, where I've kind of wavered back and forth that everything that we do, whether it's vocational ministry or not, is ministry if we do it for the purpose of glorifying God.

And so, even if you're a small business owner or whatever it is you do, so I just asked that you would live that out and do everything that you can to glorify God.

How many of our founding fathers had some education in divinity, some education?

Twenty-nine of the fifty-six framers of the Constitution had a seminary degree and many of the rest were deeply avowed Christian men.

And we also look at the two deities, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

And Benjamin Franklin toured the end of his life.

He said that God governs the affairs of men.

He didn't really sound like a deist, did he Not at all.

Not when he's calling for the Congressional Convention to get back on their knees and pray when they ran into a roadblock, yeah, he needed prayer and I think that's really indicative of where he is.

Well, if we're going to have this nation great again, we have got to get back to the basics that made this nation great in the first place, and that is honoring God and putting him first and the pastors that did that in the very beginning.

We need that kind of Christian leadership today, and I'm not asking anyone to do anything.

I'm not also willing to do myself, but we need more people like you to run for office and like you and you and you and you to run for office.

We need our own.

Black Rogue Regiment, absolutely yeah.

And one thing you left out was Peter Muhlenberg.

He was a member of Congress later, so he wasn't just a pastor, but he also went to Congress and there's a statue of him in Congress today, so that's pretty cool.

So he survived after going to war and got to serve his nation in Congress.

Well, christian, I just want to thank you for what you're doing, for your position, for your willingness to serve.

I believe it is the Great Commission when he said go into all the world, and that means every facet of life, and so that's what this guy right here is doing.

Christian, would you mind introducing our speaker tonight, and then we'll move on with our evening.

Thank you so much.

I'd be honored.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Well, rafael Cruz, what can I say about this man?

I got the opportunity to travel with him in 2015, 2016, when he was working, to speak all across the country to churches and different political groups about how his son was working to fight the establishment in Washington of both parties, and he gets a lot of his conservative credentials, I think, from his father, because his father taught him the Constitution.

And there's a quote I love, and he always taught this to Ted.

He says if we lose when I lost my freedom in Cuba, I had a place to go to If we lose our freedom here, where will we go?

This man came to America with nothing, you know, just nothing, and he's he's.

He built a company, he produced a great son who could be president one day.

He's done so much to educate so many people.

He's firing up churches, not just around the state but all around the nation, and I consider it a privilege to get to spend time with them.

I got to spend about an hour and a half with them today, just, you know, just learning from him, and I've learned so much.

I've spent hundreds of hours with Rafael and I will always treasure that and cherish that for the rest of my life.

And I gave a speech at two services this morning, and I think about where I learned all the stuff that I did and you know it's Rafael Cruz.

I mean, he's imparted so much on me, and so whenever we got done with that, I just said I want a double dose of the courage that you have to stand up and fight for this country.

I want to fight with the same intensity for this country the way that you and your son are, because I love you guys so much.

And so, all that being said, I want to tell you one funny thing.

This man doesn't eat a lot of carbohydrates, and so it's very rare if he has any carbohydrates.

The reason why he looks so thin and looks so great for his age is because he has a handful of vitamins that he takes every single day, and he's like a health nut, and I'll never forget this him sprinting through the airport because I tried to carry his bag but he was like too humble to let me do that for him and he'd be carrying his bag and he'd be sprinting through the airport.

We go through three or four different places.

I mean, we go to different places in different states in a day.

I mean we'd hop on one airplane to the next and he was just darting to the next terminal.

I mean he just has so much fire and so much energy.

I mean he is dragon energy.

I just love that about him.

He has so much energy and I've never met anybody like him and so I hope, whenever I'm his age, I have that same energy and fire and purpose to just make a difference and make people believe in the greatness of America, the way that he's done with me and so many.

I am honored to introduce my friend Rafael Cruz.

Thank you, my brother, I love you.

Hallelujah, please have a seat.

Hallelujah, well, praise God.

I'll tell you.

We've heard so much already.

I don't know about you, I'm already blessed, hallelujah.

And I just want to just pick up on what James was talking about with John Peter Muhlenberg, because there's another part of that story.

You know, while John Peter Muhlenberg, as a colonel in the Continental Army, was just getting involved, he had a brother by the name of Frederick Muhlenberg who was also a pastor in New York City and he was sending letters to Peter saying you shouldn't be involving politics, separation of church and state, until the British burned his church.

The British burned 17 churches in New York City, just in New York City, 17 churches.

You know why?

Because the revolution was being fostered in the churches.

Again, I ask the same question James has when are those churches today?

Where are those pastors today?

You don't know how blessed you are being a part of this church.

This is a church that preaches the full counsel of God.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, praise God.

Let's put our PowerPoint on and I want to talk to you about the miracle of America.

America is a country set apart by God.

As a matter of fact, you know, this is a picture of the people that came on the Mayflower and you see them sitting around the table writing a document before they got off the boat.

That document was called the Mayflower Compact and it began by stating their purpose for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.

That was their stated purpose.

How glorious is that it continues.

In the presence of God, we covenant and combine ourselves together to form a civic body, politic, in other words, some form of government.

Why?

For our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends of our said.

What are the ends of our said?

The glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.

That is our foundation.

And you know, 1 Corinthians 3, 11 says for no other foundation can any man laid and that which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ, hallelujah, that's our foundation.

Now, you know, long before the American Revolution in the 1730s, during the first great awakening, revival swept to America.

Now let me go back to some of what Christian was saying.

In 1729, jonathan Edwards took the pulpit from his father.

He was only 26 years old when he took charge of that church.

Within five years, revival had swept all over New England.

I mean, the fire of revival was everywhere.

At the same time there were two other preachers, george Whitfield and John Wesley, and at the same time revival spread through their churches and America was in fire for God.

And the first break awakening brought a new sense of purpose, a new sense of identity with the American people.

We talked about identity this morning.

These people understood that message.

And, by the way, let me just tell you something else about Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards had such a booming voice that people could hear him 200 years away.

And Benjamin Franklin didn't believe it when he was told you can hear this man 200 years away, maybe even 300 years away, and he went out there because he was preaching the fields, and so Franklin pays 200 yards and he could hear clearly.

And Franklin used to say the only thing is, every time I go listen to Jonathan Edwards, I better leave my purse at home or otherwise I'll give him all my money.

And, by the way, if you go to Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, there is a whole building that Franklin donated to George Whitefield to preach.

So let me tell you, benjamin Franklin has been very maligned.

He was not at this.

He was a committed man of God and I'll prove it to you in a little bit, but anyway, let me say, pastors at that time were preaching from the pulpit the whole counsel of God, addressing all the ways that the British were oppressing the colonies.

And so they preach on every subject that dealt with our society and their sermons, by the way, were published in the newspapers.

So whether you went to church or you didn't go to church, you got the message.

Let me tell you a sovereign statement they drove the culture, not the other way around, like it's happening today with many churches, where the culture is driving them, and you have pastors that are trying to be more woke or they're trying to be more politically correct and they are tickling men's and women's ears.

So, matter of fact, we were talking at lunch about those pastors Jema, chapter 6, talking about those who preach peace, peace when there is no peace.

And God called them false prophets and unfortunately we have too many of those in America.

Praise God for glorious way church.

This is a church that breaches the uncompromising message of the gospel cover to cover the whole counsel of God.

We need more churches like that.

You look at the Declaration of Independence.

I count 26 grievances against King George in the Declaration of Independence.

Did you know that each and every one of those grievances were preached in the churches of America for 10 years before Jefferson wrote them?

On the Declaration?

My friend David Barton says you could consider the Declaration as a series of sermon summaries, everything in the Declaration.

Those preachers had been preaching for a decade.

Why?

Because they were concerned.

They were the point of the spear, they were the ones that were raising up public awareness.

Thank you, james, for the way that you preach and you speak truth.

And let me tell you something else, just saying a couple more words about Christians engaged and Bonnie Pounds.

Bonnie Pounds is a dear friend, committed woman of God.

And you know when this thing came out from the IRS, all of a sudden she is on every national television program.

Her ministry has gone to a new level.

Everybody in America knows who Christians engaged is now.

As a matter of fact, she is now saying my ministry is just exploding to another level.

Thank you, irs.

Thank you, irs.

See what the devil means for evil.

God will use for good.

And, by the way, I do encourage you.

Sylvia Castilla is in the back and in the foyer representing Christians engaged.

Their message is very simple Pray, vote, engage.

It's a very simple prayer.

There are three things we need to commit to do Pray for every elected official and vote.

That is our civic responsibility.

You know that over half the population of the world have never voted in their lives, and there are many countries where the vote don't make a difference.

I mean, in Cuba, there are elections.

There only may be one candidate with their elections.

So, and then in Venezuela, we had elections when Chavez was in power and twice as many people as the population voted.

I'll tell you so.

We need to vote.

If you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain, because you've become part of the problem.

And then the third thing they want you to do is engage.

James said it is all about communication, it's all about relations.

We need to be engaged.

I'll tell you what our children are being brainwashed in our public schools.

And it is our fault, because Christians are not running for school board and the school board is the one that prepares the curriculum.

It is our fault.

Why step on some toes or say ouch and do something about it?

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

But so those things were preached from the pulpit before they were penned in the declaration.

Now, james talked a little bit about Benjamin Franklin, but I want to give you the whole load, the whole loaf.

He just gave you a little taste and let me say something.

The Constitutional Convention was going on for four weeks and it was falling apart because delegates were at each other's necks.

Everybody wanted their way or the highway.

So here is the so-called deist addressing the man who is considered the most godly of them all, benjamin Franklin, man of prayer, I mean George Washington, who was the president of the convention.

So Franklin addresses Washington and says how has it happened, sir, that we have not here to apply, humbly applying unto the father of lights to illuminate our understanding?

In the beginning of our contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this chamber for the divine protection, sir.

Those prayers were heard and were graciously answered.

Or have we forgotten that powerful praying, or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?

And then he said I have lived a long time, sir, and the longer I live the more assured I am of this truth that God governs the affairs of men.

And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can be built without his aid?

I have been greatly assured, sir, in the second writing, that unless the Lord builds the house, the labor in vain that build it.

I firmly believe this and I also believe that without his conquering aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.

And Franklin concluded.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and his blessings on all deliberation be made in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.

After Franklin finished, they all on the leadership of John Witherspoon, a pastor who was one of the signers of the declaration, they retreated for a time of prayer and fasting.

They came back in a totally different frame of mind, new spirit of harmony among them.

And I'll tell you what.

Seven weeks later, they gave us the greatest document that has ever been written in history the Constitution of the United States of America.

I'll tell you, if you look around the world, the average lifespan of a constitution is about 17 years.

Yet our constitution has lasted over two centuries.

Why?

I'll tell you why because it was forged on the knees of the framers.

The framers were on their knees, seeking revelation from God, and revelation is what they got.

The constitution and the declaration of independence are two of the greatest documents ever written in history, I believe, outside of the Bible.

They're the two greatest documents that have ever been written Because they were forged on the knees of the framers.

It was revelation from God.

That's why it's lasted so long.

John Adams said the constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.

It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other Moral and religious people.

That has been America for generations, a country where our morals were derived from the word of God, where God Almighty was put first in everything in our lives.

We strayed a long way from that and we are seeing so many people now, so many ungodly people, actually declaring that the constitution is wholly inadequate, worthless, out of time, not in step with this new ungodly generation.

There is a move in America to trample the constitution and trample the declaration.

The word of God says if the foundations are destroyed Psalms 11-3.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Well, the righteous can do a lot Except sit on our laurels.

That's just a polite way of saying it.

Thomas Jefferson said the constitution is like chains to bind the mischief of government.

What are the first three words in the constitution?

We, the people.

You see, unfortunately we have too many politicians that think that we work for them, but in reality they work for us.

It is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

They work for us.

We are their bosses and we have a way to fire them.

It's called your vote, but if you don't vote, you relinquish that responsibility.

You see why it's so important.

But the problem is we haven't understood that we are their boss.

We don't work for them, they work for us and they're supposed to be our servants.

The greatest qualification you want in anybody running for public office is that they have a servant spirit, first of all to serve Almighty God and then to serve those who elected them to office, hallelujah.

And then Thomas Jefferson said if the people expect to be ignorant and free, they expect what never was and never will be.

Hosea, chapter 4, verse 6, says my people perish for lack of knowledge.

Hosea 4:6

I was having lunch with James and his wife today and I said you know, there are three people, three kinds of people, in the world.

There are people that make things happen, there are people that watch things happen, and then there's a great majority that says what happened, and unfortunately we got too many of those Rush Limbaugh called them the law information voters.

They have no clue what's going on and, unfortunately, evil politicians, this evil, ungodly political machinery, is manipulating all those that don't have any clue what's happening and they become pawns in the hands of those that have no morals, have no principles, that want to destroy America.

Well, not on my watch, and that's what each and every one said not on my watch.

We need to say the same as the last paragraph on the Declaration of Independence, and in support of this declaration we pledge our lives, our treasure and our sacred honor.

We can do no less.

We got to put it all on the line, because I'll tell you something.

Do you remember chapter 30, verse 19?

God says I said before you today life and death, the blessing and the curse.

And then God says so, choose life.

I mean, don't be stupid.

Choose life that you and your descendants may live.

Do you realize we are not even in this battle for ourselves?

We are in this battle for the future of our children and our children's children.

And let me tell you a sovereign thought If we lose this battle, they will not have a future.

If that doesn't get you on fire, your wood is wet.

Your wood is wet.

I mean, we got to get involved.

We got to get in the trenches.

We are fighting for the future of our children and grandchildren.

In the case of some of you, it's the children and grandchildren to come.

You can build the foundation right now, hallelujah.

Let's talk a little bit about history.

August of 1814, during the war of 1812, the British came to Washington DC and they burned the capital and they burned the White House.

But you know something If the foundations are solid, god honors those that honor God.

You know what God did.

God sent the thunderstorm and doused the fire.

Only the hand of God and the British may set it on fire, but God just sent that storm and the fire was those out.

Hallelujah, hallelujah the other way.

Here is a picture that I found on the Internet.

That's the best picture I could get, that, you see, I think that's.

I don't know what that is, but it didn't look like the White House.

But who knows what it was.

It's the only picture I could find.

But you know, god put out the fire.

And then I want to talk to you about what we sang about a little while ago, september 13, 1814.

The British began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and I'll tell you, the British were actually going in three fronts, but Baltimore was the key.

And so they began bombarding Fort McHenry.

And I'll tell you what.

The soldiers in Fort McMerry lifted a humongous flag.

It is said that that flag was 30 feet in length.

I found a picture on the Internet.

Actually, this is Fort McHenry today.

It's being rebuilt, but they did build the flag to size and it was that huge, and so they just hoisted this huge flag, and that's what inspired Francis Scott Key to write what we know today as the Star Spangled Banner.

But I want to share with you what that looked like.

This is a depiction of Francis Scott Key in that British ship.

He had gone to that British ship to seek the release of a prisoner that the British had, and so he was negotiating the release, and upon seeing this battle, he wrote what we sing today.

And what we sing is a very small portion of what he wrote, and you know, for example, to think about the miracles we sing.

In our national anthem there's one line bombs bursting in air.

Those cannonballs that the British were firing were exploding bombs.

But here's the miracle One of those exploding bombs landed on the armory of the fort and that bomb did not go off.

Had that bomb gone off, the whole fort would have just disappeared and every one of the Americans would have been killed Again.

That's the hand of God.

But you see, history has very, very carefully erased that.

See, we have a lot of revisionist history today to try to erase the miracle of America.

As a matter of fact, let me give you another just hand, a miraculous hand.

During the American Indian War, george Washington had four holes in his coat.

Afterwards, the chief of those Indians met with Washington and said Sir, I just had to meet you.

I am a marksman.

I know, I hit you on several occasions and it must be only the hand of your God that kept you alive.

There were four holes in Washington's coat.

He was never touched by a bullet.

As a matter of fact, in one of the battles Washington rode his horse between the two armies, encouraging the Americans to fight.

Not a single bullet hit him.

That was the providential hand of God.

But you know, we've seen that famous painting of Washington kneeling in the snow before the crossing of the Delaware, praying to Almighty God.

Washington was a man of prayer.

As a matter of fact, when Washington became president, the first thing he did he went to that small church at ground zero and he got on his knees and committed America to the Lord.

I tell you, it was those prayers.

It was those committed men of God and women of God that were praying even though they were not in the field.

They were prayer warriors holding those soldiers before God.

And that's why a Raktag army defeated the greatest army in the world, something that everyone considered impossible.

Well, the same thing happened here.

You know, we just sang the national anthem, and I want to stop at the end of the national anthem.

And the national anthem ends with a question.

I'll say can you see?

Does that start spangled banner, jet wave or the land of the free and the home of the brave?

It is a question, but there's much more than that.

The second stanza, which 90% of the people don't know, answers that question, and I can't sing, even in the shower, so I'm going to have to read it.

Here's a second stanza of the Star Spangled Banner On the shore, dimly seen through the mist of the deep, where the foes holly host in dread silence reposes.

What is that?

Which debris?

Or the towering steep as it fitfully blows?

Half concealed, half disclosed.

It's talking about that humongous flag.

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam In full glory, reflected.

Now shines on the stream.

This, the Star Spangled Banner, all long made waved, or the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The flag is still there.

The flag is still there After the battle, hallelujah.

And then we come to the third stanza.

And the third stanza is talking about the American victory and the retreat of the British.

And it says and where is that band talking about the British who so voluntarily swore that the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, a home and a country, should leave us no more?

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps, pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.

And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave, or the land of the free and the home of the brave.

But there's one more stanza, and this is the most beautiful.

This is a prayer for the future and it begins all thus be it ever when free men shall stand between their loved homes and the worst desolation, blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the power that has made and preserved us a nation, then conquer we must, for our cause is just and this be our moral.

In God is our trust.

You see, that's where that phrase came from.

That phrase is 200 years old, over 200 years old, and the Star Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave, or the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I am sure if any of you want the full text of the Star Spangled Banner, you can ask James.

He has a copy of this PowerPoint.

He can probably print it and have you learn and I would imagine I was talking to James if probably you could even get somebody to sing it.

I'm sure it's over the same music, or all four stanzas.

Perhaps Pastor could do it.

I couldn't do it, but when they were heading out that gift I was on the wrong line.

There was a man that came to America right after the American Revolution.

His name was Alexis de Tocqueville and he said I sought for the greatness of America and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers and her fertile fields and her boundless forests and her vast world commerce and her matchless constitution.

And it was not there, not until I went into the churches of America and saw its pulpit flame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of its genius and power.

Let me ask you a question Are America's pulpit flame with righteousness today?

Unfortunately, just a few of them.

This is one, but there are not too many, and the reason is in too many of them, the fear of the Lord has been replaced with the fear of not being politically correct.

Well, it is about time we become biblically correct instead of politically correct.

And then Alexis de Tocqueville said America is great because America is good.

And he continues.

And if America ever ceases to be good, america will cease to be great.

This is a very sobering statement, because the goodness of America is under attack.

And the purpose that the goodness of America is under attack is because they cease to destroy the greatness of America.

And you know something I love this country with a passion.

But you know I have an advantage over most of you.

I've seen the other side and it ain't pretty.

It ain't pretty.

This is the greatest country on the face of the earth.

And what I said to my son dozens of times is still true today.

If we lose our freedoms here, where are we going to go?

Well, I refuse to think even about that.

I am not giving up my new life.

Verse is Pro verse 24, 16.

The righteous may fall seven times and get up again.

You know we all stumble and fall.

But when you fall you've got two choices you can either stay down there feeling sorry for yourself, or you can wipe your bloody nose and get up with twice the determination.

I always choose the second, and so should you.

As a matter of fact, I like to draw a line in the sand, different than the way Travis did it, and I'm not disagreeing with Travis when he drew a line in the sand and asked every Texian that was willing to give their lives so that this republic could be founded and defeat the army of Santa Ana, every Texian that was willing to die to see that freedom to step across the line, and they all did.

I like to draw the line in the sand behind me and say I am not retreating for anything or anyone.

I'm only moving forward, and so should every one of us.

Hallelujah During the Second Great Awakening.

The greatest leader in the Second Great Awakening was Reverend Charles Finney, and Reverend Finney said Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits.

If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours to a great degree.

He was talking to pastors and then he said if the public press lacks moral discrimination, is that happening today?

I mean the public press is a mouthpiece for the left.

I mean they don't tell you the truth.

As a matter of fact, the way you know, they don't tell you the truth if you can look at every one of their channels and the message is identical word for word.

It's like they got a script and they all read the same script.

He says the pulpit is responsible for it.

If the church is degenerate and worldly, is that happening today, absolutely, james.

You just talked about 20%, brother.

You got too small a number.

I think the percentage that is degenerate and worldly is much larger than 20%.

If we had 80% of the church on fire, we have revival across America, so it's much worse than that, james.

And he says the pulpit is responsible for it.

He continues if a world loses interest in religion, is that happening today?

Absolutely everywhere, religion has been relegated to nothing.

What does he say?

The pulpit is responsible for it.

He continues.

If Satan rules the halls of legislation, oh my, oh my, oh my.

I don't even have to ask the question.

Just look at Austin, just look at Washington.

Satan is ruling the halls of legislation.

Oh, there are a few warriors that are fighting the battle, but they are few and far between.

The majority of them are just going along to get along.

One more If our politics has become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away?

It sounds like we're reading this week's newspaper, doesn't it?

He says the pulpit is responsible for it.

Now the majority of you are thinking well, he's talking to pastors.

I'm not a pastor.

That has nothing to do with me.

Let me tell you something we all have a pulpit.

It may be the place where you work.

It may be the place where you go to school talking to the young people.

It may be your extended family.

Your pulpit is your circle of influence.

We all have a pulpit.

Now, of course, the pastor has greater responsibility, because to whom much is given, much is required.

I doubt that there is a pastor present that fits in that category.

But if it does, repent and change.

If there's a pastor that's listening to me over the Internet, repent and change and become the head and not the tail.

Hallelujah, charles Finney continues.

Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren, but let us lay it to heart and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation.

Now you know, unfortunately many Christians say well, politics cannot legislate morality.

Have you heard that before?

Maybe some of you have even said it Politics cannot legislate morality.

If you said it, repent because that's a lie.

Politics legislates morality all the time.

Let me give you four examples.

1962, prayer was removed from all public schools.

Did you know that in all of our history, every school in America, from kindergarten all the way to grad school, prayed before school started?

They also did the pledge of allegiance.

All kids knew the preamble of the Declaration, the preamble of the Constitution.

Do you know that's not taught in public schools anymore?

Now, a year later, 1963, the Bible was banned from all public schools.

Did you know that the very first Bible printed in America was printed to be a textbook to the public schools?

The Bible was taught in our schools from kindergarten all the way to grad school.

It was the principal textbook in all schools.

But I'll tell you what is sad.

In spite of these two abominable decisions the removal of prayer in 1962, the removal of the Bible in 1963, the church remained silent.

Their excuse is a political issue.

How can you call prayer a political issue?

How can you call Bible study the political issue?

But that's exactly what pastors said.

Do you know the consequence of that silence?

Teen pregnancies skyrocketed after 1963, and so did violent crime, all as a result of removing the Bible and prayer from our public schools.

Ten years later, 1973, nine unelected justices of the Supreme Court decided that a baby in the womb did not have that unendurable right to life from our Creator, as stated in the Declaration, and they legalized abortion.

Again, the church remained silent.

Same excuse it's a political issue.

You know the consequence?

Well, over 60 million babies have been murdered by abortion in America since 1973.

Let me tell you something expanding on what James said a little while ago.

If you vote for a candidate that promotes abortion, you have blood on your hands and you become complicit in the murder of over 60 million babies in America.

Applause.

Proverbs.

Proverbs 6 · chapter mention

Chapter 6 talks about seven things that God hates.

One of those is hands that shed innocent blood.

What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn baby?

Abortion is a litmus test.

You cannot become a relativist.

Well, yes, they are pro-abortion, but they are right on this issue.

On this issue.

No, no, no, no, no.

If they are pro-abortion, they will compromise on everything else.

If they are compromising life, you cannot trust them in any single issue.

You cannot, as a Christian, vote for a pro-abortion candidate, I don't care what party it is on.

That is a line in the sand that you cannot cross.

If I step on some toes, you say ouch, I didn't say it, the Lord said it.

And then, in 2015, you know Genesis, chapter 1, verse 27,.

Genesis 1:27

God says Let us create man in our own image, in the image of God, created he them, male and female, created he them.

And then, in the next chapter, he says for this reason, shall a man leave his mother and father and cling to his own wife.

Same-sex marriage is totally contrary to the word of God.

Who do we believe, god or this godless society?

We have to draw a line in the sand.

We can't just.

Well, we got to change with the times.

Let me tell you the word of God is timeless.

The word of God is settled forever.

Remember what I told you this morning John 1, 2, and 14 in the beginning was a word, and the word was with God and the word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God and verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwell among us and with the health is glory, the glorious of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus and the Bible are one and the same.

That is the uncompromising word of God.

That is our guide in every area of life.

That is our compass, and it is a sure compass.

It will take you in the right direction if you follow it.

Now, isn't that legislating morality?

So don't give me the garbage about politics.

That does not legislate morality.

The question is whose morality are they going to legislate Now?

We got politicians right now trying to legislate.

I even don't know if I could use the word morality.

It's their version of morality, which is totally lawlessness, total immorality.

But they're trying to cram it down our throats and they are trying to call us the people that are so close-minded.

All Christians are discriminating.

You can't be so exclusive.

You have to be all-inclusive.

Woke is a word of the day, and if they have their ways, if your company is not woke enough, they're going to try to put you out of business.

Well, you know the third of those unalienable rights from our Creator life, liberty.

What is the third one, the pursuit of happiness.

That is the opportunity, the freedom that you have to fulfill your God-given dreams and to achieve whatever God has prepared for you without interfering from anyone, especially from government.

Government was created to serve us, not for us to serve government.

We better tell our politicians that you are our servants and if you don't serve us in the right way, we're going to fire you.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

But this is why the message of Christians' engagement is so important Pray, vote and engage.

If you don't, you become part of the problem.

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor in Nazi Germany, said Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.

Look at the next statement God will not hold us guiltless.

God will not hold us guiltless.

Let it sink.

God will not hold us guiltless.

Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.

Inertia is not a solution.

Saying oh, that guy's problem.

You know, every time you point like that, there are three fingers pointing at you.

Remember Poggle?

How many of you are old enough to remember that little green frog in the comics called Poggle?

Any here?

Am I the only one that read the comics?

Anybody here remember Poggle?

What's the greatest thing Poggle ever said I've found the enemy, and the enemy is us.

So look at yourself in the mirror and see if you are walking the way you should be walking and, if not, change your direction.

The question is how long are we going to remain silent?

But you know, there's a much more important question than this one, and it is this are we going to have to answer to God for our silence?

I believe we will.

You know, the Bible says that we will have to answer to God for every idle word we have uttered.

I believe the opposite is also true.

We're going to have to answer to God for every word we should have said, but we were too chicken to open our mouths.

Jesus said shout it from the house tops.

We are to call evil evil and not be silent.

Hallelujah, look at Ephesians 5, 11,.

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Another translation says but rather expose them, bring them to the light.

We can't just stick our head in the sand like an ostrich.

Hallelujah.

James was quoting from the book of Matthew when Jesus said you're the light of the world, you're the salt of the earth.

Would you know?

Light is worthless unless you point it to darkness.

Salt is worthless unless you put it upon that which you want to preserve, that's out there in the marketplace.

If you do not vote, you relinquish your stewardship responsibility to make sure that righteousness prevails.

I think we have a stewardship responsibility over this great country that God has given us.

The word of God says righteousness exalted the nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

The word also says in Proverbs 29, 2,.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

When the wicked beareth rule, people mourn.

But if the righteous are not voting, if the righteous are not even running for office, then what's left?

The wicked electing the wicked, and it becomes our fault.

If I step on some toes, you'll say ouch and do something about it, hallelujah.

So, number one, you need to become informed about the voting record of all elected officials.

Don't listen to what they tell you, because they're going to tell you what they want you to hear.

They're going to tickle your ears, but you know something.

Today, with the age on the Internet, you can find out their voting record.

Look at what they voted for and you need to make sure that you become informed.

My people perish for lack of knowledge.

Next thing we need to do is you need to vote for candidates that uphold biblical values, that uphold principles that are in accordance with the word of God.

But according to the IRS, that's partisan politics, like they told Christians engaged.

Well, let it be.

We have a responsibility to vote for righteous candidates.

Hallelujah, matthew 28, 18.

James quoted this Jesus said all power or all authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth.

What are the next three words?

Go ye, therefore, that is a delegation of authority.

You could read it in this way Jesus said because all authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth.

Therefore, you go.

That is a delegation of authority.

And I'll tell you what we need to exercise the delegated authority that God gave us Voting for candidates that uphold those principles of the word of God.

Our vote determines who is going to govern us.

It is in your hands, it is in your power.

That authority has been delegated by Jesus unto you and you and you and you and you and I.

What are we doing about it?

I'm going to close with Galatians, chapter 5, verse 1.

Galatians 5:1

Stand, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has set you free and do not entangle yourselves again with a yoke of bondage.

You know, these ungodly politicians are trying to put us in bondage, in bondage to their evil precepts, from their evil policies that they want to cram down on our throat.

And we need to just cry out, just like William Wallace did in the last word of Braveheart freedom and that freedom we have in Christ.

But you know something, that else, that Jesus said to whom much is given, much is required.

We live in the greatest country on the face of the earth, but we have a stewardship responsibility over this country.

We must protect that responsibility.

I want to encourage you to make that simple commitment that Christians engage in saying pray.

Pray for our country, pray for our elected officials, pray for those that are going to run for public office, pray that God will raise up an army of righteous people to run for every political office, including school board.

Second, we need to make sure that every righteous person is voting and is voting according to the word of God.

Number three engage.

What do I mean by engage?

Well, number one you need to become informed.

An uninformed voter doesn't even know what he's doing.

So you've got to engage sufficiently to get informed.

But then you need to become an evangelist.

You need to share that message with others.

You need to meet with others that are in one accord and you need to expand the message.

Let me tell you the good news there are more of us than there are of them.

There are more of us than there are of them, but the bad news is, too many of us are asleep on the wheel.

This is a wake up call.

We must wake up to our responsibility and stand firm for righteousness sake.

Let us pray, and let me just give you a context of what this scripture was written.

This scripture was written, in essence, about our relationship with Jesus, so true freedom is found first of all in Jesus Christ.

I want to ask you every eye close, please, if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ.

You know God loved you so much that he came to this earth in the person of his son, jesus Christ, for one purpose.

Jesus didn't come to be a teacher, and he was a great teacher.

He didn't come to be a healer, and he was a great healer.

He came with one purpose to go to a cross and take upon himself your sins and my sins, and he did that.

He took the sins of each and every one of us upon himself and the wrath of God was poured upon him as full payment for that sin.

And Jesus went through the grave death and hell as payment for our sin.

But the good news is, on the third day, god raised him from the dead and that means that the payment was complete.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you do not know if you have died today that you will be in the presence of the Lord, I want you to right now raise your hand and just say a prayer with me and let's settle this before God.

You need to be sure.

If I were to die today, I know I will be in his presence.

Anybody that will say nobody is looking.

If you say I'm not sure, but I want to be sure, just raise your hand.

Let me pray for you.

Just repeat after me Lord Jesus, I thank you that you loved me so much that you went to the cross on my behalf.

I thank you, lord God, that Jesus took upon himself all of my sins and you judge my sins in him, and I thank you that that payment was complete and you proved it by resting from the dead.

I now declare Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Savior, take my life, lord God, and use it to your glory, in Jesus' name Amen.