November 3, 2024

                                                                  OUR ROLE IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              November 03, 2024

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

What would it take for you to not only appreciate, but also exercise your right to vote? Would it help if you looked back at the new nation “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” and realize it was only white male landowners who could vote? Would you have fought to vote? Or, later, when other males could vote, but not women, would you have fussed until you could vote? Countries ruled by monarchies have no voice as to who becomes king: would you think people who have the right to vote are blessed? This privilege is not to be taken lightly. If you don’t vote, you should not complain when things turn sour. You could have made a difference—perhaps you still can. You can pray fervently.

Focal Passages: Psalm 33:12-22, 1 Peter 2:9-17.

Approach with Peace:

• Read Psa. 33:12-15. What nation was God’s chosen people when the Psalms were written? Do you believe God means only chosen Israelites in this passage? Can this apply to today’s churches all over the world? Read 1 Pet. 2:9-10. How does this apply to us? Has God just reiterated the same thought in the OT and NT? Discuss.
• Read Matt. 5:13. What are the three purposes of salt? What can we learn from this? How does the third purpose, as salt keeps feet from slipping, apply to us? If God would remove the ones who are salt and light, what would happen to our nation?
• What is the purpose of us being a people of God? Why did He call us out of darkness into light? Is our world dark today? Who takes the light to the communities of the world today? Read Matt. 5:14.
• What should you do when neither candidate fits your standard? If you do not vote, how will that impact the darkness or light of your nation? Give examples.

 Depend on God:

• Read Psa. 33:16-17. How does this speak to us as a nation? How does it speak to us as an individual? Read Phil. 4:6. When should we get passionate about the issues or candidates, but keep control of anger, angst, or worry? Why is it necessary to keep words and actions prior to the election such that, after it is over, we still have earned the right to be heard about Christ?
• Read 2 Cor. 3:4-5. Why do we stress so about not having what we need, when God has already promised it? Read Psa. 33:18-19 and 2 Chron. 16:9a. Why does God care so much for His children? How is that different from parents and child?

Speak in Confidence:

• Read silently Matt. 25:14-30. Many people are saying they will not vote, because they do not “like” either candidate. How much have you prayed for your nation?
• Many say Christians should not vote. If you let them tell you what to do, how is that like putting your vote in a hole and burying it? Can you justify burying your vote, rather than looking with God’s eyes as to which candidate is willing to work for the good of the nation? What will God say to you?
• Will you ignore your unalienable right to vote, let others discourage you from voting, or will you vote and let your voice be heard, speaking out in godly confidence?

 God is our ultimate hope:

• Read Psa. 33:20-22. Why are we able to hope in the Lord? Why do we sing “Christ—our living Hope?” Will it ever come through man, or government? Why not?
• Read vv. 16-17 again. Why will our hope never come from one of these strong examples? Read Titus 4:10. Does this express your heart or are you unsure of God?

WHAT WE SHOULD DO:

• VOTE! Do not let men, fear, anger, discouragement or angst rule! Vote!
• SPEAK TRUTH! Never be afraid to tell the truth. Satan is the father of lies, and you will be serving him when you stray, even a little, from the truth.
• PRAY! If you are breathing, you can pray. James 5:16b-18a: The fervent prayer of a righteous person…can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain. (NASB)

Close:  Where does your hope for a future come from? Does it come from your paycheck, your government, your spouse, your family? How many promises can you think of where God has promised blessings for you? We look at each other and think, ‘Well, that person has nothing to give anyone!’ God may be seeing the next Paul, or Peter, or James. We may look at the candidates in an election and think neither would do any good. God may be seeing one of them, thinking, ‘When I give them a new heart, they will bring joy to the nation.’ Don’t ever forget, He loves you so much He sent His only Son—Jesus—to the earth as a human, 100% man but still 100% God (which we cannot imagine), so HE could die a sacrificial death for our sins, so WE don’t have to go to hell for them. But He wants YOU to accept this gift. You have to do something—accept it. Do it today. And go vote.

By Sandy Day                                                                                                                                                                                   November 03, 2024