Allen Jackson: June 4, 2025 | Allen Jackson Now

June 4, 2025 | S25:E604

Television is filled with dysfunction, and the world is drowning in it. Negativity has saturated people of all ages, fed by competition to the bottom on social media. What if someone new came along with a fresh operating principle? A person who has travelled the world, seen the worst of it but deals strictly with how to move forward. An honest and inspiring leader who has lived the full Christian life as a pastor and uses his wisdom to inspire others. Meet Allen Jackson.

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Allen Jackson NOW | Allen Jackson: June 4, 2025 | Allen Jackson Now | June 4, 2025
  • We have a new pope,
  • 00:00:03.195 --> 00:00:04.296
  • And i want to spend some time talking about that.
  • 00:00:04.296 --> 00:00:07.432
  • I stepped in a bit of a hole around that on easter weekend.
  • 00:00:07.432 --> 00:00:10.635
  • I'll tell you about that in a minute.
  • 00:00:10.635 --> 00:00:11.837
  • But a couple of things that have been a little more current
  • 00:00:11.837 --> 00:00:14.106
  • That i just want to comment on before i get into this,
  • 00:00:14.106 --> 00:00:16.241
  • Because i'm afraid i'll lose my my train of thought.
  • 00:00:16.241 --> 00:00:19.244
  • We continue to have this national discussion,
  • 00:00:19.244 --> 00:00:24.049
  • Around illegal immigrants.
  • 00:00:24.616 --> 00:00:27.552
  • And now the judiciary is involved.
  • 00:00:27.552 --> 00:00:29.354
  • And it's ultimately, i think, going to get
  • 00:00:29.354 --> 00:00:31.056
  • Pushed to the supreme court.
  • 00:00:31.056 --> 00:00:32.324
  • And there seems to be a lot of confusion in the
  • 00:00:32.324 --> 00:00:34.926
  • In the christian community about how to process this,
  • 00:00:34.926 --> 00:00:36.995
  • Where compassion falls and where is kindness, and
  • 00:00:36.995 --> 00:00:40.165
  • Should we be upholding the law,
  • 00:00:40.165 --> 00:00:41.900
  • Or should we be extending a hand of welcome?
  • 00:00:41.900 --> 00:00:44.202
  • And what about
  • 00:00:44.202 --> 00:00:45.437
  • What the bible says about aliens and being kind to them? and,
  • 00:00:45.437 --> 00:00:48.340
  • A couple of things on that, that i think just
  • 00:00:49.274 --> 00:00:51.109
  • I keep kind of revisiting this because we have
  • 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:53.211
  • Seems to have difficulty in holding a position or an idea
  • 00:00:53.211 --> 00:00:58.150
  • That the simple version of this is that
  • 00:00:58.150 --> 00:01:01.853
  • If you entered our country without concern for due process,
  • 00:01:01.853 --> 00:01:06.258
  • If you purposefully avoided due process,
  • 00:01:06.258 --> 00:01:08.560
  • We have a legal immigration system in place,
  • 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.663
  • And we've had some
  • 00:01:11.663 --> 00:01:12.731
  • 20 million people in our country choosing to bypass
  • 00:01:12.731 --> 00:01:16.334
  • The the due process of the illegal immigration system.
  • 00:01:16.334 --> 00:01:20.438
  • Well, if you come into the country
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  • With no concern for due process, then it seems to me
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  • There should not be concern for due process
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  • When you're asked to leave the country.
  • 00:01:29.047 --> 00:01:32.083
  • That's just logic to me.
  • 00:01:32.083 --> 00:01:34.519
  • And in fact, these demands that these judges are making
  • 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:38.523
  • And a number of elected officials and other voices,
  • 00:01:38.523 --> 00:01:41.359
  • Including some within the church,
  • 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.495
  • The people who came here illegally avoiding due process,
  • 00:01:44.596 --> 00:01:47.666
  • Should be given due process before they're deported,
  • 00:01:47.666 --> 00:01:50.268
  • Because it could be disruptive to their lives.
  • 00:01:50.268 --> 00:01:52.904
  • Well, one we're ignoring the disruption
  • 00:01:52.904 --> 00:01:54.773
  • To the lives of the citizens who were here
  • 00:01:54.773 --> 00:01:57.642
  • By those who avoided the system and entering the country.
  • 00:01:57.642 --> 00:02:00.645
  • But it's roughly analogous to me.
  • 00:02:00.645 --> 00:02:02.447
  • If we robbed a bank
  • 00:02:02.447 --> 00:02:04.649
  • And we were told that we needed to return the money,
  • 00:02:04.649 --> 00:02:07.619
  • But the only way they would accept
  • 00:02:07.619 --> 00:02:08.887
  • It is if we filled out a deposit slip.
  • 00:02:08.887 --> 00:02:11.790
  • You know, if i avoided the due process
  • 00:02:11.790 --> 00:02:13.725
  • In making the withdrawal,
  • 00:02:13.725 --> 00:02:15.627
  • I don't think it makes any sense to think i'm going to behave
  • 00:02:15.627 --> 00:02:18.563
  • By the due process in returning it. so,
  • 00:02:18.563 --> 00:02:21.933
  • I think, you know, and the other piece
  • 00:02:22.767 --> 00:02:24.336
  • That the christians, i guess, weigh in on is
  • 00:02:24.336 --> 00:02:26.238
  • What about our responsibility to aliens?
  • 00:02:26.238 --> 00:02:28.473
  • Well, you know, those biblical mandates
  • 00:02:28.473 --> 00:02:31.810
  • To treat the foreigner amongst us with dignity?
  • 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:35.614
  • The the
  • 00:02:35.847 --> 00:02:37.082
  • Way i understand it was directed more on an individual basis.
  • 00:02:37.082 --> 00:02:39.184
  • If you find someone amongst you that is not from your tribe,
  • 00:02:39.184 --> 00:02:43.788
  • That you would treat them with a certain,
  • 00:02:43.788 --> 00:02:46.791
  • Decorum, a certain dignity and respect
  • 00:02:46.791 --> 00:02:49.227
  • For them, even though they were different.
  • 00:02:49.227 --> 00:02:52.297
  • The bible gives
  • 00:02:52.297 --> 00:02:53.465
  • A very different response to when there's an invasion,
  • 00:02:53.465 --> 00:02:56.301
  • You know, some large number of people
  • 00:02:57.135 --> 00:02:59.704
  • From another nation pouring into the country,
  • 00:02:59.704 --> 00:03:02.240
  • Typically to pillage, to take the crops, to benefit
  • 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:05.944
  • From the labor of the, the, the inhabitants of the land
  • 00:03:05.944 --> 00:03:09.881
  • When they didn't make the sacrifices themselves.
  • 00:03:09.881 --> 00:03:12.584
  • The bible does not tell us
  • 00:03:12.584 --> 00:03:14.786
  • That those invading groups should be treated
  • 00:03:14.786 --> 00:03:17.389
  • With that same dignity and respect.
  • 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:19.157
  • In fact, they are treated in a much more,
  • 00:03:19.157 --> 00:03:22.093
  • Aggressive way. so
  • 00:03:22.093 --> 00:03:23.662
  • The way that biblical language has been used
  • 00:03:24.562 --> 00:03:26.464
  • Is really peeled out of context and i think unhelpful.
  • 00:03:26.464 --> 00:03:29.267
  • The simple version on
  • 00:03:29.267 --> 00:03:30.302
  • This is if you avoid due process when you come in.
  • 00:03:30.302 --> 00:03:33.338
  • I don't think you should
  • 00:03:33.338 --> 00:03:34.372
  • Expect due process when you're asked to leave.
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  • And i think what the judges are doing,
  • 00:03:37.075 --> 00:03:38.576
  • If the judges didn't
  • 00:03:38.576 --> 00:03:39.277
  • Get involved when 20 minute
  • 00:03:39.277 --> 00:03:40.512
  • Million people were invading the country,
  • 00:03:40.512 --> 00:03:43.048
  • Then i'm not really interested in their voice today.
  • 00:03:43.048 --> 00:03:45.317
  • They didn't stand up for our rights
  • 00:03:45.317 --> 00:03:46.885
  • As citizens when we could have used the protection.
  • 00:03:46.885 --> 00:03:50.221
  • So i don't understand their concern
  • 00:03:51.022 --> 00:03:54.359
  • In the way it's being expressed right now.
  • 00:03:54.359 --> 00:03:56.895
  • I have kind of an awareness in me.
  • 00:03:56.895 --> 00:03:58.730
  • I don't revelation seems too strong, but,
  • 00:03:58.730 --> 00:04:02.067
  • It's pretty new to me.
  • 00:04:02.534 --> 00:04:03.735
  • President trump has been in the spotlight
  • 00:04:03.735 --> 00:04:06.071
  • And had a leadership voice
  • 00:04:06.071 --> 00:04:07.138
  • In our nation now for about a decade,
  • 00:04:07.138 --> 00:04:09.708
  • And i understand he's relatively new to this second term, but
  • 00:04:09.708 --> 00:04:13.411
  • The end is in sight and a third term is not realistic.
  • 00:04:13.411 --> 00:04:17.315
  • He's already acknowledged that himself.
  • 00:04:17.315 --> 00:04:19.284
  • So at this point, i think we can say that mr.
  • 00:04:20.251 --> 00:04:22.654
  • President trump is going to do what president trump does.
  • 00:04:22.654 --> 00:04:25.256
  • And we've got a lot of clarity on that. i'm grateful for that.
  • 00:04:25.256 --> 00:04:27.859
  • I think he's stood up for some liberties and freedoms.
  • 00:04:27.859 --> 00:04:29.861
  • He's told more truth than most of the pastors.
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  • I know.
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  • He's willing to talk about marriage
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  • Between a man and a woman. i mean
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  • Things that we should have been saying from the pulpit.
  • 00:04:35.934 --> 00:04:39.070
  • But i can see the point where mr.
  • 00:04:39.070 --> 00:04:40.638
  • Trump is going to step off the leadership stage.
  • 00:04:40.638 --> 00:04:44.042
  • And at this point, i kind of have begun to feel that.
  • 00:04:44.042 --> 00:04:48.380
  • And at that point of transition,
  • 00:04:49.013 --> 00:04:51.916
  • We're going to have to accept responsibility for the outcomes.
  • 00:04:51.916 --> 00:04:54.452
  • For a decade now, we've kind of stood behind
  • 00:04:54.452 --> 00:04:56.688
  • This person who was leading and saying that the media
  • 00:04:56.688 --> 00:04:59.724
  • Was not telling us the truth, and we cringed.
  • 00:04:59.724 --> 00:05:01.693
  • And lo and behold, the media wasn't telling us the truth.
  • 00:05:01.693 --> 00:05:04.329
  • And he's going to step off that stage.
  • 00:05:05.163 --> 00:05:06.865
  • And if we're going to maintain
  • 00:05:06.865 --> 00:05:08.333
  • Any of the gains that he has sacrificed for,
  • 00:05:08.333 --> 00:05:11.436
  • We're going to have to make the sacrifices.
  • 00:05:11.436 --> 00:05:14.406
  • He's been shot in the face.
  • 00:05:14.406 --> 00:05:16.708
  • He's born in enormous stress.
  • 00:05:16.708 --> 00:05:18.710
  • He's been drugged before judges and courts.
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  • He's been accused of everything almost imaginable.
  • 00:05:20.912 --> 00:05:23.815
  • He's been been impeached a couple of times.
  • 00:05:23.815 --> 00:05:26.618
  • He's been broadly hated.
  • 00:05:26.618 --> 00:05:28.086
  • He's been rejected by people who had been his friends.
  • 00:05:28.086 --> 00:05:31.523
  • They had been welcomed into elite circles of hollywood and
  • 00:05:31.523 --> 00:05:35.560
  • The ideologues in that northeastern corridor.
  • 00:05:36.428 --> 00:05:38.930
  • He was celebrated in most of those circles.
  • 00:05:38.930 --> 00:05:41.032
  • And because he stood up for the common people and the values
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  • That those biblical values that we have supported,
  • 00:05:45.737 --> 00:05:48.840
  • He's been vilified.
  • 00:05:48.840 --> 00:05:50.708
  • And he is just
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  • He will finish this term and it's going to be left to us.
  • 00:05:51.876 --> 00:05:55.814
  • And the question is, are we going to be willing
  • 00:05:55.814 --> 00:05:57.415
  • To make any sacrifices?
  • 00:05:57.415 --> 00:05:59.217
  • Or do we imagine that
  • 00:05:59.717 --> 00:06:00.919
  • President trump is just there to make our lives better,
  • 00:06:00.919 --> 00:06:02.720
  • To make eggs cheaper and gas cheaper?
  • 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.589
  • And perhaps he, you know, he's going to make jobs
  • 00:06:04.589 --> 00:06:08.026
  • More plentiful, and we're going to return energy
  • 00:06:08.026 --> 00:06:10.562
  • To america, to energy dominance and manufacturing to america.
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  • Well, i'm i'm telling you that from a
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  • From a christian standpoint,
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  • From a biblical world standpoint,
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  • If we are not willing to make sacrifices for the sake
  • 00:06:20.572 --> 00:06:24.075
  • Of what we believe, we will not maintain
  • 00:06:24.075 --> 00:06:27.245
  • Any gains that president trump is sacrificing for today.
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  • It's up to us.
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  • You know,
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  • The story is told of benjamin franklin having completed
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  • The work on the constitution.
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  • He stepped out of independence hall in philadelphia.
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  • A woman on the street
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  • Said, doctor franklin, what have you given us?
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  • And his answer to her was a
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  • Republic, madam, if you can keep it.
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  • And i think that would be my message today.
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  • I think
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  • President trump and, you know, we're watching the cabinet
  • 00:06:54.138 --> 00:06:56.241
  • That he's pulled together in washington.
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  • It's it's such a dramatic contrast
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  • With the cabinet from the president's
  • 00:07:00.945 --> 00:07:02.514
  • Previous administration,
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  • With president biden
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  • And this current cabinet that the president has put together.
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  • They're actually working on the issues of our nation
  • 00:07:07.585 --> 00:07:09.787
  • For the betterment of the american people.
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  • It's a very stark contrast of what we had before.
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  • And so the question on the table, and it's
  • 00:07:16.728 --> 00:07:18.997
  • Not the question for today, but it's the question
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  • That's immediately in front of us.
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  • Are we going to be willing to do what's necessary
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  • To see that our children have better schools,
  • 00:07:27.505 --> 00:07:29.440
  • That the school boards in our communities
  • 00:07:29.440 --> 00:07:30.942
  • Tell the truth, you know, are we going to bring fiscal
  • 00:07:30.942 --> 00:07:34.212
  • Integrity back to the cities in which we live, to our homes?
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  • I mean,
  • 00:07:37.215 --> 00:07:38.016
  • Are we going to make the sacrifices
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  • For that biblical worldview to actually fill our culture again?
  • 00:07:39.584 --> 00:07:42.787
  • And the answer doesn't have to be immediately apparent today,
  • 00:07:43.922 --> 00:07:47.992
  • But it's a question i think we have to begin to ask.
  • 00:07:47.992 --> 00:07:57.008
  • But it's a question i think we have to begin to ask.
  • 00:07:57.008 --> 00:08:00.840
  • But i want to take a minute and talk about our new pope,
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  • His role,
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  • The impact
  • 00:08:04.611 --> 00:08:05.445
  • I think you can have in our world,
  • 00:08:05.445 --> 00:08:06.279
  • Why it matters to us as christians.
  • 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.815
  • We have a hard time with some of these conversations.
  • 00:08:08.815 --> 00:08:12.552
  • Whoever leads the roman catholic church has a
  • 00:08:12.552 --> 00:08:14.854
  • Significant office.
  • 00:08:14.854 --> 00:08:16.122
  • There's more than 1.4 billion roman catholics in the world,
  • 00:08:16.122 --> 00:08:21.227
  • A great deal of diversity within that.
  • 00:08:21.227 --> 00:08:23.330
  • To talk about the catholics being homogenous,
  • 00:08:23.330 --> 00:08:25.665
  • That they all believe the same thing.
  • 00:08:25.665 --> 00:08:27.100
  • They all practice their faith the same way.
  • 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:29.502
  • They all act the same way, is as comical as imagining
  • 00:08:29.502 --> 00:08:34.240
  • That all the baptist
  • 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:35.108
  • Or the same, or all the methodist
  • 00:08:35.108 --> 00:08:36.443
  • Or the same, or all the lutherans
  • 00:08:36.443 --> 00:08:37.944
  • Are the same, or all the pentecostals are the same.
  • 00:08:37.944 --> 00:08:40.914
  • There is tremendous diversity within any one of those groups
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  • That you pick up.
  • 00:08:44.351 --> 00:08:46.219
  • Nevertheless, there's
  • 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:47.587
  • 1.4 billion roman catholics,
  • 00:08:47.587 --> 00:08:50.957
  • And that's an enormous amount of influence,
  • 00:08:50.957 --> 00:08:54.594
  • More than most nation states have in our world.
  • 00:08:54.594 --> 00:08:57.530
  • And so whoever's leading that church has a great impact
  • 00:08:57.530 --> 00:09:00.533
  • On our world.
  • 00:09:00.533 --> 00:09:03.903
  • My opinion i won't spend a lot of time with with data today.
  • 00:09:03.903 --> 00:09:06.706
  • We can do that another time if it's helpful.
  • 00:09:06.706 --> 00:09:08.875
  • In a lot of time, the people who are selected to
  • 00:09:08.875 --> 00:09:11.645
  • To lead the roman catholic church,
  • 00:09:11.645 --> 00:09:13.380
  • Their leadership emerges a bit. it's a whole new role for them.
  • 00:09:13.380 --> 00:09:16.016
  • It's a
  • 00:09:16.016 --> 00:09:17.384
  • And we don't fully know who they are
  • 00:09:17.384 --> 00:09:19.185
  • And what they will do
  • 00:09:19.185 --> 00:09:20.286
  • And what their platforms will be and how they'll act.
  • 00:09:20.286 --> 00:09:22.188
  • So i'm willing to extend some hope and to pray.
  • 00:09:22.188 --> 00:09:25.725
  • I am praying that the new pope, leo
  • 00:09:25.725 --> 00:09:28.728
  • The 14th, will lead with a fear of god
  • 00:09:28.728 --> 00:09:32.565
  • And a strong biblical worldview, and he will honor
  • 00:09:32.565 --> 00:09:35.268
  • The fundamental tenets of scripture.
  • 00:09:35.268 --> 00:09:37.037
  • I mean, all of those will be wonderful things.
  • 00:09:37.037 --> 00:09:39.539
  • I want to see if i can help
  • 00:09:40.140 --> 00:09:41.207
  • Bring a little clarity to this discussion of,
  • 00:09:41.207 --> 00:09:44.678
  • Traditions, denominations, how
  • 00:09:45.278 --> 00:09:47.080
  • We understand our faith.
  • 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:50.216
  • One, i think it's like it's easy
  • 00:09:50.216 --> 00:09:51.818
  • In many evangelical circles to be angry at catholics.
  • 00:09:51.818 --> 00:09:55.055
  • And you can you can pick the label, pick
  • 00:09:55.922 --> 00:09:57.590
  • The tradition, the denomination you belong to
  • 00:09:57.590 --> 00:10:00.694
  • On a on a weekend.
  • 00:10:00.694 --> 00:10:01.761
  • When you gather in your church building,
  • 00:10:01.761 --> 00:10:03.530
  • You tend to be rather homogenous.
  • 00:10:03.530 --> 00:10:05.265
  • The people that are
  • 00:10:05.265 --> 00:10:06.466
  • There tend to imagine they stand underneath that umbrella,
  • 00:10:06.466 --> 00:10:09.202
  • And it's easy to have a leadership role there
  • 00:10:09.202 --> 00:10:10.937
  • And stand up and rail against
  • 00:10:10.937 --> 00:10:12.439
  • Whoever is not a part of your group,
  • 00:10:12.439 --> 00:10:14.941
  • Because it unifies the audience.
  • 00:10:14.941 --> 00:10:16.576
  • You have.
  • 00:10:16.576 --> 00:10:18.778
  • So it's easy to stand up and say you're against catholics
  • 00:10:18.778 --> 00:10:21.915
  • And point to the failures of the roman catholics.
  • 00:10:21.915 --> 00:10:25.185
  • Or you can if you're baptist, you point to another group
  • 00:10:25.185 --> 00:10:28.555
  • And you're you're unhappy with them
  • 00:10:28.555 --> 00:10:31.224
  • Because it unifies your audience.
  • 00:10:31.224 --> 00:10:33.927
  • If you talk more about biblical values
  • 00:10:33.927 --> 00:10:35.895
  • And our adherence to biblical principles like,
  • 00:10:35.895 --> 00:10:40.266
  • Marriage is between a man and a woman
  • 00:10:41.067 --> 00:10:43.636
  • Or the sanctity of human life, and why
  • 00:10:43.636 --> 00:10:46.840
  • Abortion is a breach of our trust as christ followers
  • 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.910
  • And not an acceptable option or fidelity in marriage.
  • 00:10:50.910 --> 00:10:54.681
  • We've talked about those things.
  • 00:10:54.681 --> 00:10:55.882
  • We all understand that the groups before us
  • 00:10:55.882 --> 00:10:57.717
  • Are not nearly as unified in their behavior,
  • 00:10:57.717 --> 00:11:00.386
  • And they're far more divisive topics.
  • 00:11:00.386 --> 00:11:03.423
  • And so we would typically and there are exceptions,
  • 00:11:03.423 --> 00:11:07.427
  • But it's easier to, to, to galvanize
  • 00:11:07.427 --> 00:11:10.096
  • A group being opposed to a group who wears a different label
  • 00:11:10.096 --> 00:11:13.800
  • Than actually grappling with the behavior
  • 00:11:13.800 --> 00:11:16.102
  • And the outcomes of our lives, because that's a much, much,
  • 00:11:16.102 --> 00:11:19.105
  • Much more difficult conversation to have.
  • 00:11:19.105 --> 00:11:22.275
  • Because life's difficult,
  • 00:11:22.275 --> 00:11:23.810
  • There are some issues we cannot disagree
  • 00:11:23.810 --> 00:11:25.645
  • On, and it'll still be christianity
  • 00:11:25.645 --> 00:11:27.313
  • If jesus is not the incarnate son of god,
  • 00:11:28.148 --> 00:11:31.518
  • If he wasn't born of a virgin, if he didn't die on a cross
  • 00:11:31.518 --> 00:11:35.054
  • Physically, if he wasn't raised to life
  • 00:11:35.054 --> 00:11:37.423
  • Again physically, it's not christianity.
  • 00:11:37.423 --> 00:11:40.460
  • So i can't negotiate those things away.
  • 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:44.097
  • I don't do, i haven't i have no room in those things.
  • 00:11:44.097 --> 00:11:46.966
  • So to disagree on those,
  • 00:11:46.966 --> 00:11:49.135
  • We have to stay after the discussion
  • 00:11:49.135 --> 00:11:50.804
  • And stay engaged enough until we sort that out,
  • 00:11:50.804 --> 00:11:53.273
  • Because it will exclude one of us
  • 00:11:53.273 --> 00:11:55.575
  • From the kingdom of god, as i understand it.
  • 00:11:55.575 --> 00:11:58.444
  • So i would encourage you not to bring division and great
  • 00:11:58.444 --> 00:12:01.981
  • Anger and angst around issues that are nonexclusive.
  • 00:12:01.981 --> 00:12:05.885
  • In all of those issues, we can show a great deal of love
  • 00:12:06.953 --> 00:12:09.556
  • And grace and mercy,
  • 00:12:09.556 --> 00:12:11.090
  • Or that rolls into contemporary culture a bit.
  • 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:14.093
  • Is there are some moral practices in our bible
  • 00:12:14.093 --> 00:12:16.663
  • That we are told we cannot practice
  • 00:12:16.663 --> 00:12:19.232
  • And still be a part of the kingdom of god.
  • 00:12:19.232 --> 00:12:22.035
  • We can
  • 00:12:22.235 --> 00:12:23.269
  • Struggle with sin, we can be challenged by sin,
  • 00:12:23.269 --> 00:12:26.206
  • But we can't choose the practice of sin
  • 00:12:26.206 --> 00:12:29.843
  • And still be included in the kingdom of god.
  • 00:12:29.843 --> 00:12:33.980
  • There are sorts.
  • 00:12:34.380 --> 00:12:35.114
  • There are sexual sins.
  • 00:12:35.114 --> 00:12:36.382
  • You cannot practice adultery.
  • 00:12:36.382 --> 00:12:38.451
  • You cannot be a habitual adulterer
  • 00:12:38.451 --> 00:12:41.688
  • Breaking the covenant of marriage,
  • 00:12:42.455 --> 00:12:45.258
  • And do that as a matter of habit.
  • 00:12:45.258 --> 00:12:47.660
  • And imagine you be welcomed into the kingdom of god.
  • 00:12:47.660 --> 00:12:50.830
  • We have to repent.
  • 00:12:51.264 --> 00:12:52.665
  • Repentance means we change how we think about something.
  • 00:12:52.665 --> 00:12:55.235
  • I used to think this was okay. i no longer do.
  • 00:12:55.235 --> 00:12:57.537
  • I have repented
  • 00:12:57.537 --> 00:12:58.905
  • And we change our behavior that used to describe my practice,
  • 00:12:58.905 --> 00:13:02.075
  • But i no longer practice that behavior.
  • 00:13:02.075 --> 00:13:05.311
  • So if you engage in repentance, you can be forgiven.
  • 00:13:05.311 --> 00:13:09.048
  • So you may have been a serial
  • 00:13:09.048 --> 00:13:11.351
  • Adulterer, but you can't practice adultery
  • 00:13:11.351 --> 00:13:15.088
  • And participate in the kingdom of god.
  • 00:13:15.088 --> 00:13:17.557
  • The bible says the same thing about fornication
  • 00:13:17.557 --> 00:13:20.393
  • Sex prior to marriage.
  • 00:13:20.393 --> 00:13:21.828
  • You can't practice fornication
  • 00:13:21.828 --> 00:13:24.397
  • And imagine you can participate in the kingdom of god.
  • 00:13:24.397 --> 00:13:27.767
  • It may have been a part of your practice, but we have
  • 00:13:27.767 --> 00:13:30.904
  • To repent.
  • 00:13:30.904 --> 00:13:32.405
  • But there's so there's a difference
  • 00:13:33.172 --> 00:13:35.041
  • In doctrinal perspectives that we can disagree on.
  • 00:13:35.041 --> 00:13:38.711
  • And behavioral perspectives.
  • 00:13:38.711 --> 00:13:40.380
  • Those behavioral perspectives
  • 00:13:40.380 --> 00:13:42.348
  • Transcend the groups we belong to.
  • 00:13:42.348 --> 00:13:45.551
  • You know, all the immoral people don't belong
  • 00:13:45.551 --> 00:13:48.187
  • In one denomination or tradition.
  • 00:13:48.187 --> 00:13:51.958
  • And there's been so much confusion
  • 00:13:51.958 --> 00:13:53.960
  • In the christian faith.
  • 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:55.395
  • Mostly, i think, because you don't think about it that much.
  • 00:13:55.395 --> 00:13:58.665
  • You know,
  • 00:13:58.665 --> 00:13:59.933
  • We just go to the church that we go to and we like the music,
  • 00:13:59.933 --> 00:14:01.200
  • And the preacher is pretty good, and it's convenient.
  • 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.102
  • And the parking's not bad.
  • 00:14:03.102 --> 00:14:04.270
  • And they got a good nursery.
  • 00:14:04.270 --> 00:14:05.605
  • So that's where i go to church.
  • 00:14:05.605 --> 00:14:08.274
  • Or maybe we just believe what our parents told us
  • 00:14:08.274 --> 00:14:10.576
  • We believed, or we joined some group, or we
  • 00:14:10.576 --> 00:14:13.313
  • Our girlfriend went to that church or whatever,
  • 00:14:13.313 --> 00:14:16.883
  • And it requires a little bit more thought and a
  • 00:14:16.883 --> 00:14:19.752
  • Bit more perspective.
  • 00:14:19.752 --> 00:14:28.011
  • Bit more perspective.
  • 00:14:28.011 --> 00:14:32.467
  • We will be
  • 00:14:32.767 --> 00:14:34.836
  • Much better suited to stand in a season of deception.
  • 00:14:34.836 --> 00:14:38.740
  • If we will take just a little time
  • 00:14:39.474 --> 00:14:41.076
  • To think about what we believe and how we fit into the body
  • 00:14:41.076 --> 00:14:44.980
  • Of christ,
  • 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:46.247
  • How we understand truth, what establishes those truths?
  • 00:14:46.247 --> 00:14:49.451
  • You know, i often say to people,
  • 00:14:50.085 --> 00:14:51.319
  • Don't don't believe just what i believe. get your bible out.
  • 00:14:51.319 --> 00:14:53.722
  • You've heard me.
  • 00:14:53.722 --> 00:14:54.422
  • I think many times encouraged
  • 00:14:54.422 --> 00:14:56.057
  • You to read your bible in a systematic, progressive way.
  • 00:14:56.057 --> 00:14:59.327
  • Beginning to end.
  • 00:14:59.761 --> 00:15:00.628
  • You get to know the character of god.
  • 00:15:00.628 --> 00:15:02.897
  • You get to know how god deals with people.
  • 00:15:02.897 --> 00:15:05.000
  • You get to know how god deals with nations
  • 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.069
  • Of all of those things are a part of the narrative,
  • 00:15:08.069 --> 00:15:10.138
  • And that helps prepare you to sort out what's
  • 00:15:10.138 --> 00:15:13.141
  • True and what's false.
  • 00:15:13.141 --> 00:15:15.243
  • What i
  • 00:15:15.443 --> 00:15:16.511
  • Can tell you that i'm certain is in front of us
  • 00:15:16.511 --> 00:15:18.847
  • Is increasing deception, increasing expressions
  • 00:15:18.847 --> 00:15:23.018
  • Of the false asserting itself to be true.
  • 00:15:23.885 --> 00:15:27.022
  • That's the nature of deception.
  • 00:15:27.022 --> 00:15:29.157
  • And the best protection that you and i have is one.
  • 00:15:29.157 --> 00:15:31.760
  • Knowing the word of god
  • 00:15:31.760 --> 00:15:33.428
  • To learning to recognize the direction
  • 00:15:33.428 --> 00:15:35.864
  • Or the prompting of the holy spirit.
  • 00:15:35.864 --> 00:15:37.432
  • That doesn't make you weird.
  • 00:15:37.432 --> 00:15:39.768
  • It means you can recognize
  • 00:15:39.768 --> 00:15:42.137
  • The authentic spirit of god
  • 00:15:42.137 --> 00:15:45.306
  • And that that cannot be determined by label
  • 00:15:45.306 --> 00:15:48.576
  • Or architecture or accent
  • 00:15:48.576 --> 00:15:51.346
  • Or style of worship.
  • 00:15:51.346 --> 00:15:54.682
  • That's determined
  • 00:15:54.682 --> 00:15:55.850
  • By another set of factors.
  • 00:15:55.850 --> 00:16:04.010
  • By another set of factors.
  • 00:16:04.010 --> 00:16:07.364
  • If i have to put a bow around this, and i do pretty quickly,
  • 00:16:08.532 --> 00:16:12.102
  • You know, it would be, first of all, pray as we have
  • 00:16:12.102 --> 00:16:14.337
  • A new pope being installed, whatever his past may have been,
  • 00:16:14.337 --> 00:16:18.675
  • That he will lead at this point in the roman catholic church
  • 00:16:18.675 --> 00:16:22.979
  • With the fear of god, with a reverence for scripture.
  • 00:16:22.979 --> 00:16:26.483
  • And he will lead in a biblical way.
  • 00:16:27.217 --> 00:16:30.353
  • In the same
  • 00:16:30.687 --> 00:16:31.688
  • Way, when we have a president elected here,
  • 00:16:31.688 --> 00:16:34.391
  • Whether it's a party you have liked or a party you don't like,
  • 00:16:34.391 --> 00:16:37.828
  • We're told to pray for those in authority in our prayers.
  • 00:16:37.828 --> 00:16:41.064
  • They will lead with the fear of god
  • 00:16:41.064 --> 00:16:43.266
  • Implementing an agenda that reflects
  • 00:16:43.266 --> 00:16:44.968
  • A biblical worldview and biblical values.
  • 00:16:44.968 --> 00:16:48.004
  • You know, some of you, i have no doubt,
  • 00:16:48.805 --> 00:16:50.307
  • Have been coached pretty extensively
  • 00:16:50.307 --> 00:16:53.710
  • Against the weaknesses of roman catholicism, catholicism.
  • 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:57.013
  • And they have some practices that i don't think i can support
  • 00:16:57.013 --> 00:16:59.850
  • Biblically without any question.
  • 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:01.318
  • I'm not going to pray to the so you can pray to the saints.
  • 00:17:01.318 --> 00:17:02.953
  • They won't hear you.
  • 00:17:02.953 --> 00:17:05.021
  • You know, they have given an exalted place
  • 00:17:05.021 --> 00:17:06.756
  • To mary is the mother of jesus. that i think is,
  • 00:17:06.756 --> 00:17:09.526
  • Stretches the boundaries of what scripture presents to us.
  • 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.029
  • So i'm not trying to endorse roman catholicism
  • 00:17:13.029 --> 00:17:15.832
  • In every aspect of their practice of faith,
  • 00:17:15.832 --> 00:17:19.202
  • But i can take most of the protestant denominations
  • 00:17:19.202 --> 00:17:22.973
  • And find aspects of their practice
  • 00:17:22.973 --> 00:17:25.142
  • That would give me pause as well.
  • 00:17:25.142 --> 00:17:28.111
  • Again, within under the roman catholic umbrella,
  • 00:17:28.111 --> 00:17:30.814
  • I am quite confident.
  • 00:17:30.814 --> 00:17:31.982
  • I have had many friends who are very faithful,
  • 00:17:31.982 --> 00:17:35.685
  • Faithful believers in jesus of nazareth.
  • 00:17:35.685 --> 00:17:40.657
  • And i have people
  • 00:17:41.091 --> 00:17:42.025
  • Who attend the church that i lead today
  • 00:17:42.025 --> 00:17:45.262
  • That i'm not certain are prepared for eternity.
  • 00:17:45.262 --> 00:17:48.198
  • So sitting in church doesn't mean whichever church it is
  • 00:17:48.198 --> 00:17:51.468
  • That you still don't have the need
  • 00:17:52.235 --> 00:17:54.738
  • For that personal relationship with jesus.
  • 00:17:54.738 --> 00:17:56.873
  • And then to begin to implement the expression
  • 00:17:56.873 --> 00:18:00.177
  • Of yielding your life to the authority of god.
  • 00:18:00.177 --> 00:18:02.546
  • That is the essence of what it means
  • 00:18:02.546 --> 00:18:04.648
  • To be a christ follower, and then to grow up in our faith.
  • 00:18:04.648 --> 00:18:08.051
  • What i can tell you
  • 00:18:08.518 --> 00:18:09.519
  • Is a great change taking place in our world.
  • 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:13.156
  • We have a new pope, so we've got a new voice.
  • 00:18:13.156 --> 00:18:14.891
  • In the roman catholic church.
  • 00:18:14.891 --> 00:18:16.826
  • We have president trump, who's addressing this enormous push
  • 00:18:16.826 --> 00:18:20.130
  • That we've had for several decades towards globalism.
  • 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:23.400
  • We're overlaying that with this invasion
  • 00:18:24.267 --> 00:18:26.536
  • In our own nation from people from the nations of the world.
  • 00:18:26.536 --> 00:18:28.972
  • They're not just from mexico or even south america.
  • 00:18:28.972 --> 00:18:31.241
  • They've come from the nations of the world.
  • 00:18:31.241 --> 00:18:34.311
  • We're trying to sort out whether we're going to
  • 00:18:35.245 --> 00:18:37.847
  • To continue to assert for the united states
  • 00:18:37.847 --> 00:18:41.751
  • Whether we should have the privilege
  • 00:18:41.751 --> 00:18:43.320
  • Of being a sovereign nation, or we're going to outsource
  • 00:18:43.320 --> 00:18:46.790
  • The things that have made us strong.
  • 00:18:46.790 --> 00:18:50.227
  • I see what president trump is doing.
  • 00:18:50.227 --> 00:18:52.229
  • I support a great deal of it.
  • 00:18:52.229 --> 00:18:55.131
  • But at the end of the day, if it's sustainable,
  • 00:18:55.131 --> 00:18:57.100
  • It will be because the people sustain it.
  • 00:18:57.100 --> 00:18:59.436
  • So here's my invitation to you.
  • 00:19:00.070 --> 00:19:01.504
  • Look, let's take seriously
  • 00:19:01.504 --> 00:19:02.739
  • That biblical mandate and pray for those in authority over us.
  • 00:19:02.739 --> 00:19:05.942
  • And so you say, well, the pope has no authority over me, okay.
  • 00:19:07.110 --> 00:19:09.246
  • He doesn't,
  • 00:19:09.246 --> 00:19:10.447
  • But the pope has a great deal of authority in the world.
  • 00:19:10.447 --> 00:19:13.116
  • You know, some people are saying
  • 00:19:13.116 --> 00:19:14.084
  • President trump's not their president.
  • 00:19:14.084 --> 00:19:15.518
  • He may not be, but he has a great deal
  • 00:19:15.518 --> 00:19:16.886
  • Of authority in this nation.
  • 00:19:16.886 --> 00:19:18.989
  • And if you're a christ follower,
  • 00:19:18.989 --> 00:19:20.190
  • You should be praying that he will lead and
  • 00:19:20.190 --> 00:19:23.260
  • And make decisions that reflect a fear of god
  • 00:19:23.260 --> 00:19:25.629
  • And a biblical worldview.
  • 00:19:25.629 --> 00:19:27.797
  • I prayed that for president biden, and i prayed that for.
  • 00:19:27.797 --> 00:19:31.568
  • I mean, i pray that for all of the expressions
  • 00:19:31.568 --> 00:19:33.503
  • Of authority over our lives.
  • 00:19:33.503 --> 00:19:36.339
  • But i would encourage, you
  • 00:19:36.906 --> 00:19:38.308
  • Know, no longer just to say, identify
  • 00:19:38.308 --> 00:19:40.677
  • Your faith based on the group that you belong to.
  • 00:19:40.677 --> 00:19:43.680
  • There's no longer enough consistency within those groups
  • 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.116
  • In the community where i live,
  • 00:19:46.116 --> 00:19:48.118
  • There are expressions of mainline
  • 00:19:48.118 --> 00:19:49.919
  • American evangelical denominations
  • 00:19:49.919 --> 00:19:52.055
  • That are denying the authority
  • 00:19:52.055 --> 00:19:53.290
  • Of scripture as a part of their public expression of faith,
  • 00:19:53.290 --> 00:19:56.426
  • So they can't be considered legitimate
  • 00:19:57.260 --> 00:19:59.562
  • Expressions of the church.
  • 00:19:59.562 --> 00:20:00.664
  • You can't deny the authority of scripture
  • 00:20:00.664 --> 00:20:03.033
  • And say you're orthodox.
  • 00:20:03.033 --> 00:20:04.334
  • Those things don't go together, not angry about it.
  • 00:20:04.334 --> 00:20:07.270
  • I don't want you to be belligerent about it.
  • 00:20:07.270 --> 00:20:09.339
  • I would not stay, you know, in a worshiping community of people
  • 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:13.310
  • That denied the divinity of jesus,
  • 00:20:13.310 --> 00:20:16.079
  • The uniqueness of jesus,
  • 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:17.514
  • The necessity of the redemptive work
  • 00:20:17.514 --> 00:20:19.182
  • Of jesus, the authority of scripture denied,
  • 00:20:19.182 --> 00:20:22.419
  • Though those moral boundaries that we're given in scripture.
  • 00:20:22.419 --> 00:20:25.588
  • You can't reject those fundamental principles
  • 00:20:25.588 --> 00:20:28.224
  • And then think you have peace with god.
  • 00:20:28.224 --> 00:20:30.994
  • And if we're going to
  • 00:20:31.494 --> 00:20:32.429
  • Flourish in the season that's ahead of us,
  • 00:20:32.429 --> 00:20:34.297
  • Then i think there's a lot more disruptions coming.
  • 00:20:34.297 --> 00:20:37.033
  • We're going to need to know we have peace with god.
  • 00:20:37.033 --> 00:20:37.033