all right Pastor Gary you gave your annual election sermon live streamed around the world into three packed services on Sunday and you warned everyone you'd probably offend them at some point your message is blunt in part government is not the answer be Salt and Light and let your voice be heard so I have to ask you why of the 90 million Christians in the US are 40 million expected to stay home this election day not only 40 million are expected to stay home but 15 million of that 90 million are not even registered I think Christians have grown apathetic I think Christians are in my opinion a little too focused on the person and the personality and they're not really looking at what the policies are of these politicians what are the policies that they stand for because that should motivate us to vote and I believe that voting is not just a privilege or a right it's a duty because when I look at how Jesus talked about how the parable of the two servants one was evil one was wise the master went away entrusted his possessions and his work to these servants he came back and he said one was wise and one was faithful because he was good at what God had entrusted him what the master had entrusted to him it's a picture of Jesus for us the Lord has gone away he's entrusted to us some wonderful things one of which is the great privilege of living in the greatest and freest country the United States of America and thus we have a responsibility and a duty to safeguard what he has entrusted to our care and I think in part voting is one of those ways we can be good stewards of what he's entrusted to us you speak frequently about the church being silent and I was doing some research and I'm finding that surveys show that a lot of Christians have absolutely no way to know how to vote because they feel like they have no guidance from the pulpit how did that happen happen and you in your sermon break down some really pretty simple ways that you can compare and contrast the candidates without actually coming out and saying who people need to vote for I know that's not your intent so can you address that I came across a two volume set in 2008 actually David Barton the founder uh of wall Builders uh brought it to my attention the two volume set is called political sermons of the American founding era from 1730 to 1805 and in this two volume set it records the sermons of the early pastors during the colonial days who were very engaged and who spoke out from the pulpit on issues of the day politicians of the day candidates running for office yes there was even voting during the colonial period And so when I look at at American history and see how pastors were so involved in equipping the people from the pulpit unashamed about addressing these issues of the day coupled with when I look in scripture and you look at every Old Testament Prophet from Moses to Daniel Jeremiah Isaiah they all confronted uh the kings of the day the issues of the day they spoke truth to power they influenced National policies they spoke about the social conscience of the day when I look at American history Biblical history I am just motivated to revive that tradition of speaking from from the pulpit to help equip our people and I believe the more the people are equipped from the pulpit when pastors get up there and address the issues of the day through the lens of the Bible that people will be equipped and motivated to do something about it to in their political engagement and by political engagement I mean advocate for righteous policies vote for candidates who most closely align with your biblical values pray for our elected leaders hold them accountable and yes even run for office if God calls you to do that how do you see the freedoms and the values that we cherish you know being in Jeopardy this election cycle one of the issues you speak passionately about is parental rights you've spoken out about abortion you cover even things like the economy what do you see as the most important issues of the day when folks go to vote you know November 5th or or before in early voting what what should be top of mind I think it's all of those things I think it is judges uh because presidents appoint a few hundred federal judges and justices I think it's the life issue I think it's Israel I think it is biological sex I think it is the family religious freedom I mean there's a plethora of issues that I think are important today but here's the the main thing that I try to communicate to our congregation which is the culture has hijacked the narrative on social and moral issues and then they say these are political then they tell pastors like me and Christians like your audience to to not get political when the truth is God had a voice on all these issues before there was any such thing as political he speaks out in his word about everything from life to immigration and so we should be concerned about all of these things through the lens of the Bible and then you know people are going to be more passionate about one or two versus the others but the point is look at what the Bible says match it up against what candidates are saying and then vote Mo for the one who most closely represents the biblical values and and let me just quickly add there is no righteous candidate because Jesus is not on the ballot so I try to encourage people look the the truth is that there were in the Bible righteous leaders who did some unrighteous things and there were some unrighteous leaders who did some righteous things and God used them both so we have to stop looking at the person and we have to really in on what are the policies and the procedures that each candidate will advance a lot of folks would feel like we arrived at a time such as this seemingly overnight but I think when you look at it it's been the slow drip of this or the slow drip of that and when times are good we tend to just kind of go with the flow maybe become apathetic every election in recent history I feel like I hear people say this is the most important election in our lifetime why in your opinion is this one that well when you look at like just the last 20 or 30 years and we are seeing things happening in our culture today that we couldn't have imagined 20 or 30 years ago I think that's what makes this the most important election guess what probably four years from now we're going to say the same thing because the culture is going to continue to deteriorate let's not have any Illusions until Jesus comes again we're going to see the world become darker and darker more evil and more evil so with every advancing election cycle it's going to be pushing against evil more than it was the cycle before so I think there's truth to that that this is the most important election because we see the trends of culture and how we have to be involved to stem the tide of evil next election cycle who knows the things we're going to face down the road and so if we don't start now it's going to just take over and fill that vacuum so with every election ccle it's the most important of that time A lot of people are really concerned about this election I've talked to many Christians and others who are very very nervous they have no idea with the race so TI tight how this is going to go at the end of the day so in addition to the voting what are some practical ways Christians can be actively involved in this political process I know at Cornerstone you've got folks signing up to be election Watchers observers Etc is that what people should be doing and is there anything else that Christians can do ahead of this election to get the policies in place even if they don't like the personalities you know to to win the day yeah well it's important to register to vote uh again 15 million self-identified Evangelical Christians who are able to vote are not even registered so that's critical uh then I think it's good to be involved in your local polling place um here at Cornerstone we have been recruiting election officers it's a nonpartisan thing and so we encourage people get even into your local polling places we we believe in election integrity and then I think it's important we can never underestimate the importance of prayer I called our church last night to a time of prayer and that we really need to be uh 2 Chronicles 7:14 you know if my people will humble themselves and seek the Lord and pray and turn from their Wicked Ways then God will hear from Heaven forgive our sins and heal our land so there's so much value in praying for our candidates for our country and then trusting the Lord because at the end of the day we have to always remember it doesn't really matter who occupies the White House in this sense God is still on the throne and he's occupying the throne and he is Sovereign and we're going to trust him some trust in chariots some in horses We Trust In The Name Of The Lord Our God you've got 40 million Christians not expected to vote that's an awful lot of aathy a y to overcome seeming apathy anyway final word as we head into November 5th uh my final word is that we do not have the luxury of sitting it out every election is important I know that Christians get apathetic because they want a candidate with the total package look there is no total package God used righteous leaders and unrighteous leaders he used a King David he also used the King Nebuchadnezzar uh and so don't put your confidence in the person put your confidence in the Lord and go vote your values and that's your best hope that is all right Pastor Gary of Cornerstone Chapel in leeburg Virginia thank you so much for joining us today great insights thank you so much Dara