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Political views vs. the Gospel
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Posted by: smb1976
Dear Jerry,
I wanted to tell you how much I love this website. It has offered me a way to develop a deeper prayer life as well as receive support through the prayers of my sisters and brothers in Christ.
While I believe this is a very important election and do want to encourage everyone to vote I do not believe this is the stage to do that. I am dissappointed because I feel as if you are joining in the slander of another man.
Neither man up for the presidency is perfect. Your support of our current president is wonderful and I do pray for the President and his staff. But I feel like the last several weeks everytime I check in it's about the "woe is Mr. President" and not talking about God.
I am praying for this country and I will pray for the Holy Spirit to lead me as I vote.
Please consider the focus of the website once again, more so back to the teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ.
Respectfully
Stephanie
smb1976
Posted by: christythompson
Slander is when you say an untruth. What we are saying in regards to John Kerry are not an untruths. While neither man is perfect, as Christians you have to draw the line somewhere. The somewhere should be drawn on the abortion issue. Abortion is murder, partial birth abortion has never been proven to save a mothers life. Birthing the entire child except the head! Why not let the head come out...Why then everyone knows its murder. He has stated he plans on taking our tax dollars to pay for this procedure for welfare recepients and for overseas countries. This is heinous. Both he and Bush voted for war. Abortion like this is where to draw the line, not to mention other moral issues like harvesting human embryos for stem cell research with our tax dollars. Growing babies for research; to kill for research. Are you for that? Other stem cell research is currently being done. Keep in mind research does not mean a cure. You want your tax dollars to support that? You believe that men with men should be married... a bible based institution. Or is your issue the economy? Remember Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple. I rather stay in the presence of the Lord. Remember what happened when Germany was silent, and Hitler took power....
Posted by: JG
Praying for our President
Praying for our Nation
Praying for our families
That is what I am about.
I was in Vietnam
I saw something different than Kerry
I was one of those soldiers passing our candy
I never saw one person doing the things Kerry said.
By the way by his own testimony he now says he
never saw it first hand either.
I never saw one drug addicted soldier.
That would have been the dumbest thing in the world
Who in their right mind would get stoned then walk in a mine field.
I want to pray about the most important
decision about this country in my lifetime.
As the leader that is my joy.
Thank you for your concern
After the election we will go back to
revival but for now we are at war
Light
darkness
good
evil
So we will pray.
Thank You
Pastor Jerry
Posted by: prayyior
Amen...and Amen and a full page of AMENS.
Posted by: StarChilde
It is always a war though...
Eph 6:12 For we wrestlenotagainst flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
and God's own words tells us of the influence that the prince of the power of air has over the unbelievers, and this world.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
So it should be no wonder, that the same will be influencing politics.
Posted by: ANOINTED WARRIOR
Vote For the Anointing"
by Francis Frangipane
To obtain conformity to Christ means we are seeking to serve God with the very same character, purpose, and empowerment (or "anointing") that was revealed in Jesus. Yet, Christ-likeness is not something we mimic, but a life that flows to us from Christ Himself and is worked in us via the Holy Spirit (see Phil 3). This is why our primary focus is not upon the outer form or style of our worship, but upon the Person we worship. Yes, to be conformed to Jesus in all things is true worship perfected.
When we speak of conformity to God's Son, we mean that the very same anointing that rested upon Him, now rests upon us. In the Bible, when one was anointed, it denoted that an individual had been chosen and prepared by God to serve in a role of either priestly, prophetic, or kingly authority. As Israel's Messiah, Christ was the perfect embodiment of these three functions of the anointing. This is not new teaching about Jesus Christ. If you are born again of the Holy Spirit, you have received a living power which is also working in you the manifest life - the anointed life - of Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor 4:7-11). God's goal is not just to bring us to Christ when we die, but to manifest Christ where we live.
Remember, the title Christ means "Anointed One." To truly know the Lord Jesus is to understand His Messianic identity as Israel's Anointed. To be conformed to Him, however, is to walk in His anointing (see 1 Jn 2:6). Thus, as we near the end of the age, the true church will be increasingly identified by Christ's three-fold anointing: we will be given to intercession as a priesthood of believers; we will be prophetic in our discernment and communication of God's word (whether the word comes to teach, comfort, evangelize, or warn); and in all of life's spheres, we will walk in a holy, kingly anointing, as ambassadors of Christ and His kingship in heaven (see 2 Cor 5:20).
Christ's Fullness
Yet, this last arena, the transference of Christ's representative governmental authority to the church, has been resisted by many Christians. While most might accept the authority of Christ to help in their sphere of influence, even sincere believers question the legitimacy of godly leaders being called to serve in government. They ask for New Testament teaching to confirm this doctrine.
The very fact that Jesus Christ sits as king in heaven, and that His expressed will is that we be conformed to His image in all things (Rom 8:29), validates that He will have disciples who will manifest His governmental anointing on earth. For, "as He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). You see, God has called His church to one goal: reveal the fullness of Christ.
We should learn from past mistakes, but not limit our potential because of them. Our birthright cannot be measured by the failures of our past, but against the stature of Christ-likeness. Our confidence must abide in the Father's ability to fulfill what He has spoken concerning us. Therefore, let us forget for a moment our current limitations and consider with reverence our spiritual potential. And let us not be staggered by unbelief, but with faith pray, "be it done to me according to Your word" (Lk 1:38).
John writes,
"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." John 1:16
Paul states,
"The church...is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Ephesians 1:22-23
Again, Paul says the height of our destiny is nothing less than "the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13).
God's will is not that our growth be stunted halfway to full maturity, but that we know and walk in the full anointing of Christ! Consider: the proof that Elisha had truly received Elijah's anointing was that Elisha did the works of Elijah (2 Kings 2:8-15). Likewise, the anointing that rests upon us should, in time, produce the very same life that we see in Christ, our heavenly King (see Jn 14:12). Thus, when someone questions the validity of Christians serving in government, we have only to point them to the prayer Christ taught: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Indeed, every time we pray those words, someone is receiving grace to represent the character and interests of Christ in our governmental settings.
The Kingly Anointing
Again, the question arises, "But the realm of kingly or governmental authority is fraught with the corrupting influence of power. Why would God send His servants into secular leadership?"
Hebrews 11 tells us that God specifically sends His servants into world systems to transform them and lead nations toward heaven. Consider: From verse 22 through verse 34 of Hebrews 11, each person given as an example of faith was an individual raised up by God to lead their nation. Who would like to inform the righteous kings of Judah, from David to Josiah, that it was not God's will for them to be in power? Whisper this idea, that God does not anoint and send people into world leadership, to Daniel and see if he concurs. You see, God has always had it in His heart to raise up men and women who serve Him in wisdom and righteousness, whom He uses to bring multitudes to Himself.
Consider God's word to Abraham:
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you." Genesis 17:4-6
For over two thousand years, from Abraham to Christ, God worked primarily with Israel and its line of kings. However, His promise to Abraham was that he would be a father of "a multitude of nations." He never has abandoned Israel, yet three times in the above promise the Lord mentions that many nations would look upon Abraham as their father. He then adds, "and kings will come forth from you" (vs. 6).
It has always been in God's heart to bring nations to Himself, but it wasn't until Christ came that the grace of God could truly spread worldwide. The fact is, you cannot bring nations to God without turning the government of those nations to God as well. So the Lord tells Abraham, "kings will come...from you." Kings exercise authority over nations. Paul speaks of this, in principle, in the New Testament when he urged "that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (1 Tim 2:1-2).
In the Lord's promise to Abraham, the Hebrew word for kings referred to "officials of many levels." This word, kings (Melek in Hebrew), was a "very common term for virtually any magistrate" (Zodhiates Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible). In other words, among those who were to come forth from Abraham would be a generation of godly leaders whose sphere of influence would be felt in every strata of secular authority.
Isaiah 60 also speaks of "nations" that would come to our light and "kings" to the brightness of our rising (Isa 60:1-3). Again, kings here is the same word that encompassed all levels of secular authority. This promise of God is not only for the millennium, but also for now, during the time when "darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples" (vs. 2). Just because the cultural atmosphere is charged with demonic darkness, it does not mean the Almighty has abandoned society. God desires to raise up warring priests who intercede for mercy; He has prophets who call His people to repentance and vision; and He is preparing leaders who will rule righteously with wisdom and meekness.
The Gift of Democracy
Only in recent times has mankind been given a wonderful gift from God: democracy. For approximately 5700 years, the entire world order was ruled by kings and tribal chiefs (except briefly in Athens). Even today, nearly half the world does not elect their government leaders.
With democracy, we do not have to wait for a king or dictator to die to hope that his heir will be more righteous. In America, every four years we are given the opportunity to pray and decide who shall guide our nation. This means that we can choose godly leaders to guide us. Of course, no one is perfect. We will always struggle with the apparent imperfections of any candidate; we will never stop needing the priestly role of intercession to redeem our leaders' errors. But in democracies, we have the opportunity to realize the anointing of Christ in governmental systems. It is a tremendous gift from God!
Am I saying that democracy is the same as heaven? No, absolutely not! Not until Jesus returns will we realize the fullness of God's kingdom. Remember, we said that our goal is not to see the church become political, but the political realm become spiritual, where the integrity, wisdom, and justice of Christ - the anointing of the Messiah Himself - manifests in godly leadership.
People say, "The Lord will decide who is elected. I'm not voting." Excuse me, but in democracies God chooses to work through the voting system. We will always have to trust the Lord no matter who is elected, and we should pray that He "stir up" the spirits of godly people to vote, but He will not override the mechanics of our democratic nation. Thus, we must choose our officials with prayer and principled wisdom. We must also encourage others and work to see godly leaders positioned in government; and where godliness does not exist, we must pray for leaders that they might come to Christ.
How do we discern among candidates which individual is capable of receiving Christ's anointing for government? First, we must look beyond an individual's debating skills and ask, does this man or woman bow to Christ as their ruler? You see, to that leader, Jesus must be revealed as the King of kings. Not until a person genuinely bows before Christ, is he fit to rise and lead the people.
One last thing: No matter who is elected, God calls us to pray for our leaders with faith and mercy, trusting in God's goodness. I am not telling you for whom you should vote, but urging you to vote with vision and prayer. Which candidate do you feel can be most influenced by Christ to lead our nation? Vote for the individual who, as best as you can tell, is most open to the anointing of Christ the King.
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Jesus release on all who read this message above a mighty anointing..
Jerry hit it right on the head of the nail when he said "right now we are at war" But yet so few are hearing the trumpet blaring in there spirit to get into the heavenlies and do battle and then to release the victory in the heavenlies into the physical realm.. God Bless
Posted by: Tc24Him
Ran across your email and thought you'd like a response. I hear what your saying about the focus but I havet to admit there are few places where you can talk freely about God and politics. Even the church now day's can't talk about politics without being reminded that their non-tax status might be pulled. It's a shame. Especially knowing that this country was founded upon God prayerfully. It's easy to get a sense that God and religion don't mix especially in the world because all the media shows you is islam fashists who in the name of religion blow themselves up. But they do not die for the cause of Christ but for hatred. This is a war whether we like it or not and the whole reason why we as Americans are not allowed to voice our opinions from the pulpits of religion is not because of church and state but because the enemy has deceived us and now we have disunity! If the enemy can keep the church divided then we have no source to govern with! We are a bunch of Israelites in the Desert without the Fire at night and the cloud during the day! I understand what your saying. Please don't knock this sight because of the politics. The bible says to reason together! Then let us reason together! There is room for us all at the cross!
TC