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Oct 11, 2024 · 49 minutes

Refuse to succumb to demonic efforts to decontextualize The Great Commission.

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Show notes

0:00 - 15:00. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV). Christ-followers have been assigned Salt and Light duty. 15:00 - 31:00. Refuse to succumb to demonic efforts to decontextualize The Great Commission. 31:00 - 48:00. God has divinely ordained the time and place in which we’ve been planted for His glory. or call: 800-326-4543 To donate call : 877-616-2396

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Transcript

7,039 words, in two-minute parts. Made by machine, so a few words may be off.

0:0048:48

  1. 0:00

    Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light. This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite. Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media. And the philosophies of this world. God has called you and me to be his ambassador. Even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment. And now, the Hamilton Corner. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Hamilton Corner here on American Family Radio. I am your host, Abraham Hamilton, the third, joined by producing extraordinaire often imitated, never duplicated, also known to start mess in the studio, troubling young folks and things of that nature. Talking about the real Jay Mac ladies and gentlemen, and we are ready to rock and roll with today's edition of the program. It's something that has been on my heart quite a bit. And I just want to present it to you today, because there are many, unfortunately, who are allowing our context, particularly if you are an American citizen, to manipulate us away from an aspect of faithfulness that God calls us to, frankly, and kind of duping us into refusing to use everything at our disposal to be ambassadors of our king to set the tone for executing the Great Commission in our nation. You know, the Lord is at work all over the world. I rejoice to learn about the saints that literally are staring death in the face, but who would declare for Christ I live or for Christ out die, you know, in nations like Iran where it's being reported that the largest numbers of conversions are taking place.

  2. 2:01

    It's amazing what's happening in China. It's amazing what's happening in Nigeria and in Sudan. And you know, the gospel is exploding in Puerto Rico. You know, we, my wife and I, they plugged into what's going on in the Spanish speaking parts of the world. It's amazing what God is doing all over the world, all over the world. The Lord is also at work here in America. And we'll talk about that a little bit and to just remind us of our assignment. At this very moment, many of you, if not most of you are making your transition from your part-time jobs, where you generate an income to your full-time jobs. And that is cultivating an outcome. As you do so, I want to remind you to do it with intentionality, understanding the primacy that God places on family, welcoming his view to guide us and to instruct us in terms of what our view should be. And then welcoming his view to direct our engagement. It's we will never, ever, ever be able to out politic or even out church deficiencies in the home. But God's grace to turn our homes into sanctuaries for his presence. And it will come in that our homes become discipleship station number one. starting in our own homes and working outward from there. That is what we have the opportunity to do. And there are lots of things that we can do, but this one thing Jesus instructed us to do to go into all the world, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything that he has commanded us. With that, let us turn to the word of God. Matthew chapter five is where we're gonna go today. Matthew chapter five, we'll have some additional cross references throughout the show. Matthew chapter 5 verses 13 through 16 is where we're going to begin the program. This is the longest recorded sermon of Jesus, the sermon on the Mount.

  3. 4:06

    There's an aspect there and these are the verses where we get the description of the believer's salt and light duty. All right, this is what the Word of God says, you, excuse me, are the salt of of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. The conclusion of verse 16 there is the objective. The result of our fulfillment of salt and light duty is that our Father, our heavenly Father, Father is glorified. Let me take a few steps back. Straight away in verses 13 and 14, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. I've explained this before, but you there in both verses is plural, all right? It's plural, it's a reference to the people who are immediately present when Jesus is delivering the Sermon on the Mount. But it also applies to the disciples who would come to know Jesus Christ. that salt and light obligation is a pluralized Christ follower obligation. Every believer has the responsibility of being salt and light. Many of you know this. What I'm about to say next, first and foremost, salt is a preservative agent.

  4. 6:10

    You know, before the wonders of refrigeration, the innovation that allows things like first and foremost, uh, central air condition, air conditioning and refrigeration where we can store our food thing foods and things of that nature. And Jesus is dang salt was employed in se- in several ways, but one of the ways it was employed was as a preservative agent. All right. It was used to preserve the integrity of various various, various proteins. I'm I'm gonna cross reference the scripture in a moment about that. In addition to being a preservative agent, it also function in a way similar to the way solids used today as a seasoning agent for various foods. Light in verse 14, and y'all have heard me say this, light is a force of power. It is an affirmative force. You've heard me explain. Darkness is not an affirmative force. Darkness merely reoccupies the space that is vacated by the light. All right? This is something we know intuitively. I've stated this before, because none of us goes home at the end of a long work day and say, hey honey, would you turn the darkness off? No, we don't do that, because we know intuitively that light is affirmative. Darkness is not affirmative. Darkness merely is a reoccupant. Now the thing about darkness is that it has a robust marketing department. It has the capacity to advertise itself, to present itself as if it is ubiquitous. And because of its ubiquity, meaning that it can appear to be everywhere, all at once, even in some instances, because of its ubiquity, we can often misinterpret that appearance as being synonymous with being an affirmative force. But it simply is not an affirmative force. Jesus explaining the sermons that if salt has lost its saviour, if salt has lost its saltiness, what is it good for?

  5. 8:15

    It's good for nothing. In order for salt to have efficacy, its saltiness must persist. And I have lamented on this program time and time again that when the believer refuses to embrace the transformation as Paul articulates in Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, instead conform comes to the world, we move away from being salt and light to being lightly salted. You know, we become a worldly Christian as if that is okay because it's not. Concerning the light, Jesus goes on to explain the purpose of the light and what it's supposed to accomplish. You are the light of the world. Jesus immediately turns to a metaphor, a city set on the hill and Jesus says it plainly a city that is set on the hill cannot be hidden. Then say it tries to hide. No, it cannot be hidden because of its posture on the hill. And then he explains, you turn it to the light, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. When Jesus refers to a lamp, he's referring to what was often employed in the first century, where you would have a candle to some sort, combined with oil of some sort, and explaining his awareness of the first century home that if you have light, most likely produced by the fire that you have ignited in an attempting to preserve and extend, if you have it, you would not be content with having a self-centered or self-exclusive exposure to this light. You wouldn't put it under basket for merely personal consumption, personal illumination, and personal warmth.

  6. 10:19

    Jesus continuing this metaphor, said, no, but you would put the light on a lampstand. Again, understanding the first century home, the first century Jewish home, that the utilization of the light placing it on the lampstand, it becomes maximally beneficial. Not only for the one who ignited it or who had it personally, but it becomes maximally beneficial to all in the house. This phenomenon, I understand very, very well. One of the things I learned since joining AFR and dealing with radio and radio towers, I learned a little bit about this elevation principle. Many of you may remember the old school Verizon commercials. Can you hear me now? Good. You know? And then you had other cell phone companies trying to say, hey, you should consider working with us. And what was their advertisement line? We have our cell phone communication equipment, our cell communication equipment on all the same towers where Verizon has theirs. What is being communicated? Hey, if you think Verizon's service is good, you should consider our service. Why? Because we're on all the exact same towers. And that advertising messaging is a wee, a wee little bit deceptive, deceptive love. It's a wee little bit deceptive. Why is it deceptive? Because when they tell you they have their cell communication equipment on the same towers as Verizon, they're really not telling you anything. Because anybody who deals with cell towers and radio towers, what they will communicate to you is that the benefit of being on a cell tower has nothing to do with simply being on the tower. The question you want answered is that what is your elevation on the tower? There's a whole industry called the tower business, the tower industry, to where tower owners rent space on their tower. You want to guess which space on the tower is the most expensive? You want to guess? Yeah.

  7. 12:19

    The space on the towers that's the most expensive are the highest spots on the tower. Why? Because the higher you are on the tower, the less likely it will be for your communication signals to be intercepted. The lower you are on the tower, the more likely you are to suffer all manner of interference. Hence Verizon's initial advertising. Can you hear me now? Good. anywhere on the world, in the planet, and you're going to get our communication. Why? Because we got our communication signals at the top of these towers. This is the principle that Jesus was explaining. It's not enough. It's not sufficient for you alone to have the light. Praise God that you have the light. Praise God that you have the lamp. Praise God that you have illumination. Praise God that you have warmth. But the Christ followers task is to not just have the light, have the illumination and have the warmth, but to put it on a lampstand, to put it at the highest elevation possible so that it could be a benefit to the largest number of people possible. That is what Jesus' attempted to communicate. This dual function, salt and light, functioning, you know, as a preservative agent, we who are believers in the 21st century, we have inherited a gospel that has been passed on to us intact by the grace of God. what a miracle it is. And it is the Lord's desire for us to preserve the integrity of the gospel, that we refuse to allow compromises of the gospel. We are to earnestly contend for the faith that was once and for all passed down to us, the saints. That's a part of our preservative capacity that just as the Orthodox Christian faith, the authentic biblical gospel has made its way to us, we have a duty to preserve that, but that's one part of the Sultan-like mission. We also have the light responsibility, the affirmative advancing, invading component to where we let our light so shine among men so that glorify our Father in heaven, so that the gospel is proclaimed to the entire scope of this world. That is a part of the light function. The disciple making is a part of the light function, salt and light. That the what of the Christ following duty. When we come back, we're going to talk about the why, the where, and the when. Those who place their faith in Jesus are elevated to an extraordinary position. As co-heirs with Christ we share in His inheritance. The gospel is the ultimate dignity giver, elevating the unworthy to unimaginable heights. Our lives should reflect this dignity, empowering us to extend the same grace and love to others that has been so generously given to us.

  8. 15:22

    I'm Jordan Shambly and you can read the rest of the gospel signifies the undignified on the stand.net Shining light into the darkness. This is the Hamilton quarter an American family radio Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner Abraham Hamilton the third here. We're talking salt and light duty That is the what if you will of Christ following now. We're gonna get into the the why the when in the where and Simply put the scripture already gives it to us. We don't even we don't have to a question these things because the Lord has already given us answers to them in Scripture. So we talked about being salt and light. Why then are we to this? Verse 16, why then are we to do this? Verse 16 is already told us that our objective, the investment that we apply, and let me take a few steps back. When we're talking about the salt dude, preserving the integrity of the gospel, right? You know, refusing to allow heresies to persist. You know, thank God for brothers like Athanasius and others in the past who fought against heretical presentations like Arianism and in all the others in our day you have modern Heruses presented like so-called gay Christianity a lie no such thing as gay Christianity No more than that something called murderous Christianity lying Christianity leaving Christianity adulterous Christianity You know it's absurd. It's frankly it's absurd that one would attempt to define being a follower of the way by a particular sin proclivity. It's heretical. And this is blasphemous, frankly. That's an aspect of contending for the faith that's been once and for all passed down to the saints. The Apostle Paul explained by the Spirit of God that the Lord ordained his church to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Of course, not in and of ourselves, Jesus is the cornerstone of his church, but Paul is using his awareness of Greco-Roman architecture in communicating that notion, being the ground of the truth refers to the foundation of a building at the Greco-Roman architecture. The pillars would be the columns, the pillars that would sustain the structure, the undergirded sustaining mechanism, the Lord ordained his church to be the protector and purveyor of his truth. That's a part, again, of the salt light duty, maintaining the integrity of authentic Christ following North Indian Christian witness and proclaiming, propounding that reality.

  9. 18:03

    Why? What is the ultimate objective? Verse 16 already says it, so that others will see what you're about and glorify your Father who is in heaven. This all, the salt and light duty is all about glorifying our Lord and King to the maximum. Our objective, we're contending for the faith that has been once and for all passed down to the saints. When we're proclaiming his gospel, living his gospel, it's in the forefront of our minds at all times, is the glory of our Lord. That's the why. So that the Lord will be glorified. It's not for the purpose of me, that being argumentative, for being the sake of being argumentative, or just being opposite, opposite for the sake of being opposite. No, the Lord is the one who's doing this to be peculiar. So our quality of peculiarity gives him glory. It's amazing that there's so much conversation about culture. And sometimes people describe and discuss culture That's if it is some disembodied phenomenon. The culture has become, the culture has become. Well what is culture? Culture, our English word culture derives from, the root word cultist in Latin. Simply put, culture is comprised of the ideals, beliefs, preferences, pursuits, and practices of the people who populate a particular region. Simply put, people create culture. American culture is determined by what we Americans think, by what we want, by what we do. That is what creates culture. The presence of the people of God in any particular region should ultimately have an impact, an influence, that culture. The degree to which that influence takes place is left to the sovereignty of God. But when we are proclaiming the gospel and appealing to people's hearts and minds, it will invariably have an impact.

  10. 20:13

    And this is where I want to get a bit more specific. So we've talked about the what, something like the why for the glory of the king. Where? Go ye therefore into the world. It's the king of kings' desire that his ambassador to carry his gospel and make disciples in his name all over the world. I've explained before that the Lord has this. There's a principle in scripture that the Lord begins to work and leaves room for its offspring to fulfill it in the very beginning. Yahweh had the capacity to make the earth filled with 10 billion people with the snap of his fingers. Yet he divinely and intentionally began with a Dom and from his rib formed Eve and invited him to join him and filling the earth by yielding to his instructions. Similarly, Jesus always intended for the gospel of the kingdom of God to be proclaimed in the entirety of the world, yet He limits His physical incarnate ministry to the geographical boundaries of Israel. Why? Leaves room for His offspring beginning with His apostles to execute His commission. That is His principle. And not only that, He instructs them in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, let me turn there. Well, verses 1 through 8, I'm going to turn there briefly. Next chapter one, I'll get my pages to work with me. This is the resurrected Christ in the process of providing many convincing proves after his resurrection. He says this in Acts chapter one verse eight, but you will receive power, the Greek word for power, there's dunamis from which we get our English word dynamite. You will receive dunamis power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem.

  11. 22:20

    in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Jesus told his apostles, you will be in dude with dunamis, dunamis power, by Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses. I've explained before the Greek term for witness there is Martis, from which we get our English word martyrdom from. Most often we think about a martyr being someone who loses their natural lives and furtherance of a cause. I understand that explanation, but martyrdom, biblically is becoming the living dead. You will be in due with power, due to this power, to be my witnesses, becoming the living dead, dead to your own objectives, own prerogatives, own agendas, and alive to the agendas of Christ, to the agenda of Messiah. Being witnesses is a state of being, not merely an activity. That's why I say you will be my witnesses. Being a witnesses is a state of being, that's why we are called to be witnesses, when we're on stage in front of people, when there's lights, camera, action, and we're called to be witnesses, when there's no one around. And it's just us, our computer screens, and the Holy Spirit, because he's always there. We call to be his witnesses. Being witnesses includes various activities, like evangelism, Greek word there is Yuan Gellian, the proclamation of the availability of free gift of salvation as a result of Messiah's atoning sacrifice. As a witness, we do other things to obey our King. But the doing should flow from being, from the state of being as a witness. And you'll notice when Jesus explained that you'll be in due with power, you'll be filled with power by the Spirit, it's not merely a feeling for consumption. Ooh, they show fear good. They feel good.

  12. 24:22

    No, it's a feeling for function. The Lord has given us his Spirit for functionality. you'll be in due with power for the purpose, for the function of being his witnesses. Then you, we cross-reference this command to be, or should I say this description of what we would be as witnesses with the command in Matthew 28. And then we'll go back to Acts 17. I know this is a lot of scripture, but this is very, very important because the same Messiah in resurrection posts his resurrection gathers his apostles again. Well, Matthew's recording this. In Matthew 28, he says, simply put, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the end of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. It's a great commission. Jesus says, all authority is mine. Therefore you go. whose authority upon which do we go to execute it? It's his authority. It's not ours. We go because he said so. We go expecting effective witnessing because he said so. Because it's his authority that we go in. Then he explains what we do. Making disciples of all nations, to greet where there's ethnos, of all people groups. Ain't nobody safe. Everybody can get it. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son the Holy Spirit, the touchstone of disciple-making is obedience. Teaching the disciple to be obedient as the disciple-er is striving to be obedient.

  13. 26:25

    In all manner, Christ's following is a comprehensive faith. Every aspect of our lives should be subjected to the lordship of Christ. Then you have those principles, those commands from Acts 1, from Matthew 28, from Matthew 5. And then we realize, oh snap, God has given us a context. chapter 17, we talk about this a lot. Acts chapter 17. I wanna spend, I'm spending this time intentionally, and I'm bringing this to a particular point. Because we have the what, salt and light duty. We have the why for the Lord's glory. We have the where, world impact, world impact, subset of the where and the wind, not wind, W-I-N-D, but when, what I had to do to that word, hehehehe. Subset to the where is what I'm about to share with you? And then we move over to the wind, both addressed in Acts, chapter 17, during Paul's discourse with the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in the Ariapagos. We've talked about this before. Come right over to verse 26. And he made from one blood, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined a lot of periods and the boundaries of that dwelling place that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward find him yet he's actually not far from each one of us. A subset of the where, world impact, but each disciple has been given a context in which we are to execute the what with the why and the where. He made from mankind one blood. I'm sorry, he made from one blood every nation of mankind, same term ethnos. So where did the nations come from? One man. He has determined before time the boundaries of their dwelling place. Brothers and sisters, the where and the when are context questions. God has given each disciple a context in which we are to execute his commission. Remember the execution of his commission includes the salt and light duty, preserving the integrity of the gospel, advancing the integrity of the gospel, not having the light, keeping it to ourselves, but putting it on a lampstand so that as many people as possible are able to benefit from the elevation of the light, to benefit from its illumination and its warmth. The fact that you are a citizen in this nation, you've been born in the United States of America, is a feature of God's divine design for you.

  14. 29:18

    It is the context that God has given for you just as he's done for me, for us to be his ambassadors. God could have made us Christians in any other country in the world, but he determined by divine design to make us Americans and his desires for us as Americans to put the lamp on the lampstand. Now some of you may know our friend personally and our friend of this program Dr. George Barna has released his latest study showing that there are hundred or over a hundred million people who profess to be of some sort of faith who are not planning to vote in this election. Thirty-two million of them are evangelical Christians who profess frequent church attendance or describe themselves as evangelical Christians who have frequent church attendance. I just want to tell you simply and I would never try to truth on anybody's consences or try to demean Christ following to a workspace phenomenon to where justification is a product of works. But I will tell you when God has placed you in a particular context and he's redeemed you by the blood of the lamb, major part of his family, and tasked you with salt and light duty, he knows the context that he's placed you in. He's placed us in 21st century American context, just as he placed the Apostle Paul in 1st century Roman context. And the Lord expects no less of us as 21st century Americans than he expected of the Apostle Paul in terms of using everything at our disposal within our context to put the light on a lampstand. If you've been listening to this program any length of time, you know better than anybody, I would never tell you that the Lord would deliver his people through politics. Never would you hear me say that.

  15. 31:18

    What I will tell you however is that God in His sovereignty has afforded you and I this particular American context in which to be His ambassadors. We've talked before and I will talk about it now. The Apostle Paul used everything at his disposal, including his Roman citizenship, to put the light on the Lib stand. We've explained before how the apostle Paul knowing his adjudication rights and the laws of appellate courts in the Roman Empire, being persecuted and prosecuted on trumped up charges, initially goes to Jerusalem, appeals according to the law from Jerusalem goes next to Caesarea Philippi. Exhausting his appellate rights, he ultimately appeals to Caesar in Rome that caused even the lower level, judiciary to wonder. And if this guy had not attempted to exhaust his appeals, we could have set him free. More when we come back. The following is from an article by Dr. Jessica Peck, host of the Dr. Nurse Momma Show. Some children feel fear in places they should feel safe every day. So let's be challenged to speak words of life and encouragement. The next time a student shares a discouragement or difficulty with you, try listening first and then engaging them in compassionate and encouraging conversation. Read the full article, School Mom Hope, on thestand.net. Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Minute Common Terrets are available at eafr.net. Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio. Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. We're in the last segment already. I'm just going to continue on with the thought I was sharing before we went to the break.

  16. 33:22

    The Apostle Paul knowing his appellate rights exhausted his appellate rights, not because he was seeking to have the fairest trial, criminal trial, but because he recognized that he was an ambassador to the Lord Jesus Christ, he even described himself in some places as an ambassador in chains. Then he recognized his chains, his incarceration was a station from which he was to continue executing the Great Commission. And so by Paul exhausting his appellate rights within the Roman first century context, he's able to conclude his epistle to the Philippians. Philippians chapter four verse 21, greet every signing Christ Jesus, the brethren who are with me greet you, all the signs greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. Heh heh heh. Without Paul exhausting his Roman citizenship rights, He never would have access to Caesar's household and to proclaim the gospel even into Caesar's household. Utilizing that was a tool. It wasn't the end all be all it was a tool that God created and the context that got it placed the apostle Paul in from which the context within which he was to obey the commands of the Lord. We have particular accesses, rights, abilities in our nation and the context that we have to advance the king's agenda. Romans 13 lays out very succinctly, government's purpose. Restrain wickedness by punishing the evil doer, rewarding the righteous. One of the distinctions from a first century Roman context where there's a Caesar in America, we the people.

  17. 35:23

    At least that's how it was set up. But much of what has transpired has been the product of many of the American citizen forfeiting what is available to us, including many professing Christ followers and advocating the functions of a God ordained to be his minister to punish to punish wickedness and say, Oh, that's messy business. Listen, man, Christ followers messy business, making disciples his messy business. God is the one who ordains our context. Can you imagine, Dan, you're saying, Oh, no, Lord, I don't want to participate in obeying what you've commanded me through all the prophets, Jeremiah, back, except for now all the prophets, you know, because Babylon is messy business. Yes, messy business. The world is messy business because of the sin for fallenness of man. But God has ordained his body to be salt and light. If all of the Christ followers absent ourselves from civic participation, guess what we are going to have? And I want us to see that Christ following isn't mutually exclusive from civic engagement. Man, you were in the tape. It was Christ followers, civic engagement that gave rise to this constitutional republic with democratic features. Not everyone who participated was a Christ follower, but a large percentage of them were. And even those who were not Christ followers, they were influenced by the worldview of the Christ followers, not to compel each man by law with brute force to convert or die, as the Islamists argue, But to create an environment that would allow each man to be drawn to the king of kings by his spirit, through the faithful obedience of the Christ follower who is on salt and light duty.

  18. 37:29

    Do we see that? Do we see that? Does something to say, oh, politics has gotten so messy? It is messy. No doubt about it. That's what happens when we see this territory to the wicked. In many ways, candidates that are available are reflection of what's present in our nation. In many ways, the story of America's secularization is the absence and the negligence of the believer. Over time, over generations. The what-sultan-like duty. The why for the Lord's glory. Where? Where has he planted you? We have accesses and opportunities and abilities to us that our brethren and other nations don't have. And it's very easy. I've been talking about this for a little bit now, for us to be manipulated by our context into a passive environmental seduction that provokes a lethargy and a laziness and a disengagement. The other aspect of it is the wind. The wind, I keep putting the deal on this word, a wind, the wind, back to Act 17. He has determined before time, allotted periods, the times in which we would live. Guys, the time that we are alive is the time that God has assigned to us. He could have made us believers, you know, with this glorious melanin that I have, and the Lord would have deposited me in the United States of America. And oh, I don't know, 1825, I wouldn't have had the opportunities that I have now. But with the opportunities I have now, God requires of me to put the light on the lampstand.

  19. 39:36

    We have the opportunity through civic participation and make no mistake about it. Civic participation is not salvific, but we have the opportunity through civic participation to keep the highways and byways open so that the gospel can be proclaimed. Yes, I see the mounting forces, the desires of the AOCs of the world, you know, to, you know, stamp out disinformation and, you know, lurch, John Kerry. Oh, we have this first amendment. It didn't allow us. lamenting the fact that we have a First Amendment. But we have the way of us though, that if the First Amendment is going to be legitimately changed, we have a say! We have a say! But so many are being duped and being manipulated away from obedience in the context of God has planted us in, the context that God has planted us in, and with neglecting an aspect that God has ordained for us to utilize so that we can put the light on a lampstand. To say it differently, we should take advantage of every opportunity and use everything in our disposal to proclaim the gospel and make way for the gospel to be proclaimed. We need to take advantage of every opportunity and utilize everything in our disposal to make disciples and make sure the roadways are cleared, perverbially, to allow disciple making to continue. For too long, we have not utilized the liberties that we've had for God-gluorifying purposes by and I'm not talking about individuals, there's certainly exceptions. We should not allow other people's sinfulness to provoke sinfulness in us, neglect in us. You wanna talk about loving your neighbor. One of the most loving things you can do for your neighbor is to keep an environment that is free for the gospel to be proclaimed.

  20. 41:41

    And I wanna be clear, even if the tides of liberty turn against that free proclamation, we will still have a duty. We still have a responsibility like Peter and John, you decide whether it's better for us to obey you, obey men or obey God. But why we have a say, why not say? Why not say? I understand in this particular election that there are all kinds of concerns, and again, I respect people's concerns. But shouldn't we still try as much as possible to do the maximum good that we can? Shouldn't we? Shouldn't we try as best as possible as far as it pertains to you and me that we invest ourselves in such a way where we preserve the liberty to proclaim the truth? I was talking earlier, you know, me standing here saying what marriage is as God defines it in scripture, don't you realize our neighbor to the North cannot do that? That believers in Canada cannot get on a microphone and speak openly about God's design for marriage. If they do so, they face government prosecution. That's just the fact. Now should we, in an effort to maintain our integrity, Allow our ability to proclaim the truth over the airwaves freely, to be ripped away from us. And don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Even if those that freedom is ripped away from us, we still have a duty to be faithful, but why should we allow it to be ripped away? Is what I'm saying? Should we not do as much good as possible? As much as possible? Can you imagine, you know, those people, both less melanated and more melanated on the Underground Railroad, because they weren't able in one moment to abolish all of slavery, that they were refused to help at least one slave escape? Can you imagine that? That's foolish talk. That's foolish talk. Should we? Because states, some states, they're voting to kill babies.

  21. 43:42

    Should we not try to save every baby that we can? It's foolish talk. And listen, and I don't mean to be condemning, and I don't mean to be condescending to anybody. But I feel like there is this, there is this seduction that has occurred, that has blunted the believers the capacity to discern where we are and the times that we're in now. My faith is squarely placed in Jesus Christ in Him alone. My confidence is not in any man in any particular candidate, but I also recognize one candidate at the top of the ticket will take us in one direction and the other candidate will take us in another direction where we at least have a little bit more time to execute so my duty. I understand that. And here's another thing. The top of the ticket is not the only thing on the ballot. God's grace, the Lord moved our founders to give us a separation of powers to where whatever goes on at the executive branch, we have the wherewithal to be a check and a balance on it through the legislative branch. Do you realize the Senate hangs in the balance? Do you realize the House of Representatives hangs in the balance? That's at the federal level? Then beyond that, what is going on in your states? What is going on in your local communities? What is going on in your local school boards? I'm a homeschooled dad. But I don't want my neighbor be indoctrinated with sexually rebellious and transgenderism and lesbianism and homosexuality. I don't want my neighbor's children indoctrinated with that. That's not loving my neighbor. Just go, well, well, my kids, I'm at home and so I don't care what happens with my neighbor's children. That's not loving my neighbor. What I'm saying very simply is that God has given us a context to execute his commission. And God has sovereign over the context of each place that sin. We shouldn't say, well, because the Chinese Christians don't have the wherewithal to participate and whether or not they will have the freedom to proclaim the gospel.

  22. 45:44

    So that means we shouldn't know brothers and sisters. That's not the Lord's desire. That's not the Lord's desire. We need to recognize that the Great Commission and the responsibility that executed the context that we have has been given to us, has been assigned to us. By God, what are we going to do with that assignment? It truly hurt my heart to see that there were so many millions of professing Christians who were willing to even to speak to a poster and to declare proudly almost that I'm not going to participate civically. Again, I would never try to intrude on anybody's conscience, but I would encourage you to revisit the scripture. God has sovereign over your context, not you. You didn't decide you wanted to be born when you were born. You didn't decide you wanted to be alive in the 21st century. And even if you happen to be a legal immigrant to this country, that you didn't just get it on your own strength, God's divine providence allowed for you to be here. I ain't talking to illegal, so y'all ain't supposed to be voting anyway. If you're an illegal alien, just something as simple as that. You have Congress members, straight party line vote. A certain party refuses to pass legislation that says, you know what? and is can't participate in federal elections. What's the harm in that? Unless, unless. And let me be clear. There's no politician in no election that's gonna save us individually, but the Lord does move through governmental processes to give His people time to do what He requires of us.

  23. 47:45

    And who knows what will happen with your obedience? The Ninevites had the way with all the recognize they needed to repent. where we have the capacity, where we recognize the necessity of repentance in our nation. I just want us to understand, we need to think Biblically about it, welcome the Lord to lead us in this. And I pray by God's grace that His people will show up. We show up like Nehemiah with a sword and our building tools. Because our faith is in not an elected official, but in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. But He's also the one who's planted us and assigned us to the context he's given us to be on salt and light duty. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.

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