Latest / Voice of Rick warren / Having the Mind of Christ During an Election with Pastor Rick Warren

Transcript

Having the Mind of Christ During an Election with Pastor Rick Warren · Voice of Rick warren

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, everybody, and thanks for joining us. I'm Pastor Rick,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor at Saddleback
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Church here in Southern California. You know, this next week,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Americans are gonna go to the poll to vote on
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: a number of different issues and elect a slate of leaders,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: including a president, for the years ahead. You know, in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: my conversations with people about this election year, I've heard
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: several themes repeated over and over. And the first is
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: that people don't like the fact that political campaigning never
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: stops anymore. It is continuous now. Literally, the day after
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: an election, people start campaigning and preparing for the next one.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: So there's no break in campaigning anymore. They don't like that.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Second thing, in this election cycle, by all accounts, it's
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: been the most vicious, mean-spirited, and polarizing campaign probably in
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: modern times. And people are worn out from all the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: vitriol and the stereotyping and the stigmatizing and the name calling.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: You know, people used to disagree with each other in
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: political campaigns and still treat each other with pretty good respect.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: But these days, there's a lot of dehumanizing and the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: opposition and people are just mean. Third, because of this pandemic,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: we have now been allowed early voting. And already, as
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: I'm saying these words right now, over 90 million ballots
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: have already been turned in, and this election is going
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: to break all records for the number of votes cast
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: in an American election. Finally, with more money being spent
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: on political ads than ever before, we are being bombarded
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: 24 hours a day with political messages. Now, all four
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: of these factors that I just mentioned have created what
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: I call an exaggerated importance around political news, actually to
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: the neglect of all the other kinds of news. All
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: of the news channels that we see on TV and
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: radio and on the internet, they've all become de facto
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: political channels because that's all they seem to talk about anymore.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: And as a result, politics has come to dominate our conversations.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And as I said, it's led to what I call
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: an exaggerated importance. It's treated as the most important topic,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: even among Christians. And sometimes it's the only topic mentioned
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: by the media. This has created a lot of tension
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and even some doomsday attitudes toward this particular election. I've
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: been thinking a lot about it, praying for you. And
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: because of this, I feel that I need to take
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, the week before the election and
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: the week after, taking a break from our series through
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: the book of James, and to talk to you about
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: what the Bible says about the place and the role
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: of government and politics in your life. Because I think
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: it's really actually over exaggerated. And I wanna calm your nerves.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: I wanna put up with every, excuse me, I wanna
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: put up, a little better perspective on everything that you're
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: going through. And I want you to help you to
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: remember that God's still on his throne. He's still in control.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: History is his story. I'm gonna talk about that a
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: little bit more next week after the election. But I'm
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: also gonna show you from scripture what it will take
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: next week to heal our division and wounds. What would
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: heal our nation? Now, you know that Saddleback Church is
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: a non-political and a non-partisan congregation. We never, ever, ever
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: promote any candidate. That's just not our primary reason for existence.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: It's not one of the five purposes that God gave
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: the church to promote candidates. In the great commandment, great commission,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: there's nothing said there about politics. And so in 40
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: years as your pastor, I have never, ever endorsed any
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: candidate and I'm not about to start that. So you
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: don't need to worry about that. I think you're smart
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: enough to make your own decisions on your own, and
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: that's not what I need to talk about this weekend. Besides,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that probably a good portion of you are
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: part of that 90 million people who've already voted early.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: So instead today, what I wanna do is consider the
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: theme of how to have the mind of Christ during
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: an election. How to have the mind of Christ during
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: an election. How do you survive an election without losing
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: your sanity or losing your sleep or losing your soul. Specifically,
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: what I wanna do this weekend is contrast how the
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: values and priorities of Jesus are very different than the
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: values and priorities of politics. I want you to see
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the difference because sadly, over the past few decades, I've
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: noticed that even people who have been Christians for a
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: long time have been seduced into believing that politics rather
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: than our Lord and savior Jesus has the answers to
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: all the problems in our world. And I see people
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: who claim to be Christians spending more time watching and
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: listening to political news and political commentary than they invest
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: in studying this book, the Bible and reading Christian literature
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: that'll help them develop a biblical worldview. Now I wanna
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: point out before we get into this message that the
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Bible says that public service in government, it's a noble
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: and it's a vital vocation. And I personally know many,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: many deeply dedicated Christian public servants. But that doesn't change
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the fact that many times the kingdom of politics competes
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: with the kingdom of God for allegiance. And sadly, many
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Christians have given greater allegiance to their political party than
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: to the family of God. You know, all politics are temporary.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: They're not gonna be in heaven. And where was God
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: before your party existed 100 years ago? What was he
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: doing for thousands of years? How did he do anything
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: without your party? God's family is the only thing that's
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: gonna last forever. I wanna begin by looking at several
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: scriptures that highlight what God thinks about politics and why
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: it's so different from all the emphasis that you get
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: in the media. And then I wanna give you four
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: examples from the word of God where the values of
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Jesus are diametrically opposed to some of the values that
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: we see in political campaigns. So let's start by looking
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: at Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 verse two says this,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: do not conform yourselves to be like the people of
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: this world. Don't conform, don't just follow the crowd. Don't
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: conform yourselves being like the people of this world. Instead,
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: be transformed within by a new way of thinking. That's
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: where the transformation comes. Then you will be able to decide.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: You will be able to decide. Circle that phrase if
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: you're taking notes. You'll be able to decide what God
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: wants for you and you'll know what is good and
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: pleasing to him and what is his perfect will. As
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: I said, if you're taking notes, Circle that able to
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: decide because many of you got some big decisions to
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: make this week. And if you allow God to transform
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: your mind with the new way of thinking, you'll have
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: a couple of instant benefits. First, you're gonna make better decisions.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: You'll be able to decide what God wants you to do.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: And second, the tension in your life is gonna go down. Now,
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: my goal in this message today is for you to
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: be able to say, after this whole election thing is over,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: that you'll be able to say what Paul said in
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 1, verse 12. Paul said this, we have
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: conducted ourselves in the world with holiness and sincerity from God,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: and we've been guided by God's grace, not by the
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: human wisdom of this world. That's what I want people
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: to be able to say about you. I want you
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: to be able to say it about yourself after the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: elections all over, that you were guided by God's grace,
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: not the human wisdom of this world. What we desperately
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: need to hear from is God, not another commentator, not
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: another poll, not another pep rally. You will base your
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: values and your priorities and your choices in life, your decisions.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: You will base all of those things either on the
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: world or on the word. The world or the word.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: And these two things, the world and the word, they're
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: diametrically opposed to each other. Here's what God said in
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Isaiah chapter 55. Look at this verse, Isaiah 55, verse
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: eight and nine. I don't think the way you think.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: That's really pretty good. I'm glad God doesn't think the
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: way I think or the way you think. God says,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: I don't think the way you think and the way
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: I work is very different from the way you work.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: For just as the heavens soar high above the earth,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: so the way that I work far surpasses the way
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: you work. And the things that I value are way
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: beyond what you value. So he's on a different level.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: That's why some of the points that I share with
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: you in just a second may surprise you because God
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: thinks very differently than we do. And he certainly thinks
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: differently than politicians do. And in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 20,
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: God adds this. He says, God has shown us that
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: the world's wisdom is foolishness. It may seem like great
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: marketing material. It may seem like great merchandising, great planning,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: but God says the world's wisdom is foolish. So today
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: I wanna give you four specific examples. I could have
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: given you a dozen, but just four specific examples of
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: contrasting what the world says and what the word says.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: What politics says is important. and what Jesus says is important.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Let's get started. Number one, number one, here we go.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: The world says politics is the driving force in everything.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: If you get around the world for any length of time,
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: they're gonna talk about politics as if it's the most
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: important thing in life. I discovered this years ago when
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I started being invited to speak at secular gatherings. And
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: I spoke three times at TED, did TED Talks, I
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: spoke three times at the Davos World Economic Forum. I
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: spoke at the Entertainment Gathering and the Aspen Ideas Institute
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: and many, many other secular gatherings like the Sundance Dialogue Retreat.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: And what I discovered is this, that for people who
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: don't depend on God in their lives, they don't know
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: God and they don't depend on him as their highest power,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: then their highest power becomes government. Yeah. There's nothing higher.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: There's nobody else to appeal to because God's not there.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: And when they see problems in the world, since they
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: don't naturally turn to God, they don't pray about those problems.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: They naturally turn to government. They look to the government
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: to be the solution for everything. Because if you don't
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: have God, where do you go? It's the highest power.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: So for secular people, politics is the way you get
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: stuff done. And that's why they... live in it, they
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: thrive in it. And everything has been politicized. In every endeavor,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: there's now a political undertone. I noticed this when I
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: would be interviewed on news shows. And even though I'm
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: a pastor, the newscasters primarily wanted to ask me questions
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: about politics. Why? Because that's what their world revolves around,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: completely around politics. And without God, they have nothing else
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: to make the world a better place. So people without faith,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: for them, politics matters much more than it should because
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: they don't have God. Now, how does that contrast with
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the biblical view? Well, Jesus says this, and I urge
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: you to write this down. Politics says, we're all that matters.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: We're the dominant force. But Jesus says, my church matters
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: more than anything else. Jesus, no, no, politics isn't the
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: most important thing on this planet. My church is the
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: most important thing on this planet. It's the only thing
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: that's gonna last, politics not. It's gonna last forever. Let
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: me show you some scriptures about Jesus saying the most
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: important thing on earth is the church. Ephesians 3.10, God's
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: intent was that through the church, his manifold wisdom will
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: be made known. That the church is the way we
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: know about God, the way we know his will, the
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: way we know what to do. Ephesians 1.22, God has
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: put everything, that's including politics, everything under the authority of Christ.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: That includes the economy, includes the weather, everything under the
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: authority of Christ. And he gave Christ this authority, notice
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: this line, for the benefit of his church. That's how
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: important the church is. Matthew 16.18, Jesus promises, I will
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: build my church and the gates of hell will not
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: overcome it. Jesus didn't ever say, I will build my nation.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: He didn't ever say, I will build my ministry. He
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: didn't ever say, I will build my business. He didn't
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: ever say, I'll build my organization or my school. He said,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: I will build my church and the gates of hell
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: will not overcome it because it's the only thing that's
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: gonna go into eternity. It's what Jesus is doing in
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: the world right now. He's building his church. That's what
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: God's been doing for 2000 years, building his church, bringing
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: more into his family. God wanted a family and that's
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: why he created the entire universe. God wanted a family.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Ephesians 5.25 and verse 27 says this, Christ loves the church.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Anything he loves, we ought to love too. Christ loves
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: the church, gave himself for the church to make it
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: belong to God. He died for the church so that
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: he could give the church to himself as a beautiful bride.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Do you see how many times church was used in
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: that verse? You see, you can't read this New Testament.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: You just can't read it without seeing how much God
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: loves his church. He loves it more than anything else.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: It's his family, it's his children. It's us who are
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: gonna spend eternity with him. You wanna know how much
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: a church is worth? Look at the cross. Christ died
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: for the church. If we're going to be effective as
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: believers in this world, we must love the church as
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: much as Jesus loves the church. You know what the
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: sad thing is today? A lot of people use the
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: church but don't love it. They use it, they enjoy it,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: they benefit from it, but they don't love it. If
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: you're gonna be a strong believer, follower of Christ, you've
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: gotta learn to love the church like Jesus does. He
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: sacrificed for it. He gave his life for it. Ephesians 1.23,
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I love this in the message paraphrase, says this, look
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: at this verse there on the outline. The church is
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: not peripheral to the world. The world is peripheral to
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: the church. You see, there wouldn't be any world if
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: God didn't want a church. There wouldn't be a universe.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: The church is the reason the universe exists. The church
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: is Christ's body. into which he speaks and acts and
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: by which he fills everything with his presence. And from
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: all those four or five verses I just read and
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: so many others I could have shown you, it's really
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: clear that the church is the only thing on earth
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: that's gonna last forever and the church is more important
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: than any government, any organization, any business, any entertainment, any celebrity, Now,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: do you see how radically different the Christian worldview is
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: from a secular worldview? They say, well, politics, that's all
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: that really matters. No, it's not. What really matters is
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: the church. It has the power to change things. We're
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: gonna be talking a little bit more about that next week.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Now let's move on. Here's the second thing that we
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: hear from politicians that just isn't true. Politicians say, we'll
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: solve all your problems. and we'll save the world. We're
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: gonna solve all your problems and we're gonna save the world.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: We're gonna make the world great again. Now we all
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: know that these promises aren't true, but it doesn't stop
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: every new politician from making the same tired promises and
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: claims when they run for office. And every single politician says,
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: this is the most crucial campaign. This is the most
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: crucial election. Why? Because they're running in it, that's why.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: The problem is when you hear something over and over
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: and you hear it enough times, studies have shown, you
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: actually start to believe it's true, even though it's untrue.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: And so no human being can solve all of our problems.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: That's a promise no politician can keep. No human being
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: is a savior of the world. And in contrast, that's
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: what the world says. What does the word say? Jesus
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: says this, only I can save you. Only I can
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: save you. I'm the savior of the world. I'm the
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: light of the world. And only I can solve your
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: worst problems. And he tells us that if we trust
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: human beings instead of trusting him, we're gonna be severely disappointed.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: You know, when you look at all the problems in
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: the world, every social problem comes back to a spiritual problem.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: It starts in the heart. Jesus said murder and adultery
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: and jealousy and greed And all these things, all the
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: things that are causing crime and war and problems and
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: breakdown of families, they're all starting in the heart. They're
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: all spiritual issues that turn into social issues. Psalm 146,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: verse three. Here's what the Bible says. Do not put
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: your trust in princes. Who's that? Government leaders. Do not
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: put your trust in princes who are mortal men. They
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: cannot save you. And again, in Jeremiah 17, verse five,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: God says this, anybody who turns away from trusting me
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: to put their trust in a human being will be cursed.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: That's what he says, they will be cursed. They'll dry
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: up like a bush in the desert with no hope
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: for their future. Sadly, I've seen Christians who started off
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: on fire for God, all of a sudden get hijacked,
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: get diverted, get detoured. And all of a sudden, all
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: their energy's going into the candidate of this year and
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: then the candidate of next year and the candidate in
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: 10 years, as if that's where all of the power is,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: that's where the change is. No, no. Jesus is the
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: savior of the world. And if you spend as much
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: time praying for the problems of the world as you
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: do campaigning for a candidate, you'd probably see greater change.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Let me give you a third worldview difference between politics
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: and Jesus. Politicians tell us votes and money come by
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: creating division and fear. That you get more votes and
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: you get more money, you raise more funds, if you
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: just create some division and you create some fear. Now,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: I'm not gonna give you the name of the person
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: who taught me this, because you all know the name
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: of this very famous politician. If I mentioned the person's name,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: you'd know it. But one night, I was having dinner
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: at his house and this well-known politician looked at me
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: and he said, Rick, the easiest and fastest way to
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: raise money is to find an enemy and target them.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: And that man had raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: And every politician learns this eventually, all the campaigns learn it.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: It's why attack ads are more effective than positive ads.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: If I get a flyer in the mail that tells
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: me all the good things you're doing, It's not nearly
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: as effective as I get a flyer in the mail
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: from you that tells me all the bad things your
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: opponent's doing. And that's built in to politics, to create division.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: You see, if there's no division, then there's no reason
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: to vote for different people. We all believe the same thing.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: If there's no division, there's no reason for you to
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: vote for some other person. So you have to create
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: what politicians call wedge issues that put citizens or pit
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: citizens against each other. It's no wonder that the United
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: States doesn't feel so united these days. You see, fundamentally
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: politics divides. Every time you take a vote on anything,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: you vote on dinner. Anytime you take a vote, somebody
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: loses because nobody can win all the time. And if
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: you vote on everything, pretty soon you got a nation
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: or a family or a business or a church full
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: of losers. People begin to resent each other. People begin
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: to be afraid of each other. People lose the concept
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: of the common good. It just becomes a quaint relic.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: You know, we all know that in recent years, the
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: world has become more divisive and more opinionated, more polarized.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: And we just talked about it and we're coming into
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: the last week of this campaign. And part of that
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: comes from the fact that everybody gets their news from
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: different sources today. And that simply reinforces our bias. And
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: you heard what you wanted to hear because you were
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: listening to your station. And I heard what I wanted
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: to hear because I was listening to my station. And
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: it's not like 50 years ago, everybody watched the same news.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: So they knew what to talk about. And it was news,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: it wasn't commentary. But social media has also given us
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: the most negative and divisive voices platform. It gave them
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: a huge platform so that anybody can spout hatred and
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: things like that. Now, why am I saying all this?
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Because the Bible says that we as Christians are supposed
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: to navigate the culture we live in. We're to be
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: in the world, but not of the world. So how
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: in the world are we as Christians supposed to navigate
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: such a divided and divisive culture? Well, there needs to
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: be one place where there's a safe haven. And Jesus
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: says this, in my church, unity gets priority over politics.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: He said, politics has no place in the church. Unity
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: gets priority over politics. You bring politics in, all of
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: a sudden you're gonna divide your own congregation. You're gonna
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: divide the body of Christ. Let me show you just
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: a few verses on the importance of unity and how
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: deeply God values that in his church. because I want
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: you to have the mind of Christ. This is the
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: way God thinks. This is the way Christ thinks about
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: his church and about what's going on in the world.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Ephesians 4, three and four says this, make every effort
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: to preserve the unity of the church, which the spirit
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: gives us. Bind yourselves together with peace because we're all
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: one body. We all have the same spirit, the Holy Spirit.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: We've all been called to the same glorious future. He says,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: make yourself, make a priority of being unified in your
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: church family. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10 says this. I
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: beg you, I beg you, dear brothers and sisters, by
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: he gonna beg us to do? He says, to not argue.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: to not argue among yourselves. I said, don't argue in church.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: There needs to be a safe haven. Let there be
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: real harmony, he says, so there won't be any divisions
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: in the church. I plead with you to be of
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: one mind, united in thought and purpose. We should be purpose-driven.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: We should be unified on, we have the same savior,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: we have the same Bible, we have the same Lord,
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: one Lord, one faith, one baptism. He says, be of
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: one mind. Don't bring in other stuff that divides people up.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Romans 14 verse one gives us some practical insight on
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: how to do this in a world that's more and
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: more politicized. Romans 14 one in the message says this,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: welcome with open arms, fellow believers, and here's the part
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: it says, who don't see things the way you do.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Let me read that again. Romans 14 one, welcome with
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: open arms into our fellowship, into our family, fellow believers
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: who don't see things the way you do. Why? They
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: have a different background. And he says, then here's the
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: second part of the verse, don't jump all over them.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Every time they do or say something you don't agree with.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: We don't have to see eye to eye to walk
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: in arm in arm. We can have unity in our
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: church without uniformity. You know, at Saddleback, we come from 167,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: 168 languages. We come from every kind of different ethnic background,
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: economic background, different races, different religions, different regions, but we
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: form this beautiful mosaic called Saddleback Church. We might be
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: the most diverse church in America, but what matters is
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: not how we're all different. What matters is we've got
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: the same Lord, the same word, the same Holy Spirit,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: We've got the same salvation. We've got the same place
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: we're going to in heaven. Now, let me just say,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: if you know more about politics than you know about
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: the church, you're studying the wrong thing because politics aren't
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: gonna last. No party lasts, no politic lasts, no leader lasts.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: The church is the only thing that's gonna last forever.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: And unity in the church is so important. God says
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: it's so important. He gave some special instructions to pastors
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: in Titus 3, verses 10 and 11. Here's what it says.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Warn a divisive person. He's talking about in the church.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Warn a divisive person once, then warn him a second time,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: and after that, have nothing to do with him. By
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: persisting in divisiveness, he cuts himself off from fellowship. He says,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: you know, you just stop associating with people who just
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: wanna argue, who just wanna divide people up. Now, let
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: me just mention one more difference between the world's view
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: as seen in politics and the word's view as seen
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: in Jesus. Politics says results matter more than character in leaders.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Results matter more than character. This is a transactional value
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: of politics. And when a leader says, you know, in politics,
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: it doesn't really matter what kind of character they've got
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: as long as they're getting the job done. It doesn't
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: matter how you get it done as long as you
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: get it done and you can give up your principles
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: and you can change the rules and you can lie
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: and you can cheat and you can demonize and stereotype
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: the opposition. And all these are okay because the ends
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: justify the means. That's actually an acceptable view to many
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: people who operate in that world, that the ends justify
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: the means. But the Bible says that's a lie. It's
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: a lie out of the pit of hell. And it's
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: certainly not biblical. God says clearly that the means are
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: just as important as the ends. That how you do
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: what you do and why you do what you do,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: your motive is just as important as doing the right thing.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: In fact, You can do the right thing in the
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: wrong way. I could give you dozens of examples of
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: that in scripture. Character matters. The ends do not justify
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: the means. God says, I care about what you're becoming
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: while you're going toward those ends. And if you do
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: the right thing in the wrong way, it's still wrong.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: And if you study the ministry of Jesus, you'll find
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: that he emphasized personal character and personal integrity over character.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: and over and over. Now, in contrast to this view,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: the political view that the ends justify the means. If
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: we wanna change the rules, we'll say something four years
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: ago and now we'll change it because we wanna do
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: something and we'll break a promise. It doesn't really matter.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Jesus says the character of a leader matters the most.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: The character of a leader matters the most. that God
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: is more interested in who you are than even what
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: you do. Let me say that again. God is more
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: interested in who you are and what you're becoming and
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: what your character is developing than what you do. Now,
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: there are many, many verses I could show you about this,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: but I'll just give you one. Ecclesiastes 10, verse two,
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: and it says this. A wise person's heart will lead
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: in the right way. but the heart of a fool
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: will always lead in the wrong way. Now, let me
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: just stop there for that. Look at that verse for
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: just a second. A wise person's heart. The word heart
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: in Hebrew is the word lav, lav. And it means,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: it's not talking about your pump. Your heart is your
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: inner being. It's who you really are. It's your mind, will,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: and your emotions. It's your personality. Your heart, anytime you
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: see the word heart in scripture, think of the word character,
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: your character. Let me read that verse again, Ecclesiastes 10.4
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: from that point. A wise person's character, if you're wise,
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: then you got good character. Wise person's character will lead
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: you in the right way. But the heart or the
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: character of a fool will always lead in the wrong way.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: character does matter. That's a totally different word that you
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: get from the Bible than you get from politics. Now,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: I wanna just close this message by showing you the
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: kind of leader that God approves and blesses. It's in
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: the profiles in Isaiah chapter 32. And in Isaiah chapter 32,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: we are given a prophetic picture of what it will
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: be like When Jesus is the leader in the coming
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: millennial reign, when he reigns for a thousand years, Jesus
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: is the leader. This is a prophecy about Jesus, but
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: I don't wanna look at it from the prophetic angle.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: I want you to see the character qualities that are
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: in Jesus that God says, that's what I value in
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: a leader. That's what I value in a leader. So
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: if you wanna know what kind of leadership qualities God
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: looks for, go read Isaiah 32. The first half of
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: this passage gives us the characteristics of a good leader,
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: one that God blesses. If you have these qualities in
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: your life, then you're gonna be a leader that God blesses.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: If you're gonna be a leader at work, a leader
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: on a team, a leader in an organization, a leader
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: in our church, those are the characteristics we're gonna look at.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: Then the second half describes the characteristics of a foolish leader.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: And I want you to pay attention. And I want
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: you to notice the contrast between a wise character and
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: a person with foolish character. Now, Jesus is the model
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: of the best kind of leader. And the fool is
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: the model of the worst kind of leader. The kind
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: that God doesn't wanna bless. So let me read it
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: to you now. And these verses, Isaiah 32, one day,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: I've used the TEV, the NCV and the NLT to
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: give the full meaning here. Here's what it says. someday, someday,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: there will be a king who rules with integrity. There
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: will be a king who rules with integrity and national
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: leaders who govern with justice. So the first two things
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: we see God looks for in a leader is integrity
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: and justice, okay? Integrity and justice. Then he said, each
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: of them, these leaders, these national leaders, will be like
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: a shelter from the wind and provide safe covering in storms.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: He's saying these leaders will protect people. They won't exploit them.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: They'll protect them from the wind and from the storm.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: They'll give them safe covering. They'll help them. We're in
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: a pandemic right now. Good leaders, godly leaders protect us
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: when we're going through the wind and the storms. We
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: have safe covering. And then he says the next quality
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: is they will refresh others. A good leader, a wise
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: leader with character, refreshes others like the streams flowing in
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: a desert and like the cool shadow of a giant
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: rock in a hot barren land. The hot barren land,
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: you're in the middle of a desert and you can't
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: find any shade, you find a big rock and you
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: sit under the shade and it gives you refreshment. He said,
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: that's what a real leader does. They protect you in
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: the storm, and they restore you when you're going through
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: the dry spells. They give you the cool shadow and
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: the streams of water. And then here's the next quality
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: of a good leader. Notice this, their eyes and ears
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: will be open to the needs of people. What's he
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: saying there? A good leader is empathetic. A good leader
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: is sympathetic. A good leader can empathize. They're open, their
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: ears and their eyes, they listen, they're good listeners, to
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: the needs of people. That's what it takes to be
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: a good leader, to listen to the needs of people.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: And then he says, they will not, a good leader,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: they will not be rash. They will not be reckless hotheads. Instead,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: they will act with understanding and they will say what
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: they mean. Is this an incredible passage? They will act
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: with understanding and they will say what they mean. That's
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: the kind of leader God looks for. And in that day, listen,
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: he said in that day in the future when this
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: king of integrity is here, in that day, ungodly fools
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: will no longer be called great. And scoundrels won't be
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: given positions of honor. Wow. A foolish leader then, these
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: next few verses, he contrasts a good leader with a
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: foolish leader. He said a foolish leader speaks foolishly. We say,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: you know, a guy's a fool if he speaks foolish stuff.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Out of the mouth comes your character. A foolish leader
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: speaks foolishly and he thinks up new ways to do mischief.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: And then look at this line. What the foolish leader,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: what he does and what he says are both an
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: insult to the Lord. Folks, I'm reading scripture to you
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: right now, Isaiah 32. What he does and what he
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: says are an insult to the Lord. He never feeds
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: the hungry. He never gives thirsty people anything to drink.
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: These are things that God values. These are things that
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: God says are important to leadership. The scoundrel's methods are wicked.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: He constantly lies. He is cruel and unmoved by the
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: pleas of the poor and the hurting. Doesn't even pay
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: any attention to the pleas of the poor and the hurting.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: And he denies them the justice and their rights. Wow.
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: But a good leader plans good things to do good.
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: And those good things make him a good leader. I
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: hope you'll go back to Isaiah 32 this week and
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: read those first eight verses. The qualities of a good
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: leader and the qualities of a foolish leader. because it
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: can't be any clearer on what God wants me to be,
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: wants you to be, wants all of us to be,
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: and wants our leaders to be. Now, I wanna close
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: just by praying for our nations. I'm gonna talk more
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: about how to do that next week, but I want
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: us to just pray because this is an important week
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: in America, but also in all of our other Saddleback countries.
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: So if you're in Saddleback Hong Kong, I want you
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: to pray for China. And if you're at Saddleback Santa Rosa,
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: I want you to pray for your country, the Philippines.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: And if you're at Saddleback Berlin, I want you to
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: pray for your nation, Germany. And if you're a part
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: of Saddleback Buenos Aires, I want you to pray for Argentina.
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: And those of us in the United States, let's pray
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: for this country and this election right now. All right,
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: let's pause for a minute. Father, I'm asking you, and
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: we're asking together, you said if any two agree as
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: touching anything, it shall be done. I'm asking you to
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: help us have a Christ-like mindset, to not get caught
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: up in the way the world thinks, but to realize
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: what really matters is your church, your word, and our character,
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: and that all these other things are secondary, that all
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: these other things aren't gonna last, but we will take
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: our character with us, who we have become, the men
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: and women we have become, we'll take into eternity. And
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: so we pray first for ourselves. It's me, it's me,
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. I wanna
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: be the kind of leader that we just read about,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: all of those eight or nine qualities. And I don't
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: wanna be a foolish leader, all those qualities we read about.
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: And I pray, that we will help each other be
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: better leaders in our communities, in our homes, in our workspaces,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: in our church. God, you may call some who are
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: listening right now to go into political leadership. You may
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: call them out of this meeting and say, I wanna
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: be that kind of man or woman of character. And
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: I wanna base my life on the word, not the world.
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: We pray for these elections, not just the presidential election,
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: but senators and congressmen and state senators and congressmen and
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: all of the city councils and school boards and water
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: districts and all of the different positions that will be
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: opened up this week. We pray thy will be done
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: on earth as it is in heaven. And we ask
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: you to hear our prayers, help us to remember then
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: no matter what happens, you're still in charge, you're still
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: in control, that the hand or the heart of the
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: king is in the hand of the Lord and you
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: can turn it any way you wish. So we wanna
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: surrender ourselves to be leaders wherever you called us to
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: be leaders and to pray for others, raise up godly
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: men and godly women who can lead the next generation
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: of our church, and our ministries and our nation and
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: the world. Now it may be that you've never opened
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: your life to Jesus Christ and I always like to
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: give you an opportunity to do that. I said earlier
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: that politics and no politician can save us, but there
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: is a savior who will save you. He will forgive
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: your sins. He will give you a new purpose in life.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: He will give you a home in heaven. He will
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: save you from yourself if you'll just open your heart
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: to him. Say, Jesus Christ, I ask you to come
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: into my life right now. Help me to understand it more.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: I wanna follow you. I wanna step across the line.
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: I wanna begin a new life today. In your name
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: I pray, amen. If you prayed that prayer and you
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: gave your life to Jesus right now for the very
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: first time, would you let me know about it? Pull
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: out your phone. text to 99000, text the word newstart, 99000.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: If you don't have a phone, you can email me
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: newstart at saddleback.com and I'll send you some free material.
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: If you're not in a small group, you need it
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: during this support time for COVID-19, text small group to
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: 99000 or email me at saddleback.com. And then every week
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: we give our offerings and thanks to God. You can
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: give an offering online and if you'll just make a
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: note to, go to saddleback.com slash give. You can help
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: give there, give your tithe, give an offering. Do you
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: know that we've fed over 300,000 out-of-work families because of
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: your giving during COVID? If you'd like to be baptized,
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: you'd like to take class, you can watch on after
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: the screen at the end here and see how to
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: get involved in that and how you could serve one
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: of our distribution centers. I'm gonna be praying for you
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: all this next week. And then next weekend, we're gonna
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: look at how God wants to heal our hearts and
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: heal our nation, regardless of who gets elected. God bless you.
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: We'll see you next week.