Money and Politics | Leading Others to Follow Christ

A New Beginning presents a new book from Pastor Greg Laurie. We are offering a brand new resource called The House of David Devotional and it's based on the great Psalms of David as well as the life of David. So I'm going to put this brand new devotional in your hand so you can learn from this man of God. Or your gift of any size at harvest.org.

It's the official companion resource for the new Amazon TV series also called The House of David. When God sees a problem in a nation, notice where he points his finger at my people. God doesn't point his finger at the White House, he points a finger at his house.

We can stand all day and say Hollywood does this, Washington does that. God says yeah, interesting, my people. Pastor Greg Laurie says the Bible is clear. The change begins with us. God is counting on us to step forward.

Revival starts with the church and then it spreads to the culture. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Again you hear when the angels are singing.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Have you ever seen some wild new clothing style that's catching on like wildfire? And you wonder who is the first person to try that? And how did they get everyone else to follow their lead? Some people are influencers, plain and simple. Well today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out we're called to be influencers as we follow Christ.

It's our privilege and responsibility to show others what a Christ-like life looks like and show them how to follow our lead. Politics. Now I know the knee-jerk reaction is no we shouldn't talk about politics in church and you as a pastor should not talk about this subject.

Well why not? My job is to give you the whole counsel of God and certainly the Bible has a lot to say about issues that we're facing right now including marriage, family, biological sex, parental authority, our relationship with the nation Israel, and even national borders. And I think we should talk about these things.

The Bible says that we should submit to governing authorities for all authority comes from God and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So I've had the privilege to meet a few U.S. presidents over the years. I met Jimmy Carter on three separate occasions. One was in Georgia when Billy Graham was doing a crusade and he introduced me to President Carter who was with him on that occasion. And then I met President Carter on a plane once. I don't remember where I was flying to but he was on the plane and he walked down the aisle and shook the hand of every passenger on the plane.

I thought that was amazing and very impressive. So people could say I shook the hand of a president. And then the third time was when we were at the Billy Graham library and we were dedicating it. President George H.W. Bush was there and his wife Barbara and President Carter. But I've been invited on multiple occasions by President Trump to come to the White House.

And let me say this. Some would say that's partisan. I would go to the White House if any president invited me. And I have been invited by President Trump there along with other pastors.

And it's been our honor to go into the Oval Office a couple of times. And that is a very impressive place to walk into. First of all it is oval. It's a very unusual shape for a room. An oval room. And the president sits behind the old resolute desk and you stand there and realize all the history that's happened in that room.

We weren't allowed to take our phones in so I was just sort of taking mental photographs of everything I was looking at. And we were able to speak with the president and at the end someone said can we pray for you Mr. President. He welcomed that prayer. We prayed for him.

I went on another occasion with a smaller group and we were able to share things with the president, which I appreciated, and to pray for him again. And in person he's not the way you usually see him on TV. He's more relaxed. He's very personable. He's actually quite witty. And he's a good listener. And I've enjoyed all those times with the president and historically, let me just say, God has used flawed people to accomplish his purposes.

Okay. King David comes to mind. He was a great king.

A powerful leader. Many regard him as the greatest king in the history of Israel. He was uniquely described as the man after God's own heart. But at the same time David was guilty of the sin of adultery and murder.

But God did use him. We even look at leaders like King Nebuchadnezzar or King Cyrus of Persia who were moved by God to accomplish his purposes. In fact the Persian king Artaxerxes underwrote the efforts of Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. So God used a secular man to help the Jewish people rebuild their city again. And speaking of walls that brings us to the topic of border security. The Bible supports the right and necessity of a nation to be secure. Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem to do what? Rebuild the walls of the city.

So there's a place for walls to keep enemies out. There is a right and a legal way to come into our nation. The Old Testament does talk about welcoming the stranger.

But that's only half of it. The expectation is a stranger will abide by the law of the land and assimilate. And there are people that have come to our country from other nations legally. And some of them are among our greatest patriots. Because they believed in the American dream. And they believed in the values. And many times we born in this country take these values for granted. We don't appreciate the liberty that we have.

And sometimes someone coming from a communist country will come and say, man we love the freedom we have in America. And so we should all have that same value. Now I'm going to give you my opinion. You may disagree with it. But I am for less not more government. That's my view. I love the words of Ronald Reagan who once said, quote, will. I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm here to help. End quote.

That's true. So God's in favor of borders. Act 1726 says God made every nation of men to dwell in the face of the earth and determine their boundaries. So there is a place for national security and for borders.

Number two. The Bible supports the unborn and their right to live. This is not a debatable subject. This is not one that the Bible is not clear on. Life begins at conception. And David even said that he was fearfully and wonderfully made and knit together in his mother's womb. Think about this for a moment. The first person to recognize the Messiah was an unborn child.

Does that make sense? So Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist. Her cousin Mary is pregnant with Jesus. Mary goes to see Elizabeth and what happens? John the Baptist leaps in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary walks in the room. The first person to recognize the Messiah was an unborn child.

See. Just last week we dedicated a bunch of families and children, babies. It was wonderful. And there was one young lady. She dedicated her one month old baby. And she told me her story.

She had come here to this church. She was pregnant. She was contemplating an abortion. And on that particular Sunday I said do not abort your child. Do not take the life of that innocent baby. Carry the baby to term.

And she did. And I had the privilege of dedicating the baby to the Lord. So unfortunately both the Democratic and some in the Republican Party support abortion today. The Republican position basically now is abortion is allowed up to 15 weeks. Unfortunately 95 percent of all abortions happen in the first 15 weeks. So this is not something I support.

This is something I disagree with. But the Democratic position is far more extreme in the name of reproductive rights. They allow abortions up to nine months. So in a nutshell and I think I am fairly stating the positions. Republicans believe in limited abortion.

Democrats believe in limitless abortion. And so this is something that you should factor in when you vote. Also the Bible supports marriage and the family. The family is the foundation of our nation. The family is the foundation of any nation. As I have said before almost every almost every social ill in America today is a result of the broken family and specifically of the lack of fathers.

I have cited endless stats to prove this point that you can take anything going on. Incarceration. Young women getting pregnant outside of wedlock. Criminal behavior. Their addiction to drugs and alcohol. Homelessness.

You name it. It can be traced back to a broken home and to the lack of a father. So it has been said a family can survive without a nation but a nation cannot survive without the family.

And I believe that. And when I say a family I am going with what God defines as a family. Genesis 1 27. He made men in His image. In the image of God He created them. Male and female He created them. And so any attempt to redefine the family is something that obviously I don't support.

I also oppose the state overruling the rights of a parent in a child's life. That idea. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. It's a joy to hear when these studies have truly impacted lives.

Listen to these comments from one of our listeners. Pastor Greg, I've listened to you and watched your messages for many years. During that time you've helped me grow in my faith more than you'll ever know. Thank you not only for your biblical wisdom but for your sense of humor.

I love a good laugh. God bless you. If you have a story to share why not call us and give us all the details. Here's the number 1-866-871-1144.

It's a special number 866-871-1144. Well you've joined us for an important segment in Pastor Greg's series, Hot Button Issues. Let's continue the message now called Money and Politics.

So let's pull this all together. We're children of God because we put our faith in Christ. We're citizens of another kingdom, the kingdom of God.

So I have dual citizenship, right? I'm a Christian citizen of heaven and I'm an American citizen as well. But because of my faith in Christ that affects everything that I say and do.

It affects my moral decisions, my financial thinking, my voting, and everything. But for our nation I believe our primary hope should be in a spiritual awakening happening in America again. We need to pray to that end. The last great spiritual awakening was the Jesus movement. We made a film about it called Jesus Revolution. And it was our hope when we made that film to try to recapture it so people could experience it in a way. And I think John Irwin, the director, did a brilliant job with the team that he assembled.

And I've had so many people come up to me all over the place saying not only that they love the movie but many have said to me that movie changed my life. And it drew me closer to the Lord. And that was our hope and prayer for it. And there were a few times when we were filming when we really sensed the presence of God.

And I thought it was captured and that you could almost feel it as though it were happening. And I think it's because God actually was at work. One occasion I remember we were baptizing people at Pirates Cove Beach. And they baptized one of the characters for his scene in the film who was in his wardrobe, his costume, for the scene. And then afterwards that actor came to me and said I want to be baptized for real. And I said well you need to put your faith in Christ. And so I shared the gospel with them. And then I baptized them. So they're baptizing actors. And I'm baptizing one of the actors who just accepted Christ a few feet away.

That's what I'm saying. That was happening. But you know you've heard the expression art imitating life. In this instance life was imitating art that was imitating life. So the film was a reflection of what actually happened. But then people saw the film and wanted that to happen in their lives. And we heard many stories of spontaneous baptisms breaking out. People would watch the film in the theater and they would baptize people in the fountain in the mall outside of the theater.

I heard of this two separate times. And then people going down to Pirates Cove to be baptized. So maybe a year, maybe a little bit longer after the film came out we had what we called the Jesus Revolution baptism. And we baptized 5,000 people in one day. That made it the largest baptism in American history. And then a year later we went back and baptized 2,000 more.

Now listen. Back in the Jesus movement we never baptized 5,000 people in one day. So I'm just saying we can talk all day about what happened 50 years ago.

But this just happened in the recently. So God is at work and God wants to work. So we say we want a revival. What is a revival? It's a return to original condition. And God has given this promise to send revival if we will do the following. Second Chronicles 7 14 God says, if my people which are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then God promises I will hear from heaven I will forgive their sin and heal their land.

That's it. Now we look at our nation. We look at the crime. We look at the addiction. We look at the homelessness. We look at the turmoil. And we say God our land needs to be healed. We need more of this. Throw more money over here.

Those things may or may not help depending on where that is directed. But ultimately we need God to move and we need our land healed. But listen. When God sees a problem in a nation notice where he points his finger. If my people. God doesn't point his finger at the White House.

He points a finger at his house. If my people. We can stand all day and say Hollywood does this.

Washington does that. God says yeah interesting. My people.

Now let's personalize it. If you if you if I will turn from my sins and pray and seek his face God will hear from heaven forgive me my sin and heal the land. Let it start with you. If you want to see a revival do revival-like things.

We don't really mystify this. Well just go back and do those things you used to do. As Saint Paul says get back. Get back. Get back to where you once belonged.

All the old people laughed. I quoted a Beatles lyric. Get back. Okay so you thought Saint Paul the impossible. No. Paul McCartney has said that.

But it's true. Get back to those things you used to do. In Revelation chapter 2 Jesus speaks to the church of Ephesus.

He commends them for certain things and then he says but I have this against you. You have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the first works quickly. So there's three things we need to do to get right with God and have revival.

The three R's of revival if you will. Remember. Repent. Repeat. So first remember it's a point of reference.

Was there a time when your Christian life was filled with more passion and zeal than right now? If so remember that. Mark it. Now repent. Change your direction. Stop living that way and repeat.

Do the first works quickly. Did you used to read the Bible more than you read it now? You need to do that all the time. Number two when's the last time you prayed? You talk about your problems. You complain about your problems.

You're concerned about your problems. Have you prayed about your problems? Thirdly we used to go out and share the gospel telling people about Jesus.

It wasn't unusual to see Christians out in public places walking around with their Bibles engaging people in conversations about Christ. When's the last time you did something like that? Listen you go back and do those things you used to do and you'll see revival returning to your life. You'll see spiritual life coming back again. Just do it.

We can take God for granted. I heard about an older couple that had been married 50 years. They're having a little anniversary event.

Their family and friends are gathered. The wife is a little hard of hearing by the way. So the husband stood up and wanted to honor his wife and said my dear wife after 50 years I have found you tried and true. She said what? My dear wife after 50 years I have found you tried and true.

She said well after 50 years I'm tired of you too. We can be that way. Return to your first love. Do those first works quickly and you will see the passion follow. Let's pray. Now Father we pray for this in our own life. We want personal revival. We want to have a love for the word of God. We want to have a heart for people that don't know you.

We want to be a part of the work that you're doing and invest in it. Lord we want to be used mightily by you but some of us have drifted and we need to return to our first love. So we want to just pray right now that we would step back toward you into close fellowship and intimacy like we used to when we were brand new believers. When it was a privilege and a joy to open the word of God. When we came to church with a sense of expectancy and anticipation. When Lord we prayed about everything and anything and and we're looking for opportunities to be used by you.

Lord help us to return to that again. Let me lead you in a simple prayer. I'm an evangelist.

I like to lead prayers. I'm going to pray these words out loud and if you want this to happen in your life you pray them out loud after me. Just pray this. Lord Jesus I need a personal revival. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Give me a hunger for the word of God again. Give me a passion to pray. Give me a zeal to reach people that are not yet Christians.

Revive me. I ask in Jesus name. Lord you've heard that prayer and you've promised if your people will humble themselves and pray and seek your face and turn from their wicked ways. You'll forgive their sin and you'll heal their land.

And Lord we could personalize it. Maybe they need their marriage healed. Maybe they need their life healed. Whatever they need Lord. As each of us take this step forgive us and fill us with your spirit and revive us. We pray. We ask this in Jesus name.

Amen. An important prayer with all of us to recommit and rededicate ourselves to humbling ourselves and praying and seeking the Lord's face and turning from our wicked ways. Pastor Greg Laurie with his message today on a new beginning called Money and Politics. And listen if you still have questions about where you stand with the Lord, Pastor Greg has much more to tell you at this special website KnowGod.org.

That's K-N-O-W KnowGod.org. You know Pastor Greg we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. That's right. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.

Yeah it's really true. Dave you know and even a little bit helps. You know people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it and I'm called to do it and I'm thankful for it.

But I can't do it alone. So I'm going to ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel so I'm going to ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the word of God then preferably consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest partner which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us so thanks for that. Yeah that's right and we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime day or night at 1-800-821-3300 that's 1-800-821-3300 or write A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time an encouraging discussion of Bible prophecy and reasons we need to be familiar with God's end times plan. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.