#185 Being a Sober-minded Christian in the Supposed Golden Age

In today's political climate, the American church, depending on who you speak with, is on the brink of a moral relapse or on the brink of a golden age. How did we get to such an impasse amongst Christians? Is DOGE that big a deal for Christians and their convictions? Where were those convictions the last 4 years? Are conservative Christians heartless for lacking sympathy for their neighbors affected by these grand changes? 

Have we gone too far with our allegiance to government? Have we neglected the deep implications of what it means to be the (C)hurch? How does a Christian live in this new era of American history where there are both things to celebrate and mourn? 

As we navigate these waters, Christians are reminded to revert back to their profession. This profession can be summed up into two words - believing loyalty. This loyalty belongs to God and only to God. It doesn't belong to democrats nor to republicans. Not to Trump. Nor to Obama, Biden, Clinton etc. 

However, when this loyalty is lived out, there will be uncompromisable principles we, as Christians are called to stand firm in. And you should never move one inch on those principles...for anyone. How should we wade these waters faithfully rather than gleefully with bitter vengeance in our hearts toward our neighbors? Maybe Brandon will address some of this. Let him know your thoughts in the comment section!

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DOGE Spending - https://www.newsweek.com/doge-spending-cuts-findings-one-month-trump-administration-2034150

Trump Addressing Identity Fraud - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51gv4KzasnI&t=229s

Sentimental Abortion Clip - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N8qZttUSC3U

Transcript

Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Black and Blurred. Guys, I'm coming off of a tough. My son's. Oh my gosh, this season of sickness. Has anybody else been experiencing this? Has anybody else gone through like flu and stuff like that, getting knocked down in their butts? My sons had the flu. Then they gave me and my wife the flu. Then my sons had a stomach bug this past. And then, lo and behold, I got knocked down yesterday, and whatever my wife survived it, the thus far she made it through. I did not. So I missed the recording deadline, all that stuff. Here I am. Here I am and man, I've realized that. There's just so much to try and stay up on in the world of content creation. One from a Christian perspective, I I would say this from a Christian perspective. I realize I'm just not. I'm not good at making. I'm I'm too much of a contemplator. Think about things. And so I don't know how to just go for like low hanging fruit. In the world you know, post a clip, make some commentary on. I need to get better at that, but I also I really as I'm looking at Christian content, Christian content is really just become. Gossipy. If I don't know, I don't know. Still working through this. Like I would, I would say like. Man, I can't think right now I'm half half brained. Who's the Christian content? Creator Mail who's been doing it for some time. Mike. Good grief. I feel like Mike Winger and content like that. I can still appreciate, obviously our friends Elisa and. Center for biblical unity like, but they those are like ministries, you know, rather than just content channels, those are ministries. When I think about content channels. I just look at that and I'm like, I don't think I want to do that. Don't want to.

Yeah.

I don't know. Don't. You guys are getting my rambling. Catharsis here, but. I just think about. I think about the the news cycle. There's so much news going around on a daily basis that it's hard to keep up with. What to do as far as content creation and the same is true in Christianity is like. I feel like I just want to take a lane and stay there, stay there rather than trying to keep up with the news cycle. Because that news cycle is always going and it's unhealthy. And I believe that it's really deteriorating. Our mental capacity and our in our relationships, our capacity for community and relationships, but. What I really want to talk about in this episode is how we then are to live.

How then are?

We to live here in 2020. In the Trump era, that's being called the Golden Age of America. How then are we to live in this time, in this political climate? Are we to live as Christians when you have? The immigration policies are being enforced. You have the government being audited. And obviously. Are repercussions to that. There are. I would say is a better word to that. How then, where are we to live? I want to talk through a few of these things. And a couple of the like, you know, kind of like. Sub. Topics within those main topic sub topic of like Trump main topic is Trump is president, subtopic is what are some things that we can. What can we think about some of the things that he's doing in his presidency. How then are we to think and proceed as Christians? With things like IVF, the executive order for IVF. Another kind of metal topic is, as a Christian. Did you vote for Trump because you see him as a perfect? Unflawed man who will do everything right and you will agree wholeheartedly with everything he. And yeah, obvious answer is no obvious answer is no, but a question I think we could ask is why is it that people seem to assume that? I think it's because of the political climate in the way that's affect the church. We. We have undergone a deep. What's the word I'm looking for? There there, there's been a great chasm. That has taken shape in the church in America, and I think it's time for us to try to gain that back or gain ground. Come back in community and people will probably say that it was Trump that did. And obviously, if you're a follower of this podcast, Dan and I have to discuss this numerous times. Years before that, long before Trump was there. Chasm forming? Ethnically. That then spread into. That then spread into faith-based. So let's talk about the political climate really quickly. Let's talk about the way the church has responded to the political climate. Remember when Barack Obama was running for president? It wasn't really.

A.

There wasn't a lot of contemplation regarding Barack Obama. Was just naturally accepted. Hey, he's our candidate. He's our candidate and it's because, as the headlines would say, he was black. Now, obviously, I'm not gonna harp on this, but he's not black. Mixed. He is bi ethnic. Most people would say biracial. Am no longer using the word race. To describe different colors and different backgrounds, there's a human race and that's it. He's bioethic. And why is it important to highlight? Because in order to be BI ethnic, you need two people. Just like you need two people for any child to be born. And it is a very hateful and racist. Mentality that says that when your skin looks a certain way, I will therefore ignore 1/2 of your parenting. I will ignore 1/2 and I will highlight the darker half. I don't live that way. Wasn't raised that way. Therefore, I won't acknowledge it. He's biethic, but during his presidency, because of of his ethnicity, it was highlighted that he was our candidate and he was our candidate, solely because of the fact that his skin was dark. Things started happening that pastors from pulpits started trumpeting a bunch of. Stuff in regards to Barack Obama and those who are against him. That that there was no gospel to be preached, that there was no doctrine to be taught, that there was no maturity and maturation to be handed to the church, to develop them and grow them for the sake of ministry. To equip them, what they began doing. In a lot of black American churches. Was to once again center themselves on their blackness because of Barack Obama's presidency. In no way did this start during Barack Obama's presidency. I believe that the civil rights. Has. Was a Trojan horse to that that it didn't start that way, but it was definitely taken over by people. Was definitely taken over by people and I've experienced this in a microcosmic. I mean, I remember at our home church in Baltimore City, me and some other just young believers who wanted to show the love of God. We wanted to gather all the churches in our neighborhood together. We had church after church, after church in our neighborhood, and we didn't know each other. We didn't. Commun. With each other, like we didn't serve the community with each. We thought something was terribly wrong about that and so we got together so that we could do this big block party with all these churches together. Bring the worship teams together. Sing let's do prayer. Let's have food. And and that'll be all. May and by the time. By the time. Leaders got their hands on it. Then Baltimore City got their hands on. Then the mayor came and it turned into something completely different. So I I can very much see how the civil rights movement was taken over. And through that civil rights movement, the black, the churches filled with black Americans became a political weapon. Rather than an outpost of the Kingdom of heaven. And so because of this, now today Fast forward to today you have churches. That really pride themselves on being hyper politicized. Churches filled with black Americans pride themselves on being hyper politicized. A church is filled with white Americans. Themselves on being hyper politicized. And we've become very reactionary rather than proactive. We are reactive rather than proactive. What we are doing here as the pillar and buttress of truth, salt, light, all of these things are meant to engage something in a way that produces a good result, right? Take salt and you want to preserve with salt. Salt also tears things down. Why we put it on ice? Depending on where you. If you live in a place like me, we put salt on ice, but it also irritates and it and it's meant to irritate. In a way that produces change. Light exposes. Pillars hold up strengthen. And that's what the church is called to be in this world that Jesus in John 17, that he prayed that we would not be removed from this world, but that we would be protected against the Evil 1. So keep them here is his prayer. Keep us here for the sake of those who are lost because we need to be salt light and a pillar and buttress of truth. And we have lost sight of that in a large scale. That we have become reactive church rather than. Proactive. What I mean by that when you have? Tragedies like Trayvon Martin or. George Floyd or whatever it. That what happens in our churches is that the pastor watches the news. They find out what's allowed to be said and what's not allowed to be said, and then they tread the waters based on those parameters. Man. Rather than seeking the Kingdom of God, we want to defend our political positions. And then we get those political positions from our TV's. We have lost sight. We've lost sight. I think everybody's familiar with these passages like Second Timothy 3. Understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents. Ungrateful, unholy, heartless. Unappeasable. They'll be slanderous without self. Brutal, not loving, good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having. The appearance of godliness. But denying its power. And here's another important thing that Paul says after all that. He says avoid such people. Avoid them. And I think that we have lost sight on what it means to be the church that we are set apart, group of people supernaturally made that we are to be holy as our father is holy. That I think that because of our our social media and media in general, we've begun to believe. What the world says about Christianity and that we've also started tearing apart or tearing away some things that we just don't find attractive. Nobody wants to be that nasty, weird Christian who's talking about being holy and godly. So let's do away with that. Also, you go to social media and you'll see Christian pages, Christian social media pages that just make content making fun of Christians. They make content making fun of Christians. Is that inherently sinful? No, but I do think that over time. We lose. An idea of the beauty of holiness. We also lose reverence for the Lord because the Lord is the one who makes Christians, and he made them through his shed blood. And we have such a low view of the church that we just see her as good. At you know, for making comedy content. As some listening to me right now is probably thinking, oh, he's going too far and the only reason too far exists in your vocabulary is because of your very low view of the church and of her bridegroom. And we are this reactive entity. Where we are proactive in sharing the truth and winning people to Christ. Obviously I'm speaking generally. Obviously this still exists. Faithful churches, faithful preachers. I'm Speaking of the issue at hand at large in the country. But rather than doing those things we're waiting for. Marching orders from our news channel, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News. We're waiting for those marching orders. And while we have very reactive. Ministries. Very reactive preaching. Very. Anything what ends up happening is you have a congregation that's malnourished. Completely malnourished. And the the the issue is that that congregation is the one doing all the engagement on social media and everything else. Do you see the cycle? That people aren't recognizing that they belong to the list of being lovers of self, lovers of money. Arrogant, abusive. They're not recognizing that. That they love pleasure more than they love God. Is that you? Do you hear that phrase? And you think that that just is talking about people who are out gallivanting and having sex with whoever they wanna have sex with? No, no. It can mean that you like comfort more than you like. Any discomfort that following the Lord will give you. That the idea of living a faithful life to God brings with it. So therefore you will tear away any of those aspects because you love comfort more. And since you'll tear those things away, what your life will leave is an appearance of godliness. Yet it denies power. There are a lot of church ministries like this. They've got buildings up, they've got people in them, they've got a person preaching. Yet there's zero power. No power. They've got their BLM flags and their rainbow flags and their transgender flags and no power. And I remember seeing this. With the Barack Obama presidency thinking how many Christians? Did away with their allegiance to the Lord so quickly. And place their allegiance in the White House. I should say professing Christians, because if I think about some of the conversations I had with some people during that time in 2008, and I Fast forward to today, I am not using hyperbole. Am not joking. They're not believers. They've walked away from the faith. They've walked away. Because all they had was somebody stroking their ego from the pulpit, telling them what they wanted to hear. And if they weren't getting told what they want to hear, they would go and find somebody who did tell them what they wanted to hear. Meanwhile, when it comes down to the life transforming gospel of Jesus Christ, they've never heard it. In their only passionate discussions were with people who didn't vote for Barack Obama like me. How dare you not vote for Barack Obama and the only conversation I would be in is with that we talk about my skin color. That we aren't to be discerning as Christians in this climate, this political, this hyper politicized climate. That we have completely neglected what it means to be faithful. We have completely forgotten that what it means to want friendship with the world is to have enmity with God. And so people were so mind boggled that I would not vote for a man who did not. He did not embody my values. Now, in the beginning of that, that wasn't the case as far as Christian values. I mean, he was for marriage and stuff like that, but he was for big government. I from a politicized sense. I'm not for big government and I'm allowed. Vote for whoever I vote for. But people were really mind boggled that I did not cower to the mob. That's that's what people. They expect, and I'm talking about professing Christians. In this. I'm only talking about Christians professing Christians. They expect for someone to have principles and dismiss them as soon as the mob commands them to dismiss them. Isn't that odd? Isn't it odd that professing Christians would demand for you to yell out Barabbas name as soon as they tell you to yell out Barabbas? Name. And that's where we are. And it's because we're reactive church and not a proactive 1. And because of this reactive church, we've got secularized and politicized pastors. Or I would just say speakers, pastors, a shepherd. Actually cares for sheep. And because you've got these secularized and politicized speakers, you end up with malnourished congregations. These speakers come across texts in the Bible that they know people will not like, so they don't preach them. And they're probably incapable of preaching them. I think it's double. Sometimes you have people who just aren't equipped to preach, and then you have people who are too cowardice to preach. I've done a couple videos or statements on Pastor John Gray. I don't believe that. I I believe that this is just. Maybe he just doesn't have the ability to preach whatever this text was accurately. I'm going to let you listen to something. And it was a clip that was made by this other channel. And to bring my point home, this channel is probably super lukewarm. I forget what it's called. Kennedy something. Something Kennedy motivate or something. It's got like, a million followers on Instagram, but they post things like this. It's supposed to be a Christian channel and they post things like this, but let me let you listen to it.

I don't believe in abortion. Neither do. So don't have. But you can't force your beliefs on anybody else. People think that government is a theocracy. Is a Pagan. Government it does not submit to God, nor can it submit because it was created by man.

Replay.

We will not see a theocracy until the Lord Jesus cracks the sky. Then the government will be upon his shoulders and of his Kingdom. There will be no end until then. Don't have people lying to you every four years telling you what you want to hear and don't act like you don't fall for it some of y'all. Relationships and you know he lion. Why you judging other people? God is not finished with folk, so stop judging them in the middle of the story and wait till the chapter is finished. And even then you don't have any right to talk because it ain't your book. You. The author and finisher of their faith, the word is the. Word. We stand on the. We don't tear people down and send them to hell, but you stand on the word. You cannot legislate morality anymore than you can legislate it for your own. You want to vote your issues for a political but you still live in foul at your house. I don't believe in a.

So that was a lot. You might wanna like. Rewind it and listen to it. There was a lot of word salad in that and I don't wanna speak frivolously, but I wanna speak honestly. That was nonsense. It it, it was genuinely nonsense. Motivate is the channel. And so there's a lot to address here. A. There's contradictions all throughout. There's incoherence in the statement, and I have no idea what he was preaching on, but I mean, he's preaching to people and he's making the argument that says, hey. I don't agree with abortion, and he says, well, good, don't have one. You know, I remember addressing our brother. Who I shared with you. With who had done had his mind changed, and listening to the podcast? And you know before that he sent me some correspondence between he and his pastor. Maybe his pastor was responding to us or something like that. And his pastor said use the same argument that hey. If you don't agree with abortion, then don't get one. You can't force your beliefs on other people. Now let's have a philosophical response really. I think a lot of people are engaged in philosophy. Without them knowing it that they're having philosophical conversations without them knowing it. Here's an example. Pastor John Gray says that you cannot force your beliefs on people. Now what's implied? It is wrong for you to want people to believe what you believe that's implied. So therefore making that statement is him forcing his beliefs on me. It's a logical fallacy. The moment you say you can't force your beliefs on people, only somebody who believes that would make that statement and you therefore want me to abide by the principles of that statement. Thus, you are forcing your beliefs on me. It's a contradiction. So it's false. Secondly, you cannot legislate morality. That is just one of the most false things I've ever heard in my entire life. Every single law that we have. Is legislating morality. It is immoral to kill someone. Thus there is a law against killing. You can't force people not to kill, but you can enforce the law though. You know, so it's like, that's just poor. Poor argumentation, it's poor thought. Thirdly, the whole I don't agree with abortion, therefore I won't have one thing is misguided. It's misguided and it misunderstands abortion, and This is why euphemisms. Inevitably shouldn't exist in the church, because the euphemism of abortion. Has taken the place of child murder. It's taken. That's what? That's what abortion is. Is murdering your child. That's why it's called abortion, because people didn't want to hear the phrase child murder. And even abortion is now being euphemisticized. You want to call it. In that it's called health care. Do you? Do you see why the enemy does these things? It's because it doesn't want you dwelling on what it actually. So that down the line you can become one who is for evil and is against what's good. And so Pastor John Gray says you don't believe in abortion. Good. Don't have one. Let's do that with child murder. You don't believe in child murder. Good. Don't do it then. But you can't force that on everybody else. You can't judge everybody else. He says that this government cannot submit to God. Trying to remember. I just listened to it like you guys listen to it. I'm not saying I listen to it for the first time, but I'm just saying it was so much. I'm not like reading anything trying. I'm just trying to recollect what he said. And I think he said that the government cannot submit to God because it was made by man. Government is instituted by God Pastor. As a. Of fact it's an instrument of God. Supposedly. Biblically speaking. Romans 13. He just said a bunch of stuff. That's not true, and guess what? At the end of the day, he fueled his congregation with misinformation for the point of being able to clack back on their political arguments in social media. Do you think people left there marveling at the beauty of our savior? Do you think people left there repenting of the depraved nature of their sick hearts? Do you think that's how people left that service? Or were they more mobilized as political soldiers? Another thing I want to address about that. That and what we're seeing in the political climate is sentimentalism versus spiritual discernment. But there's there's a huge, huge snare that we get caught in with sentimentalism. And we lack spiritual discernment. Now I want to remind you it was Charles Spurgeon. Once said this, discernment is not knowing the difference between what's right and wrong. What's knowing but knowing the difference between what's right and what's almost right? Right. In what's almost right. And when sentimentalism completely. It takes over. Our desire to be spiritually discerning when we desire to be spiritually discerning, we're trying to obey the Lord and live faithfully. But remember what Paul says. In these last days, we're going to be arrogant and proud and lovers of. We're going to be unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, not loving, good, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure. That's what we're going to be. So in that moment, we're not going to be concerned with. Discernment. We're not going to be concerned with understanding the difference between two things that seemingly look alike, but they're different, especially when the mob outside is telling us all. You're taking it too seriously. Not that serious, y'all. They're going to dissuade you from faithfulness. The reason you can have nice soft music on that video like this.

Abortion. Good. Neither do I. So don't have. But you can't force your beliefs on anybody else. People think that government is.

Yeah, you can have nice soft music on that video because it sentimentalizes. But people don't need to listen to the words. Just so long as it connects with them in some type of way. And it makes them feel good. So we need to be aware of that. That's the only reason Barack Obama can be such an idol in people's hearts. That's the only reason Trump can be an idol in somebody's hearts. Because the way that they're presented to you makes you feel good and you have forgotten your entire purpose. Christian in this world. So you can most certainly take something that is evil and idolize it. You can take something good and idolize it. We need to be aware of that. Popular conversation regarding Trump right now. Is his executive order expanding IVF? I'm against it. Against IVF, principally practically. Practically, because of, you know, all of it involves. Principally. Because of what it does to the Christian heart and mind. What do I mean by that? I think that's something we have lost as Christians. Is a love for relying on the Lord. We've lost it. I think that. Let me use this example. You hear the phrase people hard to love. You know this person is hard to love. I don't believe that there is a such. I don't believe that there are people who are hard to love. I believe that there are people who require love. Because people who require love. Are people who require patience, kindness? You don't envy or boast in front of them. Not. You're not rude. You don't insist on your own way. You aren't to be irritable or resentful. You don't rejoice at wrongdoing, but you rejoice with what's true. Bear all. You believe all? You hope all things it indoors, all things. That's the. Of and for first Corinthians 13. And when we come across somebody who doesn't allow us to insist on our own way. Who forces us to be patient?

Who?

Who forces us to? Do away with our arrogance. Makes us endure things that somebody who love, who who we ought who? That's somebody who requires our love. And here's a little secret. Everybody requires love. So in the same way I use that example. As a point to highlight, leaning on the Lord, relying on the Lord, trusting the Lord, believing the Lord, but we find believing and leaning and trusting, relying just as good as love. We find it. You know, we like to use that language. We just don't want to have to do it. Lord, would you give me all the stuff that I need rather than me relying on you to be my provision? That's what we would require. What we want? I would rather. $10 billion in my bank account than they have to rely on the Lord to provide for me and my family. That's what we desire. And that we came to this. My wife and I came to this realization when we were going through infertility. If you haven't listened to that episode, go back and listen to that episode when God's answer is no or something like that. Me. Find out what episode that was. You can go to episode 123 episode 123, seeing God's goodness when he tells you no and something that my wife and I realized. Was that we? We didn't want to have to trust the Lord. See, because trusting the Lord transcends a specific thing. You're trusting him for. What we were doing is we were trusting the Lord to give us children. That's what we would trust in the Lord for it. We, our presupposition is that we deserved children and would have children. That was our. So when we weren't having children, if you would have asked us during that time of what it means to trust the Lord, it means to trust that he'll give us children. And that's faulty. See on this side of the cross, we're not promised anything. Talking to Christians, we're not promised anything but persecution. What promises suffering? Those who have placed their believing loyalty in Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection. We aren't promised houses, cars. Healthy finances. We aren't promised any of those things. We're not promised children. So then what would it mean to actually trust? The Lord. It would mean for him to be your hope. And your joy? Rather than anything else in this world. It would mean that in the midst of your singleness, even though you're trusting him for a spouse in the midst of your child, lack or child, I'm sorry in the midst of your childlessness. Even though we're trusting him for children that you would trust that he would grant you joy and peace amidst that singleness or childlessness. That's where we came. We were convicted by the fact that because we've got so much technology, the reason we love technology is because it it allows us to not have to trust him. It allows us to not have to trust them. Not saying that across the board. I'm not saying technology across the board is evil. I'm not saying that however it is because of the influx and rapid growth of man's ability to do things that we don't have to trust God. Amidst that inability. We've completely lost what that means. And because of the sentimentalization of it, I'm not allowed to say that. Because there are people who would get mad at me or there are people who would then think that I think that there are children that they that were produced via IVF are, you know, fraudulent. Children, no, their their children from God and you ought to rejoice that he gave you that. But if there's one thing that I would want you to learn from what I'm saying now, as somebody who has utilized IVF is learn this, you are perhaps someone who doesn't like the idea of leaning on the Lord and trusting him. Seek that out with him. Are there things that could take place in your life where you could end up angry with him? Because you don't trust him. Are there things that you could lose that you would feel you need to take it upon yourself in order to, you know, retain or protect or keep? That's where discernment comes in, right? That's where the discernment comes in. Things that are right in things that are almost right discerning the two. And when it comes down to what IVF entails, my question is. Is that something rejoice worthy?

The.

I'm not talking about the child, the process. Is that rejoice worthy? Is the process of it rejoice worthy? See 'cause. Here's what I would say in your sorrow, which is real. Your sadness, which is real. That in that moment. When you are sorrowful before the Lord. When you are crying out to him desperately desiring a spouse or children. That's rejoice worthy. Those dark days when you can only put your face on the ground and cry out to him in anguish, knowing that he is the only source of. Which is why you're not crying out through some status on Facebook or whatever taking some selfie with you crying that you are having your face buried in the ground, crying out to him. For him to be your comfort and your peace. That's rejoice worthy. That's rejoiceworthy. And I think we lose sight of that because of what technology avails to us. And so who knows where that's gonna? You heard me talking about people who are single. Maybe there'll be some type. Way for you to get a spouse. Maybe there'll be, like, a digital spouse that you can marry. And people will say it's nuanced. It's different. And then you'll see videos about it, with people telling the story about their beautiful relationship with their digital spouse. I'll have music playing behind. Meanwhile, we'll have zero concern with whether or not it glorifies God. That's all I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. And so I, I rejoice with you parents who have done IVF and have children. I rejoice in the fact that the Lord gave you children. That that's what I. I rejoice in the fact that the Lord gave you children. In my prayer is that we would all be able to take a step back and say how have I allowed our technological advances to appease my lack of desire to trust the Lord? In all ways. Not trust him to give me the things I want, but trust him to be enough. For me, amidst me not having the things I want. That's that's our desire. So let's move on to the Golden Age. Christians in the Golden Age. This the Golden Age. Have we entered into a golden Age of America? How should Christians feel who voted for Trump like myself? In, in the midst of this language of the Golden Age of America. The Earth is the Lords and everything in it. That is our refrain. Our refrain is that we would trust in him and look to him in all things. Like, I think that Trump is an idol for hundreds of millions of Americans. And you'd be shocked to hear that some of those hundreds of millions of. Those hundreds of millions didn't even vote for him. Hate him. That he is on their mind. Day in and day out because he is an idol. And the same could be true for those who voted for him. But he's a man. A man who I believe is being used to do a lot of good things, and some of those things I disagree with, like the IVF thing. I disagree with that. What's so ironic is that there are people who are also idolizing him, who hate him. Would probably agree with him on IVF thing. That's because my voting for Trump is rooted in my allegiance to the Lord. He's just another tool. That's it. Another tool for me to be able to show that allegiance I don't have allegiance to him. I don't have allegiance to this. That might be shocking for a minute here. To the Lord. The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and those who dwell therein. I think about Paul the Areopagus. When he comes by their inscription to the there is an altar for those who are unfamiliar, this is an ACT 17. Paul comes up to an altar with an inscription that says to the unknown God. And Paul, as a believer, a son of the living God says, hey, look, this thing that you are calling unknown. I'm gonna tell you what it is. And he goes on, tell them the God. Made the world and everything. It he. Lord of Heaven and earth. And he doesn't live in temples made by man. He's not served by human hands, as though he needed anything. I think that reminder is needed by a lot of professing Christians who from their pulpits. Are talking about this golden age as if it's something that is actually helping God bring about his purposes in this world. The Lord and his purposes will be made. It'll be done regardless. But. When we do see good happening, it's rejoice worthy. That's good to rejoice. I don't know that I've had a conversation with a Christian who disagrees with me politically, who offered me something worthy of rejoicing. I didn't think it was rejoice worthy to see our White House strung up in rainbow colors. That's not because I disagree with people who are. It's because what I believe about that I believe that humans are condemned to hell in our sin, and that people who hi 5 people on that path towards hell. Aren't to be rejoiced over. I don't believe that. A country filled with child sacrifice, murdering their children for the sake of autonomy because we are in fact lovers of self. Not loving what's. Treacherous. I don't believe that. Rejoice, worthy. Doesn't matter if you want to sentimentalize it and call it health care. It's not rejoice worthy. I don't believe that in the name of quote. Quote Unity we condemning white Americans on behalf of their white skin is rejoice. Does racism? Yeah, are some of those racist white. Possibly. Does that therefore make racism good? No, it's not rejoice worthy. So the Trojan Horse of unity, that language and the fact that we allowed more racist ideology to be bred in the hearts of young people. It's not rejoice worthy and because people are so lost in their secularized thinking, they're not even concerned with whether or not the Lord is pleased with this. They're arrogant. And so they think, look, I say I'm a Christian, therefore I will be in Christ when he comes. He won't. You won't look at me and say who am I? He'll know who I am, even though I don't actually rejoice in things that are for him. And I actually celebrate things that he hates. So. In this Golden age, I think we need to be sober. There was a certain balkum I don't know when the sermon was, but he was talking about the old glory days, the glory days of the 1950s. That's the way. That's what we would look back. We'd look back at the 1950s or I think that maybe the MAGA mantra is. Reflecting on that maybe the 1950s, like that's the Golden Age of America. Let's get back to that time and something incredible and necessarily or necessary he highlights. That in that span of the 1950s, we also had the Korean War where it sent thousands of men miles away to die on foreign shores. Was in 1950. South Africans had to carry ID to identify their race as apartheid started 1951. 33. Children died and 5700 more paralyzed by polio, 1952 Playboy magazine was published in 1953. Brown V Board of Education put the nation ablaze by outlawing discrimination in school. Protests and riots began. Burning down. Emmett Till was murdered 1950. Also, Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl, which sort of. Glorifies drugs and sexual promiscuity. Was published. Yeah. Gypsy, which is a biography of a stripper, was filmed in 1956. Lolita, which is a novel which celebrated pedophilia, victimizing a young 12 year old girl. In 1958. Infidel Castro took over in Cuba 1959. Now for Delta cash flow taking over in Cuba made a lot of different cigar rollers leave Cuba. So I'm I'm actually a little OK with that part. I'm joking. I'm joking. But we do have access to a lot of different cigars because they they fled Cuba and Fidel Castro took over. But that those are the 1950s y'all that's the Golden Age. And what are we to take from that? That in the Golden Age of America, whether it be 1950s or now, this is the reality. It's an age. Riddled with sin. An age riddled with sin in need of the gospel. An age whittled with suffering. In need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so it ought to be grieving it. Your heart ought to be grieved when you think about that reality, that this world needs Jesus, and we've got from our pulpits coming politics. It needs the truth and the scriptures give us the truth. When we think about this age that we're in, people who disagree with it, I think that we have a lot of people who are seeing what's happening with Trump and his government audits. There are Christians who have government jobs. And they're distraught or they're scared. They have anxiety. And I think that because of the fact that our pulpits are so hyper politicized that those Christians who are going through that aren't being reminded of what we do with our fears and our anxieties. I'm not just saying that because I'm like somebody who voted for Trump and I'm for everything I do think it's devastating if you are a government employee you didn't intend for you to lose your job and you are losing it or have lost it or are in fear. Losing it. My wife is a government employee. However, from a principled standpoint, I do think that our government needs to be audited. I do think that some of the things that have been uncovered, I'm grateful they're being uncovered because it's pure money laundering that's happening. I do think that we will need to see maybe 2-3 years down the line if this is a good thing, but even amidst this good thing, there's real suffering I think. There's rules suffering with friends and families who are being deported. That's real. Doesn't matter where you land on it. Land. I'm pro enforcing our immigration laws for the sake of immigrants. I'm for it, but that does not mean that I'm calloused towards the real pain, that I don't sympathize or have compassion on those who are losing family members or friends, or church congregants as a result of this. How do we then live as Christians regarding this? I'm not going to give you if you're somebody who hates me as a Trump voter. And you come to me and you highlight. How it's ripping your family apart. I'm not gonna clap back with why it's not ripping your family apart or how you can go with them or whatever. It's my role as a Christian who loves Jesus to just hurt with you. If you wanna slander me, go ahead and slander me. I'm not gonna change who I am for you. I'm not gonna there for remove my principles, but part of my principles is hurting with people. And I think we've lost that. I think we've lost the ability to actually be servants of Christ amidst of our neighbors. Because we're so angry. We're so fed up with being gas lit that's real. We're so fed up with being ostracized. That's real. And so our hearts are growing cold. Like Jesus said it would in Matthew 24 because of growing lawlessness, the hearts of many will grow cold. And that's what we're experiencing. I can actually hurt with people who are experiencing that pain, but in the meantime. The Bible gives us clear direction on what we do with our hopes and our anxieties. That we rejoice in the Lord always. We let. Reasonableness. Be known to everyone, and we're not to be anxious about anything. But in everything in prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Take it to the Lord. And listen to what Paul says in Philippians 4 about what happens, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts. It will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. That language used in the Greek is like a citadel. It militarized language. It's saying that God's peace will stand guard, looking at all of the different potentials that will come up. Enter your. Or what if this happens? What if? If. What if this? What if this? And it'll guard your heart and your mind from those things so that you could be somebody amidst turmoil and suffering. And your phrase is even if not, what if? What if this happens, but even? Even if I lose my job, the Lord is good. Even if I don't have this baby, the Lord is good, even if I don't get a spouse. The Lord is good, even if I don't do this. Don't get this. Have. The Lord is good. It'll guard your heart. And we need. Who reminds the Saints of this so that we can live a sober minded Saints of God in a world that desperately needs the truth? Finally, we need. To practically guard our hearts. We need to practically look at the things that we're feeding our heart and our minds. Social media. TV we need to be mindful of what we're feeding ourselves. Think about this list that Paul says we should dwell on. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is. Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise. Think about these things. Is that your list? Is your social media feed is my social media feed filled with whatever is true, honorable, just pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. I'll speak for myself. No, no, mine isn't mine isn't. I can't be on it for a long time. I can't be on it 'cause then my mind and my heart will be affected. And then anxieties come in. No, no, I I I need to think about that which I. I need to take it to the Lord and allow his peace to stand guard in my heart and my mind, even in this transitional phase. Where my wife is a government employee and I am just somebody who has moved my family to Baltimore to plant a church and I got to do fundraising. I've got the most peace I've had in the last seven years. Because the truth of who God is. And the truth of the fact that these birds. In the sky that eat every day. And these flowers in the grass that are clothed in splendor. They are provided for. By him on a daily basis. How much more will he provide for his children?

It's peace.

So those who are afraid. And have anxiety. Take it to the Lord. But then you have those who want to be afraid and want to have anxiety so that they can have a point up against their political opponents. You need repentance. Because Trump is an idol to you. And if it's not going to be Trump, it's going to be some political entity. That's idolatrous. And you need to go to the Lord. If you lack sympathy and compassion because of everything that's happening and. A. Trump person, and this is the golden. Of America. And you have no concern for the Lord and his Kingdom. You need repentance. You have no concern with how to actually love your neighbor as an opponent of yours, not as somebody who cow cowers to him and cowers to the mob and changes your principles because they're demanding you to. I'm talking about somebody whose freedom, who has the freedom to hurt with their neighbor. Who has the freedom to be long-suffering impatient? If you have no concern for that, you need repentance because Trump in politics is an idol for you. I want to read a. Episode from Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from a sermon he gave rooted in Hebrews 13, verse five in Hebrews 13. Five says this. Your life. From love of money and be content. With what you have. For he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you. And Charles Spurgeon says this, if we can only grasp these words by faith, we have an all conquering weapon in our hand. What doubt will not be slain by this 2 edged? What fear is there, which shall not fall smitten with a deadly wound before this arrow from the bow of God's covenant? Will not the distresses of life and the pains of death will not the corruptions within and the snares without. Will not the trials from above and the temptations from beneath all seem but light afflictions when we can hide ourselves beneath the bulwark of. He has said. Yes, whether for delight in our quietude, or for strength in our conflict, he has said, must be our daily resort. And this may teach us the extreme value of searching the scriptures. I remember, I think I told. Guys that story. Of me going to visit a college classmate who was in Hospice, suffering from breast cancer. I had a conversation with her day one share the gospel. She was falling asleep. Sleep and so I wrote it. I wrote out the gospel message with parenthetical references for the Bible in it. I came back to Day 2 and my friend Tiffany had already gone to sleep, but her mother was sitting by her bed and her mother was reading a letter that I wrote with all the Bible passages written in it. And as she's reading that note with the Bible passages, though, she was familiar with the Bible, she did not know where to search, and she was flipping around like crazy trying to find what I had laid out in that message. In that picture will stay in my mind for the rest of my life, because that's a picture of hope. Her picture of desperately searching the scriptures for the hope that I had written out in that letter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the life that we should always have. Desperately purging the scriptures for that truth that lays within it that we would hide our fears and our anxieties in that. But we would let the scriptures tell us what is true and that which is true is good and that which is good protects. That it anchors us, it strengthens us. And if this is the quote UN quote, another Golden Age. My desire is that the church would stay the course that she was given from the beginning, not the course that she's in now in America, the courts that she's given from the beginning.

I.

Faithfulness. Pillar buttress light. Salt and that preachers would proclaim from their pulpits the whole Council of God.

I.

And not be cowards so that they can equip the Saints for the work of ministry and that those Saints would be filled in the workplace, in the public square.

Quip.

And they would do things like what Paul said. That, though this is called the Unknown God, I'm here to tell you who that God is. That's worth rejoicing over. Thank you guys for listening to this episode of Black and. We are guaranteed to hear one of two things, our humble opinion or the facts holler at us.