Shane Idleman passionately addresses the state of America in his sermon 'The America You Never Knew,' emphasizing the need for the church to reclaim its role as the conscience of the nation. He highlights the importance of teaching future generations about God's commandments and the consequences of neglecting them, warning against the dangers of apathy and ignorance in society. Idleman calls for repentance and action, urging Christians to engage in the political sphere not for partisan reasons but to honor God and uphold His truth. He stresses that true freedom is rooted in God's principles and that the church must not shy away from speaking out on moral issues. Ultimately, he offers hope, reminding listeners that through humility and prayer, there can be renewal and revival in both personal lives and the nation.

I also have copies of One Nation Above God out in the lobby, so you can grab those. They're free copies. Give those to friends and family. I'm actually putting that book on e-book, electronic e-book. It's going to be free. I'm trying to convert all my books to free resources, printed copies and electronic copies, and it's quite a process, because I've got to review manuscripts and take some things out that I probably wouldn't have said a decade later and clean things up. So, those will be coming out, so make sure you get One Nation Above God. It's actually where this topic is coming from. I don't even know where to start. There's so much to say this morning. The title is The America You Never Knew. The America You Never Knew. And the reason this is difficult is because I've been told by people, even when I'm speaking at their church or different things, to not talk about this topic. Churches don't want it. What you're going to hear this morning, you don't hear very often. And I don't say that in arrogance. I say it just as a point of truth. I don't want to say it. But there comes a time and a place where things need to start being said. There's a burning in my bosom as Jeremiah. I can't hold back your word. I want to stop, but there's this desire to speak on these issues that are very important, not only to us, but to God. I truly believe that. And I'm going to read Psalm 78. Ironically, as I was choosing this text, this is what we read on my daughter's first birthday, my firstborn. Psalm 78 5 For He has established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children, that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they might arise and declare to their children that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God. See, there's always a command to remind children, to remind the next generation, and we read in Judges, that there arose a generation after them who did not know the Lord, and departed from God. Now, most of you know, I did a quick Fox interview, Fox News, this coming week, and I've been asked to go to New York again and talk about this subject more, and I don't know when that's going to fit in the schedule, but anyway, the amount of support has been incredible, but the amount of criticism, I don't think I've ever been called more cuss words in all of my life, and names and things, for simply declaring what God's Word says, I'm not talking about political parties, I'm not talking about presidential candidates, I'm talking about what God's Word says. Now, I often don't look at comments, so if you're listening to this later, and you're upset, don't comment, don't email, it probably won't get read, because we have to stay encouraged, and when you know what God's called you to do, you don't look for the opinions of others, you do what God's called you to do. Now, godly criticism, constructive criticism, from those who care about you, is valuable, but it's not to even be considered by those who don't. So the title, The America You Never Knew, and I'm going to also encourage you on this, this is mainly for people listening later, that might not like this message, I want you to listen to the end, because there is hope, for where our nation is, there is hope for where the church is, and your personal life, there is hope in that. But let me just set this up for a minute. What I'm going to talk about, most people don't care about. Because it doesn't affect them. Right? I just talked to a friend of mine, I emailed him, and I said, hey, remember this issue we kind of really hit heads against 10 years ago, what I'm going to talk about? He goes, yeah, and I go, now that you've had a few kids, has your thoughts changed on that? Oh boy, has it ever. Because you start to see, that hey, you can take from me, you can kill me, if you like, but once you start to affect future generations, then there needs to be a voice that rises up and speaks the truth in love. Daniel Webster, many of you know, have you heard the Webster's Dictionary? I have an 1828 version that has a lot of Scripture in it. You're not going to find that anymore. He said this, there is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter, from the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. Now, what does this have to do with the Gospel, people would say. And people have left this church, people continue to leave this church on this topic right now. They say, this should not be talked about from the pulpit. What does this have to do with the Gospel? Let me tell you what this has to do with the Gospel. When my heart changes, now I want to expose the unfruitful works of darkness. Now I want to bring the light to all areas of life. Now I want to proclaim God's truth from the mountaintops. That's what it has to do with the Gospel. See, it's not about politics. It's about honoring God. That's what we're called to do. And that's why I actually don't even use that word very often. Do you know what that word means? Governing or leading a group of people. Do you think God's Word has anything to say about that? I will submit to you that it has quite a bit to say about that. And the question often comes up, but Shane, Jesus wouldn't run for office. Of course not. He is the office. He of course not. Do you know that the government rests upon His shoulders? He will tread them with the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He will have a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Of course He's not going to run for office. He doesn't need three branches of government. He is the branch. Hold on. I pray all week, God, keep this tongue of fire restrained. Because I'm pretty upset right now. Passionate. Not angry. He doesn't need separation of powers. He is the power. So this idea that Jesus doesn't care, He is a governing authority. He is sovereign. All governments sit underneath His control. He is the ultimate government. So you don't think He has concerns about what this government represents? It makes no sense to me. It's coming from men or women who are cowards. Or who are ignorant to what God's Word says. They stay camped out in the love verses. But not on the totality of Scripture. Men and women who are filled with God's Spirit have to say something. Don't we? You have to say something. And I remember, I'll never forget, I think it was 2005. I was invited to a pastor's gathering in Los Angeles. And it's a good time to check your cell phones too. I was invited to a pastor's gathering and I'm finally getting exposed to a lot of this. Because you know you won't hear this in the schools anymore, right? You won't hear about the nations. You hear, oh, all of our founders were racist and all of them were bigots. And oh, they were deists. That America was never putting God first. And I started to read their original writings. I started to look at abortion statistics. I started to hear from physicians who have performed partial birth abortion. And what that, I can't even explain it. It's barbaric. It's horrific. And then I had a child. What are we going to tell our children? Sorry, I was too busy on Facebook and Candy Crush, whatever that game is. And I couldn't wait to retire and buy my motor home and get out of here and leave you this mess. And it hit me. I remember I left, I was in Los Angeles. I wept for the whole night. God, help us. God, help us. You see, when you're filled with the Spirit of God, you have to say something. And I like what Leonard Ravenhill said, you must weep before you whip. This sermon was covered in tears. You weep before you whip. Just like Jesus. He wept for Jerusalem. We have to say something. And when you're filled with the Spirit of God, don't you want to say something? I'm getting emails from government officials, little governments or school teachers or chaplains or the military. Shane, this is ridiculous. We're being restrained. We can't say anything. We can't do anything. Why isn't anybody saying something? I'll tell you why. We're too scared. We're cowards. We don't want to lose our 501c3 status as if God is concerned about non-profit status. We don't want to maybe lose our job. We don't want to be radical. We don't want to be bold. Tell that to the Apostle Paul. Tell that to Jesus. Now, let me interject. I'm not talking about violence. You know how I fight this battle? I fight this battle on my face, on my knees before God, crying out, God, save us. Have mercy on us. We are a prideful, arrogant people. God, we are repenting. We're turning back to You. Have mercy. God, show us. Fill us with Your Spirit. Bring revival. Bring renewal. That's my AR-15. The prayer closet. Freedom is a gift from God. And the cry goes out, but I don't want to get involved. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are already involved. See, when you say nothing, you actually speak the loudest. What is it, 100 million Christian voters? I don't even know the numbers. The 50 million, I don't know. Don't even turn up to vote. I don't want to get involved. You are involved, whether we like it or not. Listen, as much as I would love utopia, peaceful days, no war, we don't live in that world. That's conjecture and that's theory. We live in the real world. And God calls us to battle on our knees. If my people, not Washington, not Hollywood, if my people humble themselves. So here's the big question. This is what this is all about. Does God desire that marriages seek Him? Well, hello, Shane. Does God desire families seek Him? Does God desire government? Now, the reason I say that is because He instituted all three. All three have different functions. It's His institution, not mine. He created it, not me. Now, here's where it gets interesting. The church is to be the conscience of the nation. The government, the sword. We talked last week, Romans 13. The main role of government is to be a terror to those who do evil. So that's why I couldn't probably run for that office as I would just want to love everyone, right? We'll bring them the gospel. No, let's not do that. Let's not, too passive, right? Too passive to be a leader that's going to not bear the sword in vain. So God says, here, church, you be the conscience of the nation. Here, government, you be the sword if it's done correctly. And who can, when I talk about freedom and what God has given us, nobody can argue this fact that America is the number one producer of the gospel throughout the whole world. Millions and millions and millions and millions have come to faith in Christ because of our freedom. Have you ever thought to think that maybe your freedom isn't all about you? It's the freedom to get the message out, the gospel, the gospel. So you have the number one distributor of the gospel. There's not even close second or third or fourth or fifth. The number one distributor of the gospel and the number one distributor of pornography. I might take a lot of rabbit trails. But here's a rabbit trail. When you look at the founding of our nation, you have to look at intent. This thing about freedom, has anybody heard of freedom of speech? The context is you have a moral responsibility for the words you say. Doesn't mean you can just say whatever. There was a case, interesting case, I think it was Judge Kent. He was the father of, I don't know what they called it, jurisprudence back many years ago. But a man was on trial for calling Jesus, names I can say here, and his mother. Things I definitely can't say here. Okay, well his attorney said, listen, open and shut case. Freedom of speech. The judge said no. Nothing could be more harmful to the morality of our community or injurious to the morals of our youth than to declare such profanity lawful. Fine and jail for three months. See, that's freedom of speech with the right motive, with the right intent. You just can't go put pornography, whatever you want, all these sexual exploits on the back of your vehicle. I mean, it's just ridiculous how far we've drifted. See, you look at the intent. So I'm gonna give you an example because this comes up quite a bit and I'm tired of answering it, so I'm just gonna give you an example right now. And it's not from this church, okay? I'm just in general. But we have to talk about this. So when we look at, again, I'm not naming political parties. I'm gonna try to. Or president. I'm just talking about God's design that the president is not pastor-in-chief. He's commander-in-chief. How can Christians vote for their hypocrites? On either side, right? Either side of that. How can that happen? What's wrong with you guys? Well, let me give you an example. This might help. Try to get one from the courthouse, but they wouldn't let me take it. Okay. According to God's Word, you choose your leader, America. Who do you put in office? Well, biblically, you look at financial, fiscal responsibility, right? You better know how to budget. What about a strict? You've heard these terms. Strict constructionist. You know what that is? What does the Constitution say? The right to bear arms? No-brainer. Freedom? No-brainer, no-brainer, no-brainer. But then you get revisionists who like to, well, I think we're changing now and what used to be wrong isn't wrong anymore. Let's change everything. No, you want the person to put Supreme Court justices who are constitutional-minded. They don't interpret. They actually don't make law. They interpret the Constitution. So, well, you look for that. You look for security. That's the main thing. Security. Are they going to secure the nation? Well, it shouldn't matter. Well, good for you. Don't lock your door at night and see how that works. Right? But if you're mad, get mad at God. He said there to be a terror to those who do evil. So when you see somebody, hey, I'm going to minimize the military. We're not going to care about the military. We're going to negotiate with terrorists. You know, let's just, can't we all get along? No. Wake up. So you look for somebody who's going to be militarily strong. Uh-oh, you see where this is going. And who has a deep respect for those who serve. Have you seen the culture change? Now law enforcement, military is bad. What side of the continent are you living on? Yes, there's bad apples in every bunch. There's bad pastors. There's bad firemen. In every bunch. So you look at that. You also look at those who are going to encourage God's Word. Who are going to encourage God's Word? They're not going to silence chaplains. And they're not going to silence the church. You see where this is going, right? Limited government. Get the government out of things and the people back into things. That's biblical. Okay. Who are they looking for to counsel? Right? Look at the last few candidates. Whatever side you want. Who's their counsel? Who's their influence? Do they love America or do they hate it? Again, what does God's Word say? Now I haven't even hit the biggies yet, have I? Who's going to say, listen, abortion's not right. There's been candidates that are okay with terminating the life of that child even after it's born. Puncture the skull right there after birth. I'm at a loss for words. So we're going to put somebody in office who believes in the sanctity of life. That might take a two, right? So that's what you have. But shame. But shame. There's a past adultery. Well, okay. They're arrogant. They tweet mean stuff that I wouldn't tweet. Me too. Good point. I don't agree with the dreamers acting, making people go back to their country. I don't either. Hello. Okay, I'll give you one. Loud mouth. Whatever. Good point. Where's the scale tipping, folks? Where's the scale tipping? That's the problem. That's the problem. Now, if you want pastor-in-chief, okay, here we go. Husband of one wife. Right? Uh-oh. It would tilt the other way. Husband of one wife. Isn't mean. Is nice. Is all these things. Pastor-in-chief. So that's, again, not who you vote for, right? Because, I mean, whatever a person, whoever they don't like, they'll find whatever they want against them. Oh, such and such had an affair 12 years ago. Such and such had an affair in the White House. Hello? I can go to Kennedy. I can take you to civil rights leaders who I respect that cheated on their spouse. Bad, bad, bad. Not good. Not good. We don't agree with it. But when you look at this, that's how you vote. The lesser of two evils? No, I don't think we vote for evil. We vote for what God upholds. And if you get administrations that want to silence the message, silence the voice of truth, get the church out of everything, there should be concerns there. Because that's what God would want. Romans 13. The wrath of the United States military. That's what it is created to do. Not perfectly. I don't agree with a lot of things. Understand my heart. But if you have a problem with these things, you have a problem with God's Word. They are to be a terror to those who do evil. That's the whole role of government. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. You think he might have something to say about this? The origination and descent of all human power is from God first to terrify evildoers. Secondly, to cherish those who do well. Government seems to me to be a part of religion itself. But you can't legislate morality, Shane. No, of course not. You can't put a whole bunch of laws on people and then it changes their heart. But you can deter wrongdoing. The reason crime is escalating and it's going to continue to, the reason prisons are full, and what is going on because there's little punishment. If you restrain those... I mean, I like that law. You cuss about Jesus, you're going to jail for three months. I mean, that might, you know, that might cause a little bit more... Of course, it's impossible. I'm not saying that, you know. But you look at how far we've drifted. Psalm 33, 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is Lord. See, what we need to stop doing is stop comparing the government in Rome where Paul was under with our nation because they're not even on the same page. Because people say, well, look what Paul went through. Look, they just submitted, they just were beaten, they just went through it. Got it. They got it. But now God has given us a government of the people, by the people, for the people to elect representatives to either uphold His Word or don't uphold it. Do you think if Paul was here today and I explained everything, hey, but look at what we have here. You think he'd say, no, don't do anything. No, don't get involved. He would say, unbelievable! You see how many opportunities for the gospel to proclaim the truth, to highlight God's Word? So the message is, the America you never knew. I won't be long here, but let me just tell you this. You need to be careful where you get your information from. Be careful where you get your information from. Most people get their information from revisionists. What a revisionist is, is it's a person who tells you about the history of America based on what they think. And so people go off of their book, off of their resources, off of their motives, their agendas. What you do, and what many have done, what I did, is you actually go to the original writings. You look at the original writings. What did the framers believe? For example, we've heard this three-fifth clause, right? Against slavery. They were only viewed as three-fifths of a person. And the Constitution, different things. The reason behind that was so southern states would lose political power. So they were given three-fifths of a vote. So it wasn't racism, it was to get the power away from the southern states in order that they could start to get rid of that evil. You just look at, I've got pages and pages on your way out. Grab the book of all the founders who said we've got to eradicate this. This is evil. Great Britain brought it to us. We've got to get rid of it. King George should be banned because of this. But see, we have this mentality, all founders are bad, all of them are evil, so America must be going in a good direction now. No, we're going in a very bad direction based on God's Word. I mean, all you have to do is, if you don't believe any of this, just look at God's Word. So you either have to believe that God doesn't care or He is concerned. So we talked last week about the providence factor. And I truly believe that God planted America. Not like Israel and all these things, but He ordains the affairs of men. America has been the number one producer of the good news. America has defended many nations against many tyrants. Perfectly? No. There's mistakes always. It's so funny that we like to critique everybody, but we forget in our own personal lives we make many mistakes. We don't look at our own choices. We like to put down those who make bad choices. John Winthrop, he was one of the recognized leaders of the Puritans who came over in 16, I believe it was 1630. The Pilgrims came in 1620. He said, We shall be a city upon a hill. The eyes of all the people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we will be made a story and a byword throughout all the world. Here's the House and Senate Judiciary Committee. 1800s. In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity. That was the religion of the founders of the Republic, and that is what they expect to remain, the religion of their descendants. If a proposed article for the Constitution was not supported by or rooted in the Bible, it was not even considered. In their early writings, many of the founders quoted or referenced the Bible nearly four times more than any other source. In 1982, Newsweek Magazine said this, Historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document. The Supreme Court, 1892. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation that this is a Christian nation. The Supreme Court? Now, point of clarification, a nation can't be Christian. It's a gathering of people. People are Christians. What they're saying, though, is the foundation from the school system that was formed to teach the Bible. You know the judicial system used to have verses? They would quote the Bible when giving sentences? God forbid today, we have to have the water just at 72 so the inmates not tax too hard. Now, understand I have a heart of compassion, but things get ridiculous. It gets absolutely ridiculous. So what they're saying is the nation was built on Christian principles. Remember always that your country was founded by the stern old Puritans whose first act on touching the soil of the new world was to offer on bending knees Thanksgiving to Almighty God. Henry Wilson, Vice President in the 1800s. In 1790, Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, said this about the public schools. The religion I mean to recommend in this place is that of the New Testament. Now, this one's pretty unbelievable to me. Think about this for a minute. Try to figure out where this is from. Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life, which is to know God and Christ Jesus and to therefore lay Christ at the foundation or at the bottom as the only foundation, the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. 1642 Rules and Precepts of Harvard University founded by Reverend John Harvard. I double-dog-dare any of you to send this clip to students at Harvard. Oh, my Lord. But see, if they can erase God, then they can justify what's going on today. That was the rules of Harvard to be a student. Lay Christ at the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And this message is not just for white, black, Hispanic. It's for everybody. All of us fall under the blanket of Christianity. All of us are in this nation together. Brothers and sisters locked in arms for Christ. That's a priority. So this isn't about elevating certain things. It's about returning what does God's Word say. See, here's the thing though. The rebellious lifestyle does not want to hear this. The rebellious lifestyle does not want to hear this, do they? Be quiet, be quiet. And Elisha, what did Elisha do? You remember Elisha in the Old Testament? Come on, folks, you know. He would call down fire and wipe out the prophets of Baal. It was interesting. He would tell the king pretty much a lot of what I'm telling you about returning to God. Putting God's Word first. Getting our lives back on track. Stop going astray. Stop letting idolatry lead us astray. And you know what he said? He said, oh, Elisha, you troubler of Israel. You troubler of Israel. Doesn't the same thing go out today? You troubler of America. You troubler. But see, they don't want to hear the troubling effect of this. That's why Elisha said, how long will you waver between two opinions? How long will we waver between two opinions if God is God? Follow Him. There's not a middle ground. The old prophets cried out. John the Baptist cried out. Jesus cried out. The voice cries out. Think about this. What if we've been called for such a time as this? Have you ever thought about that? What if we have been called for such a time as this? Not just me. Everyone. This is why I kind of joked earlier, but it wasn't really a joke. Because everybody wants to retire, own a motor home, play Candy Crush and stay on Facebook and get out of the battle. God says, no, stay in the battle. Let me work through you. How do you know if you have not been called for such a time as this? I only regret that I have but one life to give for my Savior. That's the passion. That's the call. What if? What if we've been called for such a time as this? But again, I'm not talking about civil war, civil disobedience. I'm talking about men and women on fire for God. Broken before Him. Broken and humbled by the magnitude of what is taking place. There's so much I could say on this. I mean, if you look at the, I mentioned earlier, the school district. The schools were created to teach the Bible. You had the courts. William Blackstone's commentaries on the laws of England. Where they used scripture reference to validate certain legal action. Punishment and different things. You look at the church. You know, the church used to be beacons of life promoting His word. Now if I talk about righteousness, repentance, I'm a hater. If I say, you know what, I love all of you but I can't support gay marriage, I'm a homophobic. Jesus is the only way, well you're narrow minded. I think it's important we all wake up to the fact that you won't be liked by everyone. If the world hates Him, they're going to hate you. So it does beg the question. If you're on the side of Hollywood. And you don't like what I'm saying. What side are you on? What side are you on? A God side, what His word says? So what's the answer? Well, I could go on and on. I just again recommend just pick up the book on the way out. There's so much in there to that. But Benjamin Rush was sitting next to John Adams in Congress. He's the signer of the Declaration of Independence. All of them were. He said, I sat next to John Adams in Congress. And upon my whispering to him and asking him if he thought we would succeed in our struggle with Great Britain. He answered me and said, yes. If we fear God and repent of our sins. Can you imagine founding the nation? You think we're going to win? You think this will happen? If we fear God and repent of our sins. That's your word this morning. If you fear God and repent of your sins. Now this is even an interesting concept. Because there are people who I disagree with. John MacArthur has a book out. Where he believes that the Americans were in rebellion. And not following Romans 13. In regard to breaking away from Great Britain. The problem with that is it wasn't a bunch of people having an uprising. It was actually local government lesser magistrates under the king who were initiating the rebellion. So it was government officials. Americans submitting to their governing officials. The signers of the Declaration of Independence. Many of them gave their lives. One of them was Nathan Hale. Who some of you know I quoted. I only regret that I have one life to give for my Lord and Savior. He said, I only regret that I have one life to give for my country. I obviously switched that. Because I'm not pro-American. I'm pro-God. I don't cloak the cross with a flag. But I do look at how God works. If you read through the Bible yearly. You'll change your view quickly. He's not the Old Testament God anymore. That's ridiculous. It's the same God. Grace, love, mercy. If a nation can honor Him. Or can't it honor Him? So back to that question. I don't believe it was a bunch of people with pitchforks and rifles rebelling against the king. They had all their grievances laid out. They even said in there. And you can look at all the different things. So it was lesser government officials. Signing a declaration of independence. Going back during the course of history. When the political bonds of people must be broken. We the people of the United States. And he listed everything. So it wasn't a rebellion out of God's will. I truly believe that it was God working. You bring the pilgrims over in 1620. The Mayflower Compact I mentioned before. To the glory of God and to the advancement of the Christian faith. But then you have groups that took away much land from the Native Americans. And didn't handle that right. I got it. I'm with you. I'm on your side. But anytime God's doing something. So is the devil. Anytime you have godly men. What about the Salem Witch Trial? What about the three godly men who brought those to an end? What about William Wilberforce? See, anytime God is moving. So is the devil. I just can't imagine this. This is a huge struggle where people are going to end. Their lives are going to end. They said it's built on God's word. That's why there's a separation of powers. And found in the Bible. God said I will be your judge. I will be your lawgiver. And I will be your king. So you see the three distinct executive, judicial, and legislative bodies of government. Branches because of God's word. So he said, yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins. And that's why I truly do not understand the people who think we shouldn't talk about this from the pulpit. Every week, I got it. Every month, I'm with you. But once or twice a year, give me a break. Because before Fox News and CNN, this is where people got their information. This is where I can take you to Spurgeon. Everybody loves Spurgeon. Do you know he preached against slavery? I can take you to Martin Luther. Reformation. Do you know he went against the political leaders of that day? You ever heard of John Calvin, the Presbyterians? Have you ever heard the Geneva Study Bible or the city of Geneva? That they want to make the city of Geneva a city on a hill? Men and women of God, filled with the spirit, want to make a difference in all areas of life. Civil government, the public schools, our homes, our communities, all areas. Because we find the overreaching part of this is that all of this, all of this is affected by the governmental authorities. Remember the children being killed in Moses' time? The children being killed in Jesus' time? Esther, almost slaughtering all the Jews. All of that is because the governing bodies, the governing authorities were allowing that to happen. If we fear God and repent of our sins, that is the response. If my people, not a political power, but our sovereign Lord. Church, you must repent. We must repent. This is how we fight our battles. See, I'm not promoting violence. This is how I go to war. This is how I go to war. God, hear us. God, hear us. We are broken before you. We are repentant. Lord, we have sinned against you, mighty God. Heavenly Father, give us a voice crying in the wilderness. Lord, our hearts break for our children. God, this nation you've given us has rejected you. God, would you have your mercy? Let us make a difference in this world. God, would you break me and humble me? Our arrogance is a stench in the nostrils of a righteous, holy, pure God. God, we need you. That's how you go to battle. That's how you go to battle. You see, your gun sakes are full, but your prayer closet's empty. You wave the flag, but you don't carry your cross. No wonder we don't see a difference. If I could sum up a strong point, it would be this one. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see the outright immature behavior of Christians on Facebook going on political tirades and cussing using capital letters and shooting people instead of loving them. I know I feel that. I'd love to write some things, too. But they'll know that you are Christians by your love for one another. You're never going to have a Republican and a Democrat get along, or Independent, or People of the Church. You're never going to let that. You just can't do that on Facebook or with others. You have to let God change your heart. And I'm concerned that a lot of us have passion for this area, but we don't have love. We have the letter of the law. See, war should break our heart. You know, things are happening in Syria and all these things. It should break our heart. But we also understand from the Bible, Augustine framework, it's something called the just war theory. There has to be a moral obligation in how you conduct yourself in battle. There's different things that the Bible says. And if we wouldn't have the tear to those who do evil, I don't agree with everything at all. But if we don't have that, then what you will have is North Korea. So you make your choice. I forget who said it, but he said men will either be controlled by the Bible or the bayonet. So I just preached to the choir. Let me preach to the person who's not converted, not a believer. I'm just going to close with this. This is not about political parties. It's about God's love. And I've been called every name in the book, and people don't see it. It's just about God's love. That's what it is. It's about God. Because when you love God, don't you want to honor His word? When you see people mocking His word, spitting on it, in His face, blaspheming, if something doesn't break in your heart, I want to challenge you. Where in the world is your heart? Where is your heart? I think it was Niemöller, who was in a concentration camp. Actually, I just remember, I think this week a study came out that two-thirds of millennials don't even know what Auschwitz was. Two-thirds of people coming up don't even know what concentration camps were, didn't even know what happened. But he said something interesting. He said, first they came for the socialists, but I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the trade workers, and I wasn't a trade worker. Then they came for the Jews, but I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and by then it was too late. There was no one to stand up. I think it was John Hancock who said, man, I beg you, by all that is dear, that is all that you hold honorable, not only that you pray, but that you act. Praying with action is not biblical either. Well, Shane, I don't know about that. Well, think about it. Lord, make me a better husband, and you're going to go cuss at your wife ten minutes later. Make me a better leader, but you beat everybody up with your words. Make a difference in this community, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut because I'm a coward. You see, prayer and action, they're married. But what is our action? Bended knee, broken before God. Because all God says, oh, I can use that person. You see how they're broken and humble before me? How they're emptied of themselves? Who they're not on arrogant political rants? I'm concerned because sometimes I think we value that more than that. You won't take my gun. Oh, you can have the cross. It's really a burden to me anyway. Are you kidding me? We need that brokenness and that love. If my people are called by my name, you, if you humble yourself and pray. Shane, I can't make a difference. That's what I said 18 years ago. Hungover. Destroyed life. I can't speak in front of people. Who am I? Lord, what are you going to do with me? He said, surrender yourself, and you see. You see, because now you're emptied of yourself and filled with my spirit. But let me get back to this. If you don't know Christ, if you're lost and confused, if you're afraid and anxious, turn to Jesus today. Regardless, if you don't like what I said, listen to Matthew, what he said in Matthew. Jesus said, come to me all who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You don't have to be a political party. You don't have to be Republican, Democrat, Independent, nothing. Whatever all these things are. Jesus said, just come to me all who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble. You will find rest for your souls. So you must believe and repent. And actually, you must swear allegiance. To the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You do have to swear allegiance. Isn't that interesting? The Bible says that the government will rest upon his shoulders. All authority is given to the Son. You have to swear allegiance. Oh Christ, I swear to you. In a good way, right? I swear my allegiance to you. I repent of my sin. I believe. Jesus did not die on the cross just for America. We get this American pride. There's nothing wrong with being a proud American. But watch out for American pride. Because I'm pretty sure God's not going, there's my little North America. I just love it. I love North America. He actually might be over by the Middle East section. Who has chosen. People are the apple of his eye. You have to start thinking globally. All people. All walks. Syrian refugees. Breaks my heart having to see how they're treated sometimes. These things break my heart. That's why the church is the conscience of the nation. Martin Luther King Jr. said, The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state. It is the conscience of the state. And if we lose our prophetic zeal, we will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.