2) Citizenship Series

Introduction

Text Matt 5:13-16

Jesus prayed in John 17:11-20

These are in the world

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world

They are not OF the world

Sanctify them (separate them and consecrate them)

I send them into the world

This is for all those who believe because of them

Now, how can we be ‘separate” and still be in and/or sent to

A number of religious sects have thought that the separation was literal

•We cannot be ‘sent to’ and isolate ourselves

•In other words, isolation prevents us from our mission

The separation has to do with values, lifestyles, behavior, and even thoughts and feelings

Values

•Priorities

•Morality

These become the determining factor in our behavior, thoughts & feelings

This is one of the ways we become salt and light (text)

Salt is indicative of ‘influence’

Light is indiciative of:

•Revelation = showing, unveiling

•Enlightening

•Leading: Implication of leading through darkness

You cannot be a person of faith and it not influence your vote with heavenly values

Your Faith Should Affect Your Participation in the Kingdoms of Man, and in our culture how we vote.

The values of your faith are the values of your vote

What values should affect our vote?

1)The value of life

•I have a difficult time understanding how a candidate can claim to be a person of faith (Christian) yet defend the law that allows the destruction of human life in the womb.

•In this election there is warfare around the issue of life

Abortion

•Partial-birth abortion

•Abortion of convenience

•We become numb to the issues of abortion

•God’s word should motivate us

Stem-cell research

•Adult stem cell research

•Umbilical stem cell research

•Both of these have had the most success

•Embryonic stem cell research

The destruction of life

Life is not less important because it is small or we cannot see it

The battle over life has been fed by the evolutionary world view

We are no differenct from the animals, so we are no better than the animals

Since the animals are incapable of coming up to our level, then by behavior we must ‘devolve’ to theirs

But animals do not abort or destroy their babies

No promising research

Politicians have implied that there has been no research in this area

There has, but there have been no discoveries to help

Other nations have been doing research

There is research going on in this nation through universities and private companies

They only limit that has been placed on embryonic stem cell research has been government supported

I know of no candidate that opposes stem cell research

But they are accused of opposing stem cell research when they take a stand for life

There are some states that have very strict laws protecting animals

Some even have stiffer penalties than for human murder

Some have banned medical research using animals

Yet some of these same states have legalized taking human embryos and destorying them to get stem cells

In research that has made no promises

There have been a number of advances in stem cell research

It has helped in alzheimers, ms, parkisans and numerous other diseases

But not one has come from embryonic stem cell research

A word about the death penalty as it relates to the issue of life

The issue of life and your vote

The candidate’s view of life

Federal court and supreme court appointees

Constructionists vs. originalists

Voe v. Wade was a constructionists view

No prayer in school was a constructionists view

What other opinions might a constructionist court make

Gay marriage?

Stem cell research?

Euthenisia?

Other constructionists opinions

Anti life

Anit Christian

Foreign law

The supreme court

Two originalists/strict constructionists have been apointed

Two revisionists (living document) may be near resigning

It will take a strong political will to allow the court to swing in a pro-life matter

There is alot of spiritual warfare around life

2)The value of marriage

nearly 48 states have passed some kind of law regarding the sanctity of marriage as being between one man and one woman

The New Jersey Supreme court has overturned the will of the people in that state and ordered (so much for separation of powers) the state legislature to write a law allowing homosexual unions

3)Other considerations

a) How we deal with poverty

Giving to the poor without accountability and economic education and without restraints leads to them to a lifestyle of no restraint

Government can help, but people have to want to help themselves

This does not apply to everyone, but many become ‘dependant’ on that which is being given to them without accountability

Missions is a perfect example

Churches in missions that have been nurtured towards self-suffeciency are much more stable than those that have been supported by western dollars