#348 (10/14) - Sunday Special > "For Such A Time As This"; 23 Days Until the Election

FYI - 1) Be sure to check out this week's broadcast of "Truth That Transforms" (Orlando - Sundays, 9 and 10 am, 5 pm; Monday, 7 pm; over-the-air channel/or go to www.truthinaction.org) The message is entitled "The Bible and  Constitution" and an interview with a former ACLU activist.
2) There are only 22 days until the election; are you praying for it and oure nation?; 3) Before the election, try to either read the book (you can get it from your library) "Obama's America" or see the movie "2016." I promise you, you will not understand our President's worldview until you do; and 4) You might also try to get a copy of the book, "Divider-In-Chief"; go to the following site to read a lengthy preview of it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1621570118/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1621570118&linkCode=as2&tag=null07-20#reader_1621570118

PRAYER REQUEST: 1) For the Pakistani girl, Malala, who was shot by the Talilban the other day for speaking out for education for girls and iis now in serious condition (see story at post #346); and 2) For the next Presidential Debate, 10/16, that : a) it will clearly reveal the policies each candidate will pursue; b) that Americans will discern the truth of that from what they've been told by political ads and media spin; and c) that the moderator will not pursue any biased agenda in the questions he asks either candidate
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by D. James Kennedy, Truth In Action Ministries http://www.truthimpact.me/index.php/2012/10/born-again/

Do you ever ask yourself why you were born? Well, an even more important question is this: Why were you born again? The Old Testament story of Esther provides a good illustration:

“Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4: 13, 14

Point number one: “For if you remain silent at this time .”
Why is it that on so many sides we are losing the cultural war? It’s because of what they say and do, and what we don’t say and do. By our silence, we are the ones who, by default, have brought upon our land a flood of unbelief and wickedness.

If Esther had held her peace, the result would have been what? That all of the Jews would have been killed? No. “… Relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place … .” God is sovereign. God’s purposes will be done—and if not by us, then by others.

Now, there are some who will say, “Oh, well, that’s good. I can sit back and forget about it. Well, before you vote yourself out of the game, let me continue—“… but you and your father’s house will perish.”
Let me make one thing clear: Every sin we commit will inevitably involve our suffering loss. You say, “Wait a minute. Jesus died for my sins, so now I can just do whatever I want, and not do whatever I don’t want to do. Isn’t that right?” No. First Corinthians 3 tells us that because we have not served Christ as we should, what we have done will be burnt up, and we shall suffer the loss of those rewards which God would be pleased to give to us if we had been faithful to Him.

Lastly, every opportunity in this life must be perceived as a call from God. What a great statement this is: “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Today we are in the midst of a great cultural, spiritual war in which the forces of darkness are attempting to overwhelm the forces of light and virtue, and whoever is most active and vigilant will be the victor in that battle. So, how about you? Are you serving in these dark times?

I am optimistic that God is going to do something wonderful in the next several decades in this country. But I don’t know that for sure. I believe it is very possible that if American Christians will wake up, get out of the bleachers and down on the playing field, and get involved, then we can turn this country around. But I don’t know the secret purposes of God, and it may be that 20 years from now we can look back and see that because Christians continued in the same kind of apathy they have existed in for decades, the situation in America got worse. As Mrs. Billy Graham said, “Unless America repents, if God does not chasten this country severely, God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

The sin of doing nothing at all—that is the great sin of the Christian Church. “… Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Think about it, and do something!

[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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ACTION POINTS:  One of the most significant ways we can DO SOMETHING is to vote in next month's elections. I should not need to remind you that the upcoming elections next month may REALLY be the most important in our lifetime and possibly for generations to come. 

1) If its not too late where you are, if you are unregistered to vote, REGISTER at: http://www.cbn.com/special/register-to-vote/ (Only about 50% of Christians were registered in past elections.)

2) EDUCATE YOURSELF on the issues, and as a Christian, be sure to educate yourself about the key Christian values to base your vote for a candidate on. Go to the website of Truth In Action ministries and download their guide to the issues: http://www.truthinaction.org/PDF/Final_Voters_Guide.pdf

3) If you have not, begin to PRAY DAILY for the election. I invite you to go to scroll down to my post #323 for my own list of prayers I am praying in particular each day. Or you can go to the "40 Days of Prayer to the Election Guide" provided by Truth In Action ministries at: http://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/40-days-of-prayer/?src=TIA-10.2

4)  Of course, BE SURE TO ACTUALLY VOTE, and if you can, take someone with you who needs a ride that day. (Only about 50% of registered Christian voters actually voted in the last election, which means only 25% of Christians actually voted, a point of great shame.)