My Peace Covers You | God Message Today | God's Message For You Today

You've heard it this morning, but if you've been here before, or if you ever come back, you have been introduced to the phrase, Vote the Bible. One of the reasons why Pastor Hagee has given that commission to everyone who's in this sanctuary and to those who are joining us in all 50 states is because that is our obligation as Bible-believing Christians. As Americans begin to line up at the polls to cast their ballots, statistics say that one in three Christians will not vote. Now, when you consider that America has 90 million, and that's just a really big number, but if they have 90 million Christians and a third stay home, 30 million people who call themselves Christians will not vote. And the reason they won't vote is because they'll piously say something like, they cannot find a fit candidate who does not align up 100% with their beliefs. Now let's be honest, if you being in a relationship or supporting someone required that they be in 100% alignment with your beliefs, you would have never gotten married. And all the married people said, Amen, you understand what it's like to compromise. But abstaining from your responsibility to vote is to forfeit the futures of your children and your grandchildren to political powers, powers that do not intend to protect and defend their freedom, but powers that will indeed control every aspect of their lives. To understand the nation that we have become, let's look at the words of Congressman Albert S. Hurlong Jr. Now, Albert S., Hurlong Jr. is probably a politician that you've never heard of and you probably didn't vote for. I would say there's a good chance that nobody in here voted for him because he was a Democrat from the state of Florida who was elected to the Congress back in 1963. But in 1963, Congressman Albert S. Hurlong Jr. from Florida had read into the Congressional Minutes, which means that what we're about to look at is in the Library of Congress. You can go look it up for yourself. In 1963, 61 years ago, he had read and recorded the 45 Goals of Communism, and he got these 45 Goals of Communism from a book that was written by a retired FBI agent in 1958. The agent's name was Cleon Skousen, and the book was called The Naked Communist. Skousen was given the responsibility of investigating the agenda of communism in the Five Eros, and he wrote the book once he retired from the Bureau. Now, understand that what he wrote in the book in 1958 got him labeled as an extremist. What Congressman Hurlong read before Congress, whenever it was 1963, was considered ridiculous, far-fetched, and outrageous. There were objections all over the floor because what he said would never happen in America. But let's just look at a few of these points and see if they're indeed extreme, or were they prophetic. Point one, capture one or both political parties. Have you ever wondered to yourself why nothing ever changes? Regardless of whether it's an R or a D, a red or blue, it just seems to stay the same. Point two, get in control of the schools and the teachers and soften the curriculum. Right now, in public education, they're teaching more pronouns than they are reading, writing, and arithmetic. Did you ever think that you would look at political advertisements where the arguing point was whether or not you were in favor of boys going into a girl's locker room? That's not educated. That's perverted. Now remember, this came out of a book in 1958. What else did they say would happen in 1958 if communism had the opportunity to gain control of something? Point three, gain control and infiltrate the press. Do you ever get the feeling that the news is not telling you the truth? Point four, gain control of key positions in radio, television, and Hollywood. Look at the world that we live in today. If a celebrity endorses the correct party as far as the public is concerned, they're bold, they're outspoken. But if a celebrity should endorse the conservative party, they are threatened with being canceled. Number five, eliminate laws governing obscenity, calling these regulations censorship and a violation of free speech. Right now, if you, as a parent, have a problem with a pornographic book in the public school library, you don't like free speech. But if you take this message that you heard in this pulpit today, and you take it out into the street, you'll be defined as a bigot. Point six, break down standards of morality by promoting pornography. You need to know that pornography is an ocean that every child with access to the internet can swim in anytime they want to. Point seven, present homosexuality as normal and natural. Now, in 1958, that idea was met with great objection, saying it would never happen. In 1958, they never thought there would be such a thing as same-sex marriage. In 1958, they never imagined that the President of the United States of America would invite a transgendered male, topless, to dance on the White House lawn this past June. But that happened in the United States this year. And if you didn't like it, you're not inclusive. Point eight, infiltrate churches and replace revealed religion with social religion. What's the difference? Revelation comes from the Word of God. Revelation is where a church picks up the Word of God, opens up the scripture, reads the text, and lets the Holy Spirit guide them into truth, social religion. Social religion is when the street tells the sanctuary what to say. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, 2, Preach the Word. Preach the Word, because there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers for themselves, because they have itching ears. They're going to want to be comforted, not confronted with the truth. We're there. Point nine, eliminate prayer and any phase of religion's expression in schools on the grounds that it violates the separation of church and state. In 2024, it is thought to be a common thing that everybody knows you can't pray in public school. But do you know that in 1958, when the book The Naked Communist was written, that public education began every day with every student standing by their desk, putting a hand over their heart and reciting a pledge that said, in God we trust. And then there was a scripture that was read over the PA by one of the members of the student body. And then there was a prayer that was said before school even started. So in 1958, when he said, eliminate prayer, they said, never. And now, in 2024, if a man carries a purse to class, he's courageous. But if a coach carries a Bible, he's a radical. Point 10, discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate and outdated. Recently, you heard John Kerry at the Davos Economic Forum make the statement that the First Amendment is a stumbling block to good government. Point 11, discredit America's founding fathers, calling them selfish aristocrats. In 1958, when this was written, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, they were revered. In 2024, they're vandalized. Number 12, belittle American culture and discourage the teaching of American history. High school seniors know more about TikTok and Netflix than they do our history. Point 13, discredit the family as an institution, encourage promiscuity, and easy divorce. Historians, anthropologists, economists, they'll all tell you that in a nation that has a birth rate less than two, that nation is dying. Right now, in the United States, the birth rate is 1.9 children per family. The reason why it's 1.9 is because we don't value family. To prove it to you, American families who are of child birthing age have 1.9 children and 2.2 dogs. You have to laugh to keep from crying because we value the leash more than a legacy. Point 14, emphasize the need to raise children outside and away from the negative influence of parents. The negative influence of parents. In public schools in California, if your child chooses to begin taking puberty blockers and begin a transgender transition, the public education system has told that teacher, don't you dare tell those parents. Point 15, treat behavioral problems as mental health disorders caused by societal issues. Now, why is this important? Because if individual behavior is not the responsibility of the individual, but it's a disorder that's caused by society, then we're all to blame for the way people behave. And if we're all to blame for the way people behave, then we need a government that can tell us how to behave so that people don't behave that way. As convoluted as it sounds, it's what you see all around you right now. When somebody breaks the law, it's not their fault. It's the environment that they were raised in. What happened to America? What happened to in God we trust? What happened to one nation under God? What happened to being proud to be an American? To being a patriot? To valuing your family? To liberty and justice for all? I'll tell you what happened. We've been deceived. We've allowed a government not to serve the citizen, but to control them. To take us away from where we were founded, one nation under God and in God we trust. To being a nation that is now in desperate need of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to come and revive us again. We've allowed a socialist agenda to take control of our lives instead of make us the land of the free and the home of the brave. So what's the answer? The Bible has the answer. Open up your gates and open up your doors and the King of glory will come in. Come and right every wrong. Come and make a way where there seems to be no way. Come and do what only you can do because you are the King above kings and the Lord above lords. Glory to his name. Our verse today carries the secret to getting God back in touch with society. First, David begins in Psalms 24 with a very clear message. He said, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. He's making it very plain that God does not need anyone's permission at any time to do anything. He laid the foundations of the whole thing. He's got the keys to the house. Then David says that those who have clean hands and a pure heart that have never lifted it up before an idol, they shall receive blessings from the Lord. The message is, if you want God's blessings in your life, you just can't look good on Sunday. You've got to live good Monday through Friday. And then from verse 710, he continuously says, lift up your gates, open up your doors. What is he talking about? In this particular Psalm, he's talking about when Jerusalem will receive Messiah back to the Temple Mount. And he's talking about two specific areas that not only apply to that city, but to every nation and to your life. First, let's consider the gates. In the Old Testament, the gates of a city were also the courthouse. Inside the walls of the gates is where the judges sat. It's where disputes were settled. It's where decisions were made. In our nation, it means our government. If the government will open up itself to God, God will come in and help the government. But in your life, where are you governed from? Your head. What are the doors? The doors were to the sanctuary. The gates are to the city. The doors are to the house of God. The place of worship. This Psalm is saying if the government invites God in and the church invites God in, He'll come in. But where does this apply to us? The Bible says that God is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. It means this, that when you open up your life, heart, soul, mind, and body to the King of Glory, the King of Glory will come in. When you open up your life to Him and He comes in, His promises come with Him. The King of Glory is not a candidate that is promising hope. The King of Glory is our hope. Paul said that He is God, our Savior, our hope. David said, My hope is in the Lord. The King of Glory that you invite into your life, He doesn't come with executive orders to reform and repeal. He comes to show you the way, the truth, and the life because there is none other than Him. He's a refuge and He is a strength. He promised those who believe in Him that His name would be a strong tower and that in the day of trouble, the righteous could run into and be saved. He's described as a fortress to those who are in battle. He's described as a shield to those who find protection in Him. He's described as a shepherd for those who looked and found all that they could want. He's been a friend closer than a brother to the lonely and a Redeemer who is faithful and true. When you read His promises, you need to know they are yes and they are amen in Christ Jesus. He promised peace, not just a portion of it, but peace that surpasses all understanding. He promised joy, not just a little of it, but joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. He promised comfort to the brokenhearted. He promised healing for every sickness and disease. He promised protection when He said He'd give His angels charge over you. He came to give you life and life more abundantly. You don't have to be concerned with the King that when He gets into power, is He going to change? Because He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Church, who is this King of glory? His name is Jesus, the name that is above every name. Jesus, the Lord that is above every Lord. Jesus, the precious cornerstone. Jesus, the bright and morning star. Jesus is the King of glory. Blessed be His name. So, now that we've met the King, what's His platform? Well, first, He's pro-life. John 10.10, He said, I have come to give you life and life more abundantly. Without Christ in your life, you may exist, but you don't live. Without Christ in your marriage, you'll struggle to stay together because the Bible says, unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Without Christ in your home, it's not a safe haven. It's a war zone under the influence of the wicked one. But when you open up your life, when you open up your marriage, when you open up your business to the King of glory, when you let Him come into the situation that you think is impossible, He proves to you that all things are possible to those who put their faith in Him. You say, Pastor, how do you know that? Because His Bible says, call upon me and I'll show you great and mighty things that you know not. Let me ask you this, what have you got to lose? His platform is not just life, but His platform is liberty. The King of glory is in favor of freedom because John 8.36 says, whom the Son makes free is free indeed. Jesus Christ is the great emancipator. Greater than all others. Galatians 5, 1 says, stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made you free. What did He free us from? First and foremost, sin. When you read the book of Romans, Paul makes it very clear. We were all slaves to sin. You were bound. But then one day, the great emancipator went to a place called Calvary, the Lamb of God for sinners slain. He laid down His life, and when they stretched Him wide and they hung Him high, He said, Father, forgive them. And God looked through the blood of His only begotten Son, and every sin was paid for, and every chain was broken. Because if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed. He died my death so I could live His life. He wore my crown so I could be counted as royalty. He took my stripes so that I could be healed. And the Bible says in Romans 6.10 that the death He died, He died once and for all. I've got good news, church. He didn't go down into the depths of death, hell, and the grave just to redeem some. He went to death, hell, and the grave so that He could redeem all. He didn't leave anybody behind. He paid for you. Wherever you're watching from, I've got good news. The price has been paid. You have been set free because whom the Son sets free is free indeed. His platform is a platform of purity, and it's a platform of pro-family. Psalm 24, he who has clean hands and a pure heart. Jesus echoed this same truth in Matthew 5.8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Let's be clear. Our nation is not anywhere close to purity right now. We are saturated and soaked in perversion. The question is not, is the nation pure? The question is, are you? Because the nation is made up of the people in it. And when the Bible speaks of being pure in heart, it doesn't mean that you're perfect because in that standard, no one is pure. And when the Bible speaks of having clean hands, it doesn't mean that you've never done any wrong. In my home, as a child, clean hands were a prerequisite for dinner. And the good news was, I wasn't expected to keep my hands clean because if I had to keep my hands clean, I would have starved to death. The good news was, if my hands were dirty, there was a place I could go before dinner and wash my hands and then go to the table and receive my provision. So, what does that mean for you? The Bible says that we wash our hands in the water of His Word. Clean hands don't mean that you've never done anything wrong. Clean hands mean that on a regular basis, you open up this book and you allow it to wash all of the filth of the world, the flesh and the devil off of you, so that when you want to go to the banqueting table of God, the Father, you can find provision in your hour of need. Those who have a pure heart, those who want to please God, those who have clean hands, those who are being cleansed by His Word, not perfect people, but just people who will open up themselves, heart, soul, mind, and body and say, Lord Jesus, come in, King of glory, come in, come into my life, come into my marriage, come into my home, come into my children. That's who God's looking for. So, here's what I close with. This King of glory, Jesus, you're not going to find Him on a ballot. You're not going to be able to cast a vote for Him in this upcoming election, but you can indeed nominate Him to be the Lord of your life today. And by choosing Him and bringing Him in, you'll find that everything I've said and so much more is true. This King of glory, He wants you to let Him in today. If you let Him into your heart, if you let Him into your home, if you let Him into the church, then He can be brought back to this nation. But it begins with you saying, Lord, I open up my life, heart, soul, mind, and body. I'm yours.