BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Why? For the most part, the biggest thing in the lives of these people is a particular sin and a lifestyle built around it. Consequently, they look for a candidate who will create an environment that will make room for their sinful lifestyle. The LORD then asked, 'Should the Body of Christ for any reason want to create an environment that is easy on sin?' Of course, my answer was, “No!” Jesus bore our sins on the cross. And whatever He bore for us, we resist. We resist sin. We resist sickness, disease, poverty and so on. We are not against the person who commits sin, but we are against the sin. When we no longer put up a resistance to sin, either by not voting at all, or by voting for the wrong reasons, then we’ve joined forces with those who are serving an unrighteous cause. You may be voting that way because it’s how your family has always voted, but you’ll end up moaning and groaning later, just like Israel did. Now when it comes to resisting sin, certainly we can grab our picket signs to run out and protest at the local abortion clinic, adult bookstore or city hall. But there has been a lot of misunderstanding about all that, and it primarily has been the fault of preachers. Over the years, too many pastors have turned their pulpits into political platforms without digging into The WORD of God until they understood the real spiritual issues at hand. Don’t get me wrong. There is a time to gather together and take a stand. But we can put “Jesus Saves!” on signs, bumper stickers, T-shirts and everything else, and do little to no good. We must follow God’s prescribed plan. I remember when neighborhood convenience stores in America first started selling pornographic magazines on their newsstands. A lot of church people got mad, grabbed signs and started picketing the stores. During that time, I heard a store owner say, “My goodness, I didn’t have much business till all those Christians started coming down here and raising so much Cain. When they came, I sold out over and over again.” Believers had the right heart about the matter, but their plan backfired. The power is not in the picket sign. It’s in The WORD and prayer. The Real Power Brokers To answer my question about how we, as believers, should select political candidates, The LORD took me to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where the Apostle Paul wrote: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” The part where the Church has messed up so badly concerning our authority and responsibility in the political process is the “thanksgiving” part of Paul’s instructions. Think about it. When someone we don’t like gets elected, suddenly, we’re no longer interested in praying for that office. Or maybe we’ve prayed for them, but we’re certainly not about to give any thanks for them. Far too often, when we have been diligent in praying for men and women in authority, we have turned right around and openly shred them to pieces in our conversations. According to God’s WORD, that won’t work. It’s obvious when people in leadership positions are doing ungodly things. But we still have the say-so with God—and that’s what counts. We are His covenant people, just as we saw earlier with Israel. But we only have that say-so with God when we’ve fulfilled our responsibility to pray over elections and candidates, hear how He wants us to vote, and then do it. Once we’ve done all that, it doesn’t matter if the person we voted for got into office or not. What matters is our obedience. The LORD once told me, 'It is very important for My people to make a choice. For if you choose the way I tell you to choose, even if it goes the other way, I will take care of you all the way through the whole thing, just as if it had been exactly the way you voted.' I’ve seen that happen over and over. My friend, God has made this whole process very easy for us. He told us that the first thing we are to do is to make petition and intercession for all men, kings and men of high authority. Then, we are to give thanks for them. We don’t have to fast and pray for 40 days, twice a year. Just spend 10 to 15 minutes every day praying the way Paul said to pray for our authorities. Granted, there may be times when the Spirit of God will lead you to spend more time and prayer over a particular matter. Follow that lead. The point is, make the main focus and effort of your petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving consistent. Real spiritual power lies in consistency. That means day after day praying in the spirit, standing on The WORD, lifting holy hands, and praising and worshipping God concerning our authorities—all of them. Remember, a picket sign has no real impact if it’s not full of God’s Anointing. But when we, as the Church, get full of that Anointing, I guarantee you won’t need a picket sign. We’re the ones with the authority. We’re the ones with the say-so with God. Now it’s just a matter of...What will we say? V BVOV : 23

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