00:00:40.000We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.
00:01:23.000And here we are right now, right before Tuesday, and honored to be here.
00:01:27.000And I'm going to talk a little bit about New Mexico, but I'm also going to talk about things that are happening across the country.
00:01:32.000As I know a lot of people are watching on the live stream, and we're going to talk about some of the dynamics unfolding and really kind of address it head on.
00:01:40.000How should Christians think about the election?
00:01:43.000How should we think about what's happening on Tuesday?
00:01:45.000Are you even allowed to talk about it in church?
00:01:47.000Now, we are a legacy church with Steve Smotherman.
00:01:50.000So I think a lot of you have already had a fair dose of truth here over the last couple of years.
00:01:55.000But it's important that we talk about this and we discuss it because this is something that has really been, in my opinion, misrepresented in the media and misrepresented by a lot of churches.
00:02:27.000So first and foremost, I believe if you look at the scriptures, Jeremiah 29, 7, it says, seek the welfare of the nation that you are in because your welfare is tied to your nation's welfare.
00:02:38.000Now, you could also interpret it as demand the welfare or require the welfare.
00:02:43.000We as Christians are called to care about our city, our county, our nation, and our state.
00:02:48.000We are not called to just sit on the sidelines and not have a heart for the people that are suffering under these ideas and the policies and the bad decisions around us.
00:02:56.000In fact, there is a heresy that has happened in the American church where people say, you know, I just don't care.
00:03:01.000As a Christian, I don't care what happens politically.
00:03:13.000But honestly, you could argue that this is the second or third most important thing because if you don't get this right, then you can't do the first thing.
00:03:21.000And by the way, let me prove it to you.
00:03:23.000This church, of course, defied the governor's orders back in 2020, thanks to the courageous leadership of Steve Smotherman.
00:03:29.000And you should just be so thankful you have a leader like him.
00:03:33.000But why did we ever put up with the church being deemed or labeled non-essential?
00:04:03.000If we really believe in separation of church and state, then why is it that the state was allowed to come into the church and try to shut us down?
00:04:11.000I thought the two are supposed to be separate.
00:04:13.000Where they mandated masks and they mandated vaccines and they do all these different things.
00:04:18.000No, instead, what we need to send a message on Tuesday as Christians is one thing: like, look, strip clubs, alcohol stores, drug dispensaries, and abortion clinics are not more essential than the American church, and we're never going to allow that to happen again.
00:04:34.000And this governor, more than almost any other leader in America, was so hostile, was so harsh in locking down the church.
00:04:44.000The number two, and so there's three things that I think we as Christians must pray about and we must think about as far as our biblical posture coming into Tuesday.
00:04:52.000That's the first one: that the church is essential.
00:04:54.000Number two, God created man and God created woman.
00:06:21.000But God's not tired of hearing about it because God wants every single being that comes to an existence at conception to be able to have life, to have breath, and to have a beautiful, flourishing future.
00:06:34.000That is the question in a lot of different ways coming on Tuesday.
00:06:36.000Do we think that the strong should be able to crush the weak at a whim?
00:06:41.000No, we as Christians think that if you have strength, you should be able to use your strength to then protect the weak.
00:06:47.000In fact, we are morally commanded to do that, to care for the least of these.
00:06:51.000And the people that can't defend themselves are the 1 million human beings that get massacred in the womb every single year in America.
00:06:58.000It is a question of the church of whether we care about that or not.
00:07:02.000And so I'll go through the list again.
00:07:03.000The church is essential and will never be labeled non-essential by the government again.
00:07:07.000God created man and woman, and life begins at conception.
00:07:10.000When I say this Tuesday, we must vote biblically, those three things, I think you could choose very wisely amongst those three things very, very clearly.
00:07:20.000So we see this throughout the Bible, that a perfect God accomplishes his perfect will through imperfect people.
00:07:28.000And we're going to talk about that in a second because I hear quite often they say, Charlie, I don't like this candidate.
00:07:33.000They're not as good of a person as I am.
00:07:35.000And I'm sure you've heard that a lot, right?
00:07:40.000You know, every so often I get a complaint from somebody and they say, Charlie, you know, for example, let's just pick a random politician that people don't like.
00:07:55.000I've heard everything you could possibly imagine.
00:07:57.000But boy, is he an imperfect vessel that accomplished something rather heroic when he put Kavanaugh, Amy, Coney, Barrett, and Gorsuch on the U.S. Supreme Court that gave us the reversal of Roe versus Wade.
00:08:12.000Okay, so there's some people probably in the audience right now on the other side of the spectrum where they say, Charlie, I'm not going to vote because I believe my vote's going to be stolen and thrown away and shredded.
00:08:31.000Now, I'm not guaranteeing your vote is going to be counted beautifully and wonderfully, but not voting guarantees there's a 0% chance that you have any voice, okay?
00:08:41.000So there's no argument not to show up.
00:08:43.000And by the way, they say, well, Charlie, I don't have time.
00:08:45.000Okay, so I just drove through Albuquerque and we passed by Starbucks, where people are willing to wait 10, 15, 20 minutes for a Frappuccino or some $9 drink.
00:08:55.000You have time throughout your entire life to probably collectively sit in lines to go get sugar and fat and to get closer to diabetes and heart disease, and you can't wait 20 minutes in line to fill out a piece of paper to defend the unborn.
00:11:46.000It's actually not good for them to actually act as if that's okay.
00:11:49.000And they stay on the side of the street and to allow drugs and fentanyl to pour across the southern border that could likely kill them through an accidental overdose.
00:11:56.000It's not okay to allow the child sex trafficking to continue to come through Albuquerque or up to Santa Fe.
00:12:50.000I care how it impacts our grandchildren.
00:12:52.000If you're only voting for yourself, you are voting for the wrong things.
00:12:56.000You should vote for those that actually don't yet have a voice.
00:12:59.000And look, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, 13 through 16, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall saltness be restored?
00:13:09.000It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
00:13:13.000Now, when you think about salt and light, those two things in common, when you think about them, they change the environment that they come in contact with.
00:13:25.000So when we are called to be salt and light, we are called to go into an environment and make it better, to make it brighter or in this analogy, to make it saltier.
00:13:34.000So we look at what's happening in Albuquerque.
00:13:36.000We are called to try to say, you know what, let's try to fix the homelessness issue.
00:13:39.000Let's try to reduce the amount of drug usage.
00:13:41.000Let's try to make it no longer the late-term abortion capital.
00:13:44.000We're here to change the environment in which our things can actually are happening.
00:13:48.000And boy, if there's ever been a fight of light versus dark, of being light, it's happening right here in this state in more ways than one.
00:13:57.000And I think all of you guys feel that.
00:13:59.000Jesus also said, you are the light of the world.
00:14:02.000A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
00:14:04.000Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand.
00:14:08.000And it gives light to all in the house.
00:14:10.000In the same way, let your light shine before others so that you may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
00:14:18.000And so when you think about it, you have to go into the darkest places.
00:14:21.000And right now, we're actually in a place where the politics are pretty dark right here, right now.
00:14:26.000And sitting at home and not voting or not getting your friends to vote is the opposite of being the light that we need to be.
00:14:32.000Now, look, so in John 16, 33, Jesus said, to those who are disheartened by the trouble in the world, we tell them to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.
00:15:15.000If you don't get involved in politics, politics will get involved in you.
00:15:19.000When you do not get involved in politics, the government is able to come to the church and say, non-essential, you have to stay at home, shut down Christian schools, shut down homeschooling.
00:15:46.000In fact, we are called to lean into the most difficult things happening around us.
00:15:50.000In fact, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was an amazing pastor who was killed by the Nazi regime, he said, silence in the face of evil is evil itself.
00:16:07.000You see, we're not allowed to just sit on our hands.
00:16:09.000As Christians, we're not allowed to just allow the kind of things to happen.
00:16:13.000What I mean by allowed is God will hold you at a different accountability if all of a sudden you had the truth and you are born new and you just sat idly by and did nothing.
00:16:22.000And so here's another question, which is how many people do you know could have used their voice or can use their voice for impact this election cycle to then further his kingdom.
00:16:34.000In Matthew 28, 19, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:16:42.000Mind you, it is disciples of all nations, not just converts of all nations.
00:16:46.000Discipleship goes deep and cares about everything that is happening in the world to be salt and light.
00:16:51.000And yes, in music, in culture, in film, in education, and of course, in elections and in politics.
00:16:58.000And this is what's so incredible: we must go out into the world to do this.
00:17:02.000And this is another thing people say: they say, well, Charlie, I don't like my options because this person is awful and this person is more awful.
00:17:37.000If you stand for late-term abortion, okay, the differences are pretty clear to me.
00:17:41.000Now, we are seeing right now the downfall or the side effect of wicked and godless governments.
00:17:48.000And so in Proverbs 14, 34, it says, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
00:17:57.000Now, if you read Proverbs and you read Leviticus and you read Deuteronomy and you read many of these books, they're talking about how to improve your country.
00:18:05.000This is a lie when people say Christians shouldn't care about this.
00:18:08.000There are entire books talking about the type of government we should have, like Isaiah 33, 22, or all throughout the type of structure.
00:18:15.000Do you know the founding fathers, the number one book that they quoted out of any book, any book, secular or religious, was the book of Deuteronomy.
00:18:25.000More than any other book, it was the book of Deuteronomy.
00:18:28.000Now, again, some people will say, but Charlie, I'm looking at my ballot and they aren't Christian enough for me.
00:18:34.000You know, they don't listen to worship music and they don't pray and fast like I do and they don't show up to every side.
00:18:39.000They've never even been to a midweek service, okay?
00:19:34.000Joseph, Job, Samson, Rahab, the Samaritan woman, Noah, Jeremiah, Jacob, David, Jonah, Naomi, Peter, Martha, Zacchaeus, and Paul.
00:19:42.000If those people were good enough for God's purpose, then maybe we can suck up our own pride and vote for somebody that might be an imperfect vessel to accomplish God's purpose in an election.
00:19:55.000And so, look, I travel the country and I've seen so many different things.
00:19:58.000I feel that there is a movement happening in America that is very profound.
00:20:02.000I think Arizona is about to elect Carrie Lake as the next governor, and she's a special candidate, isn't she?
00:20:10.000I see it happening and I see all of a sudden a parents movement that is taking hold in a very sizable and a very significant way all across America.
00:20:22.000It always comes down to where we are right now.
00:20:25.000And I'm not saying that if Tuesday is this resounding win and everyone shows up and it's this amazing thing, that all of our problems are going to be solved.
00:20:34.000Is that the church and the Bible and the gospel need to always remain the center of it?
00:20:39.000But if we study any 20th century history, if we study any history at all, apathy and sitting on the sideline and just looking inwardly as a church and saying, oh, they're never going to come after me, is that that is the worst thing you could do.
00:20:52.000Somebody out here right now probably says, Charlie, I'm hearing you sort of, but politics is too messy.
00:21:28.000I'll support the, you know, the big concerts and you should too.
00:21:32.000I'm just asking for one day out of two years, you support the ministry to try to fight back against evil and darkness in America because we need every single level of these things.
00:21:44.000And so it's an exciting time when you really look at it.
00:21:46.000Our founding fathers gave us such a profound gift in the American Constitution and in citizen government and in consent to the governed and in separation of powers and in all these amazing different things.
00:21:58.000And elections, when you think about it, are something that we did not earn and we do not deserve.
00:22:03.000The fact is that most countries, most civilizations, most people ever to exist usually were not able to be citizens.
00:23:07.000And they say, Jesus is going to zap us all up and the end is coming.
00:23:11.000Now, look, you very well might be right.
00:23:13.000You know, your eschatology might be spot on and Jesus might be coming next Saturday.
00:23:17.000But isn't that a reason to want to spread as much salt and light before Jesus comes, not just run to the hills and do the least amount of work?
00:23:25.000Shouldn't that be a call to action to lean in and do more?
00:23:28.000And so some people say, well, Charlie, America is like every other country ever to exist in the history of the world.
00:23:36.000It is a moral argument where it says when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands that have tied them to another, deriving from the equal but separate station of power.
00:23:48.000And it goes on to finally say the laws of nature and nature is God.
00:23:51.000And it says, we hold these truths to be self-evident.
00:23:55.000That's such a beautiful phrase, isn't it?
00:23:57.000The founding fathers were talking about eternal wisdom.
00:24:00.000They were talking about things that are always true.
00:24:02.000And do you notice that the Constitution, despite being around for so long, was not written for the times.
00:24:08.000It was written to stand the test of time.
00:24:40.000People say, Charlie, do you really think that they can get rid of that governor in New Mexico?
00:24:44.000And I say, when I go to legacy church, they send me a very big message that I think there might be something happening on Tuesday.
00:24:57.000But if every person that hears my words here on the live stream across the country said, I'm going to get three, maybe five, maybe 10 people, boom, it happens.
00:25:06.000This state is, as you know, the population center.
00:25:10.000So we have a couple thousand people here.
00:25:12.000If you've got the live streams, other satellites and all this, if everyone said, I'm going to bring three more people that haven't already voted to the polls or get them out, boom, that's the multiplication effect that they can't factor in the polls.
00:25:21.000That's the multiplication effect that they can't possibly interpret, that they can't possibly be able to understand.
00:25:26.000And so my final call to action here is to kind of summarize this all together, is that, look, we must never lose sight that in the church, Jesus is the center of it all.
00:25:35.000We want to make sure that we increase the attendance list in heaven.
00:25:43.000But whenever there are things of evil, as it says in Ephesians 5, 2, do not tolerate the evil acts of darkness, but call them out and to be able, and I'm paraphrasing, but to educate people of what they are.
00:25:56.000This is what's happening all around us.
00:25:57.000When they are teaching this perverse gender theory to our children, when they are talking about medically mutilating our kids and telling 11-year-olds that they're women and boys and boys and girls and vice versa, that's where we need to rise up more than ever before.
00:26:58.000I'm going to press that pressure release valve and I'm going to send a resounding message to Santa Fe, to Washington, D.C., and to the rest of the world that the American citizen, the American church, and the American Christian is rising and we're not going to take it anymore and we are going to be salt and light.