How to Vote with God’s Standards in Mind | Tony Evans Sermon

Dr. Tony Evans explains the relationship between the church and government, urging Christians not to leave God out of politics. Join him as he reminds us how politics should never divide the church, as our primary allegiance is to God’s kingdom, not a political party, and we must uphold God’s standards and influence society through our votes, actions, and daily lives. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/drtonyev… ▶ Never miss an episode of the Tony Evans Daily Broadcast by subscribing to the official channel:    / @tonyevansdailybroadcast   If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN… If you would like to sign up for our daily devotional bringing you hope and inspiration, please go to this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1CkOLA910Sm… ▶ Do you know Jesus as your Savior? https://tonyevans.org/know-jesus-christ/ ▶ Stream Sermons: https://tonyevans.org/podcast/ ▶▶ Free Sermon App: https://subsplash.com/tonyevans/app/ ▶▶ DONATE: https://give.tonyevans.org/the-altern… ▶ Facebook:   / drtonyevans   ▶ Instagram:   / drtonyevans   ▶ Are you a preacher? Free sermon outlines: https://go.tonyevans.org/dr-tony-evan… Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually. #tonyevans #tonyevanssermon #ChristianVoting

it’s time for the church to start taking

the kingdom of God I am a kingdom

citizen I do Kingdom voting as a kingdom

independent because I do not represent

the kingdoms of this world I represent

the kingdom of the Lord and of his

Christ because just like that dollar

bill has an image on it you have an

image on you the image of almighty God

and he comes first

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

in Matthew chapter

22 we have Jesus being put in a trick

bag it sets the stage for where we want

to go today we’ve talked about the

individual life we’ve talked about the

family as it relates to government now

we want to talk about the church as it

relates to government God’s next

covenantal agency and they tried to put

Jesus in a catch

22 I know what that feels like cuz folk

be coming up to me who you going to vote

for and I know that’s a c that’s a catch

22 question because either way you go

you going you going to create some

enemies that was the situation Jesus was

in in Matthew

22:15 the

Pharisees came and plotted how they

might trap him in what he said so

they’re trying to trap Jesus not a good

idea by the way and they sent to

disciples along with the herodians now

let’s stop there you got the Pharisees

that’s the religious conservatives you

got the herodians well they’re now

they’re the they’re the politicians this

is church and state trying to work

together to do Jesus

in they get together and they’re trying

to trap Jesus and when they do they say

teacher verse 16 we know you are

truthful and teach the way of God in

truth so we going we going we’re going

to use God’s name in this discussion and

defer to No One you don’t play favorites

you’re an

independent for you are not partial in

any way tell us then what do you think

is it lawful to give a PO tax to Caesar

or

not Verse 18 Jesus says why are you

testing me and that’s what voting does

cuz they’re asking Jesus to vote vote on

a tax bill they say Jesus uh should we

pay taxes to Caesar that’s the

government or not you got the religious

you got the secular but they joined

together now these folk never got along

except when they wanted to do something

about

Jesus Jesus says why you trying to trick

me because I know what y’all trying to

do that’s what folk try to do to me when

it comes to elections try to trap

me Jesus then asked a question

question he said show me the coin used

for the pole tax now let me explain the

trick if Jesus said yes pay the pole

tax then he’s saying pay the

suppressor pay the oppressor because

Rome was oppressing the Jews suppressing

them so if you say pay the tax you’re

saying pay the oppressor to keep on

oppressing us with illegitimate

taxation but if he said don’t pay it

then they could accuse him of being

subversive to the Roman

government hey Jesus is out there saying

don’t pay your tax so this is a no-win

vote but they’re asking Jesus to

vote Jesus

says he says show me the coin that

you’re GNA use for the pole tax so they

come and they bring a a coin and then

Jesus says whose likeness is on it what

what image is on

it and they said to him well Caesar’s

images on it okay it’s like the

president it’s it’s we we’ve got the

head of the government on the coin and

this is when

Jesus speaks pay

attention Jesus says then render to

Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and

to God the things that are God now

they ain’t ask him about that they ask

him about do we pay the tax or not come

on let’s give me a political decision

vote

Jesus Jesus

says you get benefit from Caesar the

government provides you goods and

services that you should pay for because

you got the money in your pocket and you

got his image on it but you didn’t ask

me this I’mma tell you anyway pay your

tax

but give God what God

deserves they didn’t ask him to vote on

God but he was not about to leave God

out of the taxing question and out of

the governmental concern and out of the

political trap they were trying to put

him in Jesus says I’m not g to leave God

out of your political question I’m G

bring God in it even though you didn’t

ask God about it why because Jesus

understood as every Christian should

understand it is your job and my job to

represent God in government and not

apologize for it even when they don’t

bring God up in the question which tax

should we pay oh yeah pay your tax

notice what Jesus said whose likeness is

on the

coin it was Caesar’s likeness this was

government currency you get benefits

from government roads and and you get

you get uhhh civil services and you get

protection and police and firemen you

you get get benefit from the government

and their likeness is on the dollar bill

but don’t think that that’s all that

there

is I know that there’s the discussion

you know don’t bring religion into it

Jesus says you better bring into it why

because there is another

likeness you see the image on the coin

was the likeness of a man the image of a

on a man is the likeness of God cuz we

were created in the image and likeness

of God so don’t leave God out of

politics that’s what Jesus is saying you

ain’t ask me to bring him in but I’m

going bring him in I’m going to let you

know he’s part of this discussion and

part of this equation and isn’t that

what the president does when he puts his

hand on the Bible during the

inauguration aren’t we saying that God

is going to be part of this

deal see people want God as part of the

invocation and benediction they don’t

want God as part of the discussion about

laws and righteousness and Justice and

all of that

something I’m going to repeat again

later on let me repeat it now James 4:12

says that there is only one lawgiver and

that’s God so if you want to talk about

pole tax bring God in it if you want to

talk about life bring God in it you want

to talk about family bring God in it you

want to talk about Justice bring God in

it you want to talk about what’s fair

not fair bring God in it you want to

talk about what’s right what what’s not

right bring God in it and it is an

insult for a Christian to leave God out

and it is an insult for the church to do

the same yeah you you honor Caesar but

you don’t leave God out because you’re

created in his likeness and guess what

that Trump Caesar why because Caesar’s

responsible for government God is

responsible for everything Psalm 103:1

19 God rules over all Psalm 22:28 the

kingdoms belong to the Lord and He rules

over all Daniel 4:25 the most high rules

over the realm of

mankind no God is not to be left out of

the political discussion even when his

name is not brought up you bring it up

Jesus brought it up because government

needs Divine influence if it’s going to

govern correctly and it just doesn’t

need God’s name it needs God’s policies

God’s laws God’s governance God’s

guidelines what the Bible has to say

about

it Christians have got to stop

apologizing when it comes to taking a

stand we’ve not we are not called to

apologize it needs Divine

influence again 1st Samuel 8:

10-18 he says if you leave God out

government’s going to grow and grow and

grow and grow and it’s going to become

the new God government was never meant

to be God there’s only one one God and

you never give government permission to

do what

God says ought to be done or to conflict

with God that’s why there must be

freedom of

religion and anything that infringes on

freedom of religion must be fought

against

rejected because it stops or seeks to

stop the church from doing or

representing God in the culture which

means When the Levy Breaks the hurricane

of evil is going to flood in the

hurricane of racism is going to flood in

the hurricane of Injustice and

unrighteousness is going to all flood in

because the levy is not holding it back

as God created it to

do government is supposed to be

limited why Jesus told pilate in chapter

uh John chapter 19 uh verses 9 through

11 pilate said’ don’t you know I have

authority pilot was the government says

don’t you know I’m in charge up in here

oh Jesus said uh excuse them why

not the only Authority you have is the

authority you’ve been given by God

because government is supposed to submit

to God and that is the church’s role

you’re not first a democratic Christian

or a Democratic church or republican

Christian or republican Church you are a

kingdom Christian and a kingdom church

when we let the politics of men divide

the people of God by trapping Us in

political discussions and leaving God

out the first question is what does God

say about this or that or the other and

God has policies he doesn’t just have

just just generic I believe in God one

nation under God that can be fake stuff

because what God has are specific

guidelines for how life ought to work in

every

category Dr Evans will be right back

back after this important

announcement the threat of global

catastrophe looms over us earthquakes

fires it seems like the world is falling

into turmoil are you ready to face

Armageddon Dr Tony evans’s latest book

thy kingdom come emerges as a light

amidst the sin ridden depths of our

world guiding you through the murky

Waters of uncertainty Within These

insightful Pages wisdom intertwines with

Revelation you’ll dive deep into the

mysteries of in atic prophecy where

Solace awaits the weary Soul Dr Tony

evans’s unparalleled Mastery in

deciphering the complexities of

scripture will ensure Clarity in the

face of confusion and illuminate the

path towards hope arm yourself against

the impending storm and let not the hour

of Reckoning catch you unaware be

prepared for what’s to come by picking

up your copy of thy kingdom come at Tony

evans.org comes with a bonus sermon

series staying right with God do not be

caught off guard Ezekiel

chapter

43 God has a

complaint let me read it to you he

says in verse six of Ezekiel chapter

43 then I heard one speaking to me verse

6 says Ezekiel 43:6 from the house while

a man was standing beside me

he said to me son of man this is the

place of my Throne talking about the

temple it’s the place of my throne and

the place of The Souls of my feet I hang

out in the temple where I will dwell

among the sons of Israel forever listen

and the house of Israel will not again

defile my Holy Name neither they nor

their kings

politics by their hollot tree and by the

Corpses of their kings when they die

okay venerating the

politicians by setting their threshold

by my threshold

uhuh and their doorpost beside my

doorpost with only the wall between me

and them and they have defiled my Holy

Name by their abomination which they

have committed so I have consumed them

in my anger now let them put away their

hollot Tre the corpses of their King

Kings far from me and I will dwell among

them forever he says you got your you

got your kings Too Close you done

brought that political stuff too close

to me like there are multiple Kings up

in here and the multiple Kings there’s

only one king there’s only one lawgiver

so don’t put them close to me I tell the

president what to do I tell the Congress

what to do I tell the council what to do

I tell the school board about education

I do

that I do that it’s the job of the

church to be the conscience of the

culture because he says you’re bringing

them in the temple what was the temple

the temple was God’s Dwelling

Place it was the center of Israel’s life

all of life revolved around the temple

not just religious life but social life

economic life political

life relational life familial life the

temple controled it all it influenced

all of life he says don’t bring the

politics up close to me like they’re

competing with me you’re sitting them

beside me like there more than one king

up in here

no the church has gotten too political

and as a result it’s gotten

anemic and so folks show up at voting

time wanting the church don’t want to

hear from you until it’s voting time I’m

talking about democ rats and Republicans

cuz we’re not Kingdom Independence we’ve

joined forces and so they use us we’re

being used and

abused because they want to show up to

get our vote they don’t want to show up

to find out how they should Rule and we

acquest to it we give in

it you know what the church is supposed

to be the temple it is supposed to be a

little bit of Heaven A Long Way From

Home thy kingdom come thy will be done

on Earth as it is in heaven we represent

heaven and we tell the Democrats what

heaven says we tell the Republicans what

heaven says we tell every Everybody what

heaven

says we don’t we don’t acquest to a

political

party we don’t we don’t yield ourselves

and take sides when God has come to take

over he says no if you want me to hang

out with you he says if you want me to

dwell with you verse 9 says then you

better you better get your kings up out

of here I don’t mean they can’t come to

church but guess why they come to church

to sit down and listen to me they don’t

come down they don’t come to the church

to teach us no they come sit in the

church and find out what I have to say

and let the kingdom of God teach them so

that they know how to go out and rule we

got this thing backwards

so what should you vote for you should

vote for the freedom of the church to be

the church and anything that infringes

on it what which is what some political

systems do they either restrict the

church dumb down the church and if it

gets bad enough in fascism or communism

they want to cancel the church they want

to negate the church from Ever from

never meeting or existing why because

they don’t want God to overrule them

they want man to overrule they want man

to

rule but when the church is the church

like in the Civil Rights Movement when

the church becomes the church and speaks

righteousness and Justice in society and

does it in a righteous and just way now

God can dwell in our

midst he can’t dwell in our midst when

we doing this silly stuff that we’re

doing when the white church is so white

and Republican that it misses the

kingdom of God and the black church is

so black and Democratic that it misses

the kingdom of God when the kingdom of

God trumps white and black Democrats and

Republicans because it comes from a

whole another realm because it’s an

embassy located on foreign

soil and sometimes we gonna go this way

sometimes we gonna go that way because

we all only going this way in however we

vote and however we cast our balance

we’re like an alarm clock or a red light

we say hold

it hold it Democrats hold it Republicans

you you right here but you wrong there

God has spoken and he has not

stuttered but because we’ve got a such a

low view of

God God told him in 2 Chronicles 15: 3-6

because you left me out your culture is

in conflict and until you get back to me

your culture will never find peace what

it says it says there will be no peace

until I’m on the front page I do not

want to be in the editorial section

including in the

church that does not vote for

me this is collective Christianity to

promote me my system my rules my

laws now I hear what some people are

saying I can hear you saying wait a

minute wait a

minute you say that was in the Old

Testament the temple controlled all of

life we’re not the temple today oh yeah

we are yes we are guess why because the

Bible says

in Ephesians chapter

1 he says in verses 21 to 23 that the

powers that be are subject to the church

and Jesus is over all

things and he’s been given to the

church and then he says in chapter two

he he comes to the close of the chapter

and in Chapter 2 he makes it clear he

says and you are the Temple of the

Living God the church is the

temple he says you’re the temple of God

so there is a temple in the New

Testament and it affects all of life

there’s no part of life there’s no

policy there’s no view of taxes there’s

no view of immigration there’s no view

of globalization there’s no view of War

that’s not covered in scripture but

we’re so

lazy unfortunately we’re so secular we

don’t want to take the time to find that

out now we’ll go to school and find out

everything else but we don’t want to

take the time to find out okay you say

but I don’t know what the Bible says

well you don’t know algebra till you go

to school and learn it well I don’t know

what the Bible says well you don’t know

you don’t know macroeconomics unless you

go study it I don’t know what the Bible

says about this and that okay find

somebody who can teach you go learn it

so you know how to vote or argue

political positions from a biblio

Centric theocentric

christocentric

worldview it’s time that Christians stop

apologizing and start taking a Biblical

stand on all issues and all

matters so that God’s standard and God’s

glory comes back to the temple it’s been

removed by the Kings by our

politics and so the church is

critical freedom of religion is critical

that’s why he tells us to pray for peace

for the for the church he tells Timothy

the pastor of the church at Ephesus 1

Timothy 22 you pray so that you are

free you’re released to do what the

church is designed to do so anything

that hints at holding the church hostage

should be resisted reject

Ed why you should not be made to abandon

your conscious conscience because of

your faith to abandon the word of God

because of political

expediency by any party either party

because the church is unique and the

church exists for the kingdom that’s

what Matthew chapter 16 verse 18 and 19

I will build my church The Gates of Hell

will not Prevail against it and I will

give the church the keys to the kingdom

of heaven means I’ll give you

Authority you know when the ref throws

out the

flag they may be

outnumbered but they got Authority they

got Authority from the kingdom in New

York why because they represent the

kingdom in New York on the playing field

they can level some

influence where’s our influence how can

we have all these churches on all these

Corners with all these programs all

these Ministries all these ministers all

these buildings all this activity can

still have all this mess

why because we aren’t the church we’re

religious gatherings you know that means

something is wrong we’re not being the

church we’re being a social agency with

a little Jesus sprinkled on top God is

calling us to a new level God says in

Ephesians chapter 3:1 he checks with the

church before he deals with the

principalities and powers that did you

get that he sees what the church is up

to before he decides what he’s going to

do with the powers in the culture

judgment starts in the household of God

it starts with our decisions and our

positions based on the word of God God

meant that the Life Giving Essence that

comes from him flows to the

church then flows through the church out

into the

streets out into the community out into

the racial divide social divide

political divide it begins to flow from

the

sanctuary and then there was lifegiving

in the community because it flowed from

the church the greatest illustration of

biblical Christianity in the history of

America was the black church in slavery

because when there were no government

grants no federal programs no cultural

support it not only HED out a religious

order it hued out schools social service

agencies newspapers colleges Banks it

did all of that from the temple when the

government was resisting it now if God

was able to do that through the black

church that had no no governmental

limited government support was being

resisted in every way and God entered

the Temple of that restricted entity and

still bu built a society that was being

politicized against in every possible

way what do you think that God in heaven

can do today if he can ever get the

church to be Salt and Light not for the

church you are the salt of the earth you

are the light of the world we should be

leveraging

influence if the church is not

influencing the environment it’s not

being the church it’s being a a weekly

gathering

for hour and a half if you’re white two

hours if you’re black but either

way you’re Gathering and you’re not

doing we’re not doing what we’ve been

called to do because we’ve we’ve we made

church members but we haven’t made

disciples men and women who are who are

not secret agian Christians but public

displayers of the glory of God and who

take it to the marketplace and take it

to the voting booth and do it without

without being ashamed because you

represent another king and another

kingdom does that mean everybody will

vote the same no but everybody should be

voting with the same world view as a

kingdom independent because they’re a

kingdom voter because they’re a kingdom

disciple functioning as a kingdom

citizen yep it’s all Kingdom IED because

the church exists to promote the kingdom

vote but vote is a kingdom

independent and make sure you your

church is a kingdom Church creating

Kingdom disciples who are making a

kingdom

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

impact you know everybody’s so confused

right now about what to think and what

to do politically guess who’s not

confused God when they tried to put

Jesus to the test made it clear you give

Caesar what Caesar deserves for the

benefit that Caesar provides because his

image is on the coin but don’t get it

twisted you don’t exchange that for the

image of the Living

God government has a sphere of

responsibility but God has a kingdom

overall so government is best served by

its connection to God that’s where the

church comes in we’re to keep that

connection strong and clear we are the

conscience on behalf of Heaven for

governments on Earth to be what the

Creator wanted and created them to be if

we are going to be the civil society

that we declare that we are

[Music]

he

[Music]

[Music]