if you have fallen short and you have an understanding that there is a god -- and i believe that there is. i believe that we have a lot of evidence. the '80s says that there is no god. but i believe -- the atheist says that there is no god. but i believe that god is all around us. he says that he cannot prove that there is a guide. but he also cannot prove that there is not. once you realize that, what is the origin of matter, energy, and design, you must realize that he is a holy god. and you must realize there is no other book like the bible. the bible is something that has the perfect record. these are prophecies spoken many years ago by many different profits, different times, the publications, and related to each other, but all describing the same person that would come into the earth on the same day.

jesus fulfilled those prophecies -- over 300 prophecies. statisticians said that that is staggering, that it cannot be possible, that a book can be written and there could be all of these prophetic records that come to pass. many said how christ would come into jerusalem riding on a donkey. all these things were prophesied. he fulfill them, which is even more staggering. there is no book like the bible. there is no person like jesus christ historically. we have 2600 into documents of the new testament. there is great documentation. the bible is like no other book. he said that i am the way, the truth, and light and no man can come and to the father except

through me. it is based on race. it is not based on a half -- it is based on grace. it is based on faith. christ came to earth and took our punishment and die for our sins. because of that, we have free grace to access and we can all call upon the name of the lord and be saved. i think the most profound things are simple. i believe that christ came that we might live. let's all our heads. if you have never thought upon these things, -- let's all bow

our heads. if you have never thought of these things, if you call upon the name of the lord, you will be saved. let's pray. heavenly father, i pray today, even as i did many years ago in a college dorm room. recognizing that indeed this message that congresswoman bachman shared with men we understand -- shared with us we understand that we fall short. but the gift of god is eternal life through your son jesus christ. that we can call upon you -- the bible says in roman 10, that if we believe in jesus we shall be saved.

father, we believe that. if you have a desire -- we do this every service. we believe that church is making the gospel available for people. say this prayer with me. let's all sit together, whether your be leaving for the first time and not been dear heavenly father, i do recognize that i fall short. i come to you homily today, believing -- i can you humbly today, believing that your grace applies to me. i receive you, lord, as my lord and savior. and thank you for the forgiveness of sin. i receive you. i believe that your raised from the dead.

for my justification. amen. this is our sunday morning service and this is our congregation. i want to speak to the issue of civic responsibility. our church has been very involved in civic responsibility, understanding what it is that the scripture teaches. we can turn on the news at night and we can understand what every party teaches. we can understand what every candidate has to say. we can understand a lot of different things. and there are varying ideas out there. it is a broad spectrum. all eyes are on iowa. all eyes are on what is taking place in the next couple of days.

a lot of people are still wondering what, who, how all this will come to pass. who will vote for? some people say, christians, maybe you should not be involved. my good friend who sent me any mills said -- someone asked him once, i do not think christians should be involved in politics. but neither should hitler, mussolini, mao, osama bin laden and the list goes on and on. it is an absurdity to say that we should consider ourselves any less a look politically active citizen -- a politically active citizen. i would consider it an insult that someone would have to tell me who to vote for. my job as a pastor is not to tell you who to vote for or to endorse a particular candidate. my job is to teach you what the scriptures says about it and how you need to learn how to choose a candidate for yourself. but i think you go in a lot

further if you do that. i will let you a fish. i will give you a fishing pole. i will let teacher -- i will not tell you how to vote, but i will teach you what god says about godly leadership. it is not a silent subject in the scriptures. as a matter of fact come i believe this. even though a lot of people did not believe that christians should get involved, our founding fathers most assuredly believe that we should get involved. i will read you some quotes this morning. the first one is by original chief justice of the united states supreme court, john j.. from 1745 to 1829 -- he says providence is given to our people the choice of their rulers. and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our christian nation to select

and per for christians for their rulers. wow, that guy seemed pretty one-sided, did not? that was our first supreme court justice. we have come a long way from that. let's hear what one president at today, rev. james garfield. the people responsible for the character of their congress. if that body be ignorant, reckless, or corrupt, it is because the people tolerate recklessness and corruption. if it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities. if the next centennial does not find a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprises, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the

political forces. in other words, they do not vote. let me give you -- let's look at what a couple of ministers say. charles finney, revivalist in the second and third awakening, college president, also an attorney -- the time has come that christians must vote for honest men and take insistence of politics or the lord will curse them. christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. the time has come when they must act differently. god will bless or curse our nation according to the course that christians take. let me give you another one. this is rev. francis britney, an african-american minister of the gospel.

if the time ever comes when america shall go to pieces, it will be from the losing side of the fact that righteousness' exults a nation. see, our military does not exult us appeared our fiscal policy does not exalt us. god exults us if we are righteous. singh is reproduced in any people. unless we -- sin is reproached been any people. -- sin is reproached in any people. we have to give back to what the word of god tells us when it comes to civic responsibility. what it says when it comes to understanding choosing godly leaders. i will start with a verse in psalm 75. for promotion comes either from the east nor the west or the south, but god is the judge. he put us down and set us up another.

when we see that scripture, do we abdicate our responsibility if god is already the one who ultimately has control? i think god has put it into our control. i believe god leaves a clause if he needs to trump that. he gives us a command. with that in mind, yes, i believe god reserves the right to put down and set up leaders. he put up faros, the bible says in exodus 9. he delivers and judges. i will deliver a leader in king david. i believe he also gives us a great command, a much talked about scripture, a much quoted scripture that we talk about in this church. moses, one of the great delivers of the old testament, one of

the greatest leaders in the old testament, we have a picture of him 40 years under the house of pharaoh. i call that the political elite inside the beltway crowd. the house of pharaoh was obviously the political apex. for 40 years, he was raised up in that house and he was set up to be a leader over god's people and he failed. then he went into the wilderness and sat in the house of jethro who was a priest. for 40 years, he sat under that influence. and he had all these people when he came out of egypt. some people say hundreds of thousands. we do not know exactly how it was, but we know it was a lot of people. and when he came out, he was trying to judge that people. you try to be a ruler. you try to be a leader of those people. and his father-in-law came to him and said that the thing you're doing is not good.

i want to give you some advice today. he said harkin now unto my voice and i will give the council. and god shall be with thee. key point -- god will be with thee. how many of us want got to be with us? there are certain things you have to do in order for god to be with you. when we do certain things, god will get off on that train. when you begin to live or hurt people or do bad things, and god is not with you when you do those things. god is with us when we're walking in his ways. i want got with me. i want got with my family. i want got with my church. i want got with my nation. nations are not be judged in the life after.

they are judged in the life that is now. in the hereafter, individuals are judged on the judgment seat that god brings us to. but nations are judged here in this life. in this case, i want god with us. and he begins to give some advice. he says, if you do these things -- everyone, say do these things. >> do these things. >> when i see a verse like that in the bible, it has all my attention. do this and god will be with you. and he listed several things and when it came to leadership, he said this -- moreover, thou shalt provide or choose men, able men, it says, provide of the people able men such a that fear god, man of truth, and heating covetous ness. hating cover business means taking bribes. they cannot be moved by many. -- by money. what happens in our modern culture, we have people in iowa, as of about three or four days ago, there were as many as

70% who do not know who they will vote for. i find that troubling. and as i think about it, when i see that, part of it is because they are saying i do not know whom to vote for. it is not so much a question who to vote for, but what to vote for. if you are voting personality, you can be deceived. adolf hitler sounded like a

founding father of america, espousing the virtues. but that is not to be was, was he? he did not fulfill the criteria. and when i look at the scriptures, it is not so much who we vote for, but what we vote for concerning their character. when i look at the scriptures, i see, wow, man of truth, that fear god, that hate covetous nests. that is all about character. that is all about family. we need to turn back to the things of truth and of the scriptures. i believe this. the only evidence of what a person will do in the future is the record what they have done in the past. the only way that you can -- if i can put it this way -- the character detector is only a person's past record. the process of the they know god, but at worst they deny him. i know some politicians that profess they no guide. but in legislation, they deny him. in a vote, they deny him. in the way that they do their business, they deny him.

the scripture says that they profess they know god, but in works, they deny him. reprobate means without judgment. i believe it is so important that that issue is kept at the forefront of our minds when we choose our leaders. some people say that his religious leaders. that is the bible. no, this was israel's civil leaders. some are tempted to vote for other things than what is in the scriptures. many times, i have been tempted. candidates, and you look at what they say and the many things and many times, instead of voting for character and integrity, you may be tempted to vote for eloquence, someone who is just a great speaker. but in the book of romans, it says that there are those who have much fairer speech. you can look in the scriptures,

in the book of proverbs, a fool tells all his mind, but a wise man tells all afterwards. speaking is not necessarily a sign of character. if it is not necessarily a sign that that person will do the right thing always. as a matter of fact, if you speak to much, you get in trouble and you have to renege on things. and that is not a good thing. moses started out my be in words and deeds. -- mighty in words and deeds. but later we find out that that is not a good indicator. character. some see them presidential looking. sam dillon to look at you is

going to anoint a king. -- samuel was going to look and was going to anoint a king. we have seen many in the bible, saul, all of these. it is really the intentions of the heart. sometimes, we are tempted to vote for fiscal policy. but that does not line up with scripture either. matthew 6:24 says that we cannot serve god and man. but the things of god are more important. the economy is very important. we believe that. but the bible says that seek the kingdom of god first. some say fiscal first. it is the most important. but we need to understand that sometimes it is spiritual things. those that love them pray for israel will prosper and be

protected. there are things that need to understand that are not fiscal first appeared it is the priorities of god first, character and integrity. i believe this is so important when we're looking at candidates, that we look at who they are and what they believe and what their character really is. another one is electability. many are tempted to go by electability. but then you're compromising your hearts choice many times. benny carroll spoke one time and he gave a great litmus test. he said, if you were going to choose the president of the united states today and god said it would be completely based on your personal choice, who would you choose? and based on what you believe integrity and character should be, who would you choose?

and i believe that that simple obedience to a heartfelt decision is the most important thing that you can do. i believe that god speaks to us through our hearts, not always through our heads. i believe that the choices that we need to make, civic responsibility, should not be based on someone else framing the argument. the bible teaches that obedience is better than sacrifice. the scripture has said, instead of criteria on that type of person there should be chosen for a civic leadership and we need to obey. saul got the idea that he was a little smarter than got scared and he said that we would not go in and take out all of these animals and all these oxen and all these sheep. he said, if you know what? we will keep all of the good

ones and get rid of all of the bad ones and we will come back and sacrifice all of those. never assume that you no more than god. he thought that his idea, his human invention, his way of doing it would be better in the final outcome than what god had simply commanded him to do. many times, we get smarter than god and we think that you know -- this calculation and this calculation and the pollsters say this and those are calculating electability says this and the media venues say this and my friends and my feelings and maybe my family is saying this. but what does god say? it still stands that we're called to look at the record of the people who are running. we are to measure every issue according to biblical world views. what does the bible say about this?

what does the bible say about the definition of marriage? what does it say about abortion? what does it say about all of these issues? find out what it says. we teach that. we teach the world view of all the different issues receive in the political arena. then take that and see who is getting it right. who has a good score card? i would rather choose someone who is biblically in line with the world view that i hold and that their integrity is with that than any of a candidate. i am not here to tell you that god exists. i am here to exhort you to look upon the scriptures because obedience the better the sacrifice. and that is the criterion that god has called us to today. let's stand and we will pray for dr. marcus and congresswomen bachman.

i will ask my wife to come up and we will just prior right now. it is such an honor to have this wonderful family -- 23 foster children. wow. if you can do that, that is a miracle-working god. amen. i will as unduly to pray for michelle. and i will pray for markets. and i will ask the congregation to truly turn your hearts toward god. father, we thank you so much for this wonderful example of a family. father, a family that has laid down their life to be servants to those who are unfortunate. and father, in the counseling that they have done and the family that they have helped, the foster children that they have raised. father, i thank you for a family who have laid down their lives to serve this nation. father, i think you that they had given of themselves greatly in this season.

and father, it is truly best to give than to receive. and father, i pray that they will reach great fame, favor, friendships. father, i pray that the spirit of america is upon this family. father, i believe that the spirit of america and our founders and the gospel and the foundation and the underpinnings of all that we stand for is represented in the core values and the morals that this family holds, demonstrates, and is out to make available to other families who would come to our great nation. and father, i think you now that you strengthen them. father, i thank you know that you give them wisdom. father, i thank you know that protect them. father, i think you know that you bless them. and father, as they serve you,

as we humbolt ourselves, you said you exult the spirit and as they have given their heart today, maybe supernaturally be empowered on this day. we ask you in the name of jesus christ, our lord, amen. we thank you for your service. amen. [applause] god bless] -- god bless you. [applause] amen. let's remain standing. this will conclude our service this morning. let's bow our heads. heavenly father, thank you for the great opportunity we have had to share the gospel, to speak to the issues of scriptural civic responsibility.

father, we thank you for the opportunity to pray. we thank you for giving us a free nation where we can exercise these rights. and father, we thank you that our nation will be maintained under those freedoms and liberties. father, we thank you for the spirit of liberty. we thank you for the spirit of freedom for it is your spirit. it is not just a national spirit. it is the spirit of the lord. it is not i might, but by spirit that we do anything. and we give you the praise today. we ask you that you bless each one as they go. bless them going in and bless them going out. maybe the head and not the tail. according to that power that works within us appeared in jesus' name we pray, amen. thank you guests and visitors for coming here today. amen. you may be dismissed at this time. ♪

host [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> have you been here forever? >> 25 years. >> oh, that is forever. >> it goes so fast. we have a few children nor in college. >> we have three in college. >> and then you have some 20 some others. [laughter] >> we have 3 left in college. everyone else has all grown up. >> the three that are left, where are they at? >> they are all over the country. thank you.

they're all over. >> our daughter went one year down to the university. >> did she like it? >> she liked it very much. but then she wanted to be closer to home and she wanted to be in iowa. >> ok. >> i am probably taking up all of your time. >> no, no, no. thank you. >> i would love for you to meet him. he was trying to catch somebody else here. thank you. i am glad that you are here. i remember.

you are advertising. [laughter] hi, there. thank you for being here. >> and he passed away after that? >> yes. >> we were all shocked. does sharon still have the church?

>> yes. >> i have always loved her. she has an incredible singing voice. >> she does. she does, absolutely. >> you know bette davis -- betty davis. are you from town? no, we live in west des moines. >> you drove all that way? i am so impressed that you drove all of that way. >> i pray for you. >> thank you. thank you. are you also from our when dale -- from irwindale?

thank you for driving all of that way. thank you for everyone that you are telling. thank you. thank you. thank you. you guys are great. thank you. tell everyone you know. thank you. hi, of what is your name.

hi, syria, good to me you -- hi, sarah, good to meet you. are you in college? >> i am a senior in high school. >> where are you going to go? >> i am staying around here. >> have you heard of -- >> one of the most amazing on fire people. >> you are blown over. really an incredible man. good to meet you. oh, it is bob. >> thank you so much your being here today. i know you will stick with what you say. >> i do. there is no reason not to. that is great.

thank you. >> thank you for your support. >> that is my husband, markets. -- marcus. i married a tall man. i like that. [laughter] sure, yes, right here. 1, 2, 3. >> thank you. thank you. >> that was an awesome testimony. >> thank you. what is your name. >> daniel. >> how will you? >> 10. >> 0, man. where is the camera. sure, we can. right here? i am so glad i got to meet you. do you go back tomorrow for the first time? is this the end of christmas

break? >> i think so. >> you do not know. you have been having too much fun. hi, what is your name. hello, michael. thank you. i am really glad that you came this morning. i would love to have your vote on the third. thank you. good to meet you. how are you? hi, dear. thank you. >> thank you so much for being here and giving your testimony. >> thank you. i do appreciate it. thank you. i am glad you were here. god bless you and your children.

>> it was very enjoyable. >> is he not an enjoyable man? >> he based everything on something biblical. we appreciate that. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> have a great day. >> hi, what is your name? >> genie. >> my mother's name is gene. that is right, we were here

before. you drove in for that? >> i will always see you. you are so beautiful. >> that is so nice. you can do this job. >> thank you, jeanne. this is my husband, marcus. tell everyone who you know. thank you. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. i remember your face, yes. okay, okay, okay, now i remember. i was recently in philadelphia, at the capitol, and there is a much that is on the wall. he is really a remarkable man. >> yes. >> thank you. thank you. it really is wonderful to see you again this morning. thank you. get them out. facebook to everybody that you can to get out.

this is my husband. hi, right here? hi. i am doing great. how are you? hi, how are you? thank you. is this your church? >> yes. >> this is my husband, marcus. >> i appreciate your testimony this morning. >> it changes dramatically after a divorce. years ago, i read that a family reduces by 75%. i do not know if that is true. i read it years ago. but it changes everything. >> i have two boys. my father -- it was not that he did not love us. >> your parents, you continue to honor your parents, but there are ramifications for the kids that go on for a long time. >> i learned from that. >> the great thing is that he is a god of forgiveness and a god of mercy, and a god of the grace and he just takes us as we are and he builds in restoration. he is a wonderful god. let's go ahead and take a picture if you would like a picture. do you have a camera? ok. i am sorry. i did not know you were there. hello. come on in. this is my husband, marcus. did you get it?

jacob, are you here in town? >> yes. >> is not bill wonderful? >> yes. >> he is a wonderful pastor. >> one of the most wonderful pastors. >> yes, he is. >> i remember seeing you before christmas. >> thank you. thank you. good to see you. do you go to church here? >> no, i do not. i am traveling here with my mom. >> is she a reporter here in this state? >> know, in california. >> have a great that you came today. i am glad that you are here, chloe.

hi there, nice to see you. hi, paul. well, thank you. are you may begin here at this church? >> yes. >> thank you for your service. god bless you. it is a pleasure to meet you. you are the main man, are you not? of course, you are. it is a pleasure to see you. we enjoyed worshiping with you today. thank you. how are you? >> very good, very good. we appreciate you coming. >> a good to meet you. >> thank you. >> we know you are busy. >> it is a pleasure for us, too. hi, what is your name? >> kathy. >> hi, kathy. thank you. this is marcus, my husband. nice to meet you. are you going back to school tomorrow? >> no, tuesday. >> william, are you an usher year? >> yes. >> thank you. >> you are doing a good job. >> thank you. >> hi, there. how are you? >> thank you. >> i am good. how're you? >> i just want to say they you

inspire me so much. >> thank you. that means a lot. >> of course. how are you guys? it is good to see you. >> you are here. thank you. >> thank you for being here. thank you. i know you will. we're grateful for the sacrifice you have made. >> to you live here? >> no. >> with the little bit north of here. >> thank you. >> of thank you for coming out here. >> we were so grateful for being able to be here and were shipped this morning.

we have a wonderful experience. we had a terrific time with the congregation. we're thrilled to be here. did this is very representative of a lot of iowans.

we had a tremendous outpouring of support. if you're concerned about the issue of life and marriage and family, religious liberty, for people, they're looking up a few issues.

people are absolutely scared to death of what is happening with the out of control spending. and no one has seen anything like this before.

this is faith and marriage in the protection of life. i had a long record of standing. sometimes it is considered a politically unpopular stance. some things are a strong foundation. it does not matter what the current culture says. it matters what is true and right. it matters what the longstanding issue is on marriage. one thing we're seeing is that islands -- that iowans will weigh in on newsstands for marriage between a marriage and a woman. not just to be politically popular.

who really means it. it is why we have seen such support from young people. young people of very concerned about the culture that they are about to end race as adults. they're the ones have to pay for out of the control spending. they want someone that will stand up for them. aat is why you'll see such strong showing of support. they recognize that i am looking after them and their future. i thank you for that. >> how do you feel about reaching the poll numbers? how are you going to bounce back?

>> it is really reflected in what i heard. we embraced this. we put about 6,900 miles on the bus. it was the best decision we made. we listened to what they were talking about, what they cared about. that is why we saw thousands of people in homes all across iowa make a decision on the spot that they will be supporting me and the caucuses now could tuesday night. they want someone they can trust. they want someone who is a proven core conservative. it was someone who is real and authentic. they're tired of politicians. they saw that i am not a politician spirit i am not an establishment person. -- politician. i am not an established a person. i am a complete package. margaret thatcher said i am not returning. when she went in as prime minister, she would be the same person she was before.

that is what america needs. we cannot have another politician. that hasn't been who will be very different. that is what they are looking for. i will have a clear conscience when i stand on the debate stage. and i have no level of compromise when it comes to obamacare, a marriage between a man and a woman. this is what we need. i am the best one. >> the will now be voting on it. >> that is what we heard. " >> we should be looking at to is the best person. he said the words were "if it

was of to just me, my vote my opinion, if i got to choose, who would that be?" he encouraged people to vote for who you believe. that is what we will see on tuesday. iowans are very independence. they will make that decision. >> if ron paul wins the caucus, what does that say about iowans? >> iowans are independent and thoughtful. that taken a full measure and every candidates. it is too early to decide what the outcome will be. we did what no other candidates did. i first crossed the state i do not know how many times. in the final analysis, we did what we need to do, listen to

iowa and make our case. we feel confident they will make this. >> can you tell us what your policy on iran would be? >> they must never gain a nuclear weapon. that is why i believe ron paul would be dangerous as the president. of all the candidates, there is only one that has current national security experience. that is me. i am privileged to sit on the house intelligence committee. i have received briefing similar to the president of the united states.

our president will be tested on day one on this issue of not only a nuclear iran, but a dangerous world. we need a president who is up to speed and ready to go and to exercise judgment to keep our nation states. we saw the defense of our nation took about a $500 billion cut. now we're looking at another $500 billion cut what we are engaged. this is not the time for america

to weaken itself. barack obama has made some of the most detrimental decisions. this is an issue that needs to be brought in the minds of the american people. that is why i believe i am the best choice. i am the best when it comes to dealing with cutting spending. it is also a national security risk as a private businesswoman and the litigation attorney. i will cut spending. we will maintain our military superiority. >> there are ideas that he might endorse it.

what do you think about that considering that he called you a good friend? >> no one knows who he will be endorsing. to the main endorsement we are looking at is that the of iowa. that is what i have done. i am extremely gratified. that is the endorsement i am looking for. we are thankful that you are here today. >> god bless you all. >> thank you, everybody. >> we are glad you are here. thank you. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. thank you. i am so proud.

thank you. thank you for coming. ♪ >> our road to the white house coverage in iowa where mitt romney not posted a meet and greet session. afterward, he spoke at a press conference. this is about 50 minutes. -- 15 minutes.

>> our you? thank you so much. i can believe you're here. thank you for the calls. how're you? did you hear me back here? that is great. thank you. >> thank you for your help. >> thank you so much. it is good to see you. thank you for your help. >> j-o-d-i. that's me.

>> about china, how do you balance those issues? we honor the rules. we will keep on battling. >> where's your camera? thank you. hold it down. i hold it down.

>> no. predictions. -- no predictions. i sure hope we do real well. that is wonderful. what a blessing. look at that. the lot.

this is good to be here today.

.

the bible is like no other book. jesus said i'm the way and the truth and the life. the book of acts there is no other name given so man must be saved. it is a unique faith. other religions are based on good works. christianity distinguishes itself and stands alone and it is based on grace. based on i have to make myself good enough to be accepted by god. no one will ever be good enough so christ came down and stood in our place and took our punishment and died for our

sins. because of that, we have a free grace to access and we can all call upon the name of the lord and be saved. that is what the scripture teaches. you say that is too sample but the most profound things are simple. i believe that christ came that we might live. i want to ask if there is anyone -- lets all bow our heads and you never contemplated those truths. you never understood, maybe, the message of the gospel. it is simple, a very gra grace-filled message. that if you will call on the name of the lord you will be saved if you will recognize your sins. heavenly father i pray as i did many years ago in a college dorm room and came to know you, father, that recognizing that indeed this message as

congresswoman bachmann shared with us that we have sinned meaning simply that we fall short and the way is spiritual and eternal death. but the gift of god is eternal life through your son jesus christ and we can call upon you and the bible says if we will confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that god raised him from the dead we will be saved. father, we believe that. if you have a desire, we do this every service, we believe that the church is making the gospel available to people. say this prayer with me. your heavenly father and let's say it together whether you are believing for the first time or not. your heavenly father i do recognize that i fall short and i come to you humbly today

believing that your gift of grace applies to me. through jesus christ i receive you lord as my lord and savior. i thank you for the forgiveness of sin. i confess, i receive you, i believe that you are raised from the dead for my justification. amen. couple going to speak a of things because this is our sunday morning service and there is our congregation. and i'm going to speak to the issue of civic responsibility. our church has been very involved in civic responsibility studyi studying world view, understanding what it is that the scripture teaches. we can turn on the news at night and understand what every party and what every candidate

has to say. we can understand a lot of different things. a lot of varying ideas out there. it is a broad spectrum. all eyes are on iowa. all eyes are on what is taking place in the next three days. a lot of people are still wonder ing what, who, how is this all going to come to pass. who am i going to vote for? some people say christians maybe you should not even be involved. my good friend who sent me an e-mail said someone asked him once i don't believe christians should get involved in politics or government. his response was neither did hitler, mussolini, marx, stalin, mao, bin laden, and the list goes on. it is absurd to say that we should consider ourselves any less politically active

citizens. i don't endorse candidates on the behalf of our church, but i would consider it an insult that someone would have to tell me who to vote for. my job as a pastor is not to tell you who to vote for or to endorse a particular candidate. my job is to teach you what the scripture says about it and how you need to learn how to choose a candidate for yourself. but i believe that you go a lot further if you do that. i'm not going to give you a fish, i'm going to give you a fishing pole. to vote for you who but i will teach you how to understand what god says about choosing godly leadership. the bible says a lot about it. it is not a silent subject in the scriptures. as a matter of fact, i believe this, that even though a lot of these who maybe didn't believe that christians should get involved as i just mentioned, our founding fathers most assuredly did believe we should be involved.

i'm going to read to you some quotes this morning. first is by our original chief justice of the united states supreme court john jay. this is from 1745 to 1829. providence is given to our people the choice of their rulers. and it is the duty as well as he privilege and interest of our christian nation to select and prefer christians for their rulers. wow, that guy seemed to be pretty one-sided, didn't he? that was our first supreme court justice. we have come a long way from that. let's read what reverend james a. garfield had, u.s. president and minister of the gospel. are responsible for the character of their congress. if that body be ignorant, reckless or corrupt it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and

corruption. if it be intelligent, braver and pure it is because the people demand these high qualities. if the next centennial does not find us a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprises, the culture and morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces. in other words, they don't vote. those are a couple of politicians. let's look at what a couple of ministers say. finney. charles finney. revivalist. college president. also an attorney. the time has come that christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the lord will curse them. christians have been guilty in this. but the time has come when they must act differently. god will bless or curse or nation according to the course the christian takes. another one.

if the time -- this is reverend francis grimmage an african-american minister of the gospel. he says this. if the time ever comes when america shall go to piece it is will be from the losing sight of the fact that righteousness exalts a nation. doesn't exalt us. our fiscal policy doesn't exalt always. god exalts us if aware righteous. he says righteousous exalts a nation but unless we hold to great fundamental principles of righteousness america will be only a covenant with death and agreement with hell. those are strong words. that is what our founding fathers and early pulpits were saying. we have to get back to what the word of god tells us when it

comes to civic responsibility. what it says when it comes to understandi understanding, choosing of godly leaders. i'm going to start with a verse it psalms 75. god is the judge, he put down and set up another. so, when we see that scripture we might think do we abdicate our responsibility because god is already the one who has control. i think god has put it in our control. god leaves maybe a clause that he may trump that if he needs to. but i believe that in exodus he gives us a command. with that in mind i believe god ultimately reserves the right to put down and set up leaders. he put up pharoa. raised a leader with king

david. but i believe he reserves that right. i believe he also give us a great command in exodus, a much talked about scripture and much quoted scripture. we have talked about it in this church. moses, one of the great deliverers of the old testament one of the greatest leaders of the old testament, we have a picture of him 40 years under the house of pharoa. that is the politically elite inside the beltway crowd. egypt was the most power and the was the pharoa political apex of that nation and he was there and 40 years he was raised up in that house and set out to be a leader over god's people and failed. then he went into the wilderness and sat under the house of the priest and for 40 years he sat under that influence. he had all of these people when

he came out of egypt, some say hundreds thousands -- we don't know exactly what it was but it was a lot of people -- when they came out he was trying to judge that people. he was trying to be a ruler and a leader to those people. father-in-law, who was the priest, came to him and said the thing that you are doing is not good. i want to give you some advice today he said. exodus 18, 19 harken to my voice and i will give thee counsel and god shall be with thee. key point. god shall be with thee. how many of you want god to be with us? the book of romans the bible says god can be for you or against you. there are certain things you have to do for god to be with you. when we do certain things god will get off that train. when you begin to lie or hurt people or do bad things god is

not with you. god is with us when we are walking in his way. i want god with me. i want god with my family. i want god with my church and with our nation. i believe god can depart from a nation. nations are not judged in the legislative -- life. they are judged in the life that is now. in the here after individuals are judged. but nations are judged in the here now in this life. we want god with us. and he says if you will do these thin things, god will be with you. an important thing. when i see a verse lake that in the bible it has all of my attention. do this and god will be with you. he lists several things. and when it came to leadership he said this. in exodus 18 and 21 thou

shall provide or choose men, able men he says, provide to the people able men such as fear god, men of truth and cover vettousness. that means not able to be moved by money. money is not their god. money is not what comes their thinking. i believe that what happens in our modern culture, we have people in iowa as of about three or four days ago i heard 50%, 60%, maybe 70% don't know who they are going to vote for. i find that troubling. as i think about it, when i see of it is nk part because they are saying i don't know who to vote for. it is not so much a question of who to vote for as what to vote for. because if you are voting

personality you can be deceived. i can read adolf hitler and he sounds like one of the founding fathers of america espousing great christian virtues but that is not who he was. he didn't fill that criterion. when i see it is not really so much who we vote for but it is what we vote for concerning their character. when i look at the scriptures i see, wow, men of truth that fear god, that hate covetousness. that is all about character and integrity. we have a famine of character and integrity in our land. we need to turn back to the things of truth and of the scriptures. i believe this. the only evidence of what a person will do in the future is their record of what they have done in the past. the only way that you -- if i can put it this way -- the character detector is only a

person's past record. and titus says they profess that they know god but in works they deny him. i know some politicians who profess they know god but in legislation they deny him. in votes they deny him. in the way they do their business they deny him. that scripture says they profess they know good represent -- reprobate, that means without judgment. i think that is so important that it is kept at the forefront of our mind when we choose leaders. people say that is religious leaders. no, this was israel's civil leaders. a lot of times we are tempted to vote for other things instead of the traits that are in the scriptures. i feel like many times i have

even been tempted and candidates come up and we look at what they say and the many things and many times you may, instead of voting for character and integrity you may be tempted to vote for eloquence. somebody who is a great speaker. in the book of romans it says those who have fair speech to save the simple. you can look in the book of scriptures and it says a fool utters all his mind but a wise man keeps it in until afterwards. see how the multitude of words speaking is not necessarily a sign of character. it is not necessarily a sign that that person is going to do the right thing always. as a matter of fact, lots of times if you speak too much you get in trouble and you have to renege on things.

and that is not a good thing. moses started out it says in acts he was mighty in words and deeds but then later on we see speak.id i'm slow to character is an indicator. sometimes you are tempted to vote for the presidential looking, tall and handsome. well, we say that david when samuel went to look and he was going to anoint a king his brothers came up and said these are very tall and handsome and presidential and he said no, god doesn't judge by the outside but he judges by the inside and intent and character of their heart. we have seen many in the bible -- saul, absolam, all these -- but it is the intention of the heart. sometimes we are tempted to vote for just fiscal policy.

but that doesn't line up with scripture either. the things of ys god are more important. the economy is very important. we believe that. but the bible says seek first the kingdom of good and all of these things will be given to you. some will say fiscal first is the most important. but we need to understand that sometimes spiritual things. some say they who love and pray for israel will be prospered and protected. there are things that we've got to understand. it isn't just fiscal first. it is the priorities of god fir first, character and integrity. so, i believe it is so important that when we are looking at candidates we look at who they are and what they believe and what their character really is. and another one is just electability. many are attempted to go by that

but you are compromising your choose many times. danny carroll spoke one time as i heard him he gave a great litmus test. he said if you were going to choose the president of the united states today and god said it will be completely based on your personal choice, who would you choose? based on what you believe the integrity and character should be? who would you choose? and i believe that simple obedience to a heartfelt decision is the most important thing that you can do. i believe god speaks to us through our hearts, not always just through our heads. i believe that the choice we to make in civic responsibility shouldn't be based on someone else framing the argument. because the bible teaches that obedience is better than sacrifice. and if scripture has said and set a criterion on that type of

person that should be chosen for civic leadership, then we need to obey. saul got the idea that he was a little smarter than god. he decided we are not going to do what god said when it was to go in and take out all of these animals and ox and sheep. he said we will get rid of the bad ones but keep the really good ones and bring them become and we will sacrifice those. one thing that i would suggest never assume that you know more than god. he thought that his idea, his human invention, his human works, his way of doing it, would be better in the final outcome than what god had commanded him to do. many times we get smarter than god and we think this calculation and this calculation and polsters say this and the media venues are saying this, my

friends and my feelings and maybe my family are saying this. but what did god say? it still stands that we are called to look at the record of the people who are running. we are to measure every issue according to biblical world view. what is the bible saying about socialism? what does it say about the definition of marriage? what does it say about abortion? find out what it says. we teach that. we teach christian world view concerning all the different issues that we see in the political arena. then take that and find out who is getting it right, who has a good scorecard. i would rather choose someone who is biblically in line with the view that i hold and is a person of integrity and holds to that than any other type of candidate. again, i'm not here to tell people who to vote for. i'm here to tell you what the

word of god says and exhort you to act upon the scriptures because obedience is better than sacrifice. and obedience to that criterion is what i believe god has called us to today. so let's stand and we are going to pray for dr. marcus and congresswoman bachmann and i'm going to ask my wife to come up and we are going to pray at this time right now, yeah. and it is such an honor to have this wonderful family, 23 foster childr children. wow! if you can -- if you can do that, that is a miracle working god right there, amen. i will have julie pray for michele and i will pray for marcus and i will ask the congregation to respectfully turn your hearts toward god and just be with us now in agreem t agreement. you so much for

this wonderful example of a fami family. father, a family that has laid down their lives to be servants to those who are un fortunafort. father in the counseling that they have done, in the families that they have helped, the foster children that they have raised. i thank you for a family who is laying down their lives to serve this nation. father, i thank you that they have given of themselves greatly in this season. and, father, it is truly more blessed to give than it receive. but, father, when we give we reap back manifold. i pray they will get great fame, favor and friendships. i pray that the spirit of america is upon this family. father, i believe that the spirit of america and our founders and the gospel and the foundation and the underpinnings of all that we stand for is

represented in the core values and morals that this family hol holds, demonstrates and is out to make available to other families who would come to our great nation. father, i thank you now that you strengthen them. father, i thank you now that you give wisdom to them. father, i thank you now that you protect them. father, i thank you now that you bless them. and father, as they serve you, as we humble ourselves you say that you exalt always. and as they have humbled themselves and come to the word of god this morning and given their heart to us today, father, may they be super naturally day forward.m this we thank you for it. we ask it in the name of jesus christ our lord and everyone said amen, amen. we love you and we thank you for your service. amen. [applause] >> god bless you.

amen. >> please remain standing and this will conclude or service this morning. let's bow our heads. hly father we thank you for the great opportunity that we have had to share the gospel, to speak to the issues of scriptural civic responsibility. father, we thank you for the opportunity to pray. giving always a free nation where we can exercise these rights. father, we thank you that our nation will be maintained under those freedoms and liberties. we thank you for the spirit of liberty. we thank you for the spirit of freedom, for it is your spirit, it is not just a national spirit but a spirit of the lord. it is not by might or power but by your spirit that we do anything. we give you the praise today.

father, we, as we are dismissed we ask that you bless each one today as they go. bless them coming in, bless them going out. the head and not the time and do abundantly according to that power that works within us. in jesus's name we pray and everyone said amen. thank you again guests an visitors for being here today. you can be dismissed at this time.

>> our road to the white house coverage continues in atlantic, iowa, where mitt romney hosted a meet and greet session. they plan to spend caucus night in des moines. this is about 15 minutes.

>> i can't believe you are here. >> hi there, how are you. >> thank you, i appreciate that. thanks for the calls. how are we doing? >> can you hear me back here? >> definitely. much.ank you very >> may i ask you a question about china? >> yeah. >> right new our ag economy is doing great. i know you have had had some rhetoric against china. how do you balance those issues

so we have fair trade? >> we have to make sure they trade on a level playing field, honor the rules. right now they sell us this much stuff, we sell them that much stuff. i want to make sure they buy more. i understand they are buying more pork products. >> right. >> i want that to continue but make sure they don't kill businesses. because if they don't we will continue suffering. keep battling. thank you. >> thank you for being here.

>> where is your camera? all right, right there. look at that camera. holy cow. >> we were with you in birmingham. >> hold it down, keep your finger on it and keep holding. there you go. >> thank you.

>> good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> good to see you. thanks for being here today. >> that is my wife. >> nice to meet you. who is the farmer, him or you?

do you have the family working the farm or injuries the kids. >> good luck. >> thank you. hi, how are you? great to be here today. >> can we get a picture with you? >> yes. >> i'm pleased that we are seek the kind of crowds that we are seeing so it is pretty exciting. >> one issue that i haven't heard you address is control of the medical healthcare cost and liability for physicians. >> makes all the sense. i wrote a book called "no apology" and i have a chapter on bringing down the cost of healthcare but one is to limit

the noneconomic damage. our malsystem is causing defensive medicine as low as $100 billion a year and as high as $750 billion a year. >> do you feel that is a state issue? >> i will push it at the national issue. >> thank you. >> hi, how are you? is your dad around here and grandfather? >> yes. >> that is great. that has my name on it. sign that. which newspaper is that? >> "des moines register." >> oh, that is "the des moines register." good. thank you. i will do my best to find work for the american people, and for you.

>> love you. all the best to you. hi, there. how are you? >> i'm fine. thanks for including atlantic in your visit. >> thank you. good to be back. >> appreciate your coming by.

>> hi, how are you doing? >> good. hope you make it. >> me, too. >> the next president, ladies and gentlemen. >> we really appreciate it. >> we are coming back out to do a presser. appreciate your help today. make sure to vote on tuesday. how are you? good to see you. >> let me shake your hand. >> thank you. it see you. make sure you vote tuesday. >> i'm here from louisiana. you can't vote tuesday but you can help others get there.

>> heads up, heads up. >> hey, guys. this is an exciting time. this is the best part of politics, a chance to see people across the state and see the enthusiasm and meet folks that are willing to come out on a new year's day to meet somebody who is running for president and commit to go to caucus on tuesday night. we are hoping for a lot of people to go to caucus, a lot of people in the country look to iowa to play an important role in the selection of our nominee and so we are hoping to see a lot of folks come out and cast their ballots. sure, i would like to see some

good news out of the caucus but we are going to work hard and build on the enthusiasm we are finding across the state. with that i'm happy to take any question you might have. do you have any response to newt gingrich to say you would buy an election if you could? >> speaker gingrich announced that he had raised $10 million this quarter and he ought to be proud. we are working hard to raise funds. this is an election that is not been driven by money raised by by message, connection with the voters, debates, experience. and i think that those are the features that are driving the campaign so far. i think they probably will be through the entire process. >> what are your fund-raising numbers looking like? >> we will do better this quarter than any or quarter but i don't have a final figure for you. >> some say you are trying to say they want to decide between you and rick santorum?

>> i don't think i have tried to describe differences in policy but i focus on the things i believe and choices that americans have to make. senator santorum was kind enough to endorse me last time around. i appreciate that. and we have been friends. i can tell you that our backgrounds are quite different. like speaker gingrich, he spent his career in the government in washington, nothing wrong with that but it is a different background than i have. i think that the people of this country recognize in our economy as the major issue we face right now that it would be helpful to have somebody who understands the economy firsthand, who spent the bulk of his career working in the private sector. so, senator santorum is a good guy. he has worked hard. i wouldn't be surprised if we see him do well tuesday night. i think a good deal of him. >> what are your feelings right now about [inaudible]

>> i don't know that you can look at a poll and project what will happen on caucus night. i think it is so hard for the polsters in a caucus state where people can show up in different numbers than what the polsters might have imagined. but i'm encouraged that i'm thought of positively by the people they called on the phone to take the polls and more encouraged by the people i see at rallies and events and enthusiasm they have and their willingness to show up on new year's day and their commitment to go to the caucuses. so, i'm pleased we are doing well. i can't tell you who is going to this thing. but i do believe that i'm going to have a great deal of support and that that will give me the boost i need as i go into a season of a number of other states. >> some conservatives say you didn't spend enough time reaching out to them. do you have any regrets especially considering the santorum surge? >> i have had the privilege of meeting people the last time and

built friendships and associations then and a lot of people continue to support me and i have been able to rekindle those friendships the last several days and months as i been back to iowa. i've also gone to other states and raised the organization that i need to in order to make sure the vote of iowa ends up being a vote for a person that could be the nominee. this is a process that begins here, gets a big boost here, but goes on across the nation. it has been important to me to make sure that i have a team and capability to go the full distance to get the nomination and have the people in iowa who caucus for me proud they were on the team from the beginning. >> senator santorum has described himself as a more true conservati authentic e, a more full spectrum conservative than you. do you concede that? >> i'm pleased to point people to my record as the governor of massachusetts and record that i have there, balanced the budget

with the help of the legislat e in place -- or restored a rainy day fund by the team i left, empowered the state police to help enforce federal immigration laws, fought for and was successful in having english immersion and a host of or principles that people would determine are good solid conservative principles. i'm proud of that record. i will let people make their own assessment of our respective records but i'm a conservative and proud to be a conservative businessman and what distinguishes me from the others is i understand the economy firsthand having lived in it and i look forward to a spirited campaign, a lot of debates to go and hopefully have a good night tuesday night. i'm pretty confident we will have a good night. i think we will have good support and on to new hampshire, south carolina, florida, nevada -- boy, it will be a terrific race and i look forward to a

great sendoff to the candidates, not just me but the others that go on from here after tuesday night. thanks, you guys. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> today our coverage continues in des moines with ron paul at 12:15 p.m. eastern. also rick santorum at 7:00 p.m. eastern in altoona and later a chance to see mitt romney in iowa at