If ever there was a time when we needed leadership like the sons of Issachar in ancient Israel, it is now.  What was special about the sons of Issachar back in the days of King David, a thousand years before Christ’s time?  We read about them in 1 Chronicles 12:32.  “The sons of Issachar (were) men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.”

We may not see any explanation or have any historical knowledge about why these particular men of one of the tribes of Israel (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were so gifted.  Yet our spiritually minded hearts can’t help but cry out for extraordinary wisdom when we are faced with such overwhelming challenges as a nation of people.  And let’s humbly recognize that just because we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, our Lord and King of kings, commands us to ‘disciple the nations.’  And frankly, the Bible makes it clear that that is a very big part of the legacy that our Creator wants us to reclaim.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is a clear word in season for our nation, but let’s not miss the setting of verse 13.  It says the Lord appeared and spoke to Solomon saying: “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, and My people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive there sin, and will heal their land.”

Because God’s nature is just and righteous, most believers in America seem to feel they are entitled to get in on that invitation to pray for the saving of their nation.  You might question if you think you could do that if you lived in China or India today.  Think about that.

The only reason that Americans could ever identify with the promises God gave to Israel is because of the reliance of our founding fathers on Divine Providence and their extreme effort to form a government that reflected the wisdom of the Bible and the Lordship of Christ.

Proverbs 29:2 tells us: “when the righteous increase the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan.”

Proverbs 14:34 says: “righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach (disgrace) to any people.”

Few knowledgeable voters today would argue with the observation that our nation’s policies are being controlled by a very corrupt and ineffective group of secular elitists, financed by humanist and even globalist bankers who have no regard for the constitutional freedoms of individual citizens.

The fact that 25 million Christian voters did NOT vote in the last election tells us one thing: forfeiting our citizen’s responsibility is a reflection of the fact that many have forfeited their responsibility to be preservative influencers in society.

This election is not nearly as much about who I favor, as it is about what I strongly oppose.

Let’s remember one thing about the uniqueness of America in all of human history.  The era of the patriot founders of George Washington’s and Ben Franklin’s time are remembered for the phrase: “No king but King Jesus.”  But the truth is that Jesus, in His sovereignty as God, enabled the American citizens to be “We the People” who took upon themselves the delegated tasks of SELF government.  That government was guided by the precepts and wisdom of one book.  The Bible became the MAIN textbook in American homes and education for nearly two centuries.  The leaders who influenced the elected officials more often than any other single group were not secularists… not even educators or businessmen.  They were the preachers who commented regularly on civic and moral issues that guided the policies of social order.

Thou shalt have no other Gods before thee.  Yet, think of the general inclination even among Christian citizens in America to willingly and willfully expect to:

• Have government Educate their children
• Insure their health care costs while they sin against their own bodies with lifestyle habits that are destructive.
• Entertain themselves with whatever vile and sordid activity without the society becoming less safe and stable.
• Have bureaucratic agents enforce external rules of behavior while ignoring the basic rule of peace and prosperity – namely, the Golden rule: love God and love others as yourself.
• And even think that professional preachers or the church staff are the primary teachers of their Children in the ways of God.

A long list of other expectations could be named… but what happens when you replace God with trust in something that can never be God?  We call it secular humanism.  And, the last century of fathers in America, particularly Christian fathers, have essentially ignored their opportunity to disciple the nation to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Christian leaders are realizing that we have been given one possibly LAST chance to vote for NOT the PASTOR in chief, but the COMMANDER in chief of our CIVIL SOCIETY.  And the decision has never been easier.

But there has never been a generation in America where our citizens were so sharply divided.  Righteousness and Godliness has never been so publicly maligned and ridiculed as it is today.  About half the population lives thinking that the government should supply their needs regardless of the fact that the government must then force others to pay for it.  About half seem to be incapable of using common sense or critical thinking.  We’re almost evenly split between those who seem to have no fear of God and those who might have some recognition that God is still the sovereign ruler of nations.

Your choice is a decision for what you think is important for your children and grandchildren.

Because of the unique way that our constitutional founders set up our government, there are five humans who will decide the social and moral tone of our society for the next 40 years.  If there were absolutely NO OTHER deeply important issues to our freedom to live peacefully in our homes in a protected land like no other ever in history, we all must live with the decision that results in the selection of those 5 people.  The majority of those five people will be appointed by whoever is elected to the executive office of our country this month. Who are they?  They are the majority 5 judges appointed by the president to be the Supreme Judges of our society.  The Christian block of voters in America today will make that choice.

Friend, you don’t have to be brilliant at logic to see that this election is ultimately very practical.  We either make the decision to elect one who we KNOW will eliminate Godly Biblical values including your freedom of speech to preach the gospel, OR another one who has clearly made himself accountable to the constitution and to many Bible-believing leaders who have taken a stand to recognize this election will determine whether or not the American Republic will stand.

Arguably the most devastating occurrence in American society in our generation was the election of Barack Obama. It ranks with The Supreme Court’s decision 40 years ago to make abortion legal (Roe vs. Wade) and the decision over 50 years ago to remove prayer from public schools (Engel vs. Vitale).  The long negative list of results is topped by …

• a deepened liberalization and empowerment of America’s judicial system;
• a doubled national debt in only 7 years to $19 TRILLION!;
• further moral deterioration and the growing fear of violence and senseless terrorism,
• add to that an open rebellion to God and the public mockery of His created natural law. Shamefully we remember the White House lit up in the colors of the LGBT movement after marriage was re-defined by the Supreme Court.

Because the radical influence of the progressive politicians has been given charge of our civic order the nation of USA has seen:

increased violence;

a weakened position in the world,

a weakened military;

the advance of radical Islamist terrorism;

a setback in race relations; and more.

The damage has been so great that America is now one president away from a complete transformation to secularism.  What is that?

• a loss of our Judeo-Christian foundation,
• the loss of our position as the stabilizing force for good in the earth,
• The loss of the leading voice of the Gospel to the entire world.

If elected, the strident female manipulative progressive will be the president who finishes the job. She stands almost entirely against everything we, the Church, are for, and for everything we are against.

• She is pro-abortion, including partial-birth abortion, the most sinister evil of the last century.
• She would raise taxes while continuing out-of-control spending;
• She would further weaken our military;
• she would completely open our borders inviting an invasion of evil we can’t imagine;
• she is pro-gay marriage;
• she supports Obamacare;
• she has no respect for our Judeo-Christian heritage;
• she sells influence;
• she is a proven liar.

Do not be fooled—she would completely finish what Obama started.
If we care at all about the safety of our grandchildren we must do all we can to influence Godly people to take action like Esther in the Bible, for ‘such a time as this.’

. voting for a prolife candidate is foundational

. the issue in matters of public policy in America should really be about Accountability

. We know that God sets up and removes kings (Daniel 2:21).  Don’t forget who the king is in America!  It’s “We the People”  And if American Christians aren’t discipling their own nation, the leaders will inevitably reflect the attitudes and choices of the majority of those who vote.

. Israel demanded a king. God gave them one.  When you “pledge allegiance to the republic for which (the flag) stands” that means that you accept the delegated responsibility to make choices for your society.

. American society / constitution demands Godly people set the standard and be involved. When they don’t… evil people are allowed to corrupt social order.

. Our choice is to intercede for the nation as Abraham did for Sodom, to spare it for the sake of the righteous.

. the question for you is whether or not you want to assist in God’s righteous judgment by voting for a candidate who you know opposes Biblical values or not voting at all, which is the same thing…

. Otherwise you can assist in God’s mercy by voting for the candidate who has surrounded himself with righteous people who support Biblical values and thus give those who are appointed to make disciples of all nations one more chance to wake up and do their job.

So… when we see our position now to be INTERCESSORS, I ask you: do you want to be an instrument of judgment on your grandchildren or an instrument of mercy?

You can read and listen to plenty of God-fearing leaders telling why you must not fall for the various deceptions that insist we can survive another term of openly anti-God administration.

A Republican controlled Congress has done nothing to DEFUND Obamacare, slow down the TRILLIONS of dollars of debt he has accrued, prevent his treasonous acts with Iran, defund Planned Parenthood and their selling of babies’ body parts, or stop any number of other insane actions and wasteful expenditures. Much of the federal government in Washington DC is like an out-of-control plague that must be stemmed by isolating and removing the carriers of the disease.

To be sure, there are Republican leaders who desperately want to change things but the entrenched, lobbyist-owned, career politicians—many of them liberals in conservative clothing—have neither the will, backbone, and perhaps not the intellect needed to change it. Radical surgery is necessary. If the Republican Party has not sold us out, why did they spend $18.2 million on Bush’s election in 2004, $53.5 million for McCain in 2008, $42.4 million for Romney in 2012, and $0 on ads to elect their own candidate in 2016 because he is an outsider.  They have sold us out.

I also must appeal to those who say their conscience won’t allow them to vote for either of the main candidates, so they simply won’t vote at all.  Someone might think it’s noble to say that, but that makes about as much sense as a stubborn child saying he won’t eat because he doesn’t like his spinach and peas.  It’s just as illogical as voting for someone who cannot possibly win. It’s like saying my car is nearly out of gas and the brakes are acting funny but I’ll skip this turnoff the expressway, do nothing, and hope for the best.  The conservative candidate’s potential negative outcomes do not come close to the tsunami that is actively planned by the progressive candidate. Discretion is not only the better part of valor; it is prudence necessary to lead a society gone insane.

To see how Trump would actually lead, I would challenge you to look at those with whom he has surrounded himself: Pence; Carson; Huckabee; Giuliani; Christie; Gingrich; Palin; trusted generals; law enforcement officials; border patrol officials; evangelical leaders of all races; and otherwise, ethical, conservative leaders. What does this tell us? It is probably the greatest indicator of who Trump now is, clearly making the case that he has changed his moral ways over the past 10 years, as he claims.

Could it be that God has gripped the heart of the one candidate who can at least help to influence a climate in our nation that would stimulate a Holy Spirit guided repentance and reformation – not just revival?  God has certainly allowed him to be humbled. However, if we reject him because of the sins of his past, we would also have to reject Abraham, King David, Rahab, “the woman at the well”, Mary Magdalene—all adulterers in their unrighteous past. And don’t forget murderers like the Apostle Paul. A lot of formerly despicable people will be in Heaven! And a lot of them, by the way, became great leaders and champions for God. Some changed the world.

Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; like the rivers of water He turns it wherever He wishes.”  Can we pray in faith that God will give us a representative leader in America, like Cyrus in Daniel’s time, who can help prevent a catastrophe that creates a darkness that overwhelms the light?  We know that light ultimately triumphs over darkness.  But we have to do our part as God does His part.  Each of us as Christians must hold our pastors accountable to preach the whole counsel of God. Pray for them. Encourage them.  Challenge them.

Trump’s associations tell us that his stated conservative bent is genuine.  They demonstrate that he is wise enough to know what he doesn’t know!  Trump is showing us how he will function if he is elected president.  As a wise businessperson, he finds qualified people who know how to get the job done and empower them to do it.  Conservatives can’t help but admire those whom he is calling on for leadership in the future administration of this country. They are proven, trustworthy and honorable. If you think you can’t vote for Trump, think of your vote as a vote for them.  If you don’t your vote will be for the evil counselors of the progressive secular elitists and an even greater reduction in military defense in a highly unsafe world of aggressors.

What would the sons of Issachar advise YOU to do for YOUR nation at this TIME?

Pastor Dutch Sheet spells out the Christian’s dilemma well at www.ElijahList.com   Perhaps a better way for the disenchanted to approach this election is to vote AGAINST someone. I would suggest to you that voting against a candidate is a good reason to vote! “Neutrality” is not a valid option at this critical crossroads in history. The times demand that we make a stand! If not for, make your stand against:

• Vote against the foolish, selfish, shortsighted, establishment Republicans fighting to maintain their power.
  • Vote against an immoral, ungodly Democratic Party. (To those who take issue with this characterization, don’t forget that they booed God at their convention in 2012.)[4]
  • Vote against an unelected, unaccountable, overreaching, out of control Judiciary that believes it has the right to reshape America.
  • Vote against the unethical, biased, lying and untrustworthy media. (We will never reclaim America until we reject their influence. They may be the single greatest obstacle to America’s recovery.)
  • Vote against a weakened military.
  • Vote against a loss of national sovereignty and a one-world government.
  • Vote against open borders.
  • Vote against policies that enable radical Islamist terrorism.
  • Vote against the removing of our 2nd Amendment rights.
  • Vote against higher taxes.
  • Vote against Obamacare.
  • Vote against the redefining of marriage. (It is not too late to reverse this.)
  • Vote against abortion-on-demand, partial-birth abortion, and Planned Parenthood with its selling of babies’ body parts.
  • Vote against liberalism and progressivism.
  • Vote against the silencing of the Church. (Only the totally naive do not see this coming quickly.)
  • Vote against revising our history and the loss of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
  • Vote against the politicization and exploitation of racism, and the polarizing of America.
  • Vote against the slandering and weakening of law-enforcement.
  • Vote against the politicization of the Justice Department, the FBI and other important departments of government. (Both departments are now undeniably and shamelessly used for political purposes and to oppose Christians and conservatives.)

Pastors, if you’ve ever made a stand, make one now—it may be your last chance. Tell your people the truth…clearly. Pray and fast! Turn your services into prayer meetings.  Dutch Sheets Ministries –
www.dutchsheets.org