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Bishop Harry
Jackson: "The black vote will determine the outcome of this election! . . . I
SUPPORT GEORGE BUSH! "
(Please forward this to all
your friends)
Intro by Steve Shultz:
THE ELIJAH LIST www.elijahlist.com
PROPHETIC.TV www.prophetic.TV
 Bishop
Harry Jackson, pastor of a 2000-member African-American Church in Washington,
D.C., and I (Steve Shultz) each serve on ACPE, an organization spearheaded by C.
Peter Wagner with participation by other notable voices such as Cindy Jacobs,
James Goll, Dutch Sheets, and Chuck D. Pierce. We meet once each year to hear
and publish, collectively, what God seems to be saying to the Church -- both the
American and worldwide Church.
Harry and I have spent several hours by phone getting to know and understand one
another's ministry and outlook for the White and African-American Church.
CBS will be following his ministry around this next week, and CBN will also be
interviewing him. Bishop Jackson, as well as others listed below (such as
Wellington Boone, Kimberly Daniels, and Larry Jackson), are all "on the same
page" with this article and I, too, believe that the Black vote will be the
deciding or swing vote in this upcoming election.
As Bishop Jackson and I have talked, though there was an admitted moral problem,
even by President Clinton Himself, in the presidency before George W. Bush -- nevertheless, President Clinton was, according to Scripture, God's
selection for that "hour" in history -- HE picks all those in authority.
In the same way, Bishop Jackson and many in the Black Community now believe -- and
are beginning to state publicly -- that it seems God may be saying that George
W. Bush is to be God's man for the hour in these next four years -- again!
We encourage you to forward this article to your Christian and non-Christian
friends, both white and black, minority and non-minority. Then we urge you to
vote and, yes, please vote your conscience.
You may get tired of me saying this, but as Believers, we are to be seen not as
Republican nor as Democrats, but as "Monarchists"...that is, we serve a
reigning King, Jesus Christ. That means that you should ask HIM how you should
vote each time an election rolls around.
We don't want to be seen as telling you how YOU must vote...rather, we are
telling you how some are voting. Why? Because, as you will read in this article,
Marriage is a pivotal issue in this election...almost more than any other issue.
Please forward this to as many people as possible. We've provided a form below
for you to do just that!
Blessings,
Steve Shultz
THE ELIJAH LIST www.elijahlist.com
PROPHETIC.TV www.prophetic.TV
To subscribe to THE ELIJAH LIST, go to our home page or simply send a note to:
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====================
African-American Bishop Harry Jackson:
"The black vote will determine the outcome of this election! . . .
I SUPPORT GEORGE BUSH!"
By Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
(Please forward this to all your friends!)
email:
info@thehopeconnection.org
web:
www.thehopeconnection.org
The following are people with their photos and links who are adding their
endorsement to this article by Bishop Harry Jackson:
Bishop Wellington Boone
www.wellingtonboone.com
Apostle Kimberly Daniels
http://www.kimberlydaniels.com
Bishop Larry Jackson
www.frontlinersministries.com
Bishop
Harry Jackson:
"The black vote will determine the outcome of this election!" I wrote this
statement as I prepared for a TBN interview, Monday, October 4th. Little did I
know that Cindy Jacobs had prophesied this same thing just weeks before from the
same Miami studio from which I would be appearing. I asked myself, Was this just
a coincidence or had I really heard from God? If this is true, then what does
this prophecy mean? Will Bush win or will Kerry? My answer was clear. What
Blacks choose in this election will impact the course of the nation for many
years to come.
American Blacks have always been a moral lightning rod for us in America. This
election will be no exception. Have you noticed Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson
traveling with Kerry into Black churches during the last two weeks? This is not
by accident. I am asking everyone who reads the Elijah List to pray that God
will use African-Americans to impact our nation for righteousness in this
critical season.
I support George Bush and I believe that the Black vote will push him over the
top. I also believe that this year’s October surprise will be the Black
community standing up for righteousness and justice. High impact
African-American churches are creating high impact leaders who are developing
high impact congregations that are changing their communities. These high impact
Black Christians are more likely to read their Bibles and practice the spiritual
disciplines of prayer, fasting, or worship than their White, Hispanic, or other
ethnic counterparts.
 Based upon 12 years of combined research, George Barna and I believe that the
Black church will be a catalyst for revival or spiritual renewal in America. In
the political realm, Black churches may lead the way as well. In our book, High
Impact African-American Churches, we state,
"Black pastors see politics as the
means of making faith real by introducing faith principles into every fiber of
life." This really should be the approach of all mature Christians. How will
this affect the upcoming elections? I believe a "stealth vote" of Blacks will
turn things around for the President. Black pastors are beginning to speak out
and Black members of multi-cultural churches are ready to make a difference in
their world.
In my view, God has been preparing the heart of President Bush to take a radical
stand for social justice in his next term. This could be the beginning of the
development of a "kingdom agenda" instead of a limited "conservative" versus "liberal" approach to the woes of our society. The current political labels have
led to bitter divisions that do not serve the nation’s best interests.
This article will cover four things: a prophetic prospective on the election,
the biblical background of the justice issue, an overview of current political
realities, and a call to action for the Body of Christ.
 If you have Black friends that you would like to encourage to vote for justice
and righteousness, please purchase the CD entitled
"Choose Ye This Day" from
this site and send it to them. You can also forward this email message. It could
change their lives. Remember, we don’t have much time!
Prophetic Prospective
In January 2004, I sat in the presence of some of America’s strongest prophetic
voices. The group is called the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE),
which is led by C. Peter Wagner and includes Lou Engle, Joseph Garlington, James
Goll, Bill Hamon, Cindy Jacobs, Chuck Pierce, John and Paula Sanford, Dutch
Sheets, Tommy Tenney, Barbara Yoder, and several others. We all felt that the
election would be close and very bitter. As a group, we stated that the major
issue of this election would be justice. We, corporately, prophetically declared
that if President Bush chose justice, he would be re-elected. In addition, the
following things were stated, "Concerning the 2004 elections, there was a
general consensus that we need to call for massive intercession...A new move of
'Judicial intercession' will sweep the Body of Christ." The term
"judicial
intercession" means prayers that will initiate the manifestation of God’s justice
in our spheres of influence.
Very few Christians have heard the call for America to take the issue of justice
to another level. Like those in the days of Gideon who cowered and hid from the
marauding Midianites, we have fought our little battles without much hope for
national deliverance. We have been on the defensive instead of the offensive.
We have not seen ourselves as mighty men and women of valor who can take back
the culture in Jesus’ name. We have only attempted to stop abortion and same-sex
marriage with few results. Even though we have longed for revival, we have not
envisioned the Lord ushering us into a new dimension of cultural reform.
Biblical Background of the Justice Issue
As God reveals His character and glory in the scriptures, he connects two things
that American Christians do not often put together. These two things are
righteousness and justice. The following scriptures speak of the character of
God and define righteousness and justice as unshakable foundations of His
kingdom.
"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and
faithfulness go before you." Psalm 89:14
"Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the
foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every
side." Psalm 97:2-3
It’s interesting that the scripture says that a fire goes before Him and
consumes His foes. If we embrace God’s concept of both righteousness and
justice, God will move in unprecedented, miraculous ways. We see a harvest of
souls, while God removes the ability of His enemies to respond or gainsay. Let’s
take this concept one step further, the leader that takes it upon himself to
imitate God’s character and reveal His glory will see God back him up with
amazing results. I am convinced that we need both righteousness and justice to
move the hand of God for America in a fresh way. Yet He needs someone to stand
in the gap for Him.
In Ezekiel 22:30 our Lord says that He sought for a man to stand in the gap
before Him. In the verses that precede this one, He implies that He looked in
four realms of Israel’s life: Prophets, Priests, Princes, and People. The Lord
was letting us in on how He viewed the process of cultural transformation. It
seems that one man can keep a country from destruction, but all four of these
categories must be invaded by godly people in order to transform a community.
The prophetic prayer movement is doing its job. Yet we don’t seem to have the
right alignment in the political realm (among the princes). With these things in
mind, the next two scriptures show us what biblically-oriented political leaders
can do for a nation.
"Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12, NIV
"By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes
tears it down." Proverbs 29:4, NIV
These verses contain great promises for America. If we can produce justice
internally, God will protect us from terrorism, economic decline, and the moral
disintegration of our culture. Homeland security will be backed up by the hosts
of heaven in a major new way. Let me explain what the scriptures mean by the
term "justice." In America, we often think of justice as getting what we are
due. The concept is personal and often petty. Therefore, American litigation is
a thriving industry. We will sue almost anyone at the drop of a hat. Judge Judy
and others are feeding a self-centered, American hunger. There is another kind of
justice. It’s called "divine justice." It creates an atmosphere in which widows
and poor people will be cared for. It reaches out to those who cannot defend
themselves.
Let me elaborate upon this further. Harper’s Bible Dictionary makes several
profound statements about justice:
"Since the justice of God is characterized by
special regard for the poor and the weak, a corresponding quality is demanded of
God’s people (Deut. 10:18-19). When they properly carry out justice, they are
agents of the divine will (Isa. 59:15-16). Paul presents God’s justice as a
grace flowing into and through believers to the needy (2 Cor. 9:8-10). The
demand of God for justice is so central that other responses to God are empty or
diminished if they exist without it (Amos 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 23:23).
Justice is demanded of all the people, but particularly of the political
authorities (Jer. 21:11-12; Isa. 1:10, 17)." Justice matters to God.
Sadly, contemporary Christians have missed this emphasis in the scriptures. Many
English translations have blurred the original intent of the biblical concepts
of justice by using a weaker English word such as ‘righteousness’ or ‘judgment.’
Political Realities
Four years ago, Bush received only 10% of the Black vote, despite his Christian
testimony, his rapport with Black pastors like Kirbyjohn Caldwell, and others.
Today politically savvy people believe that the percentage of Blacks voting for
the President will be 20% even though 47% of Blacks are born again (according to
statistics George Barna and I have catalogued in our book). If we believe God
that as few as half of born-again Blacks vote for President Bush, it could be
enough to turn the tide of this election.
Part of our prayer for this election is that both Whites and Blacks begin to
view the political parties from a kingdom perspective. Both parties are flawed
and are in desperate need of reform. Yet, we must make a difference today. We
should not refuse to vote because things are confusing. Or vote without a
willingness to remain informed and continue to demand that the political parties
of the future give Christians better options in terms of policies, programs, and
candidates.
In broad terms, the Democratic Party espouses justice but does not articulate
biblical righteousness. Generally speaking, the Republican Party articulates
many positions more in line with biblical righteousness, but falls short in
issues of justice.
The kingdom of God requires that both righteousness and justice will be
promoted. Therefore, I applaud the Republican Party for creating a platform that
leans toward righteousness. Unfortunately, a true justice agenda is missing from
both the Democratic and Republican National platforms. Interestingly, the
Democratic platform uses much more conceptual language about justice. To their
credit, at the very end of their platform is a powerful statement that recognizes
the potential of the Church. It says,
"We believe that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly
stronger and richer by faith and the countless acts of justice and mercy it
inspires...Throughout history, communities of faith have brought comfort to the
afflicted and shaped great movements for justice."
Unfortunately, the Democrats have not lived up to these high sounding phrases of
purpose. This is primarily because the Democratic platform emphasizes personal
liberty instead of personal righteousness.
Both parties have historically failed to create an ongoing atmosphere of justice
for the poor and needy in our nation. I believe that Jesus would challenge both
parties to look at six major issues: Protection of Marriage; Wealth Creation
opportunities for minorities; Educational Reform, which emphasizes urban change
as a priority; African Relief that stops genocide in the Sudan by placing trade
sanctions on the nation; Prison Reform that rehabilitates inmates with spiritual
solutions; and Healthcare for the Poor. Time will not allow me to go into a
detailed biblical prescription. Suffice it to say that the Church needs to be
informed and get involved.
A Prophetic Challenge to the Body of Christ
The Church must awaken to her responsibility to produce justice in every area of
American life. Imagine what would happen if Christians would rise up and take a
stand with a specific, unified strategy to restore America’s moral greatness?
Perhaps this is what was meant by the term used over a decade ago, "The Moral
Majority." Unfortunately, this group did not understand the difference between
personal righteousness and the need to create an atmosphere of justice in the
land. They appeared contentious, strident, and petty. We, however, have an
opportunity to joyfully present a God who loves sinners and is willing to
deliver them from their sin.
I believe that there is coming a day when Christians will agree upon specific
aspects of our society that we want to change and we will send political
missionaries into both parties. These Christians will operate as double agents
whose allegiance is only to the King of kings. As they gain influence, position,
and wealth they will be sure to steer their party toward a God-ward path. It’s
amazing that we haven’t done this before. No wonder Jesus said that the children
of this world are wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8).
In conclusion, consider these three points as you pray for a reversal in the
historic Black voter pattern:
1 -
The Democratic Party can be hijacked by a righteous remnant;
2 -
The Republican Party can be enlivened by justice seekers;
3 -
Everyone needs to get involved.
by
Harry Jackson, Jr.
web: www.thehopeconnection.org
email:
info@thehopeconnection.org
 Order
"Choose Ye This Day"
(a 2 CD set)
by Harry Jackson, Jr. Today!
Feel free to
order online
OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477)
http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=1647
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