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The election campaign has already started unofficially with the first shots fired by both parties, on the same weekend of the Labour Party Conference, all I can say is it’s going to be petty.

Hello and welcome to this, our fifth Town Hall Meeting based around the theme of Pray, Vote, Stand.

Over the last few months, we have attempted to bring the nation topics on what the country needs in the way of prayer and provided prayer points, things needed in this country where God can assist.

On the theme of Vote, we have encouraged everyone who can to take the opportunity to exercise the freedom to vote, it’s a luxury few in the world have these days.

Without telling you who to vote for, because we accept it is not our place, but I would like to think we have perhaps challenged your thinking.

Under the heading of Stand, we have encouraged both Christian and non-Christians to make a stand, to draw a line in the sand over several issues.

Some of you have been in touch and asked what about this issue?

My response is simple, because the list is so long, like David who went into battle with Goliath, remember before doing so, he knelt and chose his stones. Sometimes you only get one chance, so every stone you hurl, every battle you undertake, must make an impact.

So, let’s move onto our first heading Pray.

As a nation we should never forget this is an open avenue of communication to the most high, the creator of the universe, to which many think we are just a mere speck.

Even more so is the nation in which we live.

New Zealand with all its sense of entitlement is just a speck on the world stage.

Whatever happens in New Zealand hardly creates a ripple anywhere round the globe.

Sad to say as a country New Zealand, has even been left of world maps, sad but true.

Even our biggest and most recognizable brand, the All Blacks, is not a household name.

Just putting things into perspective, but if the average person living in Queens in New York City doesn’t know we exist let alone care about us down under, why should God worry about us when there is lots of more important things for him to concern him.

Well, the answer is simple, He cares about us more than you can ever imagine and accept.

New Zealand with its huge population of sheep usurped now by cows was once referred to as GODZONE, a trip around New Zealand especially around the Southern Alps, Central Otago and Milford Sounds, should give you an understanding of how blessed we are to live in a nation of such magnificence.

Reality check time, yes, these things are superficial, and they are a reason to visit this country.

But Godzone is no longer, especially when you come away from those tourist areas and live amongst its people.

There you find entitlement and secularism as its culture.

New Zealand is a nation which has forgotten God, forgotten its Christian roots, and has become a society which now lives in fear.

Once upon a time, sounds like the start of a fairytale, but New Zealand was like that once, a fairytale where you could leave your front door unlocked and know you wouldn’t be robbed, a place where everyone was happy, there were no barriers, no them and us, but unfortunately the fairytale existence ended, and I have yet to see a happy ending.

Instead, we have a nation which has willingly given itself over to the fairies, the villains and the racists.

Is this not something New Zealanders should be praying about?

Recently my good friend Dr Stuart Lange from The New Zealand Christian Network penned an article and asked the question “What is wrong with New Zealand?

Apart from the obvious, Doctor Lang talks about a deeper underlying issue in our society.

New Zealand is rapidly losing its previous spiritual and moral anchorage and Christian faith and ethics.

For many, there is now little or no regard for God or biblical truth in public discourse, secularism, neopaganism, materialism, and hedonism, genomic in a free ride whereas Christian faith and biblical ethics are often scorned shunned or ignored.

Like us, Doctor Laing says he would be delighted to see a widespread move in society back to faith in Christ in the Bible and more just and ethical society.

My friends if there is one topic we need to pray about and that is the return of this nation back to God.

As the psalmist said Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, 

I believe sincerely, if we did that, then the raft of issues being faced by the population of New Zealand would disappear and there would be peace and harmony in this small dot in the world we call home.

This brings me onto the topic of Vote, and in our previous topic I have spoken on issues facing New Zealand, you know what they are, but let me run a list in case you missed some.

• Our country does have a number of ongoing significant problems including,
•  living cost,
•  expensive housing,
• the widening disparity between the many who are financially comfortable and the others who worked equally hard but constantly struggled to provide for their families,
• drugs,
• ram raids,
• relationships and family breakdowns,
• violence,
• poor mental health,
• suicides,
• road rage,
• the road toll,
• beleaguered health services,
• environmental degradation,
• climate change, and extreme weather events,
• successive governments appear unable or unwilling to effectively address many of these problems.

From a Christian biblical perspective, these things matter, not social justice.

To be honest the term Social Justice has been bandied about by politicians for years without any action.

What Jacinda Ardern promised was great rhetoric, but found out, it’s difficult to deliver.

Had she understood her Mormon upbringing, she would have understood the example of David when fighting Goliath and taken on one foe at a time rather than the whole army.

But yes, it was an extensive list and one which anyone after the election is going to have to prioritize.

But then this is the job they wanted.

The economy looms as a major crisis for this country, dare I say it, it’s always about the economy when election time rolls around.

Minister of Finance Grant Robertson is guilty of

• overspending,
• Money printing,
•  excessive borrowing, and if he were honest, even he would admit we have major financial problems both going into and coming out of this election.

Many elections are won on the “What’s in it for me:” psychology, how much is either political party going to put back in my back pocket, mentality.

I don’t have to tell you that New Zealand is experiencing a major cost of living crisis compared to other countries.

I have just recently come back from Australia and noted the price of fuel, food, and other things are way cheaper across the ditch, but for those who like to partake in alcohol, I suggest you purchase what you can from Duty free.

I was disturbed as you will be that here in New Zealand you can now purchase food on a Buy now, pay later scheme, like other retailers.

To be upfront, shocking as it sounds, the ability to put groceries on “tick” has been even before the local grocer put his pencil behind his ear.

Sadly, people will still use it, and sadly, we will see more and more people in debt.

Given interest rates and inflation coupled with the ability to make a dollar stretch -a loaf of bread could well cost a week’s wages as the bible foretold.

I don’t know about you but despite foodbanks being well used, I am being approached by many on the street looking for spare change to buy food.

In my Town Hall meeting last month I mentioned, when we get a political poll result, we would see how the country is thinking.

Make what you want from the last two where it shows National has regained a slight advantage over the government, but we see a huge drop-in support for Te Pati Māori, as the nation rejected its ideas for separatism.

The media pundits are making a big deal out of the leadership stakes between the two Christophers.

Hipkins is down on popularity while Luxon remains the same.

People, we need to get it, and I wish these young reporters would also stop being enamoured by personalities, but because one candidate is more popular with voters than the other, doesn’t mean the other bloke can do the job better or worse.

Elections are not about people but policies and actions. And over the past six years we have had policies but no action, which means no delivery.

Dare I say it, this government is like the buy now, pay later scheme except its promise now, but not sure how to deliver.

This former idealistic group from the student unions are without any real-life experience, thinking they could change the world once they seized power, and did they? is anyone any better off today since this government has been in power.

Forget Covid, forget all the other distractions, this government has failed in both social justice and prudent stewardship.

We don’t need charismatic leaders like John Key or narcissistic leaders like Jacinda Ardern, we need someone who is strong in leadership, someone who can read and understand a balance sheet.

Think about your own workplace, your boss is possibly not the guy you would invite around home for dinner, but it’s not a popularity contest, He’s the boss, he is working to keep your company profitable and because he’s doing that, you still have a job and still have money to entertain your most popular friends.

Which party or which combinations can you see leading the country into a bright new future.

This is where we say and advise, “do your diligence.

• will they deliver in on what they promise.  
• Are their levels of morality, justice, and character acceptable to you.

Candidates in electorates are one thing but what is a bottom line for you, can they deliver best outcomes for your community or are they like the long-standing MP who is my communities’ representative, just there to collect the salary.

Dr Stuart Laing in his article quoted earlier referred to needing more Christian based members of parliament.

I disagree, but also agree with him on this point.

I disagree if those claiming to be Christian like the current leader of the National Party who claims the T-shirt but fails to wear it publicly.

I’m not a fan of the current prime ministers T shirt, but you get the idea, if you claim Christianity, then make sure the fruit you produce comes from the tree.

Recently I was involved in a discussion with a nationwide Christian group who wanted to post advertising from Christian Parties.

When I say discussion, it was more of a challenge to them, and I pass it onto you to consider as this year we have several parties looking for our party vote.

Before I get into it, I see one of our mega churches now promoting and possibly advocating for a change of government, but then, who isn’t.

Can I say to Peter Mortlock, thank you for finally waking up and understanding that Christians need guidance to navigate the world of politics.

To be fair to Peter, and Brian Tamaki they are probably leading their congregations well, but what about the rest.

Here at Christian Voice New Zealand, we have never shied away from adding salt into our political culture, just saying.

Back to Christian Political Parties.

First up, Christian parties have not fared well in this country, even those like the Conservative Party who were close to Christian beliefs ran foul with the justice system, think Graham Capel and Colin Craig.

Let me go back to my challenge over Christian Parties.

Is this a genuine God loving God fearing party which has the bible as its foundation,

Or is it a party which has a leader like National claiming to be Christian.

Or is it a party like Vision or the One Party spawned from a church group?

Or is it like the Brian Tamaki led party, a collective of other parties looking to secure the 5%threshold, and if it does, which parties’ agenda will they promote in parliament?

Is it a party and there are a couple which came about because of last years protests which were against mandates and the state removal of personal freedoms.

So, lots to think about, if your confused, like I am as to who to vote for this year, do your own diligence.

Before you do, spend some time in prayer and seek Gods guidance.

I know, what’s the point, they will never be able to provide you with what God’s Kingdom can provide but this is the here and now and Jesus said we must be the salt and light in the world.

By executing your vote and its biblical to do so, you can add salt into the culture of this country.

Family First have a good set of tools you can use to check out the moral compass of candidates and their voting records, but go to the meetings if they are on, do what I have done and write to candidates and ask questions.

I am about to have coffee with one very soon.

Moving onto our final subject Stand.

Once again here we must choose our battles but always with the underlying strength the Bible provides us with.

When making a stand it must be foundational with the bible.

For example, we cannot make a stand against climate change if we approve of abortion.

If we cannot protect the innocents and support life, then the rest is meaningless.

So, what should we stand for, simple answer, everything the Bible says the way we should live our lives, treat others, treat the planet and above all praise God in everything.

The LGBTQI+ sector of our society has brought this nation down to a level where God should apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah.

We should be mindful of companies like The Warehouse, who are courting controversy over its stance to stock products like the Disney Pride Collection which promotes alternative lifestyles to our children.

The Warehouse will also donate 5% of sales to the organisation “Inside Out” which provides puberty blockers.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t end there, Countdown have been asking customers to round out amounts as a donation to rainbow youth, and let’s not start on Ruby Tui, The NZRFU, and Sanitarium and rainbow flags.

I see many calling for a boycott of the Warehouse and yet we gladly send our children to state funded schools to have drag queens read stories, to have the rainbow mafia infiltrate the curriculum with the many ways you can have sexual pleasure.

I’m going to finish now because this stuff just sickens me, and I feel justifiably angry about it.

So, there it is, our Town Hall Meeting for June as the election comes closer.

Expect it to be a dirty campaign, it will be personal, it will at times be fiery, but above all hopefully it will be informative, and you and I can make an informed choice.

As Christians we can Pray this nation will return to God, we can pray for those politicians who are either there or wanting to be to make the right decisions for everyone regardless of skin colour, ethnicity or creed.

We can exercise our right to vote, we are still, even though we are on the verge of tipping over from being a democratic country.

In accordance with the actions of the apostles, voting is a God given right.

And above all, we must remember we must have God front and centre in our lives and stand firmly on the foundation for mankind- The Bible.

A word of warning, in a moment I am going to show you a 12 second clip, some may find disturbing.

But first I must say you know that your religion has truly reached a level of tolerance and non-oppression when folk feel they can do this in public without consequence. 

Clip

This is not a woman but a Satanists destroying a copy of the Bible at an event recently held is Boston featuring multiple transgender keynote speakers.

So, ask yourself why?

Why is there so much hate and hostility towards God, Christians and Christianity today from within the Gay community.

When you look at its fruits Christianity is probably the most tolerant and accepting religion there is.

And yet the gay community who wants so much acceptance is the most intolerant group on the planet.

If you’re ever going to get a group of people who are intolerant towards Christianity it surely must come from the followers of Islam, but the alphabet mafia, particularly those labelled transgender hate on Christians the most.

Now I am not prepared to get into a debate about persecution, I think Christianity over he centuries has had its fair share of persecuting others, but today when its all love thy neighbour why so much hate?

I think the answer really lies in the video clip I showed you at the start.

The person in the video was a Satanist, a person who is anti-God and this is what happens when you have satanic people join up with deluded people who cannot accept what they are in nature, then this becomes the result.

I am not a fan of trans-vestites nor am I a champion of the Gay movement.

I know and You know where I stand on the whole issue.

Look, these people can throw their tantrums and toys out of the cot, but it won’t make any difference to anyone because we Know, and they Know we are right when it comes to the acceptance of what is natural and what is unnatural.

They think demolishing GODs Word in this manner matters, it doesn’t, what does matter is my relationship between me and God which if I choose too, only I can destroy, but I don’t choose to.

The one thing I choose is to show my intolerance respectfully and state again my reasons for not accepting the act of a lifestyle based around an unnatural sexual act called Sodomy which the very book which was destroyed describes it bluntly, as an abomination to God.

I accept we live in a world where people want to be different and in the case of the rainbow community they want to be accepted, but not everyone can agree.

Likewise, I agree they do not agree with Christianity, and the Bible because it goes against their belief.

Christians will accept your members of the Gay community if you want to come to church, it’s always been an open invitation, many have come and those who were open to it, had their lives challenged by the word of God and have accepted Christ as their savior.

In closing I say this, and this may offend but then sometimes telling the truth can.

But “if you tolerate everything, you stand for nothing.

Maybe its time for Christians to be real Christians and stand for God, and not for what is the worlds flavour of the month is.

Absolutely Ridiculous.

The subject matter of my last podcast Rocking the Giants, where I spoke about Christians being mocked bullied and singled out for derision and basically getting a hard time.

If you have watched many of our presentations you will note I am direct, forthright regarding today’s society.

Our positioning statement this year is looking at today’s culture through the lens of the bible.

Hence the reason we do something called a virtual Town Hall Meeting, in which I try to discuss matters which are important within the community of New Zealand.

As always, I like getting feedback from viewers and over the past six months you have been supportive, unlike some others.

I have to say, I expect negativity because of the age we are living in.

I just want to address two comments from viewers.

The most recent comment was in response to Rocking the Giants from “the Jim tanker.”

“If you didn’t believe in things that were so obviously ridiculous then you wouldn’t be mocked so much.”

“what thing would you be prepared to draw a line in the sand and say, I am prepared to die for this.”

I just hope when you were a kid, you were mocked too much for believing in Santa Claus.

But thanks for your response, I genuinely mean that.

Your comment isn’t new, heard it or variations over the years, but let me address the “so obviously ridiculous,” I take it you used these words as a put down, an insult, a slur on my beliefs.

Can I ask you, have you investigated what it is Christians believe and the reasons why, and then decided no, it’s not for me, or are you just parroting what you believe?

And from your comments, you believe there is no God, no place for Christianity and no place for things like, morals, values, honesty, families, love, should I go on.

Or can I just quote you an answer from the book which is the foundation for my belief, which you find as so obviously ridiculous, it’s from Proverbs 18:13, To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.

But to be fair to the person making the comment, you obviously did listen, otherwise you would not have been able to make such comment.

So, I want to acknowledge your comment by saying it has given me strength because you confirmed what I already know to be true, but you find absolutely ridiculous and that is I am blessed because of your comment.

As I encouraged in my presentation, when a Christian is mocked or ridiculed, we should own it, and this is what I am doing.

The closer I get to God, the more I face ridicule, but I also accept the sad state of this nation since it moved away from God.

No longer can the nation of New Zealand is blessed by God, and as a Christian sadly, I have to accept that we have to accept our nation is under judgment and we must conduct our lives as a minority, in  a majority post Christian era.

Many, before me have been mocked and ridiculed as they were put to death as they stood steadfast for what they believed, just as Jesus was on the cross as he died.

I challenge you, the Jim Tanker, what thing would you be prepared to draw a line in the sand and say, I am prepared to die for this.

Y’know someone might say to you, this is so obviously ridiculous.

Jim the Tanker, many people, many New Zealanders sacrificed their lives for freedom, for country, for families, for friends, and many young men still sacrifice their lives for something so obviously ridiculous and that my friend is because they ignore the warnings about dink driving.

I mentioned there were two comments, the other was in response to our updated tag line from Alex Freeman who asked are we looking at today’s culture through an homophobic lens?  

To be homophobic would mean that I have an extreme or irrational fear or aversion to Homosexuality.

I can only speak for myself, but I am sure my statement will resonate with many bible believers and that is I do not fear homosexuality,

However, the Christian community sees the practice of sodomy-based lifestyles as an abomination, strong word, I know but this is how God sees it as well and we concur.

No matter how you dress the practice of sodomy, it is something which Christians along with many still in society think its detestable and unnatural.

Those who practice such vile things, homosexuality among them, are still welcome to attend a church service.

It is not our role to judge them, nor be afraid.

We here at Christian Voice look at many cultural subjects in New Zealand’s from many angles, but always through the lens of the Bible.

Casualties of a secular society has been the loss of free speech, tolerance, truth, and trust.

why we are failing in these things.

I want to take look and identify what is at the root and the outcome as to why it is,

• we no longer believe anything people say to us,
• why it is we have become intolerant, and
• why it is we have lost the freedom to speak.

At the centre of all these topics is a little word called trust.

So many of us today suffer from trust issues and these have been brought about by many reasons.

Trust is built into our DNA to both be trustworthy and to expect trust.

A new-born baby doesn’t understand what trust is, but he or she has a natural instinct to trust the adults in their lives.

It is Gods people, those who profess God is in their hearts who should be the real influencers of this world.

Mike Bain

But what is trust?

A definition from the Miriam Webster Dictionary describes it as “an assured reliance on character, along with ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. A dependence as I mentioned a moment ago -a dependence on something or one in which confidence is placed.

Trust is built on many things such as “transparency, reciprocation, understanding, safety, openness, safety, time, but you can’t go past things like benevolence, honesty. openness, reliability, and finally, confidence.

The opposite of trust is mis or distrust, scepticism, or doubt.

Trust is a big thing in a person’s life, because so much so, that once a year the Readers Digest conducts a poll on the most trusted brands.

I can think of many brands such as St John, the fire service, doctors, nurses which are on the list should rate higher than a brand of chocolate,

Even research NZ list of most trusted professionals list the Fire Service at the top of their list with real estate agents beating out Journalists for the bottom of the heap.

Time Magazine’s list of its top 100 Influencers, there we see basketballs Michael Jordan, and entertainment’s Drew Barrymore amongst a list of people I have never heard of as people we should look up and listen to.

So, when it comes to trust, you know real trust, people, or organisations you can really rely on to help you form an opinion, to rely on for your security, who it is who will give you confidence in both the direction your world is heading and understanding in order provide you with all you need.

It says something about our country don’t you think when the number one brand we trust is a chocolate brand, I mean are we that shallow. The top influencers in the world are sports stars and talk back hosts.

Let me draw your attention to the brands and people who are not on any of the lists and haven’t been for a long time.

The Church, The Clergy, God, The Pope, The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Monarchy, The prime minister. The President of the United States, Parents, these are just some from the top of my head.

And we wonder why our world is looking more like a chocolate bar, all wrapped up in colourful tinfoil, solid enough when you handle it and goes soft in your mouth to make it palatable.

The result is temporary satisfaction and while chocolate has some health benefits, given its addictive taste, too much of a good thing isn’t satisfying. Just ask Eve.

I’m not here to discuss the benefits of chocolate, but does it not concern you that we no longer rate things like God, Church, leaders, and Kings anymore.

And d’you know what we are not alone.

Evidence of this can be found in a pew research poll in the Us and a recent poll in England as to the reasons people don’t or won’t go to church anymore.

A much-vaunted Pew study found, for example, that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that trust, among both individuals and in institutions, is falling and trust issues in the church and claims of hypocrisy are rising.

Among those who claimed no faith, religious hypocrisy was far and away the most cited response, identified by 42% as behind their doubt about Christian beliefs.  

It grieves me and it should you when we see so many of these pious church organisations today and yesterday represent the creator of this earth with contempt.

Trust issues have and always be at the heart of the matter, but it must stop.

Gods’ organisations here on earth should always be and remain top of the list when it comes to trust.

Those who attend church should be able to have the same level of trust in their church leadership, as they do in their parents and their marriage partners.

The abuse of trust is commonplace, and its not just in today’s world, but when someone abuses trust, they may feel guilty, but to those affected it’s devastating. Some do recover, but others don’t.

When you lose trust in someone, it means you have shut the door on almost everything in life, God included. And that is a rabbit hole you don’t want to be responsible for

We, as Christians, we need to emulate the trust we have in the creator of this earth.

There is scripture after scripture about trusting in God, whether we believe or not, we trust in God the sun will rise in the morning, just as the account in Genesis says.

It’s important that church leaders do not abuse their positions.

When I go to church I want to hear and learn from the Bible what God says, I want to be taught or at least have confirmed that I am living my life in a way which gains Gods favour.

Pastor, hearing you tell stories about your family is not what people come to church for. They trust you to be up front, and talk about sin, convict, stir the heart, speak of judgement and redemption.

This is the house of God we are talking about, trust me when I say it’s not to be dumbed down to reflect the worlds values, it’s not there to give people a quick hit like a chocolate bar.

From the pew, pastors should aim higher than Michael Jordan when it comes to motivating people.

Rather than dumbing down to the level of a Drew Barrymore talk show.

It is Gods people, those who profess God is in their hearts who should be the real influencers of this world.

Earlier when I mentioned the pew study out of the US there was a mention of hypocrisy as a reason people turn off church.

But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians-

• -when they are sombre and joyless,
• when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration,
•  when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths and any trust it had, is gone.

Wearing the Christian T-shirt, having the little fish on our car, wearing a dog collar, all means nothing, if your actions speak differently.

I am not suggesting Christians should retreat from public displays of faith. 

Rather, it’s the opposite.

What the world needs most right now is

• more trustworthy Christianity, not less:
• more people committed to connecting ultimate meaning with everyday life,
• more minds sharpened by and formed in the truth,
• more redeemed people open to discussing what matters with their lost and searching neighbours,
• more hearts alive to both beauty and suffering whose hope is in King Jesus and His kingdom.  

We need to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

 People can longer trust in government, it the world’s leadership, People are now longer allowed to freely express their thoughts.

People today are spiritually bereft of a future.

They are spiritually hungry, relationally isolated, and tired of being suspicious but tend to be more open to spiritual things than those who are overly distracted.

What the world needs more than anything is a return to Trust

Where will they find it?

• On the internet,
• through the media
• or will they find it at your church.

Before you answer that question, can you find trust within your own church?

Can you be confident and trust you are getting the true word of the Bible or is it being watered down and manipulated by man.

Trust me when I say, many will just put up their hands, but it will be in despair, and only a few can raise their hands and truthfully say yes.

What is trust again?

“an assured reliance on character, along with ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. A dependence as I mentioned a moment ago -a dependence on something or one in which confidence is placed.

Ask yourself and truthfully answer, can I really trust my church to give me transparency, reciprocation, understanding, openness. safety, time, benevolence, honesty, reliability, and confidence in teaching me to become a child of God.

Or is it more like a bar of chocolate, satisfying a desire for just an hour on Sunday.

You know what? If we are being honest, it’s not a chocolate bar New Zealand needs, it’s a return to God,

All the things we have related to trust can only be found in him, the creator of the world and it is he who we should look too as the most trusted.

This is a message for anyone claiming Christianity as your belief.

If you are an evangelist, or an office worker New Zealanders will treat you at large the same way.

You will be mocked, ridiculed, even taunted by others for your belief.

Wear it, own it because those who do not know what they do. or why they do. are confirming their own foolishness and ignorance.

we live in a fallen world with people who disguise themselves in the form of sane humans.

Mike Bain

You are not the first, the mockers have been around a long time, Interesting to note, the record shows, Jesus was the most mocked person in all the bible.

I accept being mocked by your peers can sometimes have a negative effect on your esteem and too much could end up causing insecurities or deep psychological issues.

But then, isn’t this what the father of the lie Satan, wants you to believe?

What lead me to bring this matter to the fore, was the account of David in 1 Samuel 17 where his older brother Eliab, mocked him just prior to him facing the giant Goliath.

Eliab overheard David asking the question regarding the promise of King Saul reward for striking Goliath down. – It was just a question.

Remember in his family’s eyes David was seen merely as a shepherd, his lanolin-soaked fingers played the Harp for King Saul, certainly not a hardened warrior, so he was mocked, reminded of his place and yes, his older brother did call him conceited. You can imagine how that conversation went.

If you have a bunch of brothers, there will be one not as robust as the others and considered to be a bit on the soft side. He is usually the one with all the bruises and possible psychological issues.

David might have had soft harp playing fingers but wasn’t this the same man the Bible records as seizing a bear, and a lion by the scruff of its hair and killing both because they carried off sheep from the flock.

Mock that effort Eliab.

There is a significant difference between constructive criticism or mocking coming from family or close friends who care about you and want to see you doing better in life.

The other type of criticism reflects insecurities and deep psychological issues.

We all have flaws but when the mockers start, take some time, and try to question their motives.

It’s he/she is the one who really needs help.

You may come to the realization, this person mocking and trying to humiliate you, is mentally unstable.

There will be a reason.

Truth is, what’s behind the snide comment, the mocking gesture or the put down to others comes down to one thing, Jealousy.

 When speaking to the Corinthian congregation Paul indexed jealousy alongside discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder as unenviable traits.

Never take criticism personally, it’s hard to admit this, but I’m sure you will understand.

There is no loving way to say this, but we live in a fallen world with people who disguise themselves in the form of sane humans.

In most cases you will be criticized or humiliated because of psychological issues that the attacker suffers from and not because you are bad or defective.

People guilty of mocking lack self-esteem.

Take some time and sit down with them and ask the reason they mock and try to humiliate you.

Ask them why they feel good about their mocking, and if the opportunity opens, tell them about why you have the courage to follow your belief in God.

If nothing else, pray for them, pray for God to remove the scales from their eyes and see his glory.

Remember David, the biblical account tells us, it wasn’t only his brother who mocked him, Goliath did too.

Read the account again, you will find a great lesson for all of us when facing the bullies, the mockers, scoffers in our own lives.

David was confronted by a giant, Goliath mocked him, but in the story, Saul suited David up in his own tunic, with a coat of armor and a bronze helmet on his head.

At first glance, David, apart from size, looked no different to that of his aggressor.

Wearing a suit of armor signaled, David would meet him on Goliaths level.

But there was a problem. David struggled to walk in this armor and to be honest, you could say the role of a warrior did not suit David.

Remember Eliab’s words when he mocked David, oddly his brother was right, he was just a shepherd boy, to have met Goliath on his terms on the field of battle, suited in armor would have been both conceited and suicidal.

Sometimes you just need family to bring you back to reality, and so David, the shepherd, David the harp player instead went into battle against Goliath dressed as a shepherd complete with staff and sling.

Before going out to meet the giant, he stopped at the stream and carefully chose five stones which he put into his shepherd’s pouch.

Here’s the lesson for all of us when faced by mockers, scoffers, and bullies, their words were meant to have an impact on you, their words were designed to ridicule you because you serve a higher authority.

Learn from David, don’t meet them on their terms, don’t meet them with like for like, take the time, choose your words carefully, ensure each one used will have an impact and humble the giant in your life.

Now that would be a victory in the name of GOD almighty.

A message to all within the Anglican Church

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Can I say it any plainer, God is not a woman.
With so much debate on sexuality as to whether a male is a male and a female is a female, my head starts to spin, thanks to all the political spin we endure, it’s forced me to put up barriers as a protection mechanism.
Enough already!

To be honest, I have tried to stay away from the debate over gender simply because I find it – well in a word, “stupid, “foolish.” “Ludicrous,” “short-sighted,” “nonsensical,” “irresponsible,” “ill-advised,” “scatter-brained.”
And now with the assistance of today’s Anglican Church well quite frankly they have gone too far.

Why do the Gender bender advocates tell us it’s natural,
If the body you’re born with isn’t what you think it should be, they say, you can change it.
I’m the first to admit my body which is a bit overweight is not the body I want but, my life is not image and I’m happy to lose a few kilos, but would I go as far as changing from male to female?

To the gender benders who have this strong resolve to force their sick and depraved agenda onto society, think again.

Across the world we see, and hear of groups like conservationists, fighting for the things of nature to be left alone, unhindered, not polluted, not to change because of man’s influence.

For someone who is young and easily influenced waking up tomorrow morning, heads off to school and a is taught alongside of writing, spelling and math’s is learning the boy he is sitting alongside maybe aspiring to be a girl and the girl he is sweet on possibly wants to transition into a boy. It’s mind blowing.
Talk about spinning heads Dad could have been someone’s mum, your sister could really be your brother.
It’s crazy and downright disrespectful to the one who created mankind.

He, and I will tell you in a minute why he is he and not she, but He, God created man and then created woman, there was no mistake, he was clear in his mind, he created a man who was man and woman who was woman.
Not once did Eve look at Adam and think, I wish I were like him.
There was no nonbinary option in the account.

The Anglican Church has fallen

Mike Bain

The bible clarifies it further in where it states in Deuteronomy 22.5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing and in Leviticus 20:13 ‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both people and actions are detestable to God.
This sick depraved transgender agenda comes very much from man’s depravity which were too much for GOD in that he wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah.

Transgenderism is not a way of life, it’s a sickness in the mind and should be treated, not taught in schools.
Now I accept, these views are outside of what is acceptable in this country, but truth sometimes hurts. and I will never submit to the idea that 2+2=5. Just because the gender benders want it that way.
Look I admit some boys could be considered effeminate because of the way they have been brought up, but there are some girls who in their nature are tougher and rougher than some boys, but they still see themselves as male and female.
If your body aches or you’re sick, you get help from a doctor, likewise, if the mind is sick, you get some help.
Here’s an example of what I’m saying.
A teenage girl looks in the mirror and instead of seeing how fearfully and wonderfully she’s made she believes she has a weight problem, she’s fat.
So, she goes on a diet and still thinks she is fat, so she continues to the point of obsession and becomes anorexic.
At that stage do we encourage her not to eat, or do we get her some help?
With people who have a mindset or groomed by the state curriculum to accept it, lovingly and it would be loving to get them some help.
The issue in this country is we can encourage them to mutilate their genitalia, but as parents we can face prosecution, if we agree and get them some help. it’s crazy, right?
But this is the reason I encourage Christians to action by standing up and opposing stupid legislation which is moving this country further away from God.
The craziness of addressing agenda has even permeated into Christian Society, I can hear the Gender Benders celebrating as
the Anglican Church in Britain looks to follow the lead of the NZ Anglican Church and misgender GOD.
Yep, in the same country which allowed the removal of Jesus from its parliamentary prayer, the very same nations Anglican Church has influenced the Church of England.
Oddly, some still see NZ as a Christian Country, oh how wrong can people be.
In a move the synod or governing body of the church in England is breaking with the long-held tradition of using words like him or her to non-gendered pro-nouns.
The proposal has the backing of a group which campaigns for gender justice (whatever that is) in the Church of England.
It really doesn’t suprise me that most of its clergy are welcoming the move, welcoming the move.
Jesus said you can judge a tree by its fruits.
Oh well, how out of step am I – If the Church of England are endorsing neutral gender, then I must be wrong.
Crazy as this sounds, I am not.
When you pray, Jesus said in Matthew 5, you must pray for these things, I’m talking about the Lord’s Prayer and prayer, any prayer should reflect what Jesus said.
You know how it goes “Our Father, not mother but, Our Father who art in heaven etc.
If Jesus call God his father, then I’m not going to say he is wrong.
The Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Reverend Justin Welby is on record as saying “God is not a father in the same way as a human being is a father.
God is not male or female. God is not definable. All Human language about God is inadequate and metaphorical.”
Jesus’ words in John 14 where he said “Anyone who has seen me has 
seen the father.” What part of that does the most reverend archbishop not understand?
Th NZ Anglican Church has already made the change to the Lord’s Prayer, and it looks like their version could be used as a template for all the Anglican church, see if you recognize the words of Jesus in this version.
Eternal spirit. Earth maker, Pain bearer, Life giver, source of all that is and all that should be father and mother of us all loving gods in whom is heaven.
I’m sorry, but this is absolute nonsense.
Matthew 7 Jesus words “by their fruit you will recognize them.”
To be honest, there is so much in this prayer to suggest the church is guilty of heresy, its sold out its beliefs, the foundations of Christian beliefs based on God’s word, worst of all its sold out it’s faithful followers who look to the clergy for guidance, not for 40 pieces of silver but for a philosophy supporting Gay marriage and now denying God?
It doesn’t surprise me, instead it pains me to see any church that has so much influence on culture to move abandon GOD in this manner.
Matthew 3:10,
The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
And Matthew 26
I tell you; I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
The Anglican Church has Fallen.
It has succumbed to Satans domination.
Ezekial 24:14
“‘I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
If you are a member of any church where the message of the Bible has been replaced, then heed the words from Genesis 19:17, where is says “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
The question of gender or gender change should always be considered by looking at it through the lens of the Bible.
The Gender Benders of this world cannot do that as it doesn’t fit their narrative.
Quoting 2 Timothy 3:16 from the King James Bible
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
When it comes to gender issues, I’ll take advice from the scriptures over any gender bender any day.

And if anyone is confused about who they are, or what they are, seek professional help.
Do not let this satanic world confuse you regarding who you are, and remember, God regards you as fearfully and wonderfully made.

Remain focused, stay awake to the times, flee from false doctrine but above all, remain true to the word of GOD.

It’s no surprise that the church, and our nation, desperately need to hear “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” to awaken, convict and restore.

It wasn’t so long ago that we were concerned about how far New Zealand could make the move away from God.

No longer my friends do we need to be concerned, – It has already happened.

Today we’re picking up the pieces of a broken nation.

The moral heartbeat of New Zealand ceased the day when we acknowledged failure to protect the citizens of this nation.

As a nation we fail to Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; we stand back and let them die.” when we cut off the source of life. We need resuscitation, renewal, and revival.

I am convinced, we are too late for a revival of huge proportions of the population returning or even turning to God, but we will still see a revival of some proportions.

I’m convinced that many of the churches in this country are seeking to please the masses rather than convict.

Repentance is rarely sought, and sin is often excused.

Today’s Christianity wants to build a church rather than break a heart, leaving people confused and deceived because we teach and live a form of Christianity void of repentance … void of truth.

In this Podcast I am going to offend those going against truth.

Evangelist and writer Lord Leonard Ravenhill is quoted as saying “If the church today had as many agonizers as she has advisers, we would have a revival within a year.”

 Ravenhill continued, “We need to close every church in the land for one Sunday and cease listening to a man so we can hear the groan of the Spirit which we in our lush pews have forgotten.”

You may ask, “What’s the big deal? We’re doing fine.” But 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says otherwise, but mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

Consider this, under the heading of A Form of Godliness: 

Before believing surfing on a Sunday was a better option than serving the lord, the man once considered the “Hipster” of modern evangelism Rob Bell wrote an article asking the question, “did Jesus say anything about homosexuality?”

The negative responses from supposed Christian readers simply revealed the spiritual condition of the church. One disgruntled man wrote, “Those of us who don’t go to his church or believe in his ‘god’ aren’t troubled by his opinions, and we certainly won’t be governed by his bigotry.”

You know it’s not funny when a pastor like Rob Bell leaves his flock, but neither is it funny the number of so-called Christians who occupy both church pews and pulpits who support the lifestyle and actions of those practicing homosexuality.

Now consider the heading of Brutality:

We read and hear of this continually in the news, where children die at the hands of parents or other family members who mistreat or go as far as killing our young children.

And who can forget the half million lives sacrificed in this country on the “alter of Convenience” at abortion clinics around this “kind” land formerly known as Godzone.

There was Lovers of self … of perversion:

Don’t tell me Kiwis are not so self-obsessed with themselves.

Anyone inspection of any social media platforms will confirm our obsessions with ourselves.

Once upon a time, people would run away from a camera, nowadays they see one and its instant, self-gratification to be a part of it, some will even go as far as photo bomb other people photos.

I have to ask, how many photos do you have compared to say, your grandmother.

Our sex-saturated culture will continue to pervert with the goal of destroying ourselves. Most men view more perversion in a week than our grandparents did in a lifetime, and many young adults now dream of being porn stars.

Are we so naive to think that this pleases God?

In the scripture there was reference to Disobedient, abusive, treacherous:

In a podcast I touched on how teenage crime was escalating with young people as old as seven were involved in what has become a crime pandemic.

When you get to the stage when young people are ram raiding dairies to steal ice cream, you know there is something wrong.

We hear in the news that our children are failing in the education sector, but truancy is at an all-time high in this country.

Once upon a time we could take a person’s word, nowadays it’s more likely your words will be stolen and used against you as society has trust issues. 

Ah …The Blasphemers: 

They are about in droves, whether at home, in entertainment, at work, your friends with some, but question yourself, am I one, am I guilty of being a blasphemer.

God help us. “Judgment must start in the house of God.” God’s house must break; God’s house must repent. He revives us to revive others.

Reading the Old Testament book of Joel, you can draw some parallels with New Zealand today.

The nation of Israel was prosperous like we have seen here in New Zealand, but they were apathetic; they had religion but not a relationship; “they had a form of godliness…” The only difference is that prosperity has not yet been taken from us in many cases.

Keep voting for the current government and it will.

 But peace has been consumed from our land; fear grips the hearts and minds of many; morality has been ripped from our hands; truth has been raped and taken advantage of, and God continues to be blasphemed.

Don’t confuse His patience with His approval.

As in Joel’s day, our land has been ravished.

Satanic influences, strong and without number, have laid waste to our hearts and minds.

 Families are being devoured; lives destroyed … truth has fallen in the streets.

But it is God who offers the solution: Joel 1:14 says, ” Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord.

Joel 2:12-14 adds, “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and morning.”

¹³ Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

Prayer opens the hand of God.

The word secures the truth in our minds.

Worship brings heaven down to our hearts.

 Obedience opens the door to God’s blessings.

But fasting and mourning starve the flesh and moves the hand of God in ways that other spiritual disciplines do not.

Fasting is often tied to humility … to “afflict the soul.”

Sorrow must match the situation. We need to feel the pain that we have caused and mourn over sin.

Blessings come from brokenness, restoration from repentance and revival through mourning.

Woe be to the church who is in a hurry to burn through a sermon, scurry through worship and head to the nearest restaurant.

It doesn’t matter what we think, or do not think, God is clear: (2 Chr. 7:14).  If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This begins with me and with you. 

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, Amen?

OK, here it goes.

This is an urgent appeal to unmute spineless yellow-bellied preachers. Can I say it any plainer?

 Stay with me and I will.

Today I come as an advocate to those who would like to say certain things to their leader or their pastor, but don’t have a platform to speak from, or they fear being misunderstood.

Our nation New Zealand is under siege.

It has been a while.

Ever since gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, prostitution, and gender reassignment were legalised, there has been a shift in the cultural landscape in this country as it stifles every godly organisation.

It was like someone pressed the mute button on GOD, his word, his values, his morality, and his voice.

New Zealand became like many other nations in the world-Instead of looking at today’s culture through the lens of the Bible, it looks at the Bible through the Lens of the culture today.

And my friends if you look at today’s culture through the lens of the Bible, prepare to be shocked.

Why the turn around and how have we come this far, so quickly?

And how will we fare from here? The prophet Jeremiah said it best.

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” (Jer. 12:5). NKJV

Evil advances when godly men say nothing and do nothing. That is how we’ve come this far. Not enough pulpits have spoken with fire.

 Now what will we do if we enter the floodplain?

I’m grateful for the many godly leaders, ministers, and pastors across New Zealand, but there are still far too many who are riding the fence, being politically correct, playing the part of coexisting cowards and refusing to speak up on vital issues facing the church and the nation in this hour.

This is a word for the man-pleasing preacher or pastor who cares more about man’s applause than God’s approval.

This is a tough loving rebuke for those who are more concerned about their personal popularity than the power of God and fail to recognise the times we live in.

I do not apologize for speaking bluntly and with candour.

If you can’t take it, then you may be a wimp.

The dictionary describes a wimp as a weak, ineffectual, and timid person. We have too many of them in our nation’s pulpits.  

If you claim to be a preacher and can’t stand up for righteousness and speak truth amid such a wicked and perverse generation, you are a wimp.

If you are a pastor and can be easily intimidated into compromise by a controlling elder in your church or a wealthy sponsor of your ministry, then you are a wimp.

If you have surrounded yourself with “yes” men in your organization who court your favour by continually affirming how great you are without ever offering another perspective to any of your decisions, then you are an egotistical wimp.

If your voice can be muted in such a day of gross evil, perversion, and injustice, you are a big wimp.

The real church doesn’t need you.

You are a yellow-bellied, lily-livered liability and not an asset.

You are aiding the enemy.

Our nation’s moral crisis calls for preachers now, with great courage and conviction.

Urgent times require urgent preaching.

There was a day in England when Catherine Booth, who along with her husband William Booth founded the Salvation Army, went from church to church in search of burning words.

Her observation had been that there weren’t any preachers with fire in their belly.

Today it is no different. Many no longer even believe in preaching, but now hold to a conversational style of sermonizing and motivational pep talks. You are a wimp.

Preaching will never be done away with. Preaching is God’s plan, not man’s.

 Quit following the pew and follow God.

And for you professing progressive pastors, who believe you can practice homosexuality and follow Jesus at the same time, shame on you! Big shame on you! Preach the Word! You are fighting against God and not man.

Put away your limp-wristed humanism and develop some backbone. Woe unto you who call good evil and evil good!

The pulpits of New Zealand should be on fire over the government’s legislation introduced in the past two decades, but they weren’t.

What happened to the firm beliefs in the bible when we Christians in New Zealand in great numbers and provided salt into our culture, by taking to the streets in great numbers.

Laws have been passed in this country over the past decade which has turned the tables on morality.

We can have laws, but are they moral, are they acceptable to a God-fearing nation.

And if you think its too late then think again.

Think how it’s going to be if this Labour led, left wing government enforces its laws on Hate Speech.

Many of its clauses will see parts of Gods words shut down, isn’t that worth fighting for?

Has Christianity in New Zealand got the stage, where the population sits back to be spoon fed and told what they can do or don’t by the Government?

Has Christianity gone the same way, or are they outraged but follow the examples from the pulpit who say nothing.

We not only have far too many wimps in our pulpits, but we also have an abundance of pimps who merchandise and market everything from God’s presence to any of His blessings using every kind of trend, fad, and cheap gospel gimmick.

The dictionary defines a pimp as a person, especially a man, who solicits customers for a prostitute or a brothel, usually in return for a share of the earnings.

Pastors, if you treat your congregation like customers, you are a pimp.

If you are more interested in attendance, buildings, and cash than you are in spiritually preparing your people for the crisis our nation is in, along with the desperate times we are living in, you are a pimp.

If you coerce your flock into giving a love gift or a seed in exchange for a 100-fold return, you are a pimp.

Preachers, if you connive the people into thinking that somehow your ministry is the source of the flow of the blessings of God in their lives, you are a pimp.

Every pimp must gain the trust of his prostitutes. They do this through deception.

They don’t care about their prostitutes in the same way that these pimping preachers don’t care about you.

Don’t let pimping preachers make a mockery out of you and deceive you into giving with wrong motivations.

The root of their hollow preaching is their greed and love of money and their lust for power and influence. They don’t give a rip what God thinks.

And for those of you holier-than-thou, who complain against governmental policy that has taken God out of our classrooms and institutions, you cannot speak with any authority because you are guilty of banning the Holy Spirit from speaking and moving in power in your churches, meetings, and classrooms.

You suffocate the supernatural with your programs and you expect to be a spokesman for God against antichrist institutions. Please!

If you are going to judge righteously the first requirement Jesus laid down was for you to remove the plank out of your own eye before attempting to remove the speck in someone else’s eye (Matt. 7:1-5).

Pure burning hearts produce flaming tongues, and that is the only kind of preaching that will save New Zealanders right now.

“If preaching returns to the Bible and our sermons are thundered from burning hearts full of the Holy Spirit, we have more than a good chance to save congregants.

 If preaching stays as is, there is no chance … period.

Pastors are dispensing new age gobbledygook when they should have been training the people in biblical morality.

We must learn how to conduct ourselves as a minority, in a majority post-Christian era.

We must look and ask what faithfulness looks like in New Zealand, understand why it lost its way, – accept our nation is under the judgement of God.

Pastors, teachers, ministers, do our nation a favour, get some fire in your belly and preach with some holy conviction.

It may be our last line of hope.

Wimps in the pulpit need to speak up or ship out. Amen.

Policies from the World Economic Forum adopted by governments, United Nations, and the World Monetary Forum pave the way for the formation of a One World Government setting up an infrastructure for the antichrist.

Talk about going down an endless rabbit hole as we attempt to bring you more information regarding the influence the World Economic Forum has over governments especially New Zealand.

Today, a borderless world is the subject of Part 2 on our discussion as we look at how the WEF is paving the way for a one world government and the rise of the antichrist.

Let’s start by acknowledging New Zealand, a country surrounded by water has an effective border, but realize there are many countries around the world which have neighboring countries assessable down the same highway.

A borderless world.

Globalism requires the world to become one big family of nations, borders are obstacles standing in the way of this vision.

Take America as an example, borders are a big thing, and you may remember Trump and his big wall that he was going to build.

But Trump is no longer in power and a small section of wall was built.

Now between the US and Mexico current administration it’s incentivizing people to break US laws, as illegal immigrants are given special example exemptions.

For example, they can enter without a COVID-19 test nor are they required to be vaccinated and they can expect the goods and services from an overburdened and acute hospitals and schools provide.

Their current policy is catch, release, and reward.

Perhaps this is a unique time in history, but they are paying people for breaking the law, so why are borders so important?

 The next move towards a borderless society is to erase the concept of citizenship, so that the US becomes a nation that allows all non-citizens to vote.

You could argue that non-citizens are legally in a country like the United States contributes as much to American life as natural born citizens therefore, they should have a say in matters of policy and politics.

And this is exactly why the WEF wants to have open borders, because this allows freedom, but freedom for who and at what cost?

So, what does the Bible say about borders and citizenship. 

God established borders and taught his people to respect the borders of neighboring nations.

In Deuteronomy 22 Israel’s borders were defined on all four points of the compass, see numbers 34, and when Edom transgressed Israel’s borders, God brought judgment on Edom.

God taught his people to distinguish between foreigners who pose a threat to their culture and those who didn’t.

David Dykstra a pastor in the US wrote in his book “Yearning to be free” writes, “from God’s law we learn that Israel made a distinction between foreigners who would assimilate, and those who would not.

God’s law teaches us to love the foreigner.

God’s law teaches us to respect the concept divine of defined borders and nations.

The God who disrupted the globalization of ancient Babel by confusing the people’s language proves that as people divided, they would no longer be one community without Borders.

Communities went on to form their own languages, cultures, values, and borders.

“All American citizens whether born here or elsewhere, whether one creed or another, stand on the same footing.

We welcome every honest immigrant, no matter from what country he comes, provided only that he leaves off his former nationality, and remains, not a cult or nor Saxon, neither Frenchman nor German, but becomes an American, desirous of fulfilling in good faith the duties of American citizenship.”

Theodore Roosevelt 1886

As Paul explained, God made from one man, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.

Having established boundaries and borders, issues arose regarding what they had and had not.

So the boundaries and borders were opened to allow commerce to happen between the countries.

People could visit across borders and even establish new citizenships.

But without common values and a common border, a nation cannot peacefully exist indefinitely.

What about citizenship.

The concept and practice go back to ancient times Jesus told a parable in Luke 19 where a noble man left his assets while he was out of the country to be taken care of by some of his servants.

The apostle Paul, who initially denied freedom to speak when a riot broke out of Jerusalem replied, I am a Jew from tarsus in silica, a citizen of no obscure city.

His Roman citizenship gave him the right to speak, and later, he took advantage of the citizenship to travel to Rome.

Citizenship confirms certain rights and privileges to those who legitimately ride reside within the country.

With citizenship, it comes with the right to vote.

It gives the rights and privileges of citizenship to non-citizens but including those who enter the country by breaking laws, is not the way forward. It undermines what citizenship is all about.

 Many people are confused about this.

The church symbol is the cross and is welcoming to all who come.

In contrast the symbol of the state is the sword, and the government is tasked with the responsibility of keeping order, protecting the nation, and preserving the peace.

Its message is one of obedience to the law and punishment of evil doers.

 The only way civil liberty can be preserved is if the state upholds justice.

If a government can exercise compassion and justice and certain instances, then good.

But government policy can never be based on compassion alone. Something the New Zealand Government needs to take on board.

We have seen the plight of some countries in Europe who have opened borders, based on compassion, now they look like a shadow of themselves.

New Zealand has compassionately opened its borders many times to refugees and a much-needed workforce, but have you noted how quick we are to give these people full citizenship.

Granted, we need to do this but, have you noted the cultural change?

The average kiwi looks, eats, worships, differently and attitudes have changed.

It’s hard to distinguish what was our easy going she’ll be right kiwi from previous generations.

We are fast losing our own identity as a nation.

Theodore Roosevelt was correct when he addressed the subject of immigration in his 1886 pre-election speech in North Dakota, where he welcomed all who come but to leave off their former nationality and become citizens of their new country accepting what this new country offers them.

His words I ask you to ponder, I quote “All American citizens whether born here or elsewhere, whether one creed or another, stand on the same footing.

We welcome every honest immigrant, no matter from what country he comes, provided only that he leaves off his former nationality, and remains, not a cult or nor Saxon, neither Frenchman nor German, but becomes an American, desirous of fulfilling in good faith the duties of American citizenship.”

Governments must be willing to go to war to defend their citizens; the state should administer justice to criminals and punish evil doers who break the law.

Let us never confuse the role of the church and the state.

You can be sure that the leaders who insist that we open our borders to the world are never affected by the consequences of their decisions.

They live securely behind walls, often with personal security guards, but they want the nation’s borders unprotected, they are independently wealthy, but they want the populace to be government dependent.

 They send their children to private schools but want the common people to send theirs to politicized public schools.

Unfortunately, politicians who impose bad policies ensure that they are never affected by the drastic consequences of their decisions.

“Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette is quoted as saying when told the people of France were starving and had no bridge.

She cared not if they had plenty to eat, but then, she could afford to be indifferent to their needs.