God Bless America and Her Heroes
Acts 4:23-31
Peter and John made their way to the Temple in the early afternoon (3 PM). As they were about to enter, they made eye contact with a lame man sitting just outside the Temple entrance. The man, hoping to receive a few coins, made eye contact with the two Apostles. Peter told the man that he had no money but that he did have something far more valuable. The Apostle reached and took him by the hand and jerked him to his feet. The man began leaping and running about praising God. He then followed the Apostles into the Temple where he was recognized and caused great amazement.
Peter used the opportunity to preach Jesus and the Resurrection to the crowd that had formed. The High Priest and his cronies ordered the Apostles taken into custody and held for trial. Because it was late in the afternoon, the men were held overnight. The next morning they were questioned and warned not to make any more public displays. Peter’s response (vs. 18-19) shows how much courage the resurrection of Jesus had given him.
The Church responded to the government’s warning with a prayer to God for boldness to preach the Gospel. God responded to their prayer by shaking the place they were praying and filling them with the Holy Spirit! We know that these unlearned and untrained men, though opposed at every turn, carried the Gospel into dozens of countries and hundreds of cities. For their efforts they were mistreated, abused, tortured, and killed.
Ultimately, the faithfulness of God’s people brought the Gospel to the shores of the New World – America! In due course the values of the colonists came into conflict with those of England and a war for independence was begun. With the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, patriot Americans set a course from which there was no retreat. Benjamin Franklin well spoke when he declared that “If we do not hang together we will most certainly hang separately.”
As Americans, we have been blessed never to face an invasion from without. That does not mean we have not had our way of life threatened. Today we celebrate our independence and remember those that have fallen in America’s service.
I. 1776 – Revolutionary War. 11,000 American casualties
II. 1812 – America at war with England to determine the freedom of American sailors impressed into English service. 6,800 American casualties
III. 1860’s - Civil War, American’s torn over the slavery issue. More than 600,000 killed on both sides.
IV. 1917 – WWI, Americans come to the aid of Europe against the Kaiser after Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic. The sinking of the Lusitania two years earlier still a sore point. 321,000 American casualties.
V. 1941 – WWII, Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 295,000 Americans killed
VI. 1950 – North Korean communists attack South Korea. 142,000 American casualties
VII. 1960’s – America fights communism in Vietnam. 58,000 Americans killed.
VIII. 1990 – Gulf War, 148 Americans killed
IX. 2002 – War in Iraq, 3,500 Americans killed as of June 17th, 2007
Through the years Americans have answered the call of their country to defend a way of life that is precious to most of us. Battles fought with bombs and munitions will never defeat America so long as the basic Christian values that gave birth to our nation continue to exist. If we are defeated it will be because our values have been undermined from within. Believers remain the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth!