The Tragedy In America

Mark 16 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

Great to see you all again today, I am blessed as we get to come together and worship as the body of Christ.

It is indeed special.

This morning I want to talk about the greatest tragedy in American history, I think the topic is unimportant to some, ignored by others but it is one I believe that God will judge us for in America...

Do you know what I am talking about.... Abortion

This past Monday, Jan 22 is the day Ronald Reagan appointed as the Sanctity of Life across our land back in 1984, it is the anniversary of Roe vs Wade, the court case where the Supreme court weighed in and said women have the right to abortion, over ruling all state laws that were place.

A few days ago, President Trump honored that same day, declaring Jan 22nd, the Sanctity of Human Life Day, saying “We cannot allow this shameful history to repeat itself.”

Oh my friends that is so true, we should not allow this to happen… in the first day of Roe vs Wade some 54 million babies have been aborted, murdered all in the name of it is my right, we don’t want this right now, I don’t want to raise children.... the excuses are always there.

My friends beware God knows the heart....

And I believe if there is anything God will hold America accountable for it is the millions of babies whose blood cries out to him for justice.

Now God has placed this on my heart today, in 30 years I am talked and taught about the evils of abortion, but today is the first time I devote an entire message to the subject.

So why is life so special and why is abortion wrong.... lets talk about this my friends. We are going to look at several passages of Scripture this day. so I do not have just one.. But I will start off in Genesis this morning and we will move on down the list of passages...

So where can we begin… lets begin with God.

1. God is the One who Gives Life...

Without a doubt, we, as the body of Christ can confess with our mouths that God is the source of all life.

Genesis tells us the story of God creating all things…

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And with the creation of this world, the heavens above us, God brought forth everything as we know it. The seas and dry land, trees, flowers, grass and every type of green thing.

God created the fish of the sea, the animals, the birds of the air… and yes finally man.

Listen to the account God recorded for us… and

Genesis 1:26–27 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:7 ESV

7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Genesis 2:6–7 ESV

6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

What God did was wonderful… God created man from the dust of the ground and after having made him in His own image, God breathed into Him the breath of life… and he was alive, but not just living, blood pumping working body..

Genesis 1:1–7 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

God made him a living soul, placing the spiritual inside of him.. Making Adam a spiritual being…

Genesis 2:1–7 ESV

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

The writer of Ecclesiastes (Solomon) says this of what God has placed inside of man...

Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV

7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Ecl12:7

Without a doubt we understand that God is the one who created life… He brought man and woman, the parents of us all into the world and made them indeed special, He made them physical and spiritual beings.

Now someone might try to say… wait now preacher… God created them and then the rest of us are just the products of reproduction… there is nothing special about that..

That type of thinking my friends is the product of deism, it is a heretical form of theology that says God created the world we live and then just stepped away once it started working.

Do not believe the lies of Satan, God is involved in each life...

Jeremiah the OT prophet reminds us that God has know us always, in eternity He has know us, loved us and planned for us to be in this world Jeremiah 1:5

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Man, I love this verse… “before I formed you, I knew you...” that is powerful. It teaches that God knew us, He planned and purposed us to be in this world before the actual day of our physical birth. Is that not wonderful.

Friends God has known you, me from before the foundation of this world. I do not doubt that one bit...

Why can I accept that… I trust God’s word as eternal.

In fact listen to the apostle Paul in the New Testament… ;10

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Acts 2:10 ESV

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

Acts 2:10 ESV

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

Did you catch the phrase.. “… Which God prepared beforehand...” God has known us, prepared us before hand … from before the world began to spin, before God spoke it into creation, I believe He knew me, and planned for me to walk in this world, serving Him.

Oh my friends, God knows us, and He has created each of us in His image.

Oh my friends, God knows us, and He has created each of us in His image.

God is the source of all life.... God is the one who gives life.

Have you thanked God for the life He has given you?

Now lets move on, God is not only the one who gives life...

2. God holds Life as Sacred

Because God is the one who has prepared life from the foundation of the world. And God is the one who gives life, please know that God holds all life as sacred.

All life is sacred, it doesn’t matter who the person is or where they come from, God holds all life sacred…

Now someone might ask about war and the battles in the Scriptures, please know that God is sovereign and his decisions are right and just… but that is for a different message.

Today we are talking about the unjust decision of abortion.

Abortion is the choice to terminate a life before they enter into the world for the sake of convenience, for the sake of my will verses anything and anyone else.

Now because life is sacred, God has told us ...”Do not Murder..”

In the Ten Commandments, God says the 6th commandment is this

Exodus 20:13 ESV

13 “You shall not murder.

Now the word “murder” means to intentionally kill, with premeditation.

:

When a precious child is aborted that person makes the decision, intentionally, they have premeditated in their heart that the child should die...

Now people raise various arguments justifying abortion....

1. They propose that life only begins once the child has exited the birth canal and takes his first breath in our environment…

Yet we know that life begins at the moment of conception. There is life in the egg and the sperm, and when they unite, conception - we know that everything changes and suddenly the two become one and life begins and the cells divide and multiply, change and grow, developing each day becoming more and more of what God has planned.

2. People propose that while in the womb the child --- the world uses the word “fetus.” It makes them feel less guilty… they say while in the womb child has no characteristics of life.

But we know at 6 weeks the fabulous machine called an ultrasound can show us the heart of the child working and beating, and so many other things that have come into view....

As the child develops and grows we know that they can experience pain, they full away. We know they move, stretch and even suck their thumb and can even hear the sounds of their mother and even the father.

3. Some argue that fetus cannot live apart from the mother and as such is not “truly alive” and thus they have the right to “abort” the fetus that has invaded their body.

Yes it is true that the child cannot survive apart from the mother for a period of time as the child is developing, but that no more makes it less a living person than someone who is 80 yrs old. They are both alive..

The arguments are many and twisted, but the truth of the matter is simple at the moment of conception, life occurs.

And since life occurs, God says do not kill.

People throw up that God told, commanded people to kill in the Bible, what is the difference. The difference is simple. He is the source of all life, He is the creator and thus can do with His (it implies ownership) as He wishes. But more than all this, God is holy and just in all his workings/

Mankind is not holy, instead we are sinful and selfish and desire what is good for us and no one else.

The simplest way to avoid pregnancy is this… do not have sex until you are ready to bring a child into the world.

But if you choose to have sexual relations with a person, there are means to block conception, we call it birth control..

And some say well that is not fool proof… You’re right… But take responsibility and do right and do no kill.

God holds all life as sacred… but also understand this, at the moment of conception, there is not only life, but that person is a living soul.

And because life involves the spiritual… there is a spiritual battle taking place when a woman and or a man considers abortion. The devil is there, pulling, twisting, influencing toward destruction… hoping to harm that child and hoping to harm and tear the person down as well .... to place them in judgment before a holy God.

God has set what is right before us today.... He will hold us accountable for our actions, the deeds we have done with out bodies.... let me share this OT passage … allow it to speak to your heart.

Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

Choose life today.... Pray for people, pray for women, pray for the children of the world that this tragedy would stop.....

God is the one who gives life and the one who holds it sacred… as such we cannot kill...

But one last thought today my friends...

3. God will Hold those who Murder Children in Judgment.....

3. God will Hold those who Murder Children in Judgment.....

Exodus 20:1–17 ESV

1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Do not take children

Judgment is certain as we live in front of a holy God.

Humanity also

Now if there is anything I can say about people it is this… We (people and I include me) tend to justify our actions, what we do .... We say God knows our heart… Yes He is able to see to its core… He is able to know our hearts and I would say God is disappointed at times… amen.

And children (born and un-born) have been sacrificed all through out time.

When you look back to the Old Testament we find times where the children of Israel lost their way if you will...

When you look back to the Old Testament we find times where the children of Israel lost their way if you will...

They offered their children as sacrifices to Molech, a false God.

Leviticus 20:1–5 ESV

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.

Lev 20:1-5

So what is Molech… It has its origins in Phoenician culture but it was also present in the land of Canaan as the Israelites moved into the land.

Moloch worship included child sacrifice, or “passing children through the fire.”

Moloch worship included child sacrifice, or “passing children through the fire.” It is believed that idols of Moloch were giant metal statues of a man with a bull’s head. Each image had a hole in the abdomen and possibly outstretched forearms that made a kind of ramp to the hole. A fire was lit in or around the statue. Babies were placed in the statue’s arms or in the hole. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children.

The idols of Moloch were giant metal statues of a man with a bull’s head. Each image had a hole in the abdomen and outstretched forearms that made a kind of ramp to the hole. A fire was lit in or around the statue. Babies were placed in the statue’s arms or in the hole. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children.

So what can I say.. it is horrible for any person or group or people to offer their children as a sacrifice with the hopes of prosperity… How sad...

So what can I say.. it is horrible for any person or group or people to offer their children as a sacrifice with the hopes of prosperity… How sad...

It was happening around Israel and then at times with the association of bad kings like Ahaz and Manasseh, the practice continued…

And God hated it..

And God judged them for evil actions

Today we might not offer children to Molech but we offer children to the god of self.

Its not the right time, I’m to busy, I am not through with this or that… People put self in the way of the blessing that God has given..

And so they abort...

They rip and tear apart a little life for the sake of self....

God has said he will set his face against the person who does such a act.... and for the ones who sit by and watch it happen.. the same will come to them as well.

54 million babies been offered to the god of self...... and the world has stood by and watched.

I believe if there is anything that God will judge America for it will be for the sin of abortion. I believe God will judge those who make Roe vs Wade legal in our land and allow people to ruin self and the lives.

God will hold us accountable.

So what can we do about it...

We

I invite you to pray each day that this will one day stop

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I invite you to write and seek out elected officials who oppose this terrible act

I invite you to share your faith because changed hearts will lead to this not happening.