Sanctity of Human Life

This mornings message is not back to our series from Acts like I had planned, but when God directs I follow.

I had planned to get back to our series in Acts but this whole Roe v. Wade being overturned has caused a lot of controversy and at first I was like it is not the right time, and I just kept seeing things on social media, and hearing people talking about it, and then I went to a meeting Thursday morning with the Citrus Pregnancy Center that we support and heard updates from them.

Let me say, I was just burdened by how uneducated people in our country are on the whole abortion issue, people that have even been around since before Roe v. Wade, and even how people that attend churches stand up for the right for abortion, on one point or another, and the point that they are standing up for, they are uneducated on.

And as I have been hearing all this, let me say, I am by no means a know it all on this subject, or have all the answers, or anything like that, but I have done quit a bit of research from reputable sites, and I have also gotten a lot of information from the director of the Citrus Pregnancy Center who is a wealth of information, who does spend a lot of time researching, and studying this topic.

Right to life - pro-life, has been instilled in me since I was a small child, I remember in the early 90’s going with my parents to Tallahassee, to a right to life march at the capital.

I have and will continue to support the pregnancy center and pro-life, as it is very important to me, and is something me and my wife has instilled into our daughters.

We do not have one specific text like we normally do that we will be digging into this morning, as my message will be a lot different then my normal sermons.

I have done a lot of research, and also recieved a lot of information from the Director of the Citrus Pregnancy center that I want to share what God has laid on my heart.

But God has laid some different Scriptures on my heart that ties this all together and the first Scripture we will look at this morning is Jeremiah 1:5 it is a very familiar text that we all have probably heard multiple times, and it was actually on the slide between songs earlier.

If you are able will you stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

Jeremiah 1:5 (CSB)

I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Pray

In this text God tells Jeremiah that He chose him before He formed him in his mother’s womb, that is before Jeremiah was even conceived God had chose him, God had a plan for him.

God has a plan for everyone of us, and has since before we were conceived in our mother’s womb.

As that last song we sang said, There is no such thing as unplanned when my God holds this world in His hands. The song untold said, Doctors says, I’m just an option, a mistake that can disappear, but every baby is a story that is untold. Instead of asking who that baby might be, we need to wonder who they are going to be.

On June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe V. Wade, with this ruling there is a lot, a lot of misinformation that is out there, a lot of it has been pushed on us since 1973 when Roe v. Wade was put in place.

First is the reason Roe v. Wade was overturned, it all started back in 2018, when Mississippi passed a law to ban abortion after 15 weeks. This law began a battle that went all the way to the Federal Supreme Court, which had to decide in this case whether they would up hold the law fully, partially, or not at all.

This is the Dobbs v. Jackson case that we do not hear too much about. This was not a radical effort by pro-life people as Corporate Abortion would have you to believe.

The U.S. is one of only 7 nations in the world that allows abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, that is 7 out of 198 countries. But pro-abortion people would want us pro-life people to think that if we restrict abortions that we are going back in time or hindering our women.

Most countries limit abortions between 12 and 16 weeks. The 7 countries are U.S., China, North Korea, Vietnam, Canada, Netherlands, & Singapore.

The Supreme Court Justices were ready to rule in case of Dobbs v. Jackson, and they were ready to rule in favor, but there was a problem, if they ruled in favor of Dobbs it caused a constitutional conflict on the books with Roe v. Wade, and the Supreme Court could not do that.

If the court was to dumb down the language of Roe v. Wade, it would have resulted in the courts being flooded with legal cases that could not be resolved.

Therefore, the courts only option to rule in favor of Dobbs, was to overturn Roe v. Wade, but it did not stop there, the court also had to overturn Planned Parenthood V. Casey, which also dealt with abortion.

The Supreme Courts decision came down to one important line, “The constitution does not confer a right to abortion, Roe and Casey are overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people, and their elected representatives.”

Therefore, each state will decide what to do based on their state constitution.

Many people took that the over turning of Roe v. Wade that abortions were now illegal, and that women no longer had the right to get medical help when needed for certain things. But that is not the case, that is not even close.

In reality, nothing really has in a sense has changed, each state makes the determination to prevent abortion, or how they will limit abortion or how they will allow them.

I want to say that I am not here to condemn anyone but to share the truth, as God has directed me to do, because as we know the truth, we can be lead into the light and out of the darkness, and with the truth we can lead others out of the darkness and into the light. I think of what Jesus said in John 3:17-21

John 3:17–21 CSB

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

With the power to limit abortions sent to the states, here is were we are at in Florida, Governor Desantis signed a bill into law that was to take affect this past Friday July 1, 2022 limiting abortions to 15 weeks, but abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, asked a Florida judge this past Monday to block the new law, arguing that the constitution guarantees access to the procedure via “Right to Privacy” which was added to the Florida Constitution in 1980.

This block was approved and put in place on Thursday afternoon, keeping the 24 week abortion ban still in place for the time being.

You may think what does this got to do, scripturally, the word abortion is not even found in the Bible, and you are correct, but I do believe that God spoke about it in Exodus 21:22-23

Exodus 21:22–23 CSB

22 “When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. 23 If there is an injury, then you must give life for life,

Every Life is sacred, every life is a gift, every life deserves a chance to life.

Here we see a table that tells us the number of abortions for the year 2021 in just the state of Florida, there is a total of 79,817, the first line is Elective abortions - an elective abortion or some times called voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons. The leading majority of abortions done today are elective abortions, in 2021 in Florida had a total of 59,257

The second line is social or economic reasons - is what it sounds like, the mother says she cannot afford to raise the child, so she therefore aborts the baby. In 2021 in Florida had a total of 16,983

The third line is physical health of mother that is not life endangering - Some of these health problems in a survey I read were, morning sickness, gestational diabetes, over the age of child baring. total of 1,505

The fourth line is life endangering conditions - which is a health issue like cancer, or something similar that will cause the mother to lose her life. total of 1,070

The fifth line serious fetal genetic defect, deformity or abnormality - These are abortions that parents/mothers have because doctors have talked them into having a test done to see if their baby might have - heart defects, cleft lip/palate, down syndrome, spina bifida - these are just the most common - the doctor talks the parents into having these test so they can be prepared for these defects, but then if test show that they do, then the doctor proceeds to do their best to persuade the parents into have an abortion. total for 757

The sixth line is incest - we all know what that is, but look at that number - a total of 8, that is .000101 percent of all abortions in Florida for 2021.

Then our final line is rape - probable one of the most argued points that I hear, people say, what about the women that have been raped. She should not have to go through the nightmare of carrying that baby for 9 months, and then delivering that baby to relive that nightmare, and then seeing the baby which will cause her to see her attacker in that baby - you Christians really want that for that woman that has been raped.

No I really do not want that woman to go through anything like that, I cannot stand a rapist.

Let me say, I know every person’s story is different and every person lives with their nightmare differently, but there are multiple options right up front, if they go to the hospital, or to their family doctor they can get all kinds of different help, and if you say they cannot afford it, well it can be payed for if they talk to the hospital. But if they are afraid to go to the hospital or doctor immediately - there are still options - the mother can give the baby up for adoption or in a case that I know personally the mother chose to keep the child and she never has looked at the child as a nightmare, or a reflection of that rape, or anything tied to it, but a complete blessing from God.

The totals for rape in 2021 in Florida - 118 which is only .00148 percent of abortions for the year.

What it all boils down to is our perspective, how are we going to look at the situation, what are we going to take from it.

No matter how the child is conceived, no matter what the situation we are in at that very moment, or how that baby may be born, first and foremost they are a gift from God, and second it is how we look at it.

Psalm 127:3 (NASB95)

3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

That is children are a reward, when we start to look at children as a reward from God and stop looking at them as a burden or a mistake, then we can see that there is not reason for an abortion.

Every life deserves a voice, every child deserves a chance, you are more than just a choice, there is no such thing as unplanned.

There is one other argument or misunderstanding that I want to clear up and that is if abortions are stopped, then women will have no rights over their own reproductive health.

This term reproductive health is used intentionally to confuse the general public. They lump all women’s health in that phrase to scare women into thinking they cannot get medical help for miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other medical necessary procedures. This is far from the truth, when it comes to miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and other medically necessary procedures, they are not effected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as they are medical procedures and not abortions.

Abortions supporters have used the term reproductive health when speaking about abortion and will even include a wide range of women’s services that are necessary all to scare women into thinking they are losing their rights to health care by losing Roe v. Wade.

We need to put it were it is, Satan is trying to deceive us into think the wrong thing, the pro-choice, that women wont have the choice to have this done or get this when they need it, but that is all lies from the pit of Hell, because medically necessary procedures all will still be available, but an abortion is not medically necessary.

See wee must educate ourselves so that we are not mislead and fall into the ways of the evil one, of Satan and his lies.

Proverbs 14:25–27 (CSB)

25 A truthful witness rescues lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful. 26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

As Christians we are not to condemn people but to love them, but in loving them we are to tell them the truth, we are to share the truth, in order that they may be rescued from the darkness of Satan’s lies, and they may come into the light.

For those who have had an abortion, remember that the sin of abortion is no less forgivable than any other sin. Through faith in Christ all sins can be forgiven.

Romans 8:1 CSB

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,

A woman who has had an abortion, a man who has encouraged an abortion, and a doctor who has performed an abortion - all can be forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:14 CSB

14 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

You may be a pro-life supporter and would never even consider abortion, but let me say, if you have ever condemned someone for having an abortion, then you need that forgiveness of sins just the same as that person who has had an abortion, as Jesus said in the verse we looked at earlier in John 3:17-18

John 3:17–18 CSB

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

It is not our job to condemn anyone, but to share the love of Jesus Christ with them, Jesus told us to love all people.

Matthew 5:43–46 CSB

43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

Anyone can love those that love them, even sinners love those that love them, we are called by God to love those that are our enemies, or those that do not love us, that are against us, that do not like us, that have different opinions then us, and we are to pray for them.

Do not condemn them but love them, share the truth with them, and they still may have a different opinion then us, we still love them and pray for them.

If you have had an abortion, and need to talk, you can get with me, my wife, or you can contact the Citrus Pregnancy center.

They have great people there that can help you, it does not matter how long ago it has been. There is two offices one in Crystal River on US 19 locate in the same building with Citrus Paint and Supplies, almost directly across from Subway. Their main office is in Inverness, which is located at 3185 E Thomas st, you go past croft avenue coming from Crystal River, and it is behind Dunkin and Tire Kingdom. If you need more information about the Citrus Pregnancy center please let me or my wife know.

If you are dealing with any unforgiven sin this morning, weather it is an abortion, or condemning someone that has had an abortion, or any sin, bring it to Jesus this morning, and allow Him to take it from you.

He is the only one that can remove that sin, that hurt.

Turn your eyes to Jesus and he will help you through it.