The Greatest “Memorial” ever known!
Tomorrow is “Memorial Day”. For most people it is just some much needed time off from the busy work schedule,
For others, it’s being able to attend or watch the greatest spectacle in motor racing, known as the Indy. 500
It is a day, that the true meaning of, is mostly overlooked and sometimes forgotten.
It’s the day once a year we set aside, to remember those who gave their lives, so we can enjoy all the freedoms they fought so hard for.
In the Civil War, 365,000 Northern soldiers were killed, and 133,000 soldiers from the South died.
The most American lives ever killed in one war. Over the word called Freedom.
In World War One, 116,000 American soldiers died. In World War Two, 407,000 American soldiers died.
54,000 American soldiers died in Korea, 58,000 died in Vietnam, 148 died during Desert Storm.
In Iraq, the Results & Statistics as of: april 26, 2011 \ 4,452 US Soldiers Killed, 32,074 Seriously Wounded
And the death toll, continues to rise in the Afghanistan ongoing conflict, almost on a daily basis.
Over a million Americans have died in wars fighting for the freedom that we enjoy.
Over 42,348,000 both men and women of all ages, have served our country during the time of war. (42 million, 348 thousand people fought for our freedom)
While we remember and honor the fallen soldiers, I would like to say thank you to all who have served to make this land Free!
They were all hero’s, because they were all willing to lay it on the line for the cause, for the love of their country and fellow man.
TBS. there is no greater love than this!
John 15:13 NKJ.
13. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
As a kid, I can remember watching movies of a WWII war hero, named Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 – May 28, 1971)
He was a fifth grade dropout from an extremely poor family who became the most decorated American soldier of World War II.
He wanted to join the cause so much so, he lied about his age and joined at just 17 yrs. Old, although the Army thought He was 18 at the time.
During the twenty-seven months he saw in action in the European Theatre, he received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor,
along with 32 additional U.S. and foreign medals and citations, including five from France and one from Belgium
On Jan. 25 1945 at the age of 19, he was promoted to company commander, the next day, his unit participated in the battle at Holtzwihr, France.
After fighting for some time, Murphy's unit was reduced to an effective strength of 19 out of 128.
Murphy sent all of the remaining men to the rear while he shot at the Germans until he ran out of ammunition.
He then climbed aboard an abandoned, burning tank and used its .50 caliber machine gun to cut down the German infantry,
including one full squad of German infantry who crawled in a ditch to within 100 feet of his position.
Although he was wounded in the leg, he nonetheless continued his nearly single-handed battle for almost an hour.
He only stopped fighting when his communications to the artillery fire direction center were cut off by enemy artillery.
As his remaining men moved forward, he quickly organized them into a counter-attack which ultimately drove the enemy from Holtzwihr.
For these actions, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor.
When asked after the war why he had seized the machine gun and taken on an entire company of German infantry, he replied simply,
"They were killing my friends."
He was a true hero, as noted in our history books on WWII.
He went on to be a writer, composer and famous actor in over 44 movies.
While he had an amazing life by any ones standards, his life fails to compare with some of the hero’s listed in the Bibles hall of fame
Just like for our freedom a high price was paid, our spiritual freedom came at a great cost too.
Many men and women willingly gave their all so we could enjoy the goodness of God and all the benefits He gives us today.
The common denominator they all possessed was their faith in God!
Heb.11:1-3 MSG.
1-2.The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
3. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.
4. By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
5-6. By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. "They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him." We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken "he pleased God."
It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
7. By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.
13-16. Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.
32-38. I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more— Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets....
(all who were tremendous men of faith)
Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
39-40Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
All of them died without ever seeing the promised messiah and the Grace and Favor message of freedom that He would bring with Him…
It’s an interesting fact to note that the words “remember”, “remembrance”, and “memorial” are found more than 230 times in the Bible.
Each one of their lives serves as a reminder and memorial for what they did for the kingdom of God.
Anyone who has ever helped the cause of the Kingdom of God will one day be remembered,
while sometimes we may forget the things we do for the Lord, He never forgets.
There are still great chapters being written and recorded for the advancement of the work of the Lord Today.
God is not a respecter of persons, He enjoys all the things that you do to advance His message as He did all those Bible Hero’s, we mentioned earlier.
And while their accomplishments were great and amazing,
They fail in comparison, to the greatest Hero ever known to mankind.
Jesus Messiah, the name above all names, The Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.
Hallelujah, He left His home in Heaven to bring us Hope and forgiveness, a non-condemning message and the Unmerited Favor and Grace of His Father!
Jesus was Promise that the scripture talked about.
You see, all the hero’s in Hebrews 11
Died without ever receiving the gift of Jesus.
The things that they accomplished, were amazing feats of valor and heroism
But it was all under the law, it was all about what they could do and how they could do it,
After Jesus came and did away with the law of condemnation and replaced it with forgiveness and grace,
it became about what He could do and ultimately what He did do, for all mankind
when He conquered sin and death once and for all, when He became the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
How many greater things shall we accomplish, because we have received the gift of Jesus.
It no longer is about what we can do, but what Jesus is able to accomplish in and thru us.
We have a tremendous edge over the Great Hero’s of Faith the Bible talks about, because we have access to Him!
With Jesus involved in the equation, there is nothing that remains impossible!
TBS. There is nothing impossible to him that believes! NOTICE, it says believes and not does,
it puts the emphasis on what Jesus is capable of, instead of what we are capable of!
He is our help in time of need, He is our rock we can lean on, He wants us to depend on His capabilities and not ours,
Heb. 12:1-2 NKJ
1. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2. looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
All those who went before us are cheering us on and Jesus sits at the right hand of God as your greatest advocate today,
He has the righteousness of God, therefore He is righteous,
We have what Jesus has, so therefore we are righteous, through Jesus righteousness,
Praise The Lord for His Faithful Son, our Willing Sacrifice!
I’ll close with this:
Origin of Taps -
“Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison’s Landing in Virginia.
The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field.
Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.
Crawling on his stomach, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock.
In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son.
The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors
to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The captain had asked if he could have a group of army band members play,
a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.
But, out of respect for the father, they did say he could have one musician play.
The captain chose a bugler, and he asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth’s uniform.
This wish was granted, The haunting melody we now know as “Taps,” used at military funerals, was born.
The love that this father had for his son was amazing,
But fails in comparison to the love that God possessed for His one and only Son,
a love that was so strong, that he was willing to sacrifice Him, so you and I could be forgiven and have our spiritual freedom forever.
John 3:16-17 MSG.
16-17. "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.
Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice, once and for all.
Thank the Lord, He gave us the greatest Memorial ever known!
The price of Freedom never comes cheaply and there is always precious blood involved to achieve it!!
Praise the Lord, for the Precious Blood of the Lamb that gave and continues to give us our Spiritual Freedom, we all are able to so Freely enjoy today.
All because He Loved us with His Life,
Thank You Jesus!!
Lets pray.
