“Memorial Day 2020”
Acts 4:12-20
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:12-20
Today is a day of remembrance. Memorial Day began as an occasion to honor and celebrate Union Soldiers who died serving their country during the Civil War. It was my privilege to walk the cemeteries of Gettysburg. I got to see the spot where Abraham Lincoln gave that wonderful but brief talk shortly after that horrific battle where thousands of American men and boys were savagely killed.
Memorial Day was inspired by the way people honored their dead in the southern States and after the end of World War I, Memorial Day was extended to include all American men and women who died serving their country in any military action or war.
On Memorial Day people often read a poem honoring fallen veterans or look up their family history and honor those in their family who have served our country. Many people go to the cemeteries and put American flags on veteran’s graves, that’s why it was known as Decoration Day for a while. One week after the Pearl Harbor attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Those who long enjoy such privileges that we enjoy forget in time that others have died to win them.” Freedom is never really free; it’s almost always bought with the blood of patriots.
The biggest battle we, as Americans, are facing today is the battle for the very soul of our nation. We see it all around us every day. The erosion of our society has been a slow process, but we’ve seen it accelerate rapidly in the just the past few years. And I think the position we’re in today is because of what we tolerated yesterday. And, the position we’ll be in tomorrow will be because of what we tolerate today. For two hundred years the government made no law in respect to religion. But then in my lifetime the government subtly injected itself into religion – granting us something we already had- tax exempt status. From there the Bible and prayer were removed from schools and the ten commandments removed from our courthouses. Today thousands of churches are waiting to open until the government tells them it’s okay. We have forgotten our freedoms that our forefathers won with their blood.
There was a reason God had his people put up so many stones of remembrance and created so many celebrations and festivals. It was so they would remember the sacrifices and the instruction from God. The disciples resisted the government when it put itself over God. They asked, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!”
I wonder what it would take for churches today to obey God rather than government. Many have put government over God; government over the church
A good way to honor our fallen heroes is to just celebrate life by living well. Remember the movie saving Private Ryan? There is a poignant moment in the movie where Ryan, an old man now, weeps and whispers that he hopes he’s lived up to the Captain’s wish and lived a life worthy of all that the men who came to save him die for him. He then tearfully asks his wife to tell him that he's led a good life and that he's a good man.
I think the best way we can honor the men who gave their all for our freedom is to live lives worthy of their sacrifice. Let me share a couple of thoughts on how you can do that.
First, live the life that an American ought to live – as a follower of Christ. We need to know, if we don’t already, that we are a ‘Christian’ nation. If you know that – you need to remember it. We are not merely a religious nation as I once thought, or a godless nation that many are trying to say we are. We are unequivocally and unapologetically a CHRISTIAN nation. Let me remind you how we know that. Let’s look at what our forefathers said and did that verifies that we are a Christian nation.
1. We sing, “My County Tis of Thee”
2. Puritans first act at Plymouth Rock was to kneel, praise and dedicate new colony to God.
3. William Penn in writing government policies for Pennsylvania made sure “all treasurers, judges, and all elected officials professed faith in Jesus Christ.
4. Our Founding Fathers consistently spoke of the need for utilizing the Bible and Judeo-Christian values in defining and preserving this nation:
5. Twelve of the original 13 colonies incorporated the entire Ten Commandments into their civil and criminal codes.
6. President John Adams stated, "The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal code as well as a moral and religious code. These are laws essential to the existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every Nation which ever professed any code of laws. Vain indeed would be the search among the writings of secular history to find so broad, so complete and so solid a basis of morality as the Ten Commandments lay down."
7. The American Bible Society was started by an act of Congress and John Adams, our second president, served as its first leader.)
8. The Supreme Court building has carved on its front Moses and the Ten Commandments.
9. House of Representatives - across the speakers’ seat is a sculpture of Moses.
10. President George Washington said, "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are indispensable supporters."
11. In 1782, the U.S. Congress voted in favor of a resolution recommending and approving the Bible for use in the schools.
12. Henry Laurens, fourth president of the Continental Congress, stated, "I had the honor of being one who framed the Constitution. In order effectually to accomplish these great constitutional ends, it is especially the duty of those who bear rule to promote and encourage respect for God and virtue."
13. Patrick Henry, first governor of Virginia and a member of the Continental Congress, stated, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
14. Constitution ends “in the year of our Lord.”
15. Nation’s motto: “In God we trust”
16. Pledge “One nation under God”
17. On February 29, 1892, the Supreme Court declared (in Holy Trinity v. United States) that the historical record of America overwhelmingly demonstrated that the United States “… is a Christian nation.”
18. John Hancock, 1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence said,
"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us." --History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.
Our forefathers fought for freedom so we could live as free Christians. America has been so blessed because it has been a Christian nation. The Bible says,
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live life worthy of the calling you have received.” Ephesians 4:1
We have a duty to God and to those who won our freedom to live a life worthy of the sacrifice made for us.
Secondly, be aware of the price of freedom. Thomas Jefferson said,
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." Thomas Jefferson
When we get too many generation from those who fought for and won our freedom, we forget and we have a tendency to take it for granted. We think every country lives this way. We think everyone has the freedom to do what they want and go where they want to go. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – but that is a rare thing in our world. Unfortunately, our freedoms are slowly but surely being taken from us. People don’t know the difference between freedom and liberty. They don’t know what a right is or what a privilege is or the difference. People don’t know our history and the men and women who founded it. We are not vigilant by any means – and there are forces at work; people at work; who want to take our freedoms and rights from us. I’m not sure if my grandchildren’s children will grow up in a world like we live in.
Folks, we need to educate ourselves because you will not get the truth in school at any level today. There is a revision of history going on and most people believe it. They trust their leaders and teachers and educators. Also, it is too upsetting for many to learn the truth. And those who do educate themselves are often considered nuts or right winged wackos by many. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Lastly, we need to remember we have an obligation to teach our children what it cost to win our freedoms.
Do you remember the struggle it was for God’s people to take possession of the Promised Land? Moses had brought them out of Egypt and because of sin they wandered for forty years in the wilderness before entering in to the land God gave them. Joshua, chapter four tells about the crossing.
“When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 ‘Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.’
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, “What do these stones mean?” 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.’
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been[a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.”
Joshua 4:1-9
In the years and decades and centuries to come, when one of the children asked about that pile of stones, the fathers could tell them about how God had been with them and brought them to this land that flowed with milk and honey.
We have forgotten our history. We have forgotten the miracles God did in the battle for our country. How many have ever read about George Washington’s vision or even heard of it. It is worth investigating. It isn’t being taught anymore and our children need to learn about it. Google it up for yourself.
Memorial Day is about remembering. We need to remember our roots. We need to remember our heritage. If we don’t; if we are aren’t vigilant, our children may not be able to enjoy what we for so long have taken for granted.
1. Remember that we are a Christian nation.
2. Remember the price of freedom.
3. Remember to teach our history to our children.
Happy Memorial Day!
