Memorial Day 2024
Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 13, Romans chapter 13. We will be there in just a couple of minutes. Romans chapter 13.
We live in a world with evil men. It is bad enough on the personal level, but it is devastating when evil men like Adolf Hitler, Tojo, or Vladimir Putin assume power and bring other evil men a policies onto the world stage.
Throughout history this evil was allowed to follow its course until there was capitulation. But that changed when the United States became a world power. It is in our history that we have said no to evil, that Americans have been willing to lay down our lives for the oppressed.
We set aside this weekend to honor the supreme sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.
Some may ask, “Gene, are we having a nationalistic observance today? I came to hear the gospel. I came to hear the Bible.
Well, let’s look at what the Bible says about such observances. Look there with me please at Romans chapter 13.
- Read Romans 13:1-7
Prayer
Verse 7 of our passage says, “Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.”
Pay honor to those you owe honor. So, today we would like to take some time to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. First, to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of your nation.
I. Honoring Those Who Have Given Their Lives in Defense of Our Country
The practice of honoring a nation’s war dead goes back thousands of years. The Greeks, the Romans, and other ancient civilizations all did it.
The origins of Memorial Day in our country go back to the Civil War era. Toward the end of the war, Union prisoners were taken to POW camps in Charleston, South Carolina. These were brutal places, resulting in mass deaths. and the victims were buried in mass graves. A month after the war, former slaves, veterans of the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment and citizens of Charleston opened the mass graves and reburied the POWs properly.
General John Logan, leader of a Northern Civil War veterans group, k now as the Grand Army of the Republic, was inspired by this act and established Decoration Day. Eventually, the name was changed to Memorial Day and was made an official holiday in 1971.
We take time this weekend to remember the fallen soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen from all US wars and conflicts. As of today, approximately 2,717, 991 men and women have died to protect our great nation. That does not include those who have come home scarred and have later lost their lives due to what happened on the battlefield.
It’s easy to get lost in the statistics but there are 2,717,991 stories and countless families and friends who experienced the loss of these patriots.
There is an oath sworn by every man and woman as they enter military service. They swear to defend our country against all enemies, foreign or domestic. To their dying breath, there is no expiration date. The people we honor here today gave full devotion to that oath.
- Prayer for military.
II. Honoring Those Who Have Given Their Lives in Defense of our Homes.
We honor those who have given their lives in defense of our country. We would also like to honor those who have given their lives in defense of our homes.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And He looked at all He created and He saw that it was good. And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply.
The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.” She also gave birth to his brother Abel.
One day, Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
In the course of 2 generations, you had your first crime and your first murder and it was a brother who killed his brother.
The population of mankind continued to increase and so did crime and evil. It continued its downward spiral until in Genesis 6,
The Lord said, “I regret that I made mankind because his every thought is on evil.”
So God sent a flood that destroyed all mankind, except for Noah and his family. And God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign, and He said He would never destroy mankind with a flood again. But man continues to have a sinful nature and man continues to commit crimes, so the Lord created government and law enforcement to keep people in check.
Look there again please at Romans 13 and verse 1.
- Read Romans 13:1-7
The Bible clearly tells us that God established the government and law enforcement to punish the bad and the reward the good.
Your want to know why in some stupid communities they want or have wanted to defund the police? It’s because law enforcement stands and says, “There are some things that are right and there are some things that are bad. There are standards and you will abide by them.”
We are living in a day that is becoming increasingly like the days of Noah when every man did what was right in his own eyes and so they hate being corrected.
From 2021 to 2023, more law enforcement officers were killed (194) than in any other consecutive three-year period in the past 20 years (73 officers in 2021, 61 officers in 2022, and 60 officers in 2023). In 2023 79,091 officers were assaulted, marking the highest officer assault rate in the past 10 years.
Today we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be able to drive our streets, and shop in our stores, and retire to our homes in safety. We remember those who have given their lives so that our children can attend school and play in their neighborhoods in safety.
We remember those who have given their lives in defense of our country. We remember those who have given their lives in defense of our homes. We also remember those who have given their lives in defense of the kingdom.
III. WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN DEFENSE OF THE KINGDOM
- Read Hebrews 11:32-39
Hebrews 11 is often called the Hall of Fame. He lists a great number of the heroes of the faith who have got before us, men and women who would not compromise their calls as God-followers.
Verses 32-39 tells us that there were a great many more, too many to be listed in an earthly book who gave their lives because of the Kingdom of God.
Think, for example, of the apostles. “In the Bible, fourteen people are considered apostles—the original members of the Twelve, plus Matthias (who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot), and Paul (the apostle to the Gentiles). They were all real people who lived and died in the first century AD.
Only two of their deaths are recorded in the Bible (James and Judas Iscariot). Most of what we know about the other apostles’ deaths come from ancient Christian writers and church tradition, and there are often multiple accounts of where and how they died. It’s commonly believed that only one apostle died of natural causes (John), but some accounts suggest there may have been others who weren’t martyred.”
Simon, also known as Peter, was one of the most prominent disciples of Jesus Christ, and one of the most important leaders of the early Christian church. According to church tradition, Peter was killed by Emperor Nero around 64 AD. Some ancient writers say,Peter was crucified upside down, which was allegedly because he didn’t consider himself worthy of dying the same death as Jesus.
According to tradition, Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in the Greek city of Patras around 60 AD. Like his brother, Peter, Andrew didn’t consider himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus, and so he was bound—not nailed—to a cross which was hung in an X shape instead of a T. For this reason, an X-shaped cross is sometimes referred to as Saint Andrew’s Cross.
Acts chapter 12, verses 1 & 2, tell us that King Herod had Jews killed by the sword. He was beheaded.
The apostle John is the only apostle to have died of natural causes, but that’s if you consider imprisonment on the Isle of Patmos a natural cause.” (How did the Apostles Die? What we actually Know. Ryan Nelson, 2019).
On and on throughout history, Christians have given their lives in defense of or for the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
We remember Stephen, a deacon, the first Christian martyr, recorded in Acts 7.
We remember Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John. He refused to burn incense to the Roman Emperor, so he was burned at the stake sometime between AS 155 and AD 167.
We remember John Wycliff, who first translated the Bible into English. He was persecuted while alive, and after his death, the Pope ordered that his body be dug up, the body was burned and his ashes were “drowned” in a nearby river.
We remember William Tyndale, another reformer and Bible translator. He also preached, following the example of John the Baptist, that King Henry VIII’s divorce was improper. He was tied to a stake, choked to death, and his body was burned.
We remember Jim Elliot and his 4 missionary friends. On January 8, 1956, Jim, along with fellow missionaries attempted to establish contact with the Auca indian tribe in Ecuador. In the process, all 5 of the missionaries were killed. Jim’s wife, Elizabeth, later returned to the area, did establish contact with the tribe, and led the tribes leader to the Lord.
Today, more than 365 million Christians, worldwide, suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted for their faith worldwide. 1 in 5 Christians in Africa, and 2 in 5 Christians in Asia suffer persecution. Last year alone, 4,998 Christians were murdered, 14,766 churches and Christian properties were destroyed or attacked, and 4,125 Christians were arrested. (Open Doors, World Watch List 2024).
We remember our brothers and sisters in Pakistan suffering for their faith. We remember our brothers and sister in North Korea, in China, in Saudia Arabia, in Egypt and around the world.
Today we remember those who have given their lives in defense of our nation in defense of our homes, and in defense of our Lord.
So, how do we as Christians respond?
IV. CHRISTIANS’ RESPONSE
1. First, we honor them. We honor their memories. Paul says in Romans 13, give honor to whom honor is due. So today we honor them and their great sacrifices.
The Bible says
> John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Today we remember and honor those who have given their lives for their friends.
2. Live a life worthy of their sacrifice
- Read Hebrews 12:1-2
a. Get rid of the stuff holding you back.
Let us lay aside . . .
Living a life worthy of the high calling of Christ means that we live differently than the world. There are things we don’t allow in our lives so that they don’t hold us back, or slow us down, or keep us from being or accomplishing what the Lord has called us to do and be. It means we live differently than the world.
b. We endure.
Turn to someone beside you and tell them, we endure.
That means we don’t stop. We don’t let discouragement, or set backs, or discouragement, or nay sayers, or any of those things or people get us to stop.
God tells you to do something, you do it. If you don’t see results today, you do it. If you don’t see results tomorrow, you do it. The last thing the Lord told you to do, you keep on doing it until He tells you something different.
The Bible says, “
> Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.
And again we are told,
> Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
We don’t stop. We keep doing and being what God has called and equipped us to be.
We honor those who gave their lives so that we could have the Bible in our language, by reading our Bibles, by suing what they purchased for us at the expense of their lives.
We remember and honor those who have gone before us.
2. We Continue the Work
a. As Fellow Countrymen
1) Vote for God-fearing, law-enforcement supporting leaders.
> Psalm 33:12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord— the people he has chosen to be his own possession!
My friends, we are not going to be happy unless the Lord is Lord of this nation once again. You and I have a responsibility to elect God-fearing, law enforcement supporting leaders who believe the Bible and who govern accordingly.
In Jeremiah 6:14-15 the Prophet Jeremiah laments the leaders of his day saying of them,
> Jeremiah 6:14-15 They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably? They weren’t at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation.
Peace, peace, when there is no peace. They will also say this is the best economy we have ever had. They will also say our borders are secure, marijuana is ok but raw cow milk is a killer.
> Proverbs 24:24-25 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him; but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,?and a generous blessing will come to them.
> Proverbs 17:15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just— both are detestable to the Lord.
We select judges, politicians, and sheriffs who uphold and enforce the law. We elect school board members who know the difference between boys and girls, and right and wrong.
Testifying - on the witness stand. Get involved.
b. As Christians.
1) Support missionaries. How are we going to help our brothers and sisters overseas who are suffering persecution? One of the ways we do that is by sending more missionaries, having more people over seas come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior.
We have been given a mission. How did the stop that Ecuadorian indian tribe that killed Jim Elliot and his coworkers? They led them to the Lord.
We support missionaries.
2) We work locally
I remember when I was serving in Ridgely, TN, the town decided to have a meeting about the drug problem in town. I remember the citizens of the town called the chief of police on the carpet about the drug problem in town. Small town, small problem and it's all the chief of police's fault. I wish the police chief had turned around and pointed his finger at each one of those church members and told them, "As law enforcement, all we can do is lock people up. We cannot change their lives.
We are the ones who claim to serve a Savior Who can change lives, and deliver addicts, and rebuild marriages and restore homes. What are you doing to impact your community? What are you doing to impact or address the drug problem in our town?
How do we respond on this Memorial weekend? We honor them and we continue the work.
Conclusion
Many of you will remember the movie, “Saying Private Ryan.”
On June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army lands at Omaha Beach as part of the Normandy invasion, incurring major losses against the artillery and machine gun fire of the heavily fortified German forces. Initially dazed by the chaotic battle, 2nd Ranger Battalion Captain John H. Miller takes command of a surviving group and leads a successful infiltration behind German lines to secure victory.
The United States Department of War receives communication that three of four Ryan brothers have been killed in action; the last, James Francis Ryan of the 101st Airborne Division, is listed as missing. General of the Army George C. Marshall orders that Ryan be found and sent home, to spare his family the loss of all its sons. Miller is tasked with recovering Ryan and assembles a detachment of 7 additional soldiers to accompany him.
In the process of trying to save private Ryan, all of the soldiers saving him are killed. The last one, Miller, mortally wounded tells Ryan to earn the sacrifices that were made on his behalf.
This morning, we are told, “Earn this.”
