Purpose: To motivate hearers to be proactive about the sacred nature of human life.
January 22nd is the day the United States Supreme Court ruled on the Roe v. Wade case making abortion legal for any reason during the entire term of pregnancy. Since that decision (and it’s neighbor Doe v. Bolton), around 40 MILLION babies have died, and it follows, around 40 MILLION mothers have lost a child.
For the past sixteen years a growing number of people who recognize that human life is sacred set aside time around that anniversary to remember, to mourn, to repent, and ask forgiveness for the millions of lives that have been literally sacrificed. In recent years the recognition period has been expanded to an entire week because of the largeness of this ensuing horror, and the growing culture of death that increasingly burdens our society.
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing”
I could expend our message time today in statistics and penetrating stories to try and convince you that what is happening in America and the world today with regard to human life is the greatest tragedy of history. I shall refer to some of those things, but this crowd probably does not have to be convinced of that. I could attempt to highlight the horrors of where we are heading, in hopes that you will become hostile to the holocaust. Anger, however, has a way of subsiding, of waning, and with it the energy to act.
So how do I want you to leave here today? I want you to leave with a resolve that you will not add to the horror.
That you will not compound with condemnation the guilt and scars and anguish on those who have destroyed another human. I want you to leave today decided that you will look for ways to reconcile those who are estranged from God, even for those who have made decisions to end another’s life--whether pre-born or in a nursing home.
John 10:10 is true
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1 John 3:8 is true, too
He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy (undo) the works of the devil.
2 Cor 5:18 is as true as the others,
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
I want you to leave with a resolve that you will not add to the horror of abortion.
It is my hope today that as a result of our gathering, you will be determined to act in your circles of influence in such a way that you slow the flow of the abortion travesty and shrink the growing acceptance of ‘mercy killing’ and ‘death with dignity’.
Rom 13:9
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11
And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
My third goal is that you will engage in a pattern of activity that impacts those decision makers who are growing this culture of death.
Rom 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Mat 5:13
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Jack Hayford, in his powerful message "The Gospel and Morality" had this to say: "I propose that we will have infinitely more success at drawing souls to Him if we show His light with love and good works than if we shine it in the world’s face with the complaint that we wish they’d stop… Salt that is force-fed rather than sprinkled is embittering. Light that has glared rather than glowed is more blinding...
If we fight the world in the public arena rather than the powers of darkness in the prayer arena, we’ll alienate our audience and end up with an empty house - however clean. But, if we light the world with love and good works, there are multitudes in the dark out there - and you can be sure of it - they’ll tire of the evil and emptiness there in the shadows and be looking for a place to come in. So, let’s keep the light on for them."
Nancy Pruett, Sav-A-Life, Tupelo, MS
Since 1973 over forty million (40,000,000) babies have died in abortion clinics; babies whose hearts had been beating since 18 days from conception.
And what about the mothers of these children? If abortion is such an important right to be protected by politicians and judges alike, it must be good for women. Statistics show otherwise.
One survey by the Elliot Institute showed that women who have had an abortion are nine times more likely to commit suicide than women who have not. Because of self destructive tendencies, general health is decreased. Involvement in alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, and domestic violence is increased.
-- 84% stated that they would have chosen otherwise if options had been presented
-- 40% were still hoping for options while at the clinic
-- 70% of post-abortive women surveyed once said "I will never have an abortion."
Under extreme, fear driven pressure many of us will violate our moral codes.
Most women who have had an abortion do not ever give birth to a child at a later point in their lives.
These are things out of balance, that need reconciliation
On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school, or other responsibilities; about 2/3 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner. (Alan Guttmacher Institute)
These are things out of balance, that need reconciliation
The bible reveals to learners that guilt is cumulative. Those who have made a decision to end the life of another human carry with them an enormous load of guilt.
Guilt that is not resolved turns into hatred, bitterness, hardness of heart, defiance, and displays itself in destructive and compulsive behaviors-things like drinking, gambling, drug abuse, or promiscuity.
The statistics would say that you know at least one woman who has had an abortion, even though you may not know about the event. You are being affected, either directly, or by association, or indirectly.
Resolve now that you will not add to the horror of their situation, but will be an instrument of their reconciliation
(Phil 2:13 NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
2 Cor 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
Ephesians 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
Did He only choose those who are able to read this passage, or those who are able to hear it? My point here, is that who is chosen is God’s prerogative, not mine. He chooses who should live and who should not. My disagreement with His choice, my misalignment with His purposes or intent; my inability to understand it does not negate the fact. His is the choice.
Rom 9:19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?"20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’"(21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
GOD HAS SOME PERROGATIVES. RIGHTS HE HAS RESERVED FOR HIMSELF. Because our current technology implies we CAN do something, does not mean we SHOULD do something.
We don’t hear much about God’s right to choose. We hear a great deal about “a woman’s right to choose”, and shall continue to hear it, I fear. It is such a frail argument. Does that one woman’s alleged right carry more weight than the man’s right of choice? Does her right override the potential child’s right to choose? What if the embryonic child is a female? If a female’s right of choice should be unrestricted, then that unborn female is being denied her ‘rights’.
We are hearing now about “death with dignity”, another frail piece of logic. Should we grant ‘death with dignity’? Then let’s find all those sewer children in BA and Rio and the trash pile kids in Manila-what a scorching, searing, undignified life they must endure. Or, what of the 30 million orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa whose parents died of AIDS, and left many of them infected. Much better to give them the supposed dignity they deserve, and inject them, right? Yet that is not what is being touted. What is dignity, and who defines that? THIS IS THE TRUE ISSUE.
THE LINES HAVE BEEN BLURRED BY MEDICINE. THAT IS NO SURPRISE TO GOD, BUT TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT SUPPLANT HIS INFINITE WISDOM, NOR HIS POTENT POSITION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF OUR UNIVERSE.
THE QUESTION ABOUT WHEN TO STOP TREATMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, IS AN HORRIFIC ONE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS YOUR LOVED ONE. THE QUESTIONS SWIRL ABOUT WHOM OR OF WHAT TO CLONE AND HOW FAR TO GO WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING. BECAUSE THERE ARE POTENTIAL BENEFITS,… ONCE AGAIN, BECAUSE SOMETHING IS POSSIBLE, DOES THAT MEAN IT IS NECESSARY, THAT IT IS RIGHT? THAT IT IS INEVITABLE?
Would a godly society live guided by ‘cans’ or by ‘shoulds’?
You see the crisp difference in those two. A godly society is built on ‘should’ not ‘can’; on principle, not ability. Even Paul recognized that centuries ago.
(1 Cor 10:23 NIV) "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
(Jesus speaking in Mat 26:53 NIV) Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
The lines have been blurred for us, but the issue is still the same. Human Life has intrinsic value. You are valuable to God and to His other humans not just because of what you do, or the potential you possess, or that you are the embodiment of some feat in your past. You are of value to God because you are.
And you are because God decided you would be. His good pleasure is enough to merit your existence:
(Phil 2:13 NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
(Acts 17:28 NIV) ’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ’We are his offspring.’
(Eph 2:10 NIV) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
It is my hope today that as a result of our gathering, you will be resolved to not add to the horror, and that you will be determined to shrink the growing acceptance of ‘mercy killing’ and ‘death with dignity’ by dealing with it in your circles of influence.
“The elderly are greedy geezers who are putting a strain on the health care system that will only increase and cannot be sustained.”
---Derek Humphrey, founder of the Hemlock Society
Paul Borthwick: As lights shining in the darkness, God uses us to point the way for people who are without Christ and seeking direction. He uses us to reveal the moral and spiritual decay of our society. He uses us to dispel the fear and hopelessness that has captured our world.
Where does the fear and hopelessness come from? It comes from the belief that life has no long standing meaning; that there is no eternal purpose. When someone hears the claims of the Hemlock society, or of Betsy the sheep, it pounds shock waves into their psyche that the awful arguments might be true.
(Psa 139:16 NIV) your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
(Eph 1:3 NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Abortion and Euthanasia movements are hugely economic, far more than we perceive,
The abortion industry makes 500 million dollars a year in the United States and an estimated 10 billion a year worldwide.
Each year an estimated 50 million abortions occur worldwide. Of these, 30 million procedures are obtained legally, 20 million illegally. (Alan Guttmacher Institute)
One can ascertain that Canadian abortionist Henry Morgentaler makes at least $17,083,000 per year from his business of killing.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT ROE v WADE. IT IS NOT JACK KEVORKIAN OR THE HEMLOCK SOCIETY, BETSY THE SHEEP, OR THE RALIENS. IT IS NOT A POLITICAL OR LEGAL ISSUE. THE ECONOMICS ARE STAGGERING, BUT IT IS NOT AN ECONOMIC ISSUE.
THE SOCIAL DYNAMIC IS MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN WE NORMALLY THINK, BUT IT IS NOT A SOCIAL ISSUE.
The sacredness of human life is a sacred issue; a faith issue. Human life is set apart because God chose to do that.
St. Augustine understood that we were made to fellowship with our creator. He said, "You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you."
alternate conclusion: for time/ length sake
THE THIRD INSTALLMENT, OUTLINING A STRATEGY & A CALL TO ACT, WILL BE TAKEN UP AT ANOTHER TIME
HUMAN LIFE IS NOT JUST ‘SPECIAL’ OR EVEN PRECIOUS.
IT IS SACRED. The course correction in the conscience of the world begins with me; my home, my family. If my thinking can be made straight, my actions will probably be straight, too.
IF I can be sure my family is thinking like God thinks, then the possibility they will behave as God would is much greater.
(from the Sanctity handout)
I want you to leave with a resolve that you will not add to the horror of abortion.
It is my hope today that as a result of our gathering, you will be determined to act in your circles of influence in such a way that you slow the flow of the abortion travesty and shrink the growing acceptance of ‘mercy killing’ and ‘death with dignity’.
Leading is accomplished primarily by way of influence. How are you positively influencing those around you? Are you talking and living in such a way that people will understand that God sees their life as being sacred to Him?
If life is sacred every day, then on special days, like birth and death, it will be seen as sacred, also.
Last year, in Shelby (TN) county, 500 abortions occurred each month (yes that is 6,000 in a year, the population of Oakland and Somerville combined).
Last year, the folks who work with Life Choices had 825 people to come to their site. They know of 40 women who changed their minds and did not have an abortion. They know of 32 women who were saved.
There are people in our church who minister with Life Choices right from their homes (the crisis forwarding lines). Perhaps you could do that.
If not that, what? If not now, when? If not you, who?
===========SECOND PART OF SERMON===========
REVIEW:
Paul Borthwick: As lights shining in the darkness, God uses us to point the way for people who are without Christ and seeking direction. He uses us to reveal the moral and spiritual decay of our society. He uses us to dispel the fear and hopelessness that has captured our world.
Where does the fear and hopelessness come from? It comes from the belief that life has no long standing meaning; that there is no eternal purpose.
LOOK FOR THE KEY WORDS: SAW, ALL, PRECIOUS, ADOPTED
CHOSE, HIS PLEASURE AND WILL…
(Psa 139:16 NIV) your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
(Eph 1:3 NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
The sacredness of human life is a sacred issue; a faith issue. Human life is set apart because God chose to do that.
St. Augustine understood that we were made to fellowship with our creator. He said, "You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you."
Last week, this was the two-fold challenge…
I want you to leave with a resolve that you will not add to the horror of abortion.
It is my hope today that as a result of our gathering, you will be determined to act in your circles of influence in such a way that you slow the flow of the abortion travesty and shrink the growing acceptance of ‘mercy killing’ and ‘death with dignity’.
Then, I asked you to develop a plan with this in mind…
Leading is accomplished primarily by way of influence. How are you positively influencing those around you? Are you talking and living in such a way that people will understand that God sees their life as being sacred to Him?
So, How is the plan going?
This issue of Sacredness of human life is really not about self-preservation. Some think that the reason Christians are against euthanasia or abortion is just an interest in self preservation, or in simple tenderheartedness toward the weak (the underdogs like innocent babies, the defenseless elderly). That is only one element, not the entire case. The focus is not that the church is opposed to advancement, development and technology. Quite the contrary, we strongly believe in divine purpose and that the capacity to develop in all ways is a gift reflective of our Creator. It’s not that life is just the better option; it’s that it is the chosen option of the Creator who uses our life here to interact with His Creation. The reason we are pro life is rooted in the understanding that God (rightly) should and does create the parameters, the boundaries, “this far shall you come (waves). Genesis 1…Created everything after its kind…”
Long before Moses wrote Genesis, God asked Job,
(Job 38:4 NIV) "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
(Job 38:16 NIV) "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death ? 18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19 "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
He has left room for growth, change, development within those frameworks, but has not moved them. THE PEOPLE AT YOUR WORKSITE/CLASSROOM DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT, AND DO NOT BELIEVE THAT.
Statements from denominations and leaders, and dogmatic cackling will not so much as even interrupt their stumbling down the stupored path toward destruction.
What will combat the growing acceptance of ‘mercy killing’ and ‘death with dignity’ is when we talk openly about the purposes of God and His good pleasure. When we speak clearly about eternity, it casts a strong shadow on today.
THE ISSUE IS FAR FROM DECIDED…
In September of 1998 a Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll found that 60 percent of Americans believed that physician-assisted suicide would be generally legal in the U.S. by 2025. A CBS News poll in November of 1998 found that 75 percent of Americans believed that the doctors of terminally ill patients should be able to prescribe a lethal drug to end the patient’s life at the patient’s request (14 percent opposed). A similar poll in March of this year found 61 percent of Americans in favor and 35 percent opposed. However the same CBS News poll last November found that only 14 percent of Americans would be willing to assist a relative or friend to take [his/her] life, with 71 percent declining to assist. This March 40 percent of Americans told a Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll that they would consider suicide if they were terminally ill and in pain (51 percent said they would not). (Church and State Update, 10/29/1999)
If I understand this correctly, almost ¾ of Americans think
That doctors should be able to ‘assist in suicide’, but about the same percentage would not want to ‘assist’ themselves ina suicide of a loved one.
IT’S FAR FROM DECIDED, SO HELP THEM…
(Prov 31:8 NIV) "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
Paul understood…(1 Cor 4:4 NIV) My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
(2 Cor 4:4 NIV) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [remember, an ‘unbeliever’ is not always the same as an ‘unsaved person’.
Resolved, that I will not add to the horror, Determined, that I will not add to the acceptance of wrongful death…
My third goal is that you will engage in a pattern of activity that impacts those decision makers who are growing this culture of death.
I will not, and should not speak to you in favor of a particular office holder, candidate, or political party. This is a church, not a political action organization.
I do tell you that as a Christian, you have an obligation to justice…
(Prov 21:15 NIV) When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.
(Isa 58:1 NIV) "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
(1 Tim 6:9 NIV) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Talk with your physician. If she is in favor of euthanasia or abortion, consider changing your doctor. That may not mean go to another physician, it may mean think of ways you can change your doctor.
SO WHAT CAN I DO?
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE
And WHY you believe that way.
1. TALK ABOUT THE PURPOSES OF GOD in people’s lives
be sure you include the purpose of forgiveness for those who have acted in a murderous manner, like you would any other sin.
be certain you talk about restoration and reconciliation
“God has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation”
2. TALK WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
if you could slow down or change one medical professional, think of their impact on their peers and patients.
3. PRAY-like the children being killed were your own, or the elderly being disposed of was your mom
4. WORK alongside those who are in a position to redeem.
support them with money and time and energy
Focus on the Family, LifeChoices, Operation Rescue
Join a hospice group, regularly visit a nursing home
5. WRITE your elected officials, helping them to understand your position
words of encouragement to those who work in Life saving ministries
words of encouragement to health care professionals who are involved in the struggle.
An article or letter to the editor in your newspaper.
(James 2:12 NIV) Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
(James 2:17 NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
