In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of Christians being proactive in the fight to preserve life. He uses the acronym LIFE to outline four ways to do this. The first way is by learning and pursuing knowledge of the Lord's heart on these issues. The preacher encourages Christians to present the truth of God's word, even if it is unpopular, and to weep over the immorality of the nation. He emphasizes that indifference is unacceptable and that personal responsibility is required to make a difference in the fight for life.

Father, in this sober moment we first want to acknowledge that no matter what man chooses to do that you are still a sovereign God. We thank you Lord that you are a God who says you work all things together for good to those who love you and are called according to your purpose. Father we rejoice in knowing that you are a righteous judge and that someday every decision will be brought to an account before you. Lord and though every single person in this world has fallen short of that perfect standard there is hope in Jesus Christ. Father I'm overwhelmed that you are a God who forgives and you promise that in your son Jesus because of his person and work that all of our sins can be cast as far as the east is from the west never to be remembered again. We know that that is applicable to individuals but it's also applicable to nations. Let me see in your word Lord that often you would raise up the prophetic voice and specific instances to speak to nations to reveal to them what your heart is and was and you call them to a place of grievance and repentance turning from their ways. Lord I know as a pastor and as I've become a student of the word I consider the contrast of what your word declares and yet what our nation has embraced and if a message of repentance in any time was appropriate today it is most appropriate. Father we want to be your hands and to be your feet and we're asking Lord you would strengthen us that you would grant us boldness and courage to stand in the face of adversity not as people pleasers but as people who seek to please the heart of God. So this morning I ask that you grant me clarity of thought and speech as we would address this issue. Father I pray that we would leave here with a sober recognition of what you say in regard to where we are as a nation. We do love you and we commit this time into your hands and ask that your spirit would be here in our midst to comfort us but also to convict us we ask in Jesus name. Amen. This morning I'm going to share on an issue that's caused dissension for close to four decades inside and outside of the church and because this issue is so controversial it's been largely neglected by pastors and Christian leaders across the nation yet I'm personally convinced as a pastor and as a child of God that it's an issue that must be addressed especially behind the pulpit and there are those who today would look at me as a pastor and they would say well pastor this isn't your battle to face it isn't your battle to engage. Let me read to you a quote that was spoken by John Jay who was a founding father of this nation but also he was the first chief justice on the United States Supreme Court he said in my opinion it is the right and duty of our pastors to press the observance of all moral and religious duties and condemn every course of conduct which may be repugnant to them and so this is a man who understood the essence of what we as America were to stand for and it's ironic to me that close to two centuries later on January 22nd the same court that John Jay sat upon the United States Supreme Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the 14th amendment the United States Constitution extends to a woman's right to have an abortion. Now as I have given my life to Jesus and the Lord has unveiled my eyes to his truth and to his word I personally believe that this was one of the darkest days in our national history and I don't think we fully understand how detrimental this judgment was and continues to be upon our nation upon our culture our society and even around the world. Since this day in American history to this present moment over 45 million innocent lives have been blotted out by the practice of abortion. That's an average of 1.3 million babies per year, it's an average of 108,000 babies per month, an average of 3,600 babies per day, an average of 150 babies per hour, and an average of 2.5 babies per second. And so for 365 days a year and seven days a week defenseless lives are being destroyed through this practice and as was shared the vast majority of it is in the name of convenience. Now in light of these facts as we've considered these truths and this is factual information that's recorded you can search it out yourselves but in light of these facts the question that I propose to you and even myself today is where do we stand on this issue and why? Where do we as Christians, American citizens, as people in general, where do we stand on this issue and why? Now there are some who would say well I'm pro-life because of my political party or vice versa I'm pro choice because of my political party. There are some today who may respond I'm pro-life because of my religious affiliation. Well I go to the Catholic Church or I go to the Christian Church and because my pastor and my church says they're pro-life I'm pro-life. Some may say I'm pro-life because of my friends and family they're pro-life and so the group that I hang out with the people that I'm around those who influence my decisions you know whatever they hold to believe is what I hold to believe and therefore what they say they believe I also believe as well and there are even those who would assert today I'm pro choice because the Supreme Court passed abortion as lawful but when it comes to this subject it's imperative for us to understand that these answers in and of themselves are insufficient especially as those who confess that they are born again believers and the reason that I'm able to make this assertion is because born-again believers or Christians their convictions must be anchored in divine revelation and not a human reasoning no matter how compelling the argument might be no matter how passionate someone may be on an issue a Christian's convictions must be anchored in divine revelation therefore the core question isn't where do I stand on this issue and why but the core question is where does God stand on this issue and why because how we answer this question should become the basis of our convictions as Christians we declare if God says it then we submit to it if God declares it then we hold to it as truth now I don't expect someone who doesn't know Jesus Christ as a Lord and Savior to admit this we might be able to appeal to you through emotions or to ideas or offer you a compelling argument scientifically but for born-again believers for those who say I have confessed my sins to Jesus Christ and asked him to come into my heart as my Lord and Savior what God says is truth is what we are to hold to as truth in our lives this is the standard by which we are to live our lives thus to answer this pressing and primary inquiry not where do I stand on this issue but where does God stand on this issue let's turn to the Word of God if you have your Bibles turn to me to Psalm 139 if you don't have your Bibles this morning then in the bulletins there is a handout there with the verses that we're going to be covering but as you're turning to Psalm 139 and we're going to pick up in verse 13 I want to preface a few comments here by saying that David who is considered the sweet psalm of Israel and also a man after God's own heart here is offering praise to God as his creator and as his maker and this is what he says in verse 13 for you speaking to God formed my inward parts you covered me in my mother's womb I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well I'll have you pause here for a moment David here is addressing and confessing that he inherently knew that the formation of human life was the work of God and it was his understanding of this that created a sense of worship to God David knew that God had formed his life David knew that he was the sustainer of his life and as he was in his older age looking back upon him recognizing the sovereign providential will of God in his life he begins to burst forth with this praise in this worship to God who is his creator and his maker but he continues and he says my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully route in the lowest parts of the earth but what was impelling to me these last couple days as I was studying over this text is this word hidden in the Hebrew language actually means exterminated or destroyed David is praising God because God was his protector while he was in the womb and now as we consider this fact in contrast to the practice of abortion that flies in direct opposition to what God is seeking to do when life is being formed in the womb God is the protector of life we're man in many senses and in many ways has become the destroyer of life one verse 16 he says your eyes saw my substance yet being informed and in your book they were all written the days fashion for me when as yet there were none of them and so it's obvious from this text that the development of human life is a work of God from beginning to end actually the psalmist would go as far as to say that God you knew me even before the point of conception God you had ordained my life from eternity past all of my days were written in your book you knew what I would accomplish in your name David here is acknowledging God you knew that I would be king even before I recognized that I would be king or was anointed and ordained as king over Israel before Samuel came and poured that oil upon my head and said God has chosen you to be a shepherd over his people I knew you David and David is looking back in the past and he's saying God thank you for protecting my life and bringing this to fruition and that was the basis of his worship here in Psalm 139 he's acknowledging that God is the one who develops human life from beginning to end but I want you to notice how clearly David attributes this entire process to the masterful handiwork of God he says my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret so not only Dave is David here acknowledging that God is observing this process but he's acknowledging that God is orchestrating this process as well but once again what is so gripping to me is the word made that's used in this text in Psalm 139 is the same word that's used in Genesis chapter 1 when God said let us make man in our image and so it's based upon these two biblical instances that it's unmistakably reaffirmed and reiterated that God is the author and sustainer of all life from conception to conclusion God is the maker and the sustainer and we see this throughout the Word of God therefore based upon these facts based upon this biblical apologetic my question to you today is who is then given the right to interrupt the process that God has defined as life is it the government's decision is it the legislators decision does the Supreme Court have the right to decide when we can interrupt the process that God has defined as life is it the mother's right to do it no in each one of these cases no no no and no the Bible says it is God's right and God's alone even if man says that it's right even if we have laws that say that it is right the question that we have to ask as Christians is it better to obey God or is it better to obey man in these instances especially when it's in direct opposition to what the Word of God says and let me give you an example imagine if Rembrandt who was a famous painter was alive today and you were on the streets of the Netherlands and he was there on the sidewalk and he was painting one of his masterpieces and as he was painting one of his masterpieces of the scenery that he was looking upon you walked up and with a knife you began to slash that masterpiece who would that attack be directed toward Rembrandt the one who's painting the masterpiece yet we've decided in knowing this that destroying the apex of God's creative masterpiece is lawful and I ask myself this question where is the soundness of this ruling can we find soundness in this ruling based upon the Word of God and what God says in regard to life us deciding that we can destroy the apex of God's creative masterpiece that was created in his image to bring glory to his name can we decide that it is right and just to do this this decision was unbiblical and in direct opposition to God's creative order and thus began the steep decline of the devaluation of human life in current American culture and I share this with you today with the strongest conviction that everywhere we look we are seeing the devastation of this ideology the reality is that ideas have consequences and when we choose to act in opposition to the Word of God when we choose to legislate laws that are contrary to the Word of God then what we see happening in our culture today is a direct reflection of that mindset and for us as those who are sitting here in church today we live in a day and age where indifference is unacceptable we have to choose today where we stand on these issues we have to as Christians as those confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we have to know why we believe what we believe and listen abortion is wrong because it defaces and destroys that which God created for his glory it destroys and defaces that which God created for his glory and that is why it's wrong yet our culture today is being taught that it's right because a panel of men a panel of judges said that it's right so they're going into our schools and they're sharing on TV and they have public forums and organizations that are teaching us and our children and our children's children that we as Americans believe that this practice is okay because man has said it is okay our children are confused actually there's a sharing down in Chino Hills today the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and she owned an abortion clinic and she said for me it was all about money we knew that if we can go into schools and we can teach your children about sexual education if we can share with them about contraceptives and all of these various things and even maybe put a righteous slant on it that we would be encouraging sexual behavior and our goal was that each one of your daughters would have three to four abortions in their life directly from her mouth and that is one of so many across this nation who maybe wouldn't come out and say it but that is the motivation that's propelling this type of practice and yet as Christians for the most part we've become silent pastors have become silent Christian leaders are silent because we don't want to offend anyone we don't want people to get up out of their seats and leave our churches because that means that there's not going to be as much money coming into our tithe box we want to tickle the ears of those who are listening to us because we don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable yet all around us death is being perpetuated this ideology of the devaluation of human life is being attacked and yet we sit idly by and so I ask the question where's the soundness in the ruling that the Supreme Court made in 1973 January 22nd but I also ask the question where the soundness of our ruling personally is when we say we're going to take the backseat and not get engaged I have to ask myself as a pastor that question often because you want people to like you you want people to come and hear the message but in times like this it is imperative that we're speaking forth the truth in boldness and again our answer to the question why do I stand on this issue isn't because of our religious affiliation it isn't because of our political party it isn't because of the family members and the friends that were surrounded by the reason we say we believe this issue is wrong is because God says this issue is wrong and that's why we hold to this conviction because that which God created to bring him glory is being defaced and destroyed and not just the babies but hear the testimony of women who have gone through this practice the emotional physical consequences when they walk into a center and someone says that's not life that's gonna be an inconvenience for you or a boyfriend or a husband is saying we can afford that right now we don't want to have a child therefore go into this center and take care of the problem it's heavy and so many women are shamed and feeling guilty and distraught because they weren't shared the truth and so who's right and whose duty and responsibility is it to share the truth what would submit to you today it is our responsibility it is my responsibility to share with you the truth it is our pastors responsibility to share with us the truth even if everyone rejects the message the Bible is called leaders to be those who please God and not man and therefore today maybe you're saying okay pastor where you're sharing with me all of these facts and all of this information tell me then what is my personal responsibility what can I do personally to be proactive in the fight for life remember the Word of God states to whom much is given much is required and so throughout the Word of God we find the Lord through his spokesman and through his people would share that indifference is unacceptable we mustn't buy into this ideology in this thought process that if we just stick our head into the sand that all of our problems are going to go away they won't and it's because of our lack of engagement it's because of our lack of standing up and with courage and with boldness preaching the heart of God that our culture and our society in our nation is the way that it is today it's because pastors have said the separation of church and state tells me that I can't get involved in these issues whereas we find our founding father saying that the pastors and the spiritual leaders in this nation are to set the tone for politics and therefore we see in politics today things moving in the other direction and we gripe and we complain and we raise our fists but why why because those who confess that they believe something many times aren't following through with what they say they hold to his conviction we've been distracted we've been deceived and there's going to be a point where we have to make the decision will we buy into this lie or will we stand up and fight will we buy in to this ideology that's being taught on TV and mainstream media and leaders of this nation standing up saying this is what we as American citizens are are we going to allow them to define for us what our convictions are it ought not be but I don't expect the unbeliever to stand up and do anything about it but I do expect that those who are confessing that they hold to this word as their standard for living would stand up and say no longer will I be called a hypocrite no longer will I sit idly by while my kids and my children's children if the Lord Terry are being affected by these decisions that are being made but it is our time now to stand up in the fight because if we don't who will if we don't defend the defenseless than who will if we don't speak on behalf of the speechless than who will so it is our responsibility it is our duty and I include myself in this equation as well last service I was repenting in my heart for not always having the heart and the mind of God and issues such as these for being more concerned about my life than the lives of those who are around me and when the Lord has called us as Christians to take up our cross and to follow after him this is going to require sacrifice this is going to require selflessness this is going to require that we give up our hobbies and our ambitions and our desires so that we can pursue after the things that move God's heart that is true leadership that is what this nation was based upon and founded upon how many lives were lost in our fight for freedom and now we enjoy the liberties today that men and women throughout our nation's histories have fought for and we're just going to give it up like that we're going to throw in the towel like that we're going to raise the white flag when a very loud minority is standing up and saying we need to redefine who we are as American citizens and thus saying that we need to redefine who we are as Christians no way but it will take a moment when we stand up and say enough is enough I have to get involved God is giving us a divine burden and passion to stand up and speak on these issues and there can't be a separation guys in what we say we believe religiously and what we say we believe politically there can be no separation so all of it is intertwined together much like the nation of Israel the nation of Israel was giving a set of commandments they were given a standard by which they were to live and it was when they as a nation decided that they no longer needed God's standard that the Lord began to raise up prophets and say listen if you continue down this path then as a nation you will be judged you will be judged now if we say we understand this principle and God is the same yesterday today and forever then this word is so pertinent for American citizens today it is time to get up and to engage and so with this in mind I want to share with you four ways that we as Christians can be proactive in the fight to preserve life and to help you remember these principles I'm going to use the word life as an acronym if you're taking notes this morning the first way that we can be proactive in our fight for life is by learning consider the observation that the Prophet Hosea made concerning the nation of Israel he says my people with the clarity he says my people are being destroyed for a lack of knowledge therefore later he charged them and say let us know let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord and so it is essential in our fight for life that we as Christians are propelled by conviction that's rooted in the Word of God so what is God's heart on these issues and some of us we may be sitting here today and you would say I've never thought about it this way pastor I mean I've heard about it and I've heard certain leaders speak out about it and when the elections come around many times there's there's the pro-life candidates and there's the pro-choice candidates and they're passing out their literature and they're sharing why they believe what they believe but now that you're sharing with me from the Word of God I don't really know what is God think about this practice and every other issue that's defacing and in opposition to the Word of God well we as Christians have the Word of God therefore we can come to the Word of God and say Lord when these issues arise when these controversial subjects when they come up we want to look to your Word and we want to find a biblical apologetic for why we believe what we believe and so we are called to learn we are called to pursue the knowledge of the Lord what does God think toward this what does God feel toward this and I found as a pastor that many times a work of God always begins with a divine burden he gives you his heart to feel he gives you his eyes to see he gives you his ears to hear and as the Lord is revealing these things in our heart he's placing upon your life this divine burden I didn't go out eight years ago searching for ministries that were pro-life that I can be involved in the Lord continued to open up doors for me and as I was asked to share different different places and I was asked to be on certain boards and I was a student of the Word I began contrasting what I was reading in the Word of God to the practices that were happening in this nation and the Lord began to reveal to me Brent this is an issue that my heart grieves over this is an issue that my heart is burdened over and then I stood back and I said well God where is everyone that's speaking out where are their pastors and the spiritual leaders will dedicate Sundays to address the social injustices of our nation where are they because all I hear is I don't want to be a part of that I don't want to be involved in that although I believe it I'm not going to use my platform to address it but then again are we here to please man or are we here to please God even if when I stand before the Lord God says Brent there maybe wasn't a lot of people at the church because you were very vocal about these issues and it wasn't something that many people wanted to hear about and maybe I drive every single person away by my passion for the things that God has placed upon my heart but I know without a shadow of a doubt when I stand before God with a clear conscience and with pure conviction I can say Lord I presented to the world what your word declares and that's all I care about and that's all we should care about as well and when the Lord does do this when he opens up our hearts and our minds and our eyes to what's going on around us then we'll begin to say as the psalmist said rivers of water run down from my eyes because men do not keep your commandments when was the last time you wept over the immorality of our nation and I'm not putting a trip on you guys I'm not saying well you need to weep like you know ten times a day in order for you to be really spiritual but I don't know if you've ever been in a position before where the Spirit of God comes upon you and he gives you supernatural insight and your heart is so broken so grieved that you can't help many messages I've heard before is that the prophets weren't men of a lack of compassion but there were men who wept for the things that God's heart wept over and it was that passion that was given by God to them that drove their ministries and the messages that they preached and though they preach judgment and though they preach repentance they were men who would get behind closed doors and they would weep for the state of their nation and their people because it was a message that was propelled by love and again where are these leaders today if we as Christians don't know what breaks the heart of God our heart will never be broken and then the result is going to be our efforts will be misguided and impotent missionary came to the United States once and said as he was traveling around someone came up to him and asked him what is so powerful about the nation of America what has gripped your heart the most of being here and he said the amazing things that Christians can do without the Holy Spirit when we don't know what breaks the heart of God then our efforts our programs our pursuits it will always be misguided and impotent and the entire time the Lord's in heaven looking down saying where is that man or woman that will be willing to stand in the gap where is that man or woman who will stand up for righteousness even in the midst of adversity because I have declared that it is right where are those people who will stand up in the midst of a culture that is degenerating at a rapid rate where are those people that will stand up and face that opposition and speak out on these things even if they offend others because this is my heart and I have to ask again the question to you and to myself will we be those people will we spend time learning what grieves the heart of God will we spend time before the Lord saying God reveal to me what burdens your heart and then which leads us to our second point after we learn what God's heart is in regard to these issues is we can be proactive in our fight for life by interceding intercession is a concept found throughout the Word of God and it means to fall in with to plead for or against others and for those who have been Christians for a while you know that intercession is a form of prayer and so when a person or people receive spiritual insight from the Lord and God unveils their eyes and the blindness of their eyes to what's going on around them then the result will always be intercession you might be asking the question well why because intercession is the realization that these battles we are faced with presently cannot be overcome in the physical realm these are battles that are spiritual in their extent we know that the Bible says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers rulers of the darkness of this age and spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places and so we know unless God intervenes in these situations unless God intervenes in our culture and in our nation then we know nothing is going to happen but where are the intercessors falling on their knees before God and saying Lord we believe that if unless you move in and accomplish the impossible then this which we are facing cannot be overcome and I'm sure there's many leaders throughout history when they were facing these types of issues I think of Martin Luther in the Reformation I think of William Wilberforce I think of these different men throughout history who have stood up for what was right and no doubt when they began to approach this mountain they thought there's no way that we will overcome and according to man's perspective they were correct but the things that man say are impossible with God they are possible and so do we believe what our emotions or feelings are telling us or do we believe what God says I believe the Lord is looking for people of belief and faith who say I don't care what's going on around me Lord I believe you can bring the victory and not looking to our leaders and politicians but looking to the Lord and saying God we will fall on our face before you and we will acknowledge unless you intervene in this nation and in these instances then we and our labors are vain it's vain God wants us to be those people and that begins an intercession in support of this claim listen how the Apostle Paul divulges where the victory is won he says for that we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare carnal are not carnal but mighty in the eyes of God for pulling down strongholds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and so the most effective and powerful weapon in our arsenal is prayer is coming before the Lord and saying God penetrate the darkness by sending forth the light and the darker that our culture becomes and the darker that our communities become the more diligently and vigilantly that we as Christians should be seeking the face of God and saying Lord in your divine providence and according to your sovereignty where sins abound cause grace to abound so much more God intervene we call out to you Lord we are desperate for you we're desperate because these decisions are going to affect our children and our children's children if the Lord would tarry our grandchildren do we believe that that ideas have consequences and the ideas that are being flooded into our homes and that are being spoken from platforms and being broadcasted over the radio in a direct and indirect way are shaping the direction of our nation and unless we have the sense to wake up out of our slumber and say God here we are and we're going to begin by seeking your face that is going to continue to move in this direction and that we will go down in history as a people who although knew the truth did not do anything about the truth and that grieves my heart to think that that's even an option but I'm confident as I read through the Word of God that the Lord is raising up leaders he is raising up spiritual men and women that will stand for righteousness because God declares that it is righteous and third the third way that we can be proactive in our fight for life is not only by learning not only by interceding but also by finding and what I mean by this is finding what your personal contribution is in the fight to preserve life what are your specific giftings now I'm not saying that every single person needs to devote their entire life on this battlefront but God has given each one of us giftings God has given each one of us the ability to invest into this labor to come alongside maybe that's through prayer maybe that's through time maybe that's through resources and saying I will contribute financially to this work because I believe in the cause not because a political party is advocating it but because my god the just judge of the universe is about this and when we come before the Lord and we say God what is our personal giftings that we might contribute in the fight to preserve life the Lord will reveal that do you know what your personal giftings are listen to what Paul said to Timothy who was a young pastor that he discipled he said therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you maybe you know what your gifts are but you haven't exercised them there's a spiritual atrophy in your life but whenever we go forth as Christians and knowing what our giftings are we say Lord we're going to be used by you the ultimate objective is to provide the person of Jesus Christ because again he is the desire of the nation's and so though yes we fight on this issue our ultimate objective is to give them Jesus is to listen we've made mistakes we've made these decisions but there's forgiveness in the person of Jesus I think of the book of Jonah and Jonah knowing the mercifulness and the kindness and the long-suffering of God when the Lord said Jonah I want you to get up and I want you to go to Nineveh Nineveh was the most wicked place in the known world at that time torturing people had no mercy they gave themselves over to the passions of this life and Jonah knew because God is a God who forgives that if he went and preached to them then there would be the potential of them repenting and God showing mercy upon the nation of Nineveh or Assyria and the Lord ultimately he gets Jonah to go to Nineveh and he preaches the shortest message that's found in the Word of God in terms of the gospel message and repentance and the entire nation turns from the king all the way to the beast of the field and you know the reason that God gives Jonah for having mercy upon it was because of the cattle of the field and he says in the city there was over a hundred and twenty thousand souls that could not discern between their right hand and their left who is that the babies God showed mercy upon that nation as wicked as they were because of the babies yet we as a Christian nation are slaughtering babies because of money if we as a nation don't repent of this and we as a people as God's people don't stand up and say this is wrong and I want to be available Lord to address this cause then we also become as guilty as the rest so not only can we be proactive in our fight for life by learning by interceding by finding the fourth and last we can be proactive in our fight for life by engaging listen once you're personally aware of how you can contribute in the ongoing battle to preserve life or held accountable to engage in the sphere of our influences are gonna vary but even look around at some of the kids that are here high school and junior high when I sat on the board over here at birth choice of Temecula I discovered that 75% of all women who walked through that door between the ages of 18 and 25 and these are the ones that are being affected at this time I can't go on to the high schools I'm not given freedom to go there as maybe Gigi or some of these other students who are in here today have the freedom to go and to be amongst their peers so who's gonna have to be the voice we're going to have to equip our kids we're going to have to support our teens and hold them accountable to be missionaries in the sphere of influence that God has called them to listen it affects each one of us maybe it's at your workplace maybe it's around your friends and your family that you're speaking truth in love and compassionately but you're speaking the truth and you're saying Lord this is how I'm personally contributing to this ongoing battle battle to preserve life as James would write in the epistle to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin the whole point of this epistle is faith without works is dead and again this ultimately was the demise of Israel not following through with what God had told them was right not following through with what God had told them was right the ultimate form of hypocrisy I'm gonna read to you a verse that was shared with me in between the service and it's quite sobering because it says why do you beautify your way to seek love speaking to the children of Israel God therefore you have also taught the wicked women your ways also on your skirt has found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents I have not found it by secret search but plainly on all these things yet you say because I am innocent surely his anger shall turn from me Wow God here is saying that to say we're unaware of what's going on to hide our faces out of the range of what's being said in our ears from what people are saying around us to us we're going to be held accountable and ultimately that's why the Lord brought the nation of Israel in to captivity because they did not follow through with what they said and knew to be right when they were all gonna stand before the Lord and give an account of how we personally invested our lives and you know the question that remains to us this morning it's really will we stand and engage our culture will we be those who break the silence and I don't know I don't know maybe in this generation God raises men and women up to address these issues President Ronald Reagan and his speech known as the evil Empire once said that the decision that was made in 1973 was a decision that he believed would be overturned in the courts and he said we must work tirelessly until it is we must work tirelessly until it is and you might be thinking well Brent this mindset this mentality is so ingrained in the culture how is it gonna change how is it gonna how is it gonna be different but I believe that God can do it and if it happens at the political level or the judicial level praise the Lord but maybe it happens on the grassroots level where hearts are being turned to Jesus and that the people are realizing hey even though this is being provided we want nothing to do with it because it's wrong and maybe it's our voices uniting together and saying no this is wrong that will force them to listen to us that will force them to look down upon us and say okay okay we'll reconsider maybe maybe it'll happen in this generation maybe it'll be my son or my son's sons if the Lord would tarry if God would tarry but one way or another we must engage now as God has given us the time as the Bible says we must occupy and redeem the time and my last charge to you this morning is don't forget that we've been called to pave the way for the next generation the convictions that you and I possess will be the convictions of the next generation as Abraham Lincoln once said that that which is taught in the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next what's being taught in our classrooms today and are we addressing those things are we bringing our kids home and saying what they're teaching you about us evolving into monkeys is wrong because God is your creator and maker are we addressing these issues we must address these issues we must stand up and speak against these issues because the convictions that we possess are going to pave the way for the next generation and the things that I'm passionate for my kids are going to be passionate for so are we passionate about the things that God's heart is passionate about and I wonder to what length and to what end will we lead them will we lead them to life or will we lead them to death it's our responsibility it's a great and lofty calling and that which God has called us to he will also grant us the grace and the ability to follow through with it but once again I believe the Lord is looking down and saying I want to show myself strong to a heart that's perfect toward me as he found that in you as he found that in me this will ultimately be the grounds of the destiny and so father this morning we come before you in utter humility and brokenness asking father that you would be merciful to us father be merciful to us as a nation father be merciful to us as a church and as individuals and father as we recognize what you've forgiven us of and how much the blood of your son has covered that we would respond and say Lord here we are as your messengers send us send us into our culture send us into our community send us into the state and this nation to proclaim the things that you've called us to proclaim and father I'm asking that there would be great revival it will break forth in this nation the hearts of fathers turning to their sons and their sons turning to their fathers that politicians would repent that presidents would repent that judges would repent but most of all that pastors will repent father raise up shepherds after your own heart I would seek to feed and love the people whose message is driven by love but preach truth even in the midst of adversity raise up courageous and bold men and women to step forth into the battle who know that if God is for me and who can be against me we want to hear one day Lord those words spoken to us well done good and faithful servant you fought the good fight you finished the race you've kept the faith now that there's a crown of righteousness laid up for you in my presence or there's fullness of joy or we long for that and so we do commit this time into your hands and I pray that we wouldn't leave feeling condemned but that we would leave feeling convicted and that our conviction would drive us to action reveal to us where we as individuals and families and as a church should be engaged that we will be obedient to that and that alone so we do love you we thank you for this time and pray father that you would intervene you would intervene in a battle to preserve life to uphold life we would acknowledge it as your handiwork and be for your glory we pray in Jesus name amen for those who maybe are here visiting and weren't here these last couple weeks we have