Sanctity of Life

Let me begin this morning by just pointing out the fact and giving you some explanation as to why it is we're taking a break from the book of Mark.

As we have been verse by verse preaching through Mark and we are in chapter 4 right now.

The parable of the sower and the soils which I am incredibly excited about.

It's one of my favorite parables and really looking forward to preaching on it.

Last week Clay very graciously gave me a little break as I had so much going on last week and so we didn't talk about it then.

And this week as I continued to prepare for it and as I try to be sensitive every week to what God would have me preach on, I was led elsewhere.

In great part because some of you may not know but January is National Right to Life Month here in the United States.

And today is actually this Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

So as some of these things were working in me this week, that was brought to mind.

And I said, well maybe there is where we need to head today.

And so I would just ask that you join me in a word of prayer and then I'll show you where we're headed this morning.

Father God, we do thank you for the blessing of your church that we might come together, sing praise to your name, hear preaching from your scriptures,

and glorify you as we go out into this world.

And I just pray, Father, that this day as we come together amidst the distractions of the morning,

as many of us are tired as it's starting to feel a bit warm in here,

I just pray, Lord, that you will give us keen ears to hear by your spirit and apply the truth from your scripture to our living every day.

We desire to see this happen because we want to see your praises sung amongst the nations.

And so we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

So we're going to look a bit today in John chapter 17 and we're going to go some other texts as well,

John 17 · chapter mention

primarily be in John chapter 17 today.

John 17 · chapter mention

And you really are asleep if you haven't noticed that I carried a garbage can up onto the stage

and that I also have a cardboard box sitting on the lectern below me where my water would normally be.

So I may get a little bit parched this morning.

In this cardboard box are 80 plus little figurines that are 12 week old baby-ish, I will say.

Kind of a cheap recreation of one, so it's not terribly accurate.

But this is about the size of a 12 week old infant that would be in its mother's belly.

It has arms and legs, toes, fingers.

It has all of its organs.

The kidneys have actually begun to purify the system and excrete urine.

This little one pees in its mother's womb.

Eyes and nose, they begin to play with their umbilical cord.

They do acrobatic tricks inside the womb already at this age.

Often around this time, moms are starting to get really sick because of all this motion going on inside their tummies.

The sad thing is that here in the United States, 1.2 million unborn children are aborted each year.

Since Roe v. Wade was passed 40 years ago, that means that there have been over 50 million children aborted in this country since 1973.

And if we take that number, which was last year's number, 1.2 million children aborted,

and we start to apply a little bit of math to that to get some picture of the scope of what that would look like,

it breaks down to 3,288 children a day,

137 per hour,

2.3 per minute,

and to keep our math simple,

that's one every 30 seconds.

Now, I would assume that this morning there aren't many or any abortion clinics open,

so we may not actually be experiencing abortion at this rate right now.

I'm very aware of that,

but it's difficult for us to wrap our minds around what 1.2 million looks like.

And I've endeavored over this past year to find something that I could afford to purchase 1.2 million of.

It's a challenge.

The best thing I've come up with so far was BBs,

little metal BBs like you'd shoot from a BB gun,

but I don't have five grand to buy that many BBs.

1.2 million is a staggeringly high number,

and it's so difficult for us to understand.

And I think as a result,

both with this social issue and with many others,

we tend to kind of push it off.

We kind of out of sight, out of mind.

We think about it.

It may have some effect on us.

We say, well, 1.2 million, that's a staggering number.

And then we lay it to the side,

and we go about the everyday troubles.

We deal with the things that are in our little sphere,

and we don't really think beyond to the world around us.

Now, there are two types of sin.

There are sins of commission,

and those are those things that we've been commanded not to do,

and yet we do them anyway.

Most of you work very hard at not participating in sins of commission,

but there's also another type of sin,

and that's the sin of omission.

There are things that we are commanded to do,

and we just don't do them.

And many of us neglect these things altogether.

And I think that most American Christians,

and I can't point a finger at any individual person in this room,

but I certainly can point a finger at myself

and say that most of us are guilty of sins of omission

by not being more active in seeking justice in our world.

I would sum that up for myself with the simple term apathy.

I just get lazy about the problems of this world.

I just get comfortable with the day-to-day,

and I don't break for the things that are happening in each day in this world.

One child every 30 seconds.

I tend to preach for about 45 minutes.

Hope that doesn't turn any of you off right now.

And so here's what I'm going to try to do.

I don't know if I can do it,

so we're going to make it a grand experiment this morning.

Every 30 seconds,

Reese, who's sitting where?

There he is, in the back corner,

is going to put his hand in the air.

I gave him a timer this morning,

and he's going to put his hand in the air,

and I'm going to drop one of these figures into this trash can.

And here's the reason I'm trying to do that.

I have no clue what it'll accomplish,

but here's what I'm hoping it will accomplish.

Is that as we sit here together and we study from the Word of God,

we're reminded constantly that the Word of God must have some effect in our lives for this world.

And I think that if our church errs,

we err to the side of sitting and listening and learning,

being all deep and theological,

and not actually doing anything with what we know to be true.

We come and we sit.

We gain it.

We're in our little Christian bubble.

We go off.

We hang out in our Christian bubbles.

And we don't consider the fact that the gospel was made for the world.

So I hope this morning it'll serve that purpose,

that it will be, in fact, a bit distracting to you.

Hopefully not too much to me.

Maybe why I stopped doing it altogether,

but that I will continue to preach to you as this goes on.

So, Reese, you ready?

We have to ask ourselves,

what is this life for?

When we became children of God,

why did God not just bring us home with Him?

It's a good question to ask.

I ask that question often.

I am tired of being in this world.

This world is messed up.

I am sick of being here.

I'm sick of experiencing pain.

I'm sick of dealing with the sin that plagues me so often.

I want to go home.

I want to be with Jesus.

But yet we're here, living between two worlds.

And so, why?

Why is that the case?

James 4.14, James says,

What is your life?

For you are a mist that appears for a little time,

and then vanishes.

And I can tell you that we will look back on our lives

at the end of all things,

and we will not regret

not having spent more time with video games

or watching movies

or looking at Facebook,

playing or watching sports,

whichever category you fall into there.

30 seconds comes fast.

We will not regret any of those things.

But I do believe that we're all going to look back at our lives

and we'll regret not having done more

for the kingdom of God.

That we're going to wish that we had just done a little more

for some of these causes.

That we had shared our faith more readily.

That we will have done more things that count in eternity

versus just flittering away our time

with things that make no sense whatsoever.

Either here or there.

Makes no sense at all.

John 17, beginning of verse 13.

This is aptly dubbed the high priestly prayer.

Jesus knows that his death is imminent

and he's praying now on behalf of the disciples

and his believers, his followers beyond that as well.

And he says,

But now I am coming to you,

and these things I speak in the world.

This is verse 13.

That they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them your word,

and the world has hated them

because they are not of the world,

just as I am not of the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world,

but that you keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world,

just as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

so I have sent them into the world.

And for their sake,

I consecrate myself,

that they also may be sanctified in truth.

I do not ask for these only,

but also for those who will believe in me

through their word.

Now recognize that this prayer

is primarily aimed at the apostles,

but he broadens this whole prayer out for us

in verse 20.

So this prayer is for us,

and we can learn some things from it, right?

As many of us would prefer

to be taken out of this world,

look at what Jesus says in verse 13.

I'm coming to you,

I, Jesus, am coming to you, God,

and speak these things in the world

that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

It is hard to recognize this

and to wrap our minds around this

to really understand what that means

that in this day,

as we deal with the troubles of this world,

that we might have the joy of Christ in us.

But this is what Jesus is saying, right?

He is asking for these things for his disciples

so that we will have his joy fulfilled in us.

I think some of this is expressed

by Paul in Philippians chapter 1,

Philippians 1:21–25

verses 21 through 25,

where he says,

For to me, to live is Christ,

and to die is gain.

If I'm going to live, I get Christ.

I gain Christ.

But to die is a greater gain.

That's what he says there.

If I'm to live in the flesh,

that means fruitful labor for me.

Yet which will I choose?

I cannot tell.

I'm hard-pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ,

for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh

is more necessary on your account.

Convinced of this,

I know that I will remain

and continue with you all

for your progress and joy in the faith.

Right?

Paul understood this conflict

that was happening within him.

That there was a joy that was his now

and a greater joy that was to be his later.

And here we see that that's true of us as well.

For whatever reason,

we're left here to work out

the coming of the kingdom of God

as the hands and feet of Christ.

And this is for our joy.

Notice that Jesus asks

not only for their divine protection

in verse 14.

We see you make this request.

Jesus knows that there will be hostility

towards his disciples.

Right?

He has already experienced this to be true.

He's about to experience it

in the greatest way.

And as those who follow Jesus Christ,

he knows there will be hostility towards them.

So he prays in verse 14 and 15 and 16

for divine protection for them.

Right?

So that Jesus would spare them

from the evil one.

That he would keep temptation at bay.

And we have to learn later

throughout our New Testament

how it is that this comes about.

But he doesn't only ask for that.

But he also asks

for their divine sanctification.

Verse 17,

verse 18,

and verse 19.

Right?

Firstly, we can see

the request that he makes of God,

which is verse 17.

Sanctify them

in the truth.

Your word

is truth.

So if these people

are to live

in this world,

be left behind

in this way

for your glory,

I ask that you

sanctify them

in the truth.

And he clarifies for us

what that means.

Your word

is truth.

These scriptures here,

this is the way

in which we are set apart

for the purposes

of God.

A great example

of what it means

to be sanctified.

When Sam and I

got married,

she bought a plate

that was on sale

at Lifeway.

And it's a red plate

and it's got some bright colors

in the middle of it

and around the outside edge

it says,

you are very special.

Right?

And we decided

that plate for us

was going to be

the plate we were going to use

in our family

to celebrate a big thing.

So we use it on birthdays,

I,

once a year,

I've never gotten it

any other time,

but once a year

I get the

you are very special plate.

I imagine when there are

some graduations

that happen

and we want to build

a tradition

with this special plate.

We'll bring it out

for that very purpose.

And it would be horrible

to do anything else with it.

That is what

is it intended for.

And that is the same way

that we are set apart

for God.

Sanctified in that way.

So we've been set apart

but then there's also

a working out

of this reality as well.

As we've been set apart

we are being set apart

from this world.

Sanctified for a very

specific purpose

and that is to serve

the glory of our Lord.

And we're sanctified

in the truth.

So we should be theological.

That's important.

I mentioned earlier

that sometimes our church

may err to the side

of being theological

without being missional.

We should be theological.

We cannot dismiss that.

In fact,

we must be properly theological

if we're going to be

properly missional at all.

We have to do this.

This must take place.

Sunday morning preaching.

Bible studies.

Immerse yourself in it

as much as you possibly can.

Study the Word of God

on your own.

Use all of the vast amount

of aids that are available

to us to understand

this precious book.

We must be sanctified

in the truth.

We must be properly theological

if we're going to be

properly missional.

Going to the world.

Jesus makes a request

but there's a reason

for the request.

He asks that the disciples

will be sanctified

in the truth

because of verse 18.

He says,

As you sent me into the world,

so have I sent them

into the world.

So have I sent them

into the world.

Remember the life of Jesus?

We're in Mark

and we're only really gone

through the first three chapters

and Jesus has done

a massive amount

of social work

in the community.

He has done tons of healing.

And we know that

He was doing that

with the primary purpose

of validating the message

that He was bringing.

We don't minimize the message

in this way at all.

I'm not talking about

a social gospel.

I'm talking about activity

that supports

and gives evidence

that we are, in fact,

people who believe

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

We are people that understand

that the gospel

of Jesus Christ

includes the redemption

of souls

but also includes

the redemption

of other things

as well.

The corruption

that sin has brought

into this world.

And so He knows

as they've been sent

into the world,

as He was sent

into the world,

that they're going

to receive trouble.

They're going to have

to be set apart

in a very specific way.

And that's why

they must be sanctified

in the truth.

And we can see

in verse 19

the basis

for His request.

He says,

And for their sake

I consecrate Myself.

That word consecrate

could also be read

as sanctified.

I set apart Myself

that they also may be

sanctified

or consecrated

in the truth.

Because of what

Christ has done,

those who are followers

of Christ

can be

sanctified in the truth.

Can be sent

into the world

to accomplish

the great ends

of glorifying God

to the ends

of the earth.

So the basis of it

is the person

and the work

of Jesus Christ.

So we must be

properly theological.

We must be

properly theological.

But if we're doing so,

we are going to be

properly missional.

We will in fact

go out to the world.

We will go

change things.

The world ought to be

a better place

because we're here.

because we have

the light of Christ

within us.

It ought to be

a better place.

The University of

North Georgia,

I have to tell you

my notes say

UNG and that's

the first time

I've typed it.

Weird.

UNG should be

a better place

because all you

students are there

at the University

of North Georgia.

The towns we live in,

this region,

should be a better place

because of the grace

of God that's working

in us.

And do you think,

do you think

that people are saying

of us,

well I don't believe

what they believe.

I hate the message.

Not a fan of this

gospel message

that they're going

around preaching

all the time,

but I'm sure glad

they're here.

Man am I glad

they're here.

They make this world

a better place.

This should be true

of us.

Because while we have

a salvation that comes

by faith alone,

hear me clearly,

our salvation has

nothing to do

with our works.

Our works are

as filthy rags.

There is nothing

we can do

to earn our salvation.

Our salvation

comes by faith alone,

but the good deeds

do matter

because they're

the evidence

of our salvation.

Those who are Christ

will necessarily

live that out

in practical

and real,

tangible,

measurable ways.

We will be able

to see fruit.

It's the language

constantly used

in the scriptures,

the analogy

that's used of us.

Classically,

Matthew 7,

Matthew 7:17

verses 17 and 18.

So every healthy tree

bears good fruit,

but the diseased tree

bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree

cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a diseased tree

bear good fruit.

This is true

of those who are Christ.

And the immediate question

must be,

but wait a minute.

You're tossing

figurative children

into a trash can

every 30 seconds,

and I've not done

anything in my life

to stop this issue.

Does it make me

not a Christian?

Not necessarily.

Not necessarily.

All of us

wax and wane.

All of us

go through great times

of fervor in our lives

where we're devoted

to the Lord,

and at times

where we're not

so much.

But the encouragement

here is that

we must pursue

good works.

We must press

into these things.

We must fix

our eyes on Jesus

so that the things

of this world

will grow strangely dim.

I'm glad they played

that song

right before I preached.

That we fix our gaze

in that direction

so that we will be

actively looking for ways

that we can better

this place.

1 Peter 2,

1 Peter 2:12

verse 12.

Peter says,

Keep your conduct

among the Gentiles

honorable,

so that when they speak

against you as evildoers,

and they will,

they certainly will,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify God

on the day of visitation.

These deeds matter.

Paul,

in writing to Titus

in chapter 3,

says,

Remind them to be submissive

to rulers

and authorities,

to be obedient,

to be ready

for every good work,

to speak evil

of no one,

to avoid quarreling,

to be gentle

and to show courtesy

toward all people.

4 We ourselves

were once foolish.

Here's the reasoning.

Here's the gospel motivation

for living in this way.

We should live like this

because,

verse 3,

we ourselves

were once foolish,

disobedient,

led astray,

slaves to various passions

and pleasures,

passing our days

in malice and envy,

hated by others

and hating one another.

But when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God our Savior appeared,

He saved us,

not because of works

done by us in righteousness,

but according to

His own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration

and renewal

of the Holy Spirit,

whom He poured out on us

richly through Jesus Christ,

our Savior,

so that being justified

by His grace,

we might become heirs

according to the hope

of eternal life.

So now notice,

as Paul's writing to Titus,

he says to him,

do good works.

Here's why,

this gospel message,

right?

I'm not going to take the time

to sum all of that up

for you today,

but because of what God

has done on your behalf,

in Christ Jesus.

And then look how he finishes it up.

Verse 8,

the saying is trustworthy,

and I want you to insist

on these things,

so that those who have believed in God

may be careful to devote themselves

to good works.

These things are excellent

and profitable for people.

For those who are believers,

certainly,

but for people in general.

This was the general Greek term

for mankind,

for humanity.

It is good

for those who know Christ

to devote themselves

to good works

for the good of everybody.

One of the greatest ways

we can show this world

their great need

of a Savior

is to live in this way,

to bring about social change,

to show them

the error of their ways,

and then show them

the right way

to live,

to preach the law

to them

so that they know

they're sinful,

so that they know

they need a Savior.

We must be about this.

James said it this way,

religion that is pure

and undefiled

before God the Father

is this,

to visit orphans and widows

in their affliction

and to keep oneself

unstained from the world.

So to avoid the things

of the world

and to visit orphans

and widows

in their affliction,

which we should be about.

Hear me,

we should definitely be about

visiting orphans and widows.

The reason he uses

these two particular people groups

is that these would have been

the most infringed people group.

These were the people

that had no rights whatsoever

of their own.

A widow without a husband

had no property ownership,

had no rights at all.

Orphans had no rights

because they didn't have a father.

So these were people

who were defenseless.

And in our day and age,

there are many,

many defenseless

who are being murdered

every day.

One every 30 seconds.

I think I'm getting

an internal clock now,

Reese.

I know when to look up at you.

Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

I want you to turn there with me.

Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

This is another really wonderful

example of this.

As we see Paul

commending himself

to the Galatian church,

establishing once again with them

the purity of his gospel.

Because you remember that

in Galatia,

the Judaizers had come in

who had said

that Jesus is good.

This new faith you found

is good,

except you need to be circumcised.

There's still some aspects

of the Old Testament law

that we need you to keep.

And this was diluting

the gospel message.

They thought that they were

saved by faith in Christ

and circumcision.

And he writes the letter

to the Galatians

to set that straight.

So he's reestablishing

the purity

of this doctrine.

And beginning in verse 1

of chapter 2,

he says,

So he went.

He's talking about

this past tense thing.

After 14 years,

he went to present to them

the gospel as he was

preaching it to the Gentiles,

which was justification

by faith alone.

He was saying to them,

you do not need

to be circumcised.

There's no need

for outward religion

for you to be saved.

So he goes up

to be sure

that he was getting it right,

that he was getting it straight.

Verse 3,

But even Titus,

who was with me,

was not forced

to be circumcised,

though he was a Greek.

Yet because a false brother

secretly brought in,

who slipped in

to spy out our freedom

that we have in Christ Jesus

so that they may bring us

into slavery,

to them we did not

yield in submission

even for a moment

so that the truth

of the gospel

might be preserved for you.

And from those

who seem to be influential,

what they were

makes no difference to me.

God shows no partiality.

Those, I say,

who seemed influential

added nothing to me.

On the contrary,

when they saw

that I had been

entrusted with the gospel

to the uncircumcised,

just as Peter had been

entrusted with the gospel

to the circumcised,

for he who worked

through Peter

for his apostolic ministry

to the circumcised

worked also through me

from mine to the Gentiles.

And when James

and Cephas,

or Peter,

and John,

who seemed to be pillars,

perceived the grace

that was given to me,

they gave me

the right hand of fellowship

to barn us and to me,

that we should go

to the Gentiles

and they to the circumcised.

Now, catch what's happening here.

They're having

a theological debate.

He has come back,

presented this gospel

that he's been presenting

to the Gentiles

to make sure

that it was pure.

He's gone to those

who seemed influential.

I like that he adds,

not that it mattered

at all to him,

but they seem to be influential,

so those are the ones

I went and talked to.

And they go and they have

this theological debate.

And the conclusion of that

we see in verse 10.

So they extend

the hand of fellowship.

Yes, this gospel

you're preaching is pure.

We're going to the circumcised.

You continue to go

to the uncircumcised.

Verse 10,

Only they asked us

to remember the poor.

The very thing

I was eager to do.

So right on the heels

of this having this

theological debate

about the purity

of the gospels

they were preaching,

they say,

Don't forget

to do practical things

to show the grace

of God to us in Christ.

You catching that?

Now, yet we've not seen

any specific instructions

to plead the cause

of the unborn.

I recognize that.

There's a clear biblical case

for what is and isn't life.

And I'm not going to make

that case to you today.

I'm going to assume

that all of you

believe that to be true.

It's self-evident,

I would say.

But we can see here

that we're both supposed

to speak for those

who can't speak for themselves.

The widows and the orphans

given to us in James.

And here we see in Galatians

this record of them

asking to speak

on behalf of the poor.

Now, the poor in this day

would have also been

primarily disenfranchised people,

not landowners,

unable to make much money

on their own.

But even if we just define

poverty the way we do

in our current day,

it's important to know

that 57%

of all abortions

are had by women

who live below

the poverty line.

You know what the poverty line is

in this country?

If you're a single person,

it's $11,490.

So, college students,

are you guys all

below the poverty line?

I think you are.

Now, you can add

to that simple little equation,

add to that $4,020

for each person

you add to the family.

And if you do the math,

if you have four people

in a family,

the poverty line

is $23,550.

That's an incredibly low line.

I don't know a family of four

that can live on $23,550.

Introduce me to them

if you find them.

I want to learn from them

and how they spend their money.

So, family of four,

$23,550.

57% of abortions

are happening

with women that are

categorized as below

the poverty line,

which means that

a vast number of abortions

are happening above that line

for people that really are

what we would consider

traditionally as poor,

low-income,

impoverished individuals.

So, this is a rampant thing

that's happening

in our country.

In fact,

by the age of 45,

one in three women

will have had an abortion.

At least one.

By the age of 45,

one in three women

will have had an abortion.

And that means a lot for us

because that means

that there are probably people

that we know

who have had abortions.

We may not know that they have,

but they have.

That means there's probably

somebody in this room

that's had an abortion.

It's likely

that that is the case.

And I can't possibly,

if you have had an abortion,

justify your actions.

But what I can say to you

is that there's great grace

for every sin.

And we can praise God

for that together

because all of my sin

is just as horrible

as yours.

And we have an opportunity

to preach the gospel

to people who have had

abortions.

That's a great need

in this country as well

as this wrong,

this endemic cultural wrong

has affected so many,

in fact, in some ways

victimized a lot of women

who have had abortions.

Abortion's not good for women.

Health statistics,

we've been able to amass

a bunch of them now

since it's been 40 years

since Roe v. Wade.

Let me just give you a couple.

Health-wise,

women who have had abortions,

depending on the study

you look at,

are at a higher risk

of breast cancer,

50% and up to 300%

more likely to have

breast cancer.

And this is correlated back

to the abortive procedure.

Massive, massive damage

to a woman's body.

Psychologically,

post-abortion patients

in a study,

eight weeks after

their abortion,

44% of them reported

having a nervous disorder,

36% of them a sleep disorder,

and 11% of them

had been prescribed

psychotropic medicine

eight weeks

after having had

an abortion.

There's a lot of damage

to a woman.

I would say to you

that the pro-life movement

is a pro-woman movement,

not an anti-woman movement.

Further,

women will be held

accountable for their actions.

Romans 14,

Romans 14:10

verses 10 and 12

says,

We will all stand

before the judgment seat

of God.

For it is written,

As I live,

says the Lord,

every knee shall bow to me

and every tongue shall confess.

So then each of us

will give an account

of himself to God.

There's a spirit issue

at place

with this problem.

And we must be

preaching the gospel to it.

We must be speaking

to these young ladies.

We must be warning them

of the judgment

that will come.

Right?

As we need to be warning

all people of this.

Abortion is not good

for our nation.

We are a nation

that was founded on liberty.

We still claim to have some.

Maybe that's slipping

in your opinion

as we hear about

all the scandals

and things that are going on.

It's quite likely

you're feeling a little less liberated

than you may have before.

But we at least say

that we're a nation

that believes in freedom,

that believes in liberty.

I would argue to you

that this is a biblical

right that is granted to us.

One of my favorite

presidential candidates

by the name of Ron Paul

is quoted as saying,

if you can't protect life,

then how can you protect liberty?

The greatest minority

is the individual.

There's no other Nathan Rayner.

And if my rights

aren't going to be protected,

then how is anybody's rights

going to be protected?

We're having the wrong conversations

on the political scale, right?

If we can't protect life,

then how can we protect liberty?

Abortion's obviously not good

for babies.

1.2 million this year.

I think it's 54 million and counting

since Roe v. Wade was passed

have been avoided.

And abortion is not good

for our church.

Abortion is not good

for our church.

If we're going to be people

who are properly theological,

who care about making

a difference in this world,

who want this world

to say of us,

I am glad that

Christ Family Church exists,

then this issue

is not good for us.

Because we need

to be getting engaged with it.

We need to be actively

finding ways

that we can bring about

redemption

in these situations.

And so the question

is raised then,

what should we do?

What should we do?

I hope that your heart's moving

in this direction.

What should we do?

What can I do?

What an immense problem.

1.2 million children a year.

How is it possible

that I could ever be involved

in bringing about change

in this situation?

Let me say to you firstly,

pray.

Clay said rightly

last Thursday evening

that prayer

is the thermometer

for our Christian life.

How many of you

would admit

that your life,

your Christian life

is cold?

Pray.

Have your heart broken

that this is an issue

in our country.

And pray.

God uses the prayers

of His people

to accomplish

His will.

1 John 5

1 John 5:14–15

verse 14-15

John writes,

Listen, this is the confidence

that we have toward Him.

That if we ask anything

according to His will,

He hears us.

And if we know

that He hears us

in whatever we ask,

we know that we have

the request

that we have asked

of Him.

If we ask anything

in the Father's will,

we know that He hears us.

It doesn't always answer

the way we want answered,

but we know that He hears us

and we know that He's

working things out

in His perfect timing.

And we can take comfort

in passages like Amos 5, 24.

But let justice roll down

like the waters

and righteousness

like an ever-flowing stream.

I tell you this morning

that God cares

about the unborn.

He cares about what's happening.

And He certainly

could come down now

and judge everyone

and save all of those babies.

I don't understand

why He's working things out

the way He is.

I can't wrap my mind

around why God

is accomplishing His fame

the way He's accomplishing it.

But I know this,

that He's given it to us

to be moving and active,

to be used by Him

to accomplish His will.

And it starts with prayer.

Prayer is the foundation

for anything effective we do

in our Christian lives.

It is pointless

to try to do anything

without first setting it

to prayer.

So pray.

Gosh, you can do that easily.

All of us can be involved

in bringing about change

in this way.

You don't have to run

in spheres.

You might live in a country

someday that abortion

is not even.

an issue.

But you can still pray

this would be something

that would be brought

to reckoning

in our lifetime.

Secondly,

be politically responsible.

Be politically responsible.

Young people,

be politically responsible.

I know that your one vote

doesn't feel like much

in the wide range

of things.

But if everyone

has that attitude,

they're not going to take

the time out of their day,

not going to do

their research.

If everyone does that,

which many people do,

then people get elected

that we may not want

to be elected.

This has happened recently,

hasn't it?

Be politically responsible.

This is a responsibility

that has been given to you

to search out candidates,

not just at the federal level,

but at the local level as well.

We need to be vetting

the people that represent us.

Get to know your district.

We've got congressional elections

coming up in 2014.

Do you know?

Do you know what district

you live in?

Do you know who represents

your district?

You should find that out

and you should do it ASAP.

And you should figure out

not just if they're pro-life,

but if they're actually

doing something about it.

I've heard the argument

that Roe v. Wade

doesn't actually have

to be overturned,

that the Supreme Court

wouldn't actually have

to overturn it,

but that Congress

could simply pass a law

defining life,

which would therefore

make abortion illegal.

Now, more than likely,

the Supreme Court

would take that law

and want to overturn it again.

But could you imagine

just the pace

that things work at?

If Congress would pass that law,

we might have a year

where abortion is illegal

and clinics would shut down.

A year would be

a wonderful gift.

1.2 million children

would be spared in that year.

And those clinics

may or may not

even be able to start up.

Even if that, right?

We need to be

politically responsible.

We need to be doing

what we can

to put men in power

who will not just say

I'm pro-life

so that I can appeal

to my constituency,

but I'm pro-life

to the point

that I will do something.

I will do what I can

about the issue.

So be politically responsible.

Thirdly,

educate yourself

and others

with a great deal

of compassion.

Educate yourself.

Some of you

may be surprised

to even find out

this morning

that this many children

are aborted.

We tend to stay

fairly oblivious

to things like this

and I know

the world you're living in.

I know the way

information is coming at you.

I'm right in the midst

of it all too.

It's coming

absolutely a mile a minute,

all the stuff

that's going on

out there in the world.

Inform yourself

about this issue.

There are so many causes

that the Christian church

can get behind

and we should.

A great example

of that right now

is the End It movement

to stop

sex slave trafficking.

Good, good cause

to be a part of.

But if we've got to pick one,

this is the one.

Those are tragedies,

massive tragedies.

I don't want to make small

of that kind of atrocity.

This is the big one though.

If Christians are going

to get behind something,

this is the one

we should get behind.

So educate yourself.

Understand why

life is life.

Get that.

Learn how to make

a very clear,

compassionate argument

in that direction.

Right?

The world around us

is being inundated

with cultural messages.

Right?

Inundated with it.

Over years,

40 years of trying

to convince people

that this really isn't

an issue of murder,

but it's just simply

an issue of convenience

or ethics.

Right?

That's not the case

with it.

We've got to educate,

we've got to unwind

that kind of thinking.

We have to be able

to compassionately

have arguments,

recognizing that we may

never win the arguments

at the time of the argument.

It may not be

until somebody walks away

and considers the things

that have been said to them

and lets it sink down

into them that they

change their mind.

I'm thankful in this day

that there's quite a bit

of movement.

Previously,

last year,

1.2 million.

The year before that,

1.3.

Praise God,

100,000 children

were not aborted

last year

or fewer women

got pregnant.

I don't know which,

but the numbers

have been going down

and there's some great

movement in this direction.

People are beginning

to see the fallacy

in the arguments.

I've read some articles,

two sides.

I read an article

by two bioethicists

who said,

if we can abort children

in the womb,

the argument cannot be made

that they're not life,

we should also be able

to abort children

after they're born.

Unfortunately,

they weren't doing this

rhetorically.

Unfortunately,

they really meant it.

You have a child

that's born

with special needs,

you don't think

you can handle that child,

you can make that decision

at that point.

They're making this argument.

I've read another article,

a lady who basically said

to the pro-choice movement,

stop saying it's not a life.

That is such a dumb argument.

It's an obtuse argument.

What we need to be saying is,

one life is more important

than the other life.

Right?

So their logical argument

is breaking down.

They themselves

are beginning to see

how flawed it is,

and we've got to step in

with a great deal of love

and help them understand

the reality of that.

Right?

We've got to come up

with solutions.

What do we do

with 1.2 million children

who are unwanted

in this country?

54 million

in the last 40 years.

What are we going to do

with those people?

I don't know

the answer to that.

I really don't know.

How do we alleviate

that kind of population explosion?

I have no idea,

but the solution

is not abortion.

It's not abortion.

So educate yourself

and others

with a great deal of passion.

Next Sunday afternoon

at 1.30,

I'm going to be here

and I'm going to help

walk you through

that process,

present the common arguments

to you

and the rebuttals to them.

So if you'd like to join me

for that,

I'll remind you again

later about that,

but I'll be here to help

with that process.

We may even be able

to sharpen each other

in that way.

Fourthly,

get involved

with a local

pregnancy care center.

There's work happening

right where we are,

right in our community

to this end,

trying to counsel

with Christ-centered

counseling

with a great deal of love

women who are pregnant,

who are in a crisis situation.

The one we have here in town

is great.

It's called

the Dahlonega Care Center

and they do a lot of work

in this county.

I somehow managed

to get myself

to be the chairman

of the board of directors.

I do not know how

and I don't say that

to boast to you,

but I say that to you

so that you know

I need your help.

I need your help

with leading the care center

and being passionate

about it,

for throwing into

the efforts

that we're trying

to accomplish

to raise the funds

that are necessary

so that these ladies

can sit with these

young ladies

and counsel them

through this process.

Get involved.

They need all kinds

of help

and we're going to be

bringing you the options.

We're doing work days

up there.

We just peeled weeds

off the side of the building

the other day.

Another great family,

the Wadsworths

went out there

and replaced trim work

and cleaned the inside.

They need that kind of stuff.

The folks that are

in the ground,

in the trenches

doing that kind of work

need somebody

to come along

and sweep up

behind them sometimes

so they can keep

on working

with these people.

They need money.

It takes money

to run anything.

And we hold

so tightly to it.

We do so many things

that are so frivolous

and stupid

with our money

and I can tell you

at the end of your life

you will wish

you had spent it

on greater causes.

Things that will have you

gain more of Christ

in that activity

versus more stuff

for yourself.

They need

that kind of support.

So get involved

in those ways.

I want you to reach

we're going to stop

the timer now.

Thank you.

I want everybody

to put your hand

over your heart.

I'm not about to make

you make a pledge

so don't worry.

You feel that?

If you're up here

you may not be able

to feel it.

It's about right here.

They're right there.

You feel that?

Just thumping away, right?

It just keeps on going.

I heard John Piper

in an interview one time

say that this cause

needs coronary Christians.

I want you to get that

phrase programmed

into your head.

It needs coronary Christians.

Christians who are just

going to continue

to work and work

and work

and work

and work

to end

this tragedy.

Just keep on working.

Movements are great.

I mean,

praise God for movements.

God has used movements

in so many ways

where everybody gets

super excited about a cause.

It flares up.

Everybody goes gung-ho

after it

and then it peters out.

You guys remember

Invisible Children?

Those of you who were young

about the tragedy

in Darfur?

Right?

A movement.

Right?

It flared up.

Everyone was super stoked

about it

and I haven't heard

anything about

Invisible Children

in years and years

and years and years.

Right?

We need coronary Christians.

Hear this.

Our hearts keep us alive.

Right?

Our hearts are pumping

blood to our brains,

oxygenating our brains,

allowing our brains

to function.

But you've got to get to

that our brain

is sending a signal

to our heart

to keep pumping.

Isn't it?

Just keeps on

thudding.

I don't think about

my heart beating.

It just does it.

My brain does this

as an automatic function.

Right?

So there's a cycle

that's going on here

and the gospel

should be working in us

in the same way.

As we've made new creations,

it should be automatically

feeding us into good works.

We should be doing

that kind of thing

and our good works

should be feeding our faith.

It should be coming

right back in

as we get to see

and experience God

moving and working

in this world.

We need coronary Christians

around this cause.

We need to hear

the gospel truth

every day.

We need to hear it.

Not just the narrower version

of it,

which is so important

for the redemption

of our souls,

but the larger

expansive version of it

that Jesus has come

to make all things new.

That he's setting

everything straight.

That he's going to return us

once again to Eden

where everything was perfect.

Where sin and sickness,

death, abortion,

none of these things

existed in this state.

He's getting us back

to that place.

This is the gospel message

and we need to be

so invigorated by it

every single day.

And every moment

of every day

if we're going to live

this way.

If we're going to be

about the cause of Christ

in this world.

C.S. Lewis in

Mere Christianity said,

We have to be continually

reminded of what we believe.

Neither this belief

nor any other

will automatically

remain alive

in the mind.

It must be fed.

We hope every Sunday

we feed you

with the good news

of Jesus Christ

and that that moves you

to work to his glory

in the world.

once a Sunday,

once a week

is not enough.

After lunch

you may need to feed

the gospel

into your mind again.

You're going to need

to do it throughout the day.

You need to do it

throughout the week.

Meet with us other times.

None of that is enough.

You've got to delve

into the scriptures

sanctified

in the truth

because we've been

sent into this world

with a mission

just as Jesus

came into the world.

Let's pray together.