RESCUE THOSE BEING LED AWAY TO DEATH

10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!  11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.  12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?  (Proverbs 24:10-12)

Every day, over 4300 babies are murdered through abortion in this country of ours.  That adds up to over 1.5 million little baby boys and girls that are slaughtered each year.  With our mouths, we claim to be pro-life, yet with our actions we are saying, “But we knew nothing about this.”  Why would I say such a thing?  Because we are not rescuing those being led away to death.  We are not holding back those staggering toward slaughter.  Yet, instead of confessing our apathy, and repenting, we justify our actions with every excuse in the book.  And I would submit to you that we – the Church of Jesus Christ – are responsible for every drop of blood that is shed through abortion.

That is a bold statement isn’t it?  Well, this is not something that I arrived at overnight.  Through a series of events, and with the urging of some men of God, I eventually saw that I was responsible to stand and fight for these children.  And, more than that, it would be sin for me not to.  But don’t take my word for it.  Tonight, I plan on showing you this through the Word of God.

On February 23, 2005 I came to Christ with a repentant heart.  That day, I was born again and all my sins were washed away.  I got all of the Holy Spirit, yet it took a little while for me to give Him all of me.  When I decided to put my trust in Christ, I also decided that the drugs had to go.  So, after a few months they were gone.  At least, for a while anyway.  Only six months after my conversion, I found myself just about as bad on drugs as I had ever been.

On the night of August 18, 2005 I went to a prayer meeting.  I was disappointed because the drugs I had taken had not kicked in.  That night, as I tried to pray, God convicted me in a way that I had never before experienced.  I realized that it was not just the drugs that I needed to repent of.  Everything I had ever done was an offense to a Holy God.  I cried out to God in a way that I had never cried out to him.  I surrendered all; not just my drug addiction, but my house, my car, my job…my entire life.  I died that night for good.  The next morning, I was delivered!  Everything was different.  And it’s been that way ever since.

It only took God a few days to take me up on all that I had surrendered to him.  I found myself heading to Wichita, Kansas in a fifteen passenger van with a family of ten for a pro-life mission trip.  It was on this trip that my eyes were opened to two things that I had never before seen.

One, that God had given me a gift to evangelize.  I found that it was easy for me to go up to strangers and share the gospel with them.  I’m not saying it’s easy, in the way that I don’t get nervous.  No, I still get nervous.  I mean easy in the way that God’s Spirit leads me through the conversation.

The second thing that my eyes were open to was the battle of abortion.  As I stood outside George Tiller’s abortion clinic, someone filled me in on the horrible things that took place behind those closed doors.  Not only do they murder the babies, but the parents can actually have their pictures taken with their dead child.  There is also a priest on site that will baptize the dead child, putting God’s stamp of approval on this abominable practice.  Then, they toss the lifeless body into an incinerator and burn the child’s remains.  Yes, my eyes were open to the fact that I had to stand and do something about this.

When I returned home, I was on fire for God.  It was different than the false fire I sometimes received when I would go to these youth conferences.  No, I had been changed.  I started going to the malls every chance I had to witness for the Lord and I was also going to the abortion clinic on Saturdays.  However, it wasn’t long that I began to follow my gifts, rather than the giver.  Oh, the fire hadn’t gone out.  I just decided that I was going to do what I “felt” I should do.  I knew that I was called to evangelize, but I wasn’t so sure about the abortion ministry.  I assuaged my guilty conscience by going to others that were like-minded, so I could get someone to tell me the same thing.  That wasn’t hard at all.  So, not long after I had received clear direction from the Lord, I ventured on my own path.

Over the next six months or so, I continued to spend a lot of time witnessing, while ignoring the battle at the gates of Hell.  That was until I followed Operation Save America down to Jackson, Mississippi for their 2006 National Event.  It was there that I saw something that forever changed my vision.  There were several things that took place that week that I will never forget, but there was one in particular that filled me with godly sorrow, which led me to repentance.

Every year, OSA has a memorial service for a little baby that was murdered through abortion.  This particular year, the baby’s name was Choice.  She was only about six inches long, laying in a tiny little casket.  I had heard that this would be a real child, but nothing could prepare me for what my eyes saw.  When I laid my eyes on that helpless little child, tears welled up in my eyes.  I fell to the ground and wept before the Lord.  Oh, it was a horrible tragedy, but that was not the direction of my sorrow.  No, I had realized, on that day, that all my excuses would not amount to a hill of beans when I stood before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  I repented of my apathy.  I promised that little baby; I promised God; that I would stand and fight…no matter the cost.

That day, my eyes were opened to this battle.  God showed me that I was responsible to stand up for my unborn neighbors.  I only hope and pray that your eyes would be opened to the same thing.  May God use His Word tonight, to show this to you.

Let’s look at Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Let’s start by taking a look at the expert in the Law.  He asked Jesus a very good question didn’t he?  The problem was that he had only come to Jesus with the intention of testing Him.  So, he came with the right question, but had the wrong motives.  A good lesson we could take from this is that, anytime someone comes to us with the intention of testing the Lord, we should always take them straight to the Law of God.  It is always, always, always Law to the proud, grace to the humble.  No exceptions.

However, I would like to pull something else out of this.  What if someone comes to us with a question like this, but does it with the right heart?  Well, I would submit to you that, despite the motives of the person asking the question, we should never give an answer according to our own opinion, feelings, political correctness, or based on our emotional attachment to that person.  Let me give you an example.

A few weeks ago, a young lady (we’ll call her Lisa) called me and told me that she was in somewhat of a bind.  Here was her situation.  She and her husband had conceived a child.  Now, she already had an older child and told to me that they were not trying to get pregnant.  I shouldn’t have to say it, but that’s not the problem (that’s a blessing from God).  No, the problem was the report from the doctor.

When she went to the doctor, she was informed that she was not supposed to get pregnant.  Apparently, due to some surgeries, her cervix was not strong enough to carry this baby full term.  At most, she could carry him or her for five months.  Here were the doctors suggestions.  She could wait the five months and give birth to the baby, but have to watch him or her die.  Or, they could take care of this soon, by aborting the child.

This woman was a born again Christian and she knew that abortion was wrong, but you can only imagine the things that went through her mind.  She definitely did not want to have to watch her own child die in her arms.  She wondered if this would be an instance when the loving thing to do would be to go ahead and have the abortion, so the child wouldn’t suffer as much.  So, as most Christians would do, she consulted her Pastor.

Now, surely her Pastor offered her biblical advice, right?  Well, you be the judge.  He said to her, “Lisa, you have the responsibility to love this baby and to be a good mother.  Now, whether that means for one day, for six months, or for the rest of your life, you have to be a loving mother to this child.”  Did he give her the right answer?  Absolutely not!  That was the worst answer he could have given her.  He basically said that it would be OK no matter what she did, as long as she did it with loving intentions.  And, worst of all, being that he is a Pastor, he put God’s stamp of approval on it.

Finally, she called me to get my advice.  The first words out of my mouth were, “Lisa, the Word of God says, “Thou shalt not murder.”  And there are no exceptions to that.”  She actually thanked me for telling her the truth.  She said, “I was looking for someone to tell me the truth that had no emotional attachments to me.”  Beloved, whether or not you are emotionally attached to someone does not dictate truth.  No.  The Word of God dictates truth.

One good thing about this woman was that she was seeking the truth.  The expert in the Law was quite different.  He not only displayed this by his motives for questioning Jesus, but he also showed this by his response to Jesus when he was confronted with God’s Law.  The Law is meant to show us where we fall short.  Instead of confessing to Jesus that he did not love God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength, and he didn’t love his neighbor, he went where so many of us go when we are confronted with our sin.  He tried to justify himself by asking, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus was well aware of this, so He decided to bust him up even more.  Not only did he answer his question, and show him who his neighbor was.  He went on to show him who he was.

One thing I should point out here is that most commentators would say that this is not a parable at all.  We can’t say for sure because the text doesn’t really say.  But it would seem odd for Jesus to tell a parable like this because he would be setting Himself up.  The Jews would respond that it is an unbelievable story for a Samaritan-an enemy of the Jews-to save a Jew.  The reason I think that is important is because I believe that Jesus was using this story because the expert in the law had actually heard it before and He knew it would really bust him up.

So, right off the bat, in verse thirty, Jesus shows the expert in the Law who his neighbor was.  “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.” “There’s your neighbor, and he’s in the ditch.  Now, let me show you who you are.”

“A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.“ If anyone had excuses to pass by the man in the ditch, the priest did, right?  After all, he had this high calling of God on his life to perform all of his temple responsibilities.  It was his job to offer up the sacrifices to God.  His calling was clear.  Surely God wouldn’t have him get dirty and save his neighbor.  What if he tried to help him and he died?  Well, he would be unclean for seven days and couldn’t perform in his temple duties.

The priest saw his neighbor, in need, yet walked by on the other side of the road.  But, I’m sure he, at least, prayed for the man.  That’s all God would have him do, right?

Then you have the Levite.  “So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.“ The Levite had all of the excuses that the Priest had didn’t he?  But the Levite was also the worship leader of his day.  He was in charge of the praise and thanksgiving in the temple.  Now the Levite was gifted.  Nobody could sing or play music like him.  I’m sure he wrote songs about the mercy and justice of God.  Yet, when it came to put these things into practice, what did he do?  We passed by on the other side of the road.

Beloved, we have heard this story many times.  We know that the priest and Levite were wrong in their treatment of the man in the ditch.  But, let me give you a modern-day example of this.

Imagine I am witnessing to a lost man.  You know, I’m using my gift of evangelism.  This is my calling.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see a little toddler walking up.  Then, out of nowhere, a man grabs her and carries her to his car.  What do I do?  Well, I stretch out my hands and pray, “Father, in Jesus name, please put a stop to this horrible thing called child abuse.  Lord, send someone to rescue this child.  In Jesus’ name, amen.”  Then, I continue witnessing to the man and lead him to Christ.  Praise the Lord, right?  Wrong.

Beloved, that child’s father is going to come looking for me.  Why?  Because I am guilty of his daughters’ blood.  It was my responsibility to do something, yet all I did was pray.  I’m sure you would agree with me on that.  Just as you would probably agree that the priest and Levite would have been responsible for the blood of the man in the ditch, had he died.

Well, what should I have done?  I should have done as the Samaritan man.  I should have dropped what I was doing, regardless of what it was, to rescue that child.  I should have rescued my neighbor in the ditch.

When I was in Las Vegas a couple of months ago, for the 2009 OSA National Event, I was able to share this same message with a man I ran into at the Fremont Street Experience.  I was standing at the truth display, which shows the graphic truth of abortion, when a man walked up to me to thank us for being out there.  I greeted him and tried to give him a tract.  He said he didn’t need it because he was a Pastor.  I told him that he needed it all the more, because it would show him what he could do to help end abortion.  He took it and said he would give it to one of his members who is very pro-life.  Then he caught himself to reassure me that he was very pro-life too.

The man standing next to me asked the Pastor how many member he had in his congregation.  “300”, he answered.  So my friend asked him what he thought would happen if he took his entire church to an abortion clinic in Los Angeles.  At that point, he got very stern, and said, “God has not told me to do that, and until he does, I can’t do it.”

I asked him if he was familiar with the story about the good samaritan.  He said he was.  I shared, with him, the same message I have shared with you.  I even told him the hypothetical about me witnessing to the man on the steps.  He agreed with me the whole way.  Then I asked him a questions.  “Sir,” I said, “How is that toddler that was abducted anymore valuable, in God’s eyes, than this child right here?”  I pointed to a little boy that had been brutally murdered through a partial-birth abortion.  His head had been cut off.  The Pastor said, “Son, I understand what you’re saying, but God hasn’t told me to do that.”  I said very sternly, “Sir.  God just told you to do it.  He said, ‘Go and do likewise.'”  The conversation pretty much ended after that.

Let me ask you the same question.  If you believe it would be my responsibility to rescue that toddler from the hands of her abductor, why would you not say that I am just as responsible to rescue unborn children from the clutches of death.  Is not a child in the womb every bit as valuable as a child outside the womb?  In the answer is yes.  Or, at least, according to God.  The problem is, with our mouths we say that we believe life begins at conception, but our actions say that life does not begin until we can see the child, or if we are, in some way, emotionally attached.  Other than that, it’s just not your calling to do something about it, right?

You might be saying, “Well, I see what you’re saying, but what can I really do?  Do you really expect me to go out with you to abortion clinics?”  That’s exactly what I’m saying.  Then you might say, “But I’m just little old me.  What good will I do?”  Beloved, you might think that that is a weakness, but that’s exactly the attitude God is looking for.  He’s not looking for those who are proud.  No, he’s looking for the meek.  You’ve got to realize that you really can’t do anything apart from him.  You really are nothing.  And praise God, he will use you.

Just in case you don’t believe me, let me tell you about a couple of “little old me’s” that God has used to save many lives in the city of Charlotte.  After hearing the message that all Christians have a responsibility to rescue little babies from the grips of death, Grandma and Chrissy were cut to the heart.  Grandma is the mother of Rev. Flip Benham, National Director of Operation Save America.  He’s also a leader at my church.  Chrissy is his sister.

They went to Flip and asked him what they could do to help.  He told them that they could come to the clinics with him every day of the week.  This was key, because we had a presence at the clinics on Saturday, but not many came out during the week.  So, of course, their response was, “We’re just little old me’s.  What difference could we ever make?”  Flip told them that 95% of the battle is just showing up.  God would take care of the rest.

Flip told them that he would begin to keep count of all the babies that are saved from that day forward.  So, Grandma and Chrissy’s first day at the clinic was October 27th, 2008.  They have been faithful to go out nearly every day.  Since that day, there have been over 400 little babies saved from the three clinics in the city of Charlotte (I am writing this on September 25th, 2009).  Praise God!  Just think how many classrooms that would fill up.

Beloved, you have heard the truth.  You have a choice.  Will you continue to make excuses as to why you are not called to stand in the gap on behalf of the unborn?  Or, will you repent today?  Will you put all of your excuses behind you and begin to stand up for unborn children, no matter the cost?  I would ask you, beloved, to please soften your heart today.  If what I have spoken is true, than you have a responsibility to respond.

Thank you for your time.  I pray that you will, from this day forward, rescue those being led away to death and hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

For His Glory,
Adam Tennant