Pastor David's Sermons

11/1/08

God’s View of Life

John 10:10

 

What God says about the unborn:

 

          Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
       “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
      Before you were born I sanctified you;
      I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

                           Jeremiah 1:4, 5

       We believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, and not only gave them life but created them with the ability to reproduce their own living human offspring. We believe that through the Bible God has instructed us to respect that "gift" of reproduction and to respect the life that it brings. He has done this through instructions that are sometimes very specific and at other times broad in nature; however, the general principle, throughout both the Old and New Testaments, is that life is precious and is to be respected and protected from conception to natural death.

Medical authorities determine a person to be "alive" if there is either a detectable heartbeat or brain-wave activity. With that in mind, it is eye-opening for some to realize that unborn children have detectable heartbeats at eighteen days (two and one-half weeks) after conception and detectable brain-wave activity forty days (a little over five and one-half weeks) after conception. What is so shocking is that essentially 100 percent of all abortions occur after the seventh week of pregnancy.

                   Sanctity of Life, C. Swindoll, Word, 1990, p. 11-12.

God knew David before he was born:

Psalm 139:13-15
"You did form my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb...you knew me right well; my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret..."

God speaks to Jeremiah showing that the child in the womb is a person:

Jeremiah1:4-5
"Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you."

The entity in the womb is a baby:

Luke1:41-44
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy."

This is the same word (brephos) Luke uses in Luke 2:12,16 "You will find a baby lying in a manger." Luke 18:15,16 meaning infants, and 1 Peter 2:2 "newborn babes."

The following concerning John the Baptist: 

Luke 1:15
 "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth."

God knows the personalities of the unborn:

Genesis 25:23 
"two nations are in thy womb" (Jacob and Esau) "and two manner of people."

Paul writes: 

Galatians 1:15
 "But when He had set me apart before I was born...and had called me through His grace."

Consider the most unique person of all, our Savior Jesus Christ. Unique as He is, the scriptures tell us that in His human nature He was to be like us in every way.

Hebrews 2:17
"Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest."

Is there any question of Jesus' personhood before birth? From the moment of conception to the day He died on the cross He lived in humanness like you and I.

What is man's (mankind's) worth:

Genesis 1:27
 "God created man in His own image."

Job 10:12
 "Thou hast granted me life."

Psalm 8
 "When I consider Thy heavens, the Works of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou doest take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty! Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet.... Oh Lord our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth."

On the surface it might seem that these verses are irrelevant to us today; however, each year in this country approximately 1.5 million babies are sacrificed by their parents. They are not cast into the fiery mouth of Baal; they are aborted instead. The results are the same. They are all very innocent ; they are all very dead. We, as a Nation, are guilty. Since Roe vs. Wade, January 22, 1973, our laws have allowed the killing of innocent preborn babies.

God is pro-life

          Satan is pro-death and destruction

 

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10

 

Types of abortion procedures:

        Suction Aspiration

This is the most common method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. General or local anesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is quickly dilated. A suction curette (hollow tube with a knife-edged tip) is inserted into the womb. This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube. The vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner, tears the fetus and placenta into small pieces which are sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded.

Dilation and Curettage (D&C)

This method is similar to the suction method with the added insertion of a hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded.  I would show you pictures of this, but it is so bad, it’s not fitting for a worship service, nor for children to see.  It is absolutely diabolical.

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)

This method is used up to 18 weeks' gestation. Instead of the loop-shaped knife used in D&C abortions, a pair of forceps is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the fetus. The teeth of the forceps twist and tear the bones of the unborn child. This process is repeated until the fetus is totally dismembered and removed. Usually the spine must be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove them.  Again, diabolical.  This is a real child of God that is literally dismembered, piece by piece.

Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection):

Used after 16 weeks (four months) when enough fluid has accumulated. A long needle injects a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby swallows this fluid and is poisoned by it. It also acts as a corrosive, burning off the outer layer of skin. It normally takes somewhat over an hour for the baby to die from this. Within 24 hours, labor will usually set in and the mother will give birth to a dead or dying baby. (There have been many cases of these babies being born alive. They are usually left unattended to die. However, a few have survived and later been adopted.)

Prostaglandin Chemical Abortion

This form of abortion uses chemicals developed by the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. which cause the uterus to contract intensely, pushing out the developing baby. The contractions are more violent than normal, natural contractions, so the unborn baby is frequently killed by them -- some have even been decapitated. Many, however, have also been born alive.

Hysterotomy or Caesarean Section

Used mainly in the last three months of pregnancy, the womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. The technique is similar to a Caesarean delivery, except that the umbilical cord is usually cut while the baby is still in the womb, thus cutting off his oxygen supply and causing him to suffocate. Sometimes the baby is removed alive and simply left in a corner to die of neglect or exposure.

Partial-Birth Abortion

Five steps to a partial birth abortion:

1.   Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's legs with forceps.
 

2.   The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
 

3.   The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
 

4.   The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the skull.
 

5.   The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.

 

 

 

Barack Obama & partial-birth abortions

 

Barack Obama told Planned Parenthood in 2007 that if elected, the first thing he would do is make the Freedom of Choice amendment federal law.  If made law, this amendment would supercede the current laws that most of he states have, which have to do with parental consent and partial-birth abortion.  This would give a whole new meaning to “abortion on demand.”  Parents would have no say whatsoever.

 

Let me be absolutely clear: abortion is wrong, partial birth abortion is wrong, encouraging girls to have abortions without their parents knowing is wrong, and no believer—no Christian should vote for a politician who is in favor of such cruelty and ungodliness.

 

Barack Obama voted in favor of partial birth abortion—the most cruel kind of abortion.  He also voted four times not to protect babies born alive in abortion procedures.

 

Every day 3,000 babies are killed through abortions.  And every single abortion stops a beating heart.

 

The unborn may not have the ability to vote, but you do.  The unborn are not able to protect themselves or defend themselves, but you can take a stand for truth, and defend their right to life.  You do that through voting for pro-life state representatives, senators, and president.

 

You can also speak up for unborn babies in conversations you have with people...You can remind them that unborn children have a right to live—that God considers the fetus a soul—a human being.

 

You can remind them how barbaric abortion is, especially partial-birth abortion...You can remind them that they were once an unborn baby, and their mother chose to have them...Talk about the families who would love to be able to adopt an unwanted child—there are MANY such families.

 

3,000 abortions a day!

          Families that want to adopt . . . and are not given the chance.

 

The unborn are not the only victims

          After-effects for women/emotional damage

 

God is pro-family

          Gay marriage

 

The public school system in America has become so inundated with leftist ideas and propaganda, that today’s young person is immersed in a radical, immoral bath of concepts and ideas.  Bill Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist who took part in the bombing of the Pentagon, etc., is a socialist through and through.  And yet, his textbooks on education and curriculum are used by thousands of teachers nationwide.

 

“Social justice” is a left-slanting phrase for socialism and robbing those who have to give to those who don’t.  That’s what our kids today are being taught, except it isn’t called socialism.  The kids are not taught the virtues of taking care of themselves and working hard and applying themselves.  They are taught that the role of government is to take care of the masses, the poor, and if government doesn’t do this, it’s a bad government.

 

They are also taught that a woman’s rights are supremely important, and that if a woman so desires, she can rid herself of an unwanted baby.  She has the right to do so.  It’s seen as a social justice issue and equality.  The baby within her has no rights.

 

This is a huge inconsistency within the ultra-liberal camp.  They talk so much about the important of children, children’s rights, protecting children, levies that give more money to children’s services, etc.  AND YET THEY TOTALLY DISREGARD THE MILLIONS OF UNBORN CHILDREN THAT ARE MASSACRED IN OUR LAND, IN THE NAME OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS!!

 

Our society has no black and white anymore.  There are no absolutes; no moral compass.  It’s all relative.

 

Moral relativism is rampant in our schools.  Our children are being taught, year after year, that “morality” is something that changes from one person’s perspective to another, and that we have no right to interfere with another person’s sense of right and wrong.  It’s all relative.  It all “depends” on the moment, on the situation, on how you feel.

 

But nothing is said about the turmoil and lifelong emotional damage that is done to a young lady who has an abortion without being properly counseled about alternatives.  The pain, the turmoil, nothing is said to students about any of that.  It’s all about CHOICE.  WOMEN DESERVE TO HAVE A CHOICE.

 

The same could be said for gay marriage and gay rights in general.  The Bible completely condemns homosexual practices.  But the teachers and the textbooks in our public schools are brainwashing the kids into believing that so and so has the right to marry anyone they want, no matter what their gender is.

 

The liberal morally-relativistic agenda has flooded our school systems for some time now.  The result is that young people today are confused.  They don’t accept that there is a God who declares to us what is right and what is wrong.  Many of them have bought into the lie of Satan, that with increased knowledge of other belief systems and lifestyles, there is freedom, there is true bliss.  It’s a lie.

 

There is no true peace outside of a surrendered relationship with Jesus Christ, and obedience to His Word.

 

The state of California is about to vote on whether or not to define “marriage” as a union between a man and a woman.  The people have to vote on this, because the judges in the state took it upon themselves to make laws themselves, and to allow gay marriage to take place.  California is a super-liberal state.  I lived there for a good portion of my life.  But the citizens of California have an opportunity to stand up for what is right, and put those irresponsible judges in their place.  We shall see.  God is watching California, and His patience is running out.

 

The Christian has a duty to defend the unborn, to defend holy matrimony as defined by God.  These are MORAL ISSUES that we are talking about.

 

There are economic principles that, if not followed, a country can be messed up for a long time.  But beyond economics, there are moral issues at stake in this election.

 

I urge you to look not at personality, not at words, not at one’s age or youth, BUT LOOK AT WHERE THE CANDIDATE STANDS ON LIFE.  LOOK AT THE MORAL ISSUES, MORE THAN ANYTHING.  GOD GAVE US THE FREEDOM TO VOTE FOR OUR LEADERS.  HE EXPECTS US TO TAKE THAT RIGHT SERIOUSLY.

 

SO VOTE WITH YOUR MIND, NOT WITH YOUR EMOTION.

A professor in a world-acclaimed medical school once posed this medical situation -- and ethical problem -- to his students: "Here's the family history: The father has syphilis. The mother has TB. They already have had four children. The first is blind. The second had died. The third is deaf. The fourth has TB. Now the mother is pregnant again, The parents come to you for advice. They are willing to have an abortion, if you decide they should. What do you say?"

The students gave various individual opinions, and then the professor asked them to break into small groups for "consultation." All of the groups came back to report that they would recommend abortion.

"Congratulations," the professor said, "You just took the life of Beethoven!"

Unborn, unwanted babies should be allowed to live, because it’s right in God’s sight, because there are many families who are willing to adopt, and because we never know what plans God might have for the baby, later in life.