A preacher from Australia tells the story of God’s convicting work in his life as a teenager. He went to a church and heard this text preached from the pulpit, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” The sermon made him thoroughly disgusted with himself, and annoyed with the preacher, so he went to another church. To his surprise, the same preacher walked to the pulpit and preached the same sermon! That night he went to a third place of worship, and you guessed it, the same preacher with the same sermon echoed through the sanctuary, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” The man remembered that all this was too much for his teenage ways. He said, “That night I surrendered to the love that had sought me in three places!”
Has/Is God speaking to you about the sanctity of life and real love for others…but you have reasoned your thoughts away from it each time? Perhaps deep down you admit you become annoyed with yourself so you try to change the message you will hear? Oh, how vital it is to embrace all life, created in the image of God, and truly love others. 3 realities about unwanted life struggles:
1. God cuts thru my darkness
darkness does not change darkness – only light cuts through darkness.
Psalm 139:12-13.
An eight-year-old Israeli boy was stuck floating overnight in the Dead Sea after his father left him there by mistake. Fortunately, the high salt content in the water keeps swimmers afloat or he probably would have drowned. The ordeal lasted six hours!
Rescue workers said the boy, Shneur Zalman Friedman, from Jerusalem, was in the sea with his father and two brothers on Thursday evening when currents swept him away from shore, without anyone noticing.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the family was part of a large group visiting a beach reserved for ultra-orthodox Jewish men away from main public areas.
His father left the water with other members of the group and only noticed the boy was missing as darkness fell, Rosenfeld said.
A major search by police helicopters and volunteers in motorboats finally found Shneur about 2 miles from the shore early Friday after six hours in the strong-smelling, corrosive water, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav of the Zaka rescue organization said.
The boy was dehydrated and frightened but otherwise healthy, he said. Shneur told his rescuers he remained calm throughout the ordeal, saying prayers and thinking about his school friends as he floated in the darkness.
“The boy said that he didn’t try to swim, he just drifted with the current,” Rosenfeld said.
The mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea helped keep the boy afloat but could have choked him had he panicked and swallowed large quantities, said Omer Cohen of the Megilot volunteer rescue unit.
After hours of fruitless searching, workers had all but given up hope of finding the boy alive.
“We thought we were looking for a body,” Cohen said. “We were surprised to find the boy alive and well.” (Source: MSNBC, August 5, 2007)
Many people are sinking in depression, in hopelessness, in worry. Many are sinking in the consequences of their choices or the outcomes of simply living life! They think they have the answer to unwanted life (pregnancies, elderly, horrifying disease, hard life situations) in death, but the real answer to unwanted life is in LIFE! Yet, unless we reach them with the Gospel soon, it will be too late.
We must live out “our role” here — in the most practical ways! The church is the light (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus is the source of and is the true light (John 8:12)!
2. God creates in His image
How could we possibly destroy what God has made in His image? Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:13, 15.
Some have said, abortion isn’t murder…an unborn child isn’t a human being until born.
However, viable human life…
GROWS. The baby in the womb continually grows!
DEVELOPS.
…by 5 weeks after conception the brain develops.
…by 6 weeks arms & legs begin to be visible.
…by 7 weeks hands & feet are shaped, and facial features are visible.
HAS LIFE AFFIRMING TRAITS…at 7 weeks a heart beats at about 150 beats per minute.
REQUIRES ACTION TO END LIFE. An abortion doctor crushes the skull or destroys the body in some way (to ensure the baby is not born still living). Why such aggression if the baby isn’t “alive” in the womb?
IS USED FOR MEDICAL TESTS. Planned Parenthood sells aborted baby parts as human body parts. If the baby was just a glob of stuff and not viable human life, why are their parts wanted for stem cell research?
But what about those of us who already believe this? Some already believe abortion or euthanasia is a sinful act. Do we simply say amen and leave here believing ourselves to be on higher ground? Take a moment to study Matthew 5:21-24. The master preacher (Jesus Christ) equated murder to hating one without cause. Are we looking at the abortionist with burden, maybe even disdain, while finding ourselves guilty of hatred? The Lord has put murder and hate on the same pathway!
3. God ought be praised
God ought NOT be mocked by denying the value of His creation (Psalm 139:14).
Amid all the varying deficiencies, handicaps, and diseases seen in human life, we must not lose sight that every life is created in the image of God! Thank you, God, for my imperfect life! Thank you for disease. Thank you for handicaps. Thank you for the deficiencies. Thank you for trusting me with this life!
Psalm 127:3, children a blessing from God
Lev. 19:32, “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
Prov. 16:31, “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”
John Harper was a Scottish preacher aboard the Titanic. When the ship hit an iceberg and sank, Harper was clinging to a piece of driftwood. As he was out in the darkness a man drifted close to him crying, and Harper shouted to him, "Are you saved?" the man replied, "No." Harper said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." The man drifted away, but shortly came back into sight. Again, Harper asked, "Are you saved?" the man again said, "No," again Harper shouted to the man, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Soon after that, Harper slipped under the waves and went home to be with Jesus. The other man was rescued a short time later by the S.S. Carpathia, and later testified that he was John Harper's last convert. With his dying breath John Harper gave a good word spoken in due season!
In short, the gospel is the root of the cure! However, there are other practical helps in the struggles of those facing an unwanted life.
7 Cures & Alternatives for Unwanted Life:
1. Adoption/Foster Care
2. Helping pregnancy centers
3. Encouraging a pregnant woman
4. A believer’s deeper relationship with Jesus
5. A powerful prayer life
6. The gospel
7. Discipleship/Mentoring
What part is God calling you to play in the actual solution to protecting unwanted life?