Volume 13 Issue 6 - June 1998 SMASH THE MIRROR? "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." (John 7:7) Often the sentiment of the modern-day Church tends to picture the agonizing crucifixion of our glorious Lord on the cross of Calvary as if He died surrounded by a giant group hug. There is a leaning within the Church to romanticize and to distance ourselves from the harsh reality of the world’s hatred against our wonderful Saviour and His sovereign claims upon men’s souls. We seem to forget the uncomfortable connection between the Lord’s confrontation and exposing of our sinful nature and the subsequent rage against His Person and the righteous standards by which He holds each person accountable.
would not be winning any popularity contests in this world, if we remain true to our Master. He told us plainly that men would hate us because they first hated Him. If they persecuted Him, we shouldn’t think it strange when they persecute us (though we do consider it strange, indeed). He warned the disciples of His day not to be offended when they were kicked out of Churches and martyred for their faith by those who thought they were doing God service. Brethren, these observations from God’s Word became very evident to me in Orlando. It was so vividly manifested as a small band of Christians gathered to publicly testify that the activities of child-killing, child pornography, and sodomy are evil. The event sponsored by Operation Rescue National was called "Operation Push Back." In 100 to 112 degree heat, we went to the three-fold "gates of hell" daily from May 31st-June 7th. The reaction from that city was one of contempt, arrogance, smugness, indifference, and hostility to the authority of Christ and His righteous standards contained in His Laws. Instead of being ashamed and broken by the open revelry in that which should make any sane man blush, the city celebrated with unbridled passion these abominations that is provoking God to anger. My heart breaks as those in civil authority, the Church, and the citizens of our land continue to turn their eyes, close their ears, harden their hearts, and sear their conscience to the warnings that God is sending to turn us back before it is too late. As a result, I believe we are finding ourselves in the same situation that our Lord faced just before His sacrifice on the cross. We must understand, when the world is confronted with the glaring truth that its thoughts, deeds, and actions are continually evil, they are forced to make a major decision. Will we turn from our wicked ways and receive the abundant pardon our Lord longs to give or will we smash the mirror that reveals our depravity before Him? Obviously, two thousand years ago, the world thought it easier to smash the mirror, the Lord Jesus Christ, than to change into His image. Well, like Solomon declared long ago, "There is nothing new under the sun." So now we find this same dangerous response to the followers of Christ from the world today. Brethren, there is no getting around the reality that what was true concerning our Lord, will also ring true for us, if we dare to testify of this world’s evil. For as the Father has sent His Son, so in like manner the Son sends us. If the world treated Him as a criminal to be punished, what will they do to us who follow hard after Him? Now I know the Church recoils from this adverse reaction from the world. That is why we go to great lengths to clean up God’s image, lower His standards, compromise His truth, and seek to make Jesus acceptable in order to be liked by the world we seek to reach. The only problem with that approach is, one day we awake to find the Church invaded by the spirit of the age and participating in the dominant evils that is begging for God’s judgment. Not only does this posture and treachery against heaven grieve our Lord, but it also perpetuates a major disservice to the souls of men we claim to love and the land we seek to heal. Brethren, these things ought not to be! We are called to be living epistles read of all men. We are to reflect the glory of our King. We are to make Jesus visible to a blinded world. We are His ambassadors to do His bidding and to faithfully represent His crown rights as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all the earth. And we must do so in a way where we are not taken unawares by the hostile reaction of a world gone mad in idolatry. We cannot afford to shrink back from the inevitable adversity that will surely come from those who think we are the problem because we love this world enough to tell them the truth. A truth so potent that it can set men free or so convicting it may invite the world to smash us as it did our loving Lord. In either case, the Scriptures teach us that this uncomfortable predicament is a win-win situation for those who press on and in to the high call and prize of our Lord Jesus Christ. If they receive our witness and our converted, we have gained a brother or sister. If they revile, persecute, or actually kill us, Jesus said, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven." I write these things not to scare or advocate a martyrs complex amongst God’s people. But it would be negligent not to consider where we are at and where we are heading in light of the opposition and adversity that is pursuing those who are pursuing Christ. I’m convinced the time has come for us to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Reformers, and all the righteous souls that have gone before us. We must reclaim their legacy of facing a hostile world and were willing to be smashed rather than dim the brilliance of God’s mirror that shined forth from their lives as a testimony to this darkened world. Their attitude of being found worthy to suffer for His name sake must also be restored, if the Church will regain the Biblical Christianity that turned the world upside down in the Book of Acts. Only authentic Christianity can be God’s instrument of change in a nation that is spiraling down the primrose path to perdition. PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (Matthew 3:3) I’ve been so busy as of late, I’ve not been able to share the great things the Lord has done recently. This particular article is written especially for those who have been faithful in your support of Elijah Ministries. The truth is, without your faithfulness in giving, testimonies like this would be greatly hindered. Therefore, I pray the Lord will add to your heavenly account the blessings that have been reaped through this ministry that you have so graciously supported. Thank you so much, dear brethren! All total, I have traveled 3 times to Orlando to help prepare the way of the Lord for "Operation Push Back." All three trips were significant, productive, and fruitful. The one that stands out was our second trip that was coordinated by Tom and Linda McGlade of Bradenton, Florida. This precious couple and their family arranged a week long itinerary for me in Bradenton and Orlando. It all started in typical Operation Rescue National fashion. We sponsored a city-wide pastor’s meeting and one brave pastor showed up. Disappointed, but not daunted, we challenged our dear brother with the vision of "Operation Push Back." The pastor was John Henry of Church of the Cross in Bradenton. This pastor, along with his elders, had previously invited me to speak at their Church on the following day. The Lord moved by His convicting power and about 7 or 8 precious souls were birthed into the Kingdom and added to God’s Church. One woman in particular, from the congregation was so stirred by the messages the Lord gave me to share, she went throughout the city to see if God would open other doors for Tom and I to speak at. Her efforts paid off and indeed many effectual doors were opened. Soon our schedule began to burgeon, to the point, that from the time we awoke to the time our heads hit the pillow, we were off and running the race the Lord had set before us. We spoke at churches, youth groups, interviews, a political meeting, and schools. The response was overwhelming as God moved upon the souls of men, women, and children to open their eyes, ears, and hearts to understand the times and what God expects us to do in light of these trying times. One of the main highlights which was typical of this anointed visit, came when we went to a "Christian" school in Bradenton. The fact that I got to speak to the entire student body was a miracle in itself. Before I began, I asked the chapel director if I could give an altar call. He chuckled and said, "I’ve been here quite some time and I’ve never seen one student respond to one, but feel free to have one, if you so desire." This response, just before I got up to speak, was like giving a bone to a pit bull. Needless to say, the challenge was on and thus I began the message with this declaration, "Young people I have 30 minutes to convince you to die for the cause of Christ." With that statement, we launched out asking God to bring forth a revelation that would open their eyes to unmask the enemy of their souls and the battlefront that is savaging their generation. The Lord heard those prayers and when the altar call was given, the entire student body jumped up to receive Christ. There were over two hundred fifty souls that responded to the call. The interesting point about this glorious reaction to the Gospel of the Kingdom is that they just didn’t surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ so they would have fire insurance and go to heaven. They signed up to fight the battle that is raging in their generation. They gave their lives to the Lord to take the enemy on and to take him out, in order to deliver their generation from the lies, killing, and destroying that is running rampant in their day. At the conclusion, many young men, who later told me they were bored to tears with church and didn’t give a flip about God or Christianity, jumped up with a warrior’s shout as God made the connection between their testosterone and being a good soldier of Jesus Christ. One young man came to me and said, "Sir, I’ve waited my whole life to hear something like this, my life will never be the same again." Little did he or I know how significant that confession would be in that young man’s life. A couple of weeks after that divine appointment that young man died and went home to be with his merciful Father who reached him with His loving grace just before he stepped into eternity. This same scenario was repeated at a second school with the same results. The entire student body stood to receive the Lord. Only the Lord knows for sure how many were converted, but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of three to four hundred precious souls. Obviously, there was much rejoicing in heaven and in my own heart as God watched over His Word to perform it in the lives of many. The other profound episode during our time in Bradenton occurred at the home of Tom and Linda McGlade. We felt the Lord would have us to host a gathering of young men to follow up with what the Lord imparted into their lives. About 25 young men showed from the different places we spoke at. I challenged them about the great need for righteous, godly, male leaders to arise and lead this nation out of the failed utopia promised by the bankrupt pagan philosophies that have polluted the land. I pleaded with them to develop godly character, integrity, read the Scriptures and study history, and begin to engage their generation and the enemy with the claims of Christ. The Spirit of God began to move as young men began to weep and openly confess secret sins before their peers whom they didn’t even know. At the conclusion of the meeting, I made an observation that seemed to sum up the great opportunity and challenge for these young men. I told them that this gathering was reminiscent of youth of a by-gone era that were trained to be Knights for the honor of their King. We briefly explored the code of the Knights and what inspired these young men to be heroic, chivalrous, and committed to the death for what they believed. We touched on their principles of living morally pure, speaking the truth in love, righting what is wrong, and most importantly, following their King wherever He leads. When I returned from Florida, little did I know my wife would greet me with a major confirmation of all the Lord accomplished during this wonderful time. As we were driving from the airport, she went through the mail with me, when all of a sudden, she came across a catalog of Christian books. She mentioned the catalog was filled with good books. When I inquired which books appeared to be good, her answer shook me to my core. The first one she pointed out was a book called "Raising a Modern -Day Knight, A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood." I said, "You got to be kidding me, you have no idea what just transpired in Bradenton along these same lines." The bottom line is, God birthed and graciously confirmed a ministry in Bradenton that will train up young men and women to learn, to do and to teach their generation the truths of God’s Word. They have committed to meet together to be trained and then to take it to the streets to engage the culture, their communities, and most important, the enemy with the claims and crown-rights of their King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray that they will indeed remain faithful and fulfill the destiny God birthed into their hearts. In Medieval times, all knights lived by a code. Loyalty to this high calling formed the core of every knights identity. It also served to define the progress of his life. Knighthood was based on honor. -Robert Lewis- Author of "Raising a Modern-Day Knight." OPERATION PUSH BACK IN REVIEW "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." (Psalm 44:5,6) Not trusting in a bow, sword, bomb, gun, or any other carnal weapon, Operation Rescue National, with this mandate from Psalms on our lips and a burning passion for Jesus in our hearts, came roaring into Orlando. Our trust in going rested solely on the awesome God who called us and sent us to the very "gates of hell." Gates that must be lifted up, so the King of Glory may come in to plunder the powers of darkness and to set the captives free. As it was in preparation for this event, so went the event itself. God continued to move by saving 12 souls that we were made aware of and He also saved six children and their mothers from the horrors of abortion. Souls were saved in prison, on the streets, and even at the local 7 Eleven Store. I personally had the privilege of leading a Wiccan Witch to the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. I challenged her that God was a jealous God and that she was breaking the First Commandment (thou shalt have no other gods before me) by being involved in witchcraft. I asked her how she would feel, if the man she married in a covenant relationship turned around and committed adultery right in front of her. She began to weep as she realized for the first time in her life that she was involved in spiritual adultery against her Lord. This woman who was so concerned about putting pollutants in her body, wasn’t the least concerned about the gross defilement she was pouring into her spirit as she went a whoring after other gods. When that revelation finally hit her, she not only wept, but repented of her idolatry and gave her life to Jesus. She completely renounced her past with witchcraft and pledged fidelity to her loving Lord. Praise God for that divine appointment! The city of Orlando prides itself on being the "City Beautiful." They only have a few problems in achieving that lofty plateau. No city can be considered beautiful that kills children up to the ninth month in the womb, that sells child-pornography, and that condones sodomy as a celebrated right. They may appear beautiful on the outside with all their Disney glitz, but on the inside, they are filled with dead man’s bones and everything that is unclean. In fact, I would dare say, Orlando is a microcosm of what is ugly, sick, and dying in our nation at large. Thus the reason for our coming to Orlando and praying that God would "push back" the enemies of the cross that are seeking to drown our nation in a sea of blood and perversity. From the beginning of the event, it was made clear that the city would consider good, evil and evil, good. Once that premise was established, they would go on to betray their word and break every agreement that we had negotiated with them before the event began. The height of their lack of integrity came when just before we were going to our first death camp to proclaim the Gospel, they issued us an injunction that forbade almost everything but breathing and that had to be done very quietly. I mean, according to this document, it was illegal for us to even sing a praise song at the abortion mills. In other words, that which was perfectly legal in May became illegal in June.
Here we have a city that bans the cross of Christ, arrests Christians on bogus charges, and then allows the homosexuals to fly their flag over their city, allows them to schedule an orgy night on Disney property, and allows them to conduct a bondage time (where homosexuals would be free to whip one another in open acts of sexual debauchery). Was there an injunction against that abominable behavior? Did the sodomites go to jail for performing obscene and lewd acts? No sir! Only Christians standing for decency, righteousness and moral sanity were deemed worthy of that fate. Brethren, I fear the corporate conscience of America is swiftly becoming reprobate. In light of this bizarre posturing by the "Beautiful City," it was no small wonder when we found ourselves aghast, outraged, and broken-hearted by this twisted change of events. I cried out to the police, particularly those who claimed to be Christians to think about and examine these things before the God they claim to know and love. I reminded them that they were called of God to serve and to protect, but what are they serving today and who are they protecting? As it stands, they are forced by "law" to protect child-killers, child pornographers, and sodomites that openly revel in their transgressions. I warned them of the dangers of allowing a corrupt system to dictate to them that they must put their consciences on neutral and vanquish from their souls any cherished Biblical convictions that they may hold dear. History teaches the painful lessons of wicked regimes who in times past demanded law enforcement to passively submit to lawless orders. Invariably, those demands led to atrocities, mass murder, and calamity. Of course, in the wake of these severe consequences, government officials would plead they were innocent of wrong doing because they were just "following orders" and just "doing their job." Previously, a police captain came to me and said, "If push came to shove, I would join you." I thought, "Dear God, how much pushing and shoving does it take before we make a principled stand and do what is right in the eyes of God." My final admonishment to over a hundred police dressed in black and adorned in full riot gear was this,
Will you still swallow the party line that you are just ‘doing your job’and just ‘following orders?’ What will it take before you realize that no paycheck is worth the price of losing of your own soul? Jesus said, ‘He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matthew 12:30).’" I pleaded with them to recognize that there are no convenient gray areas we can run to when it comes to Christ and the standards of His Word. We cannot serve two masters and the choice where our ultimate allegiance lies is suddenly upon us. I proceeded to exhort them that regardless of the cost, it was high time we did what was right. Ultimately, our trust needed to be in the Lord’s promise that He would honor those who honored Him. Needless to say, a lot of law enforcement have plenty to chew on and digest in the wake of "Operation Push Back." Pray that many of their hearts will turn to the Lord and that they will take a principled stand in a system that desperately needs to be reformed. The highlight of the event was our outreach at Disney on "Gay Day." We were lined up at the gates of Disney with signs such as: You can’t make a moral wrong into a civil right. America remember Sodom. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Disney was geared up and the sodomites were fired up, as they conspired to stop the witness of the Gospel. We sent four evangelistic teams surrounded by security and the media to witness to homosexuals lost in sin inside of Disney. The most powerful witness of all came, when a hundred thousand sodomites looked up and saw a plane with a large banner that read: JESUS CAN SET YOU FREE FROM YOUR LIFESTYLE. The place went ballistic as the Lord’s name was high and lifted up over Disney for over an hour. It was so effective, that the pro-abort, homosexuals who follow us to document our activities, turned to one of our pastor’s who was witnessing and said, "That is the most despicable thing Operation Rescue has ever done." Well, coming from them, we took that as a compliment!
NATIONAL INJUNCTION "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak your word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus." (Acts 5:29,30) I find it interesting that right before the Lord commands us to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death, He declares to the would-be rescuers, "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small (Proverbs 24:10)." In light of that admonishment, there can be no doubt that the day of adversity is coming upon those who are seeking to stop the bloodshed, upon those who dare to peaceably and non-violently resist the legalized evil that is being perpetrated by a corrupt government, and upon those who are giving their lives to see our nation return to righteousness, justice, and moral sanity. Operation Rescue National has been sued under R.I.C.O. in Chicago, sued under F.A.C.E. in Dayton, Ohio, and Washington DC, are currently being sued in Houston by the NOW gang, and has just gotten word that the powers that be are seeking to bring a national injunction against the leaders of the movement. None of this is taking into consideration what other charges may come out of our time in Orlando. But I will tell you, the Feds were there in mass recording all of our "criminal" and "subversive" activities. This latest attempt to kill with impunity and silence the witness of the Gospel is designed to put a "bubble zone" around individuals to ban them from every abortion mill in America. This kind of judicial tyranny is unprecedented in America. Flip and I, along with several others, are named and targeted. We are in communication and are planning our appropriate response. I will tell you, whatever the response, there is no backing up or backing off from representing our Lord, His message, and His heart for the little ones whose innocence and lives are being massacred daily. For the next several months, there will be extended periods of litigation, court trials, lawsuits, and quite possibly, even longer periods of jail time that await us. Your prayers, love, and support for us and our families are needed now more than ever. By God’s grace, we will continue to stand and keep you informed as the battle rages on. PREPARING MY FAMILY "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge." (Proverbs 14:26) As a husband and a father, I’ve sought to live my life as an example to my family. My goal has been simple: I desire those who know me best, to love and respect me the most. I’ve done my best, by God’s grace, to live out my faith in such a way that my life is the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Bible promises that the man who fears the Lord is building a place of refuge for his children. Brethren, that is my heart as I prepare my family for the uncertain future that is seeking to criminalize me, plunder our goods, and separate me from those I love the most, my family. I come to you, the Body of Christ, with an heartfelt request: Will you continue to stand with us with your prayers and financial support as my family faces that uncertain future? Right now, we are three thousand dollars in debt that I am seeking to pay off. I don’t want that weight on Liz and my children, if anything should happen to me. Would you please consider, starting this month, to seek the Lord on what you can do to help us become debt-free before the legal battles begin? Those of you who have received this newsletter know that I rarely mention money. I couldn’t preach or write half of what I say, if money was a major motivation in this ministry. I know the Lord is our source, but I also know He uses the Body to meet the need. Thank you for considering us as you give to the Lord’s work.
IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE, Rusty Lee Thomas |
