Volume 17 Issue 4 - April 2002 PROCLAIM LIBERTY "And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family." (Leviticus 25:10) 1775 was a tumultuous year. War was inevitable, yet unwanted. In late March a controversial subject was breached among the members of the Virginia Convention. Ought they prepare for war? In the midst of the debate, on March 23rd, a man nobly rose to his feet and settled the question... Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death! With these potent words our Homeschool Coop, F.A.I.T.H., invited the Waco community to our first annual Day of Liberty festivities. On Saturday, March 23rd, in the year of our Lord 2002, we gathered together to commemorate the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous speech that became the trumpet of the American Revolution. Our program consisted of a Welcome, the Pledge to our flag, the Christian flag and the Word of God, a dance, Old Testament and New Testament Liberty readings, Children’s Processional, Invocation, Watchword of Liberty Drama, a Liberty Day sermon by yours truly, and concluded with a powerful drama to Ray Boltz’s, "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb." On the following page is the Liberty Day Proclamation that family Patriarchs and Matriarchs were invited to sign, inspired by the Erber family in Illinois. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." -Thomas Jefferson F.A.I.T.H. Day of Liberty Proclamation Whereas: Liberty is the fertile soil in which God’s people can most effectively flourish; Whereas: Throughout all ages men have valiantly given their lives for liberty which we hold hold near and dear today and ought to follow their example by defending liberty with the same passionate zeal; Whereas: The Holy Scriptures repeatedly command us to proclaim liberty; and our Savior, Jesus the Christ, came to set men at liberty; (Lev. 25:10; Isaiah 61:1; Jer. 34:15-17; Luke 4:18;); Whereas: On this 23rd day of March in the year of our Lord, 1775, Patrick Henry did so nobly arise and denounce the irresponsibility of the elected sentinels of liberty; and, Whereas: The cause of liberty is growing weaker with the years of selfish living, and ought to be revived before it is wholly extinguished; Resolved: That this day, the 23rd of March, should be set apart for the commemorating of liberty. It should be observed by the recounting of various noble deeds attending liberty, the reciting of past orations, and numerous original speeches that would stir the hearts of mankind to beseech Almighty God for liberty in this day when tyranny is pressing in. Signed:_______________________________________________________ Patriarch’s signature Signed:_______________________________________________________ Matriarch’s signature LIBERTY DAY SERMON "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1) For the Liberty Day sermon, I utilized the statements contained in the Liberty Day Proclamation as the basis for the message. Prayerfully, it will be thought provoking, inspiring, and bring God’s conviction upon those who read it. Whereas: Liberty is the fertile soil in which God’s people can most effectively flourish; There is no instance in history where a nation lost its civil liberty and was able to maintain its religious liberty. On the other hand,you cannot have a tyrannical state that descends into despotism without first the Church of Jesus Christ veering from the truth. An apostate Church and tyrannical state walk hand in hand. You can’t have one, without the other. The Apostle Paul challenged Christians in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 to pray for the fertile soil of liberty, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Clearly, the Apostle Paul acknowledges the vital link between civil government and the liberty of God’s people as it relates to the earthly realm. It is also evident that Paul believes that civil liberty is crucial to the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Otherwise martyrdom at the hands of dictators becomes inevitable, especially if the Church remains true to Her Lord and His vision and mission in the earth. Then once again, the blood of the saints will be required to break the strongholds of tyranny and secure the blessings of liberty for their posterity. This scenario has been repeated countless times in history and is a current struggle today in America and abroad. Therefore, if we still have some semblance of liberty remaining, let us be mindful of these truths to nurture, defend, and secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and for those who come behind us. For once lost, the price of liberty is high to reinstate. Whereas: Throughout all ages men have valiantly given their lives for liberty which we hold near and dear today and ought to follow their example by defending liberty with the same passionate zeal; John Quincy Adams, our 6th President, made this plea to future generations, "Posterity-you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom, I hope you will make good use of it." When one honestly surveys the deplorable condition of our beloved land, can we truly say we have made good use of it? If we are honest, there is only one appropriate response, NO! Brothers and sisters, the Apostles, the early Church Fathers, the Reformers, our Founding Fathers, the Martyrs, and every righteous spirit made perfect in faith have faithfully run their lap of the race. They have faithfully passed the torch of freedom and liberty to us. They are dead and it’s our turn now! We must reclaim their costly, godly heritage, make it viable today, and pass it unsquandered to generations yet to come. Our Founding Fathers sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and pledged their sacred honor for millions of future unborn children that they would never see. We must follow their example at a time when the politically correct chains of tyranny are being forged upon the Church and we mistake it for jewelry. Whereas: The Holy Scriptures repeatedly command us to proclaim liberty; and our Savior, Jesus the Christ, came to set men at liberty; (Lev. 25:10; Isaiah 61:1; Jer. 34:15-17; Luke 4:18;); Brothers and sisters, America’s experiment with liberty must return to its root system, if we are to survive with liberty intact. Wherever Christianity is planted and allowed to flourish, there is unprecedented freedom, prosperity, and asylum to the oppressed masses. Our Founding Fathers knew this, regardless, if they were orthodox Christians or not. Noah Webster, statesman, educator, lexicographer, and the author of Webster’s Dictionary stated in his publication of History of the United states, "The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His Apostles." Conversely, wherever Christianity is in decline, man automatically resorts back to the brutal darkness of paganism. America today wants all the benefits and fruits of Christianity, its protection, its prosperity, and its blessing, but we completely reject the root of Christianity, the Lord Himself and the perfect law of liberty which He gave to bless the sons of man (James 1:25). We want a "god" to protect us so we can feel safe boarding airplanes again, to prosper us, and to bless us, but not the true and living God who judges sinful behavior, commands what is right and wrong, and demands obedience to His infallible, inerrant, and inspired word. Whereas: On this 23rd day of March in the year of our Lord, 1775, Patrick Henry did so nobly arise and denounce the irresponsibility of the elected sentinels of liberty; and, Whereas: The cause of liberty is growing weaker with the years of selfish living, and ought to be revived before it is wholly extinguished; Proverbs 28:2 declares, "Because of the transgression of the land, many are the princes thereof; But by a man of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged." lawlessness with its chaotic fruit creates a tyrannical state. It demands the civil government to rise up and crush freedom, simply because people have lost the moral fortitude to preserve freedom. Thus the lawless masses will inevitably use and abuse freedom and turn precious liberty into licentiousness. Obviously, a lawless people are oblivious to the fact that with true freedom comes responsibility. Robert Winthrop, an American legislator, author, and orator summed up this principle succinctly, "All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they have of stringent State Government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law, or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or a power without them; either by the word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet." Brothers and Sisters, the freedom and liberty our Founding Fathers died to secure for us, was not a freedom to do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it, and to whom we want to do it with. They died for true freedom and liberty, the power to do as we ought, the freedom to do what is right in the eyes of a Holy God to whom we will give an account on that Great Day! Resolved: That this day, the 23rd of March, should be set apart for the commemorating of liberty. It should be observed by the recounting of various noble deeds attending liberty, the reciting of past orations, and numerous original speeches that would stir the hearts of mankind to beseech Almighty God for liberty in this day when tyranny is pressing in. To those of you moved by God’s Spirit and convicted by God’s Word who want to come to the table and publicly sign the Day of Liberty Proclamation, we invite you to do so at this time. Please keep the Proclamation as a reminder and let it inspire you with what our children often quoted today, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty!" BLOODGUILT PROJECT UPDATE At our recent Operation Save America leadership meeting in February, over fifty national leaders came together to hammer out the doctrine of bloodguilt. What has transpired since then has exceeded our wildest imaginations. God has most certainly done exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). One of the brothers present was Father Frank Pavone, Director of Priests For Life. Father Frank, an astute man of God, faithful to the Scriptures, completely embraced the message of bloodguilt. He is now using his international platform and sizable influence to spread the message of bloodguilt far and wide. The results are producing repentance and a desire to bring forth its much needed fruit. The following is Father Frank’s encouraging words to OSA.
BLOODGUILT -Father Frank Pavone, Priests for Life Deuteronomy 21:1-9 describes a ritual that God’s people had to carry out whenever anyone was found slain and it was not known who did the killing. Scripture reads, "Your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the distance to the cities which are around him that is slain." (v.2) Those from the nearest city then needed to sacrifice a heifer, and their elders were to pray these words: "Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it shed. Forgive, O Lord, thy people Israel, whom thou has redeemed, and set not the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel; but let the guilt of blood be forgiven them." (v. 8) What is happening here? Obviously, when innocent blood is shed, something happens in the land; something happens to the people in the land in their relationship to God, even if they are not the ones who shed the blood. As the account of the first murder makes clear, the innocent, though slain, still speak. "The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground." (Gen. 4:10) The people of God are bound up in an inescapable mutuality, a responsibility for one another that transcends their own choosing. We see again, in Isaiah 1:10-20, that God tells His people, "Your hands are full of blood." (v. 15) They were not doing the killing, but because the killing was occurring in their midst, they had a responsibility to intervene. Hence the passage continues with the instructions, "Seek justice, correct oppression." (v. 17) What of us? Our land is polluted with the innocent blood of tens of millions of aborted children. Is it enough in the sight of God that we ourselves have not done the killing? Scripture says this is not enough. We know where the killing is occurring, we know how, and we know who is doing it. Abortion is publicly advertised and advocated. Because it occurs in our midst, we are inescapably involved. What, then, are we to do? We are to repent. We need to see abortion not just as somebody else’s sin, but as our sin. Even if we have never participated in an abortion, we must ask forgiveness for it. It is easy to blame abortion on those who do it and support it. But we must also blame ourselves. This is a spiritual dynamic which has to undergird all of our other activities to end abortion. Usually, people think that the spiritual thing to do about abortion is to "pray." Truly, we must pray. But first and foremost we are called to repent, to take responsibility for the innocent blood that has been shed, and then to intervene to save the helpless. Fortunately, the blood of another innocent victim also speaks. Jesus’ blood "speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel." (Heb. 12:24) Let us repent of abortion, wash ourselves in Jesus’ blood, and get to work defending the innocent. Elijah Ministries Present America's Christian History
"A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about...America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture." -President Woodrow Wilson "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalm 32:12a) "The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17) For a suggested donation of $25.00, Elijah Ministries will send our five tape series to all those interested in discovering the truth concerning America’s godly heritage and Christian history. The Lord richly bless you! IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE, Rusty Lee Thomas P.O. Box 3126 Fax: (254) 836-4092 E-mail: elijahmin@ifriendly.com
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