February 2005

February 2005

Salvation Comes From Jesus – Not Washington, D.C.

We have more than enough people in Washington, D.C., doing all that they can to plead the case of the fatherless. They are pleading it alright, but they won't win it. The battle can't be won there. One cannot plead the case of the fatherless to win it in Washington , D.C., for the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) is not allowed to be wielded there. The pressures to compromise God's Word are relentless and limitless. Politics is, after all, the art of compromise.

Abortion is not a political issue, it is a Gospel issue. We have been saying this for a long time. The battle for the lives of unborn children must be won in the streets. The Sword of the Spirit can be unsheathed and wielded there. It is only after the major victories are won on the battlefields of our cities, townships, and villages that the battle to end legalized abortion will be won in Washington, D.C.

If abortion is a Gospel issue (and we believe it is), if abortion really is a physical manifestation of "the gates of hell" (and we know this to be true), then the only institution ordained by God to defeat this enemy (abortion) is the Church of Jesus Christ! We win when we take the Gospel of Christ to "the gates of hell"! They cannot prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ!

Again, it is after the Gospel battle is won on the street – not before – that the laws of this land will reflect that victory. The battle cannot be won from the top down – from Washington, D.C. to the streets. It will be won as simple Christians live out their faith in the streets of our cities.

With this in mind, let us throw off every weight and hindrance and run the race marked out for us. When the Church of Jesus Christ makes up her mind that abortion must come to an end in America , it will come to an end! When she repents of her apathy and indolence toward “the least of these my brethren," legalized abortion as we know it will come to an end in a matter of months.

We cannot legislate people to be good. No doubt every law passed in D.C. is legislating someone's morality – we are not arguing that point – but passing laws cannot make a person good. Only Jesus can do that!

Only liberals and conservatives believe that salvation comes through legislation in Washington, D.C. Look at the blind trust they place in absurd pieces of legislation to make us good (gun control – to prevent us from killing each other; abortion on demand – to stop child abuse; sex education – to teach kids to have sex (sin) safely; etc.) To them legislation is the savior of all mankind.

We believe that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind! We believe that He alone can make a man and a nation good. There is no other God apart from Him. Oh, by the way, "the gates of hell" cannot prevail against Him either.

If this is true, why are we spending so much time and money in Washington, D.C.? Why are we trying to invent and implement legislation that serves no purpose other than to distract God's people from storming the gates of hell in Jesus' Name where the battle surely can be won?

Just a thought!

THE PHILLY FOUR

Eleven Christians were arrested on October 10 for praying, singing, and reading Scriptures during the annual “gay pride” event known as “Outfest” in Philadelphia . Four out of the eleven were ordered on Tuesday, December 14, to stand trial because they were seen quoting Scripture on a video. The charges include three felony (criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation, and riot) and five misdemeanor charges. If convicted, they could face up to 47 years in prison! The Philadelphia judge and prosecutor have labeled the Bible “hate speech” and called Bible verses “fighting words.” The Pink Angels, homosexual activists, did everything they could to obstruct, impede, and frustrate the Christians from sharing the Gospel in a public forum, yet no arrests or citations were placed on the Pink Angels.

This is the clearest example of anti-Christian bigotry by city officials in the last century!

We walked across America this past year as a “living parable” to a nation that has turned its back upon Almighty God. On several different occasions we were confronted by hostile police. They wanted to know what we were doing, whether or not we had a permit, our names and social security numbers, the names of our horses, etc., etc. Most of the time, after we explained our mission, they became cordial. They informed us, however, that we were the ones disturbing the peace. Interesting, that displaying Christianity would disturb the peace .

On five separate occasions we were handcuffed and arrested, only to be let go later with a promise that we would not return to their city. You see, once we were gone from the city, peace returned to the streets. That's right! No longer was there anyone saying that abortion is murder, that homosexuality is sin, and that Islam is a lie. No longer was anyone shining the Light of Christ into the dark places that exposed sin. The charges brought against us covered a full spectrum of ways to shut Christians up: Disturbing the Peace, Ethic Intimidation, Racial Hate Speech, Disorderly Conduct, Inciting a Riot. Sound familiar?

If we learned anything on our six-month journey across America , it is that Christianity is systematically being censored from the streets of our nation. By its very nature, Christianity disturbs the peace of those killing babies, practicing homosexual sodomy, or worshipping false gods. And well it should. It disturbs the peace of the devil who comes to rob, kill, and destroy! And it is not just in the big cities like Philadelphia where this censorship is going on. It is found in the smallest cities, townships, and villages across this great land.

The effort to get Christ out of Christmas, Christ out of schools, and Christ off the streets is authored by the devil himself. Those Christians who stand by and say, “Well, they can't remove Christ from my heart,” as their pitiful excuse for sitting by and doing nothing will find that they, and generations after them, will have hell to pay. It is precisely because our Pilgrim forefathers and Founding Fathers did not accept this privatized concept of Christianity that they laid their lives down, let the light of Christ shine in the darkness, and became a blessing for future generations. They disturbed the peace ! Because they did, America became great and free.

Today, however, we dare not disturb the peace we have in America with abortion, homosexuality, or false religions, because, if we do, we will find ourselves in jail. Most Christians have not come to this realization yet, because they are still free to worship God in the safety and security of their church house. This is the extent of their Christianity. They do not know the persecution that comes when the theology of the church house becomes biography in the streets. When the Word of God became flesh and made His dwelling among us in the streets of Jerusalem , you can bet the world hated Him. (John 7:7) He disturbed its peace!

Like “righteous Lot ” before them, most Christians have learned how to “just get along” with every sin, no matter how perverse, in order to not disturb the peace . We certainly don't want to break the law (Roman's 13, you know). Though we are vexed by what we see happening in our nation, that is the extent of our concern – vexation. Nothing more and nothing less.

When you watch the video of what these courageous Christians did at the “Outfest” in Philadelphia, you will be very proud of them. They rightly represented the heart, mind, and love of Christ to those lost in the bondage of homosexual sodomy. They brought hope to those who had given up all hope to transform themselves. You will also see the incredible double standard that exists in local police departments, between those living out their Christian faith and those living out their sinful lusts. The ones disturbing the peace, as far as the police are concerned, are Christians, not the sodomites.

Even though homosexual sodomy is against the law in Philadelphia, it is Christians that are being arrested. Yes, these Christians declared with their mouths and with their lives that Jesus Christ is Lord. Are they law breakers or are they law keepers? Maybe a Proverb will help: “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.” Proverbs 28:4. The Philly Four are law keepers. It is the City of Philadelphia that is the law breaker.

This is it! We can no longer keep the Light of the World under a bushel basket. It seems that the enemies of Christ have become increasingly bold, while the defenders of the faith are seeking larger, more “seeker friendly” caves in which they can hide. What has happened to us? We Christians have become the laughing stock of the world. The enemies of the Cross of Christ laugh at our great Republican victory last November! You know why?

Because Republicans and Conservatives will always mute or muffle the Gospel of Christ. They are always apologizing for us right wing extremists. They will never fight to the death over the causes we Christians hold dear. They will never stand firm on the principles found in the Bible. They have never found a cause for which they are willing to die. They just want to attain or remain in office. They want your vote – not your God! And for our part, we just whine when the enemy comes in like a flood, because we expect the Republicans to be the standard that God is raising up to come against him. What a pitiful hope! Like Lot, we are vexed by what we see happening in our nation, but that's all we are – vexed! We no longer dare speak the truth of God's Word without apologizing for being too judgmental.

It is time for us to stop the incessant whining. Yes, it is time to shut up and engage this enemy on his own turf with the sharp double-edged Sword of the Spirit. We are God's answer to abortion, homosexuality, Islam, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, teen promiscuity, drugs, teen suicide, violence in the schools and streets, increasingly debauched TV programs and commercials, the liberal media, the Hollywood elite, etc. Oh, the list could go on and on. We Christians are God's answer!

So let's get out from under the bushel basket. If we are truly the salt of the earth, let's get out of the salt shaker. Let's allow the theology of the church house to become biography in the streets. Let's let the Lion of Judah out of the cage and see for ourselves that He can do a pretty good job defending Himself. He doesn't need us defending Him. He just needs you and me to let Him out of the cage. Well?

So let's just do it! Let's do it in the Name of Jesus and let the chips fall where they may.

BATTLING FOR JUSTICE IN WICHITA, KS

Christians in Wichita, Kansas, are seeking justice for an assault and battery of Pastor Mark Hollick (see Righteousness Prevails on the web for a full history). This is an absolute outrage. Christians of this city, with a parade permit, were holding a Memorial Day service at George Tiller's clinic. We had military there, bag-pipes, flags, prayer, and praise music. Then George Tiller's security guard lost control and assaulted and shoved a pastor.

Gary Rebenstorf is reducing the charges against George Tiller's security guard to "interfering with a parade" when he assaulted one man, shoved another, and then proceeded to get into a pickup truck and threaten to run down men, women, and one man holding a baby. He was totally out of control. The Wichita Police Department was there.

The City of Wichita is acting like it's owned by George Tiller. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Wichita, Kansas.

PL EASE PRAY FOR LIZ THOMAS

Liz Thomas, wife of Rusty Thomas and mother of ten, has been battling cancer. She was hospitalized December 8, 2004, when it was discovered she had a mass in her pancreas. She has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. She has undergone surgeries to help her body get the nutrition she was lacking from blocked organs. She has battled infections, some known and some unknown, that has caused her heart to be enlarged and fluids to form. She has battled a blood clot that formed in her jugular vein and ended up in her lungs. She was kept unconscious for several days and needs the help of a respirator. As of today, January 20, 2005, the doctors are trying to get Liz off the respirator and she has endured five chemo treatments.

God has miraculously been there during all the ups and downs. The doctors think they get her stable and then some other life-threatening ordeal begins, but God is her Healer! Rusty and the family covet our continued prayer and are so eternally grateful that we can storm the very throne room of God on behalf of our dear sister, Liz.

GOD IS ON THE MOVE

Flip has been traveling throughout the beginning of 2005. He started in Spring, TX (outside of Houston) where seven people gave their hearts to Christ, Bible reading schedules were handed out as men pledged to lead their families in the daily reading of God's Word, and many caught the vision as they expressed the need to be out in the streets.

Flip then traveled up north in the frigid cold to Connecticut. He met up with Danny and Marilyn Carroll and the rest of the faithful team as they stood before an abortion mill which at one point was open four days a week and killed an average of eighty children a day. It is now open two days a week and is averaging the death of ten children a day. Although the battle continues at this mill, it is being won as the Gospel is taken to the streets.

In Charlotte, NC, 600 people were scattered between the three abortion mills in that city. These warriors for the Lord renewed their pledge to fight this battle until these three mills are no more.

Flip also headed to St Louis, MO where he met up with Daniel and Angela Michael as they confronted Eden Theological Seminary. It is here where they confess the name of Christ and yet train up escorts (or deathscorts as we know them) for college credit.

And of course in cities across the country, you stood on God's Word this 32 Memorial of Roe v Wade and said that the murder of children would not be swept under the rug on your watch. We will have reports for you from cities across the nation in our next newsletter. Thank you for your faithfulness toward the Lord and His children.

Keep storming the gates,

Flip