The Key to The Survival of Our Cities - And our nation

I'm so encouraged to see you all here today I think this is a great crowd. I'm thankful to see all of you are willing to come out here on a Sunday afternoon to take a stand for life. Some of you might be thinking "there should be thousands of people here "there should be tens of thousands of people here." And you're right. You're right. But you can accomplish alot even though your numbers are small. Just by being here you are letting your neighbors know that you intend to continue standing up against those like Planned Parenthood -- those who promote the view that the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society should be disposable at whim. But as Pope John Paul II said, "A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members... "...and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying." Yes, there will come a time when our society, and our communities, will face the Judge. Jesus made it clear that God will not only judge individuals but also nations and cities. But the Bible is also clear that He will hold back the judgment for the sake of a remnant, a small fraction of individuals in a city who remain faithful to God. History reveals that a faithful remnant (like you) can have a huge impact. Our nation itself would not be here today were it not for the faithful minority of patriots who stood for freedom while many of their countrymen just stayed neutral or even remained loyal to the King. Those who fought against slavery were also a vocal minority, with many powerful opponents. and it was that vocal minority that moved Lincoln to action. When the great civil rights marches happened in our nation, many people stayed home and watched on TV. But even if they turned off their TV, the message of those who took to the streets was heard loud and clear. So what you are doing here today matters greatly. Even those of us who don't live near Victorville are concerned about what's happening here. We were shocked along with you when we learned that Planned Parenthood intended to move into the old Chuck E Cheese building here the place where children had years of fun and the news of the boldness of your public officials -- like Mayor (Ryan) McEachron and Councilwoman (Angela) Valles -- that was such an encouragement to so many of us. When we learned in Bakersfield that Planned Parenthood was building a similar mega center there, we too encouraged our city leaders to take a stand. We asked them to pass a Human Life Ordinance, which was basically putting into code what the city could do to protect human life, as spelled out in its (City) Charter and in the (State) Constitution. A few months ago, another city-based effort took place in Albuquerque. Through these efforts, the landscape of the pro-life movement is beginning to change, as more and more pro-life leaders are understanding that a city-by-city effort is the wave of the future for our movement. The question "what can a city do about abortion" has not yet been totally answered. But thanks in part to you and your leaders, the question is finally being carefully considered. It is clear that cities often have the right to restrict and regulate activities which might otherwise be legal, and to protect their citizens against things they might face in other cities. But sometimes bad laws are beyond local control. There are higher jurisdictions to consider. The city is within a state, and within a nation, and the laws of these higher jurisdictions can really impact the laws of a city. As Christians, we know that the question of jurisdiction ultimately settles in God's favor. Jesus said "all authority in heaven and on earth" is given to Him, so the leaders of our state and nation who pass pro-abortion laws will someday need to answer to God. Now on a human level, some might say that all of these city-based pro-life efforts so far have failed: here in Victorville, in Bakersfield, and in Albuquerque, where Planned Parenthood spent hundreds of thousands of dollars they were so concerned that it might go through there. I suppose those type of people might have said that Jesus also failed when He died on the cross, but we know better. We know that it was in fact His greatest victory, and that the resurrection was just around the corner. As we serve our suffering servant, Jesus Christ, we too must willingly face defeat, knowing that He has already established the path to ultimate victory. At every step of this battle, we must surrender to Him, understanding that this is really His battle and that we are simply tools in His capable hands. We need to follow the example of Jesus' mother, Mary, who said "yes" to God. That's our job, to say "yes" to Him, and to cooperate with Him. But in view of the difficulties of dealing with abortion on a city level, it's not surprising when a city shies away from dealing with abortion. Many people -- including many "conservative" leaders -- really just want the whole issue to go away. Abortion is a hot potato. Everybody wants to pass it off on someone else. Some pastors want to pass it to the politicians, they want to say "that's just a political issue, "it's not up to us, it's up to the President, it's up to the Supreme Court." (That's what they have told me personally.) Some politicians want to pass the buck to the religious leaders, saying "that's a religious issue, that's an issue for the pastors." Or perhaps they want to pass it to the doctors, they want to say "that's just a medical issue." Or worst of all, they want to pass it off on a vulnerable woman, saying "oh, it's a personal issue." You know what that's like? That's like leaving a mother and a baby drowning in the middle of the ocean as a luxurious cruise ship passes on by. They both need our help, but our society just let them drown, telling ourselves -- patting ourselves on the back -- saying "well it's her choice." If you make a "choice" to jump off a cruise ship, they turn it around. It doesn't matter if they miss the next port. They turn it around, and usually they can't save the person, but they do try. But our society just says "it's her choice, let her drown." Abortion crosses all of these boundaries (political-medical- religious-personal), it's all of those. because abortion is a PEOPLE issue. Yes, the mother is a person, and we must value and protect her life. But the baby is also a person -- an innocent party in a difficult situation. Too many of us, even within the pro-life movement, want to choose to focus only on the baby or choose to focus only on the mother. We can't do that. We have to focus on both of them. But we must choose to love them both, because they are both precious to God. Issues like abortion that impact people are religious, and they are political. What kind of pastor ignores the needs of people in his community? What kind of politician ignores the needs of people in his community? True, the cries of the babies being killed may be silent -- but God hears their cries, and He will judge. He will judge nations, and He will judge cities. And, He will also judge churches. (You read that in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.) When pastors say they don't want to discuss abortion because they want to "focus on the Great Commission," they want to "bring people to Jesus," they seem to forget what Jesus Himself actually said in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). He said that we are to teach them to observe everything that He commanded. So what did Jesus command? Didn't Jesus give us that basic command "love your neighbor as yourself?" If you recognize the fact that Jesus would consider the innocent child in the womb to be our neighbor, then you know that the Great Commission includes -- as a priority -- teaching others to protect those innocent neighbors. Pastors who pass the buck on this are simply disobeying the Great Commission, disobeying the Gospel, disobeying Jesus! In recent years, our efforts have included developing some resources to reach pastors with this message, and we brought some of these resources along here today, and if any of you would like those We have some little cards that reference a website, the Pastors Pro-Life Resource Center (pastorsprolife.org). We also have these DVDs called Dear Pastor. It's a dramatization of a woman talking to her pastor about her abortion. And some actual testimonies from a couple of real pastors. So if you would like any of those let us know. We also have these resources that are designed for women thinking about the abortion pill. It shows them on one side that the baby in their womb, even at that early development, is real, is a child, is precious to God. Then on the other side it says even if you've taken the abortion pill, it's not too late to save your baby. Now that you have made the effort to be here today, and to let your community know that you stand up for human life, you have a job to do. You're now more accountable than you were this morning. You are affirming by your presence here today that you know that abortion kills innocent people and brings harm upon your community. You know what a blight this place is to your community. You are more responsible than those who didn't care enough to be here today. Will you leave this place today and forget about the babies who are dying? Or will you devote your time, your treasures and your talents to this effort on an ongoing basis? Will you speak up when you have a chance, or will you remain silent? Even if you're not a pastor or a politician, God has given you a voice, and He does expect you to use it. Today should not be the end of your efforts on behalf of these innocent members of this community. It should be just the beginning. Even if many of your neighbors may not care about what is happening here today, you are the conscience of Victorville -- the conscience of this entire High Desert region. A conscience is like an immune system -- you are like the immune system for this community. The immune system fights things that are going to be detrimental to the body. If your conscience is silenced -- if your immune system is silenced -- the end is just around the corner. The devil is crouching at the door waiting for his opportunity to steal, kill and destroy everything you have stood for. But as long as you -- the conscience of this community -- are alive and well, there is hope. And I just want to thank you today for being here to keep that hope alive!