Category: Passions (Page 1 of 4)

Given July 9, 2017 – Link to Sermon Only on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/224874199

Link to entire service: https://livestream.com/Wekiva/JUL0917?t=1499567391

First person as Rev. Mather Byles, Jr. by Bob Samson

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Setting the Record Straight

I am Reverend Mather Byles, Jr. Like my father had done before me, I graduated from Harvard College, my graduation was in 1751. After a falling out with my first church in New London, Connecticut, I moved back to Boston and in 1768 assumed leadership of Christ Church, an Episcopal parish. You know this church as the Old North Church.

My message today starts the third week of April in 1775 when I had my second falling out with a church. Raised in a Tory household, I was a staunch Loyalist. After preaching a fiery sermon against the Patriot cause, I was fired by John Pulling, one of our vestrymen (I believe you would call him an elder). This time, however, I had to flee Boston with my family to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Now I have been waiting 242 years to set the record straight.

The Christ Church was the oldest standing church in Boston. In 1775, on the eve of America’s Great Revolution, most of the congregation were, like me, loyal to the British Crown and many of our church members held official positions in the royal government, including the Royal Governor of Massachusetts. King George III, himself, had given us the silver that we used at our services as well as our Bible. There was, however, this deep division. Some members were loyal to something known as the “patriot cause.” Soon, the steeple of my church would serve a military purpose. Chosen because it was the tallest building in Boston, easily visible from many directions standing, high at 191 feet and the other reason would come from within our congregation. God would begin to choose His people to step forward in the creation of a new country.

I must say that I was deeply upset over this second firing. Our King was good, he had provided protection and resources to these colonies. But there was something that I did not understand at the time, it was the desire to be free, planted into the hearts of men by God Himself. My entire worldly life from that moment would be filled with a hatred for John Pulling. But God gives us history for a very good reason. History reveals God’s Truth and God’s plans for His world.

One of our congregational members was Paul Revere, a talented silversmith, engraver but more importantly an active member of Boston’s Sons of Liberty. I did not know that for months, he had served as the group’s messenger, carrying information as far away as Philadelphia. When the leader of the Sons of Liberty, Dr. Joseph Warren, learned that General Gage’s army would march on Lexington and Concord, he called once again on Revere (and another young man, William Dawes) asking them to ride into the countryside to warn area militia members. Dawes was to take the land route out of Boston through the Boston Neck. Revere would cut across the bay in a small boat and then ride to Lexington.

With Boston under curfew, our British soldiers were on guard to arrest anyone caught wandering the streets after dark. If both Revere and Dawes were detained, their warning would not reach Lexington. A back-up plan was needed; Revere recalled the view of Charlestown from atop the Old North Church where he rang the bells as a teenager. Revere would choose to engage an intimate friend, business associate and a congregational member, John Pulling to help.

John was the perfect choice. Both Paul and John were members of Boston’s Committee of Correspondence, whose principle role was to gather intelligence and track the movements of British troops within the Colonies. John Pulling was a passionate patriot but he also believed that it was God who wanted the colonies to be free from British rule. If caught hanging the lanterns, John hoped he could provide a believable reason for being in the church, he was part of the “leadership team” and needed to be there after the loss of their Rector, me. So, on April 18th, John Pulling was ready to go to the church and hang two lanterns from the steeple window on the north side facing Charlestown. This would be the signal that the British Regulars were coming by sea.

Robert Newman, our sexton (janitor) also had clear patriot allegiances but, perhaps more importantly, he had the keys to the building. He also lived just across the street from the church. I always considered Robert to be a trustworthy young man, but he had not, yet, been very active in the rebellion. He had struggled to find work and had taken a job he did not like as our church caretaker. History shows us that Robert was eager to help John Pulling.

Dawes left by horseback taking the land route while Revere went to his boat in Boston Harbor and was rowed across by two friends. The men used a petticoat to muffle the noise made by the oars. Soon, 700 British soldiers embarked on their journey to Lexington. While Revere and Dawes planned to deliver their messages to Lexington personally, using the lantern method, they would have a fast way to inform the backup riders in Charlestown about the movements of the British; these back-up riders, about 40 of them, could also deliver the warning message.

It was about 10:00 PM when Robert Newman opened the church door with his key and John Pulling joined him inside. A third patriot, Thomas Bernard, stood guarding the door. John Pulling lit the lanterns and proceeded with the task of climbing to the top of the steeple and hanging the two lanterns that would signal the British troops were now disembarking by sea.

The lanterns were hung for less than a minute but this was long enough for the message to be received in Charlestown. The militia waiting across the river were prepared to act as soon as they saw them. As I have had several hundred years to think about this now, it was this kind of unselfish act, this risk, this attitude to be involved that Christ was talking about in His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:14-16.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

If there ever was an example to follow, it is this one. Too many people, myself included, just wanted to leave well enough alone, or were not interested in lifting their light, taking those risks that Christ talked about. Too many in the world today don’t want to get involved. But I need to ask you these questions: Can freedom exist without involvement, without risk? Can patriotism exist without a reliance on God?

The lanterns were immediately seen by the British troops. Newman escaped from a church window but was quickly found and placed under arrest. Here is where the controversy remains. Even today, the Old North Church credits Robert Newman for lighting and raising the lanterns. Truth my friends is sometimes elusive. Could it have been as simple as Newman telling the British soldiers that the other guy, did it? Was it Newman who gave John Pulling’s name to the British officials? Newman was released and a search for Pulling began immediately. It would be these facts that the Historical Society used later to determine that Robert Newman was probably not the one who raised the lanterns high in the steeple or else, the British would not have released Newman and pursued John Pulling instead. History tells us that the next day at the battle of Lexington and Concord, 73 British regulars died, 174 were wounded and 26 were missing in action. The patriots were ready and the British would have considered the one who raised those lanterns a traitor and hung him.

John went back to his home and hid in an empty wine cask in the cellar. Then, later, disguised as a fisherman, he eluded the troops and embarked in a small skiff leaving Boston by sea. His skiff was challenged by a nearby British warship at anchor, but through God’s providence, allowed to pass. You see, even the mightiest navy in the world was no match for God.

Sarah Pulling, John’s wife, should also be called a patriot. Her husband, John was now a hunted man and she too had to flee Boston that night. John and Sarah chose to rendezvous at an old cooper’s shop on the Cohasset shore. Because the British were looking for John, his journey would take much longer than Sarah’s. Sarah, then pregnant, would arrive first and give birth to a daughter before John’s arrival. In their haste to leave Boston, John and Sarah would abandon all their possessions and would be forced to live without resources in what would have to be called primitive accommodations at best. While the Pullings remained safe from the British, they would be in exile until the last British troops evacuated Boston about one year later.  Despite all its historical significance, the “One if by Land Two if by Sea” signal was just a backup plan. It was meant to warn patriots in Charlestown, a borough across the river from Boston, in case Revere and Dawes themselves did not make it on time.

So, were John and Sarah’s risks of any value? Well, history tells us that Revere was detained by the British and did not reach Lexington until the battle had already begun. William Dawes did not make it either. He fell off his horse and his horse ran away. After procuring another horse, Dawes showed up late too. The warning message reached Lexington in time because of the many riders who could see the lanterns hung in the steeple that night. God’s providence, those lights high on in the church steeple, would start 13 colonies on a path that would create the greatest nation on the earth and the freedoms enjoyed today.

My feelings of revenge would be well fed. When John and Sara finally returned to Boston a year later, everything, their possessions and their home were gone. John had become ill during their exile and died shortly after their return. For Sarah, this already was a second marriage. Now she would be a widow again. For me, I finally had my satisfaction or so I thought!

But there is more to their story. Sarah had grabbed only a few possessions, only a few things she could carry as she left that cold April night. What would you choose to take if suddenly, your very wellbeing was at risk and you had to give up everything you owned, everything, and run, run for your life? Sarah’s choice was to take her Bible and that very Bible remains in the possession of her descendants today. It was that Bible and the stories shared between Pulling’s family members that the Massachusetts Historical Society had so carefully noted many years later. John and Sarah’s light had lived from generation to generation through her Bible and the sharing of their story.

How does history remember this event? Well, from a worldly perspective, the statues, and poems, all well-deserved, went to Paul Revere. The plaque on the side of Old North Church and most of the history books honor Robert Newman without any mention of John Pulling and no one mentions Sarah. As I went off to history, I learned a most important lesson, our God honors those who are the true examples of Christ’s light.

John and Sara pulling, Paul Revere, even Robert Newman understood that they should not hide their “light” under a bowl. They thought about their country and they believed in their God. They knew the truth, they were never too busy. They didn’t leave well enough alone. They were not only interested in freedom, they were willing to risk their lives for it. Each raised the Light of Truth so that those around them could see. Yet, while I lived during divisive times, so do you. Today, there are many lights being held high so how is it that you are going to know which light to follow?

Across this great nation, your religious freedom is under assault in ways that our founding fathers never could have imagined. Religious liberty is called the “First Freedom” for good reason. Without it, every other freedom would crumble. While I, Rev. Mather Byles, was positive that I was right, the Loyalists were right, the King was right, history proved us oh so wrong.

Fear and power are not pathways to truth. Reading Psalm 18:28-29, we must pray as King David prayed:

You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help, I can advance against a troop; with my God, I can scale a wall.

When truth is behind any movement, God will be behind it too. To fully understand how a fledgling group of colonies could defeat Britain, the most powerful nation on earth, you need only to go to a document signed one year later on July 4th, You all know it by the wrong name. It is not the Declaration of Independence but appropriately named “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” Please value my advice to you this day. It was unity and the values and principles shared by the patriots that created your great country. You must always remember that the enemies of freedom always attack unity first. It is the uncivil discourse and divisiveness that all citizens should fear most. But rest easy my friends, God always wins in the end!

Benediction

O God, as light comes from these lanterns, May the blessing of Jesus Christ come to you. Warming your hearts and brightening your way. May Christ our Savior bring life into the darkness of this world and to all of you, as we wait for His coming.

Amen

Children’s Sermon

Today, we are going to have a message about a very old but important lantern. If you lived long ago, you would not have electric lights. Your lights would be a simple candle in a lantern. Let’s look at some different kinds of lanterns:

1. This lantern is called a barn lantern or also a Revere lantern. Most people raised their own animals and the animals would live in a barn. If you wanted to check on them at night, you would need to use one like this. They used this lantern because if you dropped it in a barn, it would not break and start a fire. You could also hold this lantern and ride a horse. The wind would not put out the candle and other people could see you at night.

2. Here is a funny candle holder. It is called a courting candle. When a boy wanted to visit with a girl he liked, her mother would turn the candle up and this would be like a clock. When the candle burned down to the top of the holder, the boy had to leave. If the mother liked the boy, she might give it an extra turn to give him more time to visit. But if the boy was not polite, mom would turn the candle down so he had to leave sooner.

3. If you were to take a long walk at night, you would use a lantern like this. It is just like a flashlight. There is a mirror in the back that reflects the candlelight in the direction you are walking in. The handle is different too. It is meant to be carried in your hand, not hung on a wall.

4. For your house or bedroom, you would use simple wooden lanterns. These would give you light to read or do your school work after the sun when down. Remember, there was no electricity, no TV, no refrigerator, no telephones. Life was very simple.

5. The last lantern is identical to one of the most famous lanterns in all history. Over two hundred and forty years ago, two of these lanterns were placed high in a church steeple as a signal to help our country defend itself. The lanterns worked because the human eye can see a candle at night up to 10 miles away. That means if you put this lantern high in the air right here, you could see it in downtown Orlando.

Jesus is just like this lantern, even though the candle is small, we can be seen His Light through the darkness wherever we are.

A sermon given January 17, 2016 at the Alafia River Rendezvous Church Service

There is purpose for your life. Your purpose revolves around bridging the gap between yourself and your Creator. It depends upon your ability to search and find salvation through God’s undeserving grace. But there is a lot of evil around that is focused on keeping you and me from ever reaching God’s salvation. Evil attacks the very thing mankind needs to find God. God’s strategy from the beginning of time has always been to make and keep covenants, contracts of sorts, with His people. God also makes covenants with His nations. And what is God’s covenant with America? God’s part is to walk among us, to be our God and our part is to be His people. (You find it in Leviticus 26:11) Our leaders have also made a covenant with its people. It is called the U.S. Constitution. It is no more than a contract between our government and its citizens. And like all contracts, it is only as good as the commitment of both parties to honor it. It would be dangerous to assume that evil does not want to destroy our Constitution and, in turn, see our freedoms slip away. Take away freedom and you take away our bridge to our salvation.

The good news is that God will help us to find Him, love Him, and obey Him if we let Him. To uphold our end of the covenant, God knows we will need a few things: liberty, protection and the opportunity to prosper to name a few. Our founding fathers knew this too. Why these three? To establish God’s work on earth without His help is fruitless. The evil in our world is powerful so we need all of the help we can get. Our Rendezvous motto this year is “Bridging the Gap with our Ancestors.” So this morning, I would like to step back in time and see, what can be learned from our ancestors about God’s liberty, protection and prosperity.

Before the founding of our country, our forefathers had already experienced the “Dark Ages” of religious freedom. The Medieval Inquisition started around 1184 and continued well into the 1400’s. During this period, tens of thousands of “non-believers” were tortured or killed. Non-believers were those who did not subscribe to a specific model of beliefs. In 1401, the King of England issued an edict to immediately arrest anyone who preached religious thoughts against the king’s brand of religion. A second offense resulted in immediate death. In 1685, the king of France demanded that all accept French Catholicism or be immediately exiled or put to death. It almost sounds like today’s Middle East news doesn’t it?

Our founding fathers each understood the threat evil possessed against their faith. For generations, they were not free to pursue their God. But yet, each knew that a righteous nation blessed with abundant resources and with a government “Under God” could find God’s Kingdom and thrive and grow. Our founders understood that in such a nation, all blessings would be equally shared with both believers and non-believers. Any spiritual enlightenment would bring men and women closer to God and closer to Christ. And this would be a good thing. While we would constantly be reminded that we were endowed with certain inalienable rights, we would also be reminded that it was our responsibility to pursue and secure those rights ourselves. But in a world filled with evil and without God’s assistance, these rights could be difficult, if not impossible, to secure. Yes, we have been granted the privilege to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness but without the blessings of our Creator, our nation could have remained entrenched in the dark ages. Worse yet, we could find ourselves returning to the darkness.

So Liberty is our first point today. What did our ancestors learn about having and holding liberty? I would like to begin with the Iroquois, who somewhere between 1,000 and 1,400 A.D., created “The Great Law of Peace.” The document was first recorded on wampum belts and later, translated to paper. The Great Law was created to form a confederacy among their tribes, the Oneida, Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, and the Seneca. It was, what many believe, an influence to our own Constitution. Its purpose was to prevent tribal interference in everyone’s daily lives and meant to enhance individual freedom by separating their civilian governing bodies from the military and from religious affairs. The Great Law allowed differing beliefs among tribes to coexist and recognized the importance of one’s beliefs, no matter what their origin. There was outright freedom of religion in the “The Great Law of Peace.” So to start construction on our Alafia Bridge, we begin with the foundation on the banks of history where our ancestors first stood.

Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would have noticed that the Iroquois tied their tribes together into a perfect union, much like we see in our own preamble of the U.S. Constitution. Both documents stress unity and providing liberty for posterity. The Great Law defined numbers of representatives, their powers, and requirements, just as our own Constitution does. The formal creation of an executive office was also defined by the Iroquois. But unlike our own Constitution, the election and choice was left to the clan mothers. The Iroquois had the wisdom to know that the mothers of their warriors were the ones to choose their commander in chief who held the power to make war and to place their children in harm’s way. The Iroquois Law defined checks and balances, created a centralized government. It included a guarantee of free speech, defined levels of authority between tribes and gave individual rights to each tribe just as we have done with our own States. Concepts like the forbidding of quartering, the unauthorized entry or seizure of one’s lodge, was also principle of The Great Law as well as in our own Article 3 of the Bill of Rights. Satan’s fight against mankind begins with liberty. Instinctively, the Iroquois knew this. When any nation keeps God’s commandments, they will find salvation. Liberty is simply our right to choose and it is our Constitution that still defends that right for us to choose God.

Our second point of God’s covenant is to be ready to accept His protection. Like liberty, God is ready to give us His Divine Providence. Our role is to be responsible enough to recognize it and embrace it. Both The Great Law of Peace and our Constitution recognized unity as an important ingredient of protection. To state this another way, we can never be united with our God unless we are first united with ourselves. Remember your Biblical story of Lucifer and his exile from Heaven. Let me refresh your memories. Lucifer (Satan) wanted to take over heaven and be God. He did not want to do what he was created to do, that was to serve God. So our Creator cast him out. From that moment, evil existed. It still exists today and will exist until we are united with our God by Christ’s work on the cross.

But is there a difference between evil men and patriots? Without God’s hand, His Providence, there can be no difference. The Iroquois knew this, our founding fathers knew this too. Supporting a covenant with our Creator requires the energy of all in pursuit of God. As King Solomon himself said in Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, “11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

Our Alafia bridge construction continues using the timbers hewn from a federal republic, where sovereignty rests with the nation’s people and their representatives rather than with a king. For unity to exist, peace must exist. The people must participate, the government must listen and then together all must make tough choices. Yet, we watch our nation’s interest in maintaining their liberty steadily decline. In our last elections, over 100 million people of voting age did not participate. Those that did not vote, chose to abandon their nation to the influences of evil and did so at the peril of their own liberty. Our forefathers never envisioned ever-expanding bureaucracies, regulations and debt. They envisioned a land where people were free to use its rich resources in pursuit of their own happiness, happiness found only through pursuing the shared goals of a national covenant. It is safe to conclude that if you ignore the very God who created you, the God that can guide and protect you, the journey will be a disappointing one. Even the Iroquois mothers knew that the chief who leads their tribal nation impacted its liberty, safety and freedom. Clan mothers also held to power to remove their chief too.

Our first chief, George Washington, had little or no formal education, George Washington had a less than stellar record in the military. He had been in charge of Fort Necessity and lost it quickly to the French. He had never led an army in battle, never commanded anything larger than a regiment. And never had directed a siege. George Washington would be idle for 15 years before he again assumed the role of Commander in Chief. Yet, time after time, God would stand with him. George Washington believed that America had a covenant with God. Here are just a few examples of God’s protection of our first chief and of our cause for freedom:

• In July of 1775, an unprepared Washington came to retake Boston. The battle would be at Breed’s Hill. As our troops made ready for their assault, the British just abandoned Boston. Had the battle ensued, we would have lost. The American troops were no match for the British troops on that day.
• Then there was the battle of New York. In April of 1776, Washington prepared to defend the city. Outflanked by the British, our troops were on the verge of collapse when the decision was made to retreat. But the route across the Hudson River was open water and the British navy was on guard. On the night of August 29th, a fog covered Long Island and covered Washington’s escape. Our army survived to fight another day.
• Not long after a victory at Trenton, Washington was camped near the town of Saratoga. The British General John Burgoyne prepared to attack. However, Burgoyne was encumbered by his spoils of war, such as the stolen fine china he carried with him and a large entourage of prostitutes for his pleasure. Washington repeatedly condemned such behavior because he believed that the Americans were fighting under a covenant with God. Could this have been a factor in the surprising defeat of Burgoyne in October of 1777?
• General Cornwallis was pursuing Nathaniel Greene’s troops in the southern colonies. Yet at three times, a night storm would flood a river and stop Cornwallis at the banks just after Greene and his troops crossed. Would you call three perfectly timed storms protecting our patriots a coincidence?
• To end our revolution at Yorktown, God sent the French navy and Lafayette, to block Cornwallis’ retreat by ship. The British navy, coming to free Cornwallis, would be stopped by the French at the Battle of Capes. The British navy re-provisioned and tried again, only to be blocked by a storm that kept them in New York. With Washington’s troops winning the siege at Yorktown, Cornwallis would try a nighttime retreat, only to be blocked by a nighttime storm. So on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered.

When a nation has a covenant relationship with God, God protects their liberty and provisions their safety. In 1783, Washington said “Glorious indeed has been our Contest: glorious, if we consider the Prize for which we have contended, and glorious in its Issue; but in the midst of our Joys, I hope we shall not forget that, to divine Providence is to be ascribed the Glory and Praise……I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my Official life, by commending the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping.”

But we cannot forget our third point, God also expects to support our prosperity. Here, though, we must be careful on how we define prosperity. While many in this world view material gain, power, influence and pleasures as prosperity, God’s history tells us that when we are ourselves confident of our own salvation, we have gained the most valued treasure that can be found. The ultimate prosperity comes when you are assured the right to choose an eternity with a loving, nurturing God above everything this world offers. So our true prosperity is defined in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and our Bill of Rights, as well as the equal assurance of prosperity for all. So how is our part of our covenant with God going these days?

Well, it’s time to finish our bridge that we started on the shores of our ancestors and finish it on the banks of the Alafia River Rendezvous. I propose to you, however, that it is not the bridge itself that is most important but what you will choose to carry across it from one side to another this week. It was early in the morning, before daybreak, on April 19, 1775, when the Battle of Lexington began. Captain Parker assembled his small army near Lexington realizing they were too small to take on the British force. “Stand your ground. Do not fire unless you are fired upon, but if they mean war, let it begin here,” he encouraged his men. A British lieutenant rode ahead of his ranks, waving his sword in the air and shouting to the patriots, “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men!” At that point, an unknown shot came from someone in the ranks or maybe from someone hiding behind a wall or tree. “A shot that would be heard around the world.” The British soldiers then opened fire on the Americans. Badly outnumbers, the minutemen quickly fled.

Lexington Green would never be the same. The first to die in the Revolutionary War that day would be John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, and Asahel Porter. Jonas Parker, Captain Parker’s cousin, would crawl to his own doorstep and die there. The very right to express your faith, your freedom to live under the protections of our Constitution, the Constitution itself, even your right to freely choose your country’s leaders was earned for you that day by these eight men. Thousands more would cross the bridge connecting us to our ancestors through their many sacrifices. So what does the foundation on the Alafia side of our bridge look like? Our Alafia side of the bridge is anchored on people who will defend the unity of our great nation against the evil that tries to divide us. It rests upon the banks of a free people who care enough about liberty to be engaged, to take the time to know and chose their leaders carefully and, when necessary to die to protect their liberty. Our Alafia side of the bridge shares the Gospel’s message of grace and salvation through Christ with all, confident in God’s providence and prosperity. It is Christ who built our bridge! It is through history that God reveals His plans for us. Are you willing to cross our bridge this week? Will you carry the Truth, carry our Covenant and carry Christ’s message of God’s blessings to those you will meet this week? Will you make a difference this week?

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
~Jeremiah 29:11-13

16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
~2 Corinthians 6:16-18

A sermon given January 18, 2015 at the Alafia River Rendezvous Church Service

On December 15, 1791, the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights was ratified stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” So why would our founders bother to make this Amendment first?

To understand our forefather’s thinking, we must go back to times long before we were a country, even before our lands were discovered. The roots of personal rights and liberty can found among the early charters granted by English kings at the beginning of their reigns. In 1100, Henry I had issued a 20-clause coronation charter, promising to rule justly. Although Henry only kept a few of his promises, his charter would serve as a basis for the barons’ negotiations later in 1215. Their efforts would produce the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was unique because it was less an offering by the king to his nobles on how he would treat them. Instead, a demand by the nobles on how they wanted to be treated by their king. We trace the beginning of our own Constitution directly back to Magna Carta. The people have the rights and kings — they are to serve the people.

Even the Holy Word of God, our Bible was not without the influence of kings. At the time of the Revolution, there were two translations of the Bible in use, the Geneva Bible of 1599 and the King James Bible of 1611. So why would a king bother to have a Bible re-translated and printed? Well, if you were a patriot, you would have owned a Geneva Bible. Translated from the original Hebrew and Greek documents by Protestant scholars who fled from England to Geneva, Switzerland, the Scripture placed Christ as the one and only King. However, King James had a problem with placing Christ as the only head of the church leaving out any authoritative role for himself and his bishops. King James made sure that among other nuances, there was room for an earthly king and his formal hierarchy of bishops in the Bible that carried his name.

Kings were interested in power and control, much coming from the wealth and oversight of a State Church. A king could define sin, collect indulgences, and even set punishments such as death. The settlers of colonial America understood the oppressive thumb of a king who could create, use or alter religion to suite any tyrannical goal. What more frightening power could you imagine than not only have a king determine your place in society but even your right to life. Well, it was clear that for any colonist, the idea of a king was of much greater concern than the influence of the Anglican Church in America. As our forefathers began to craft our country they would be taught by Benjamin Franklin that “public religion” is good for society. The concept of public religion includes a spirit of charity to others, a generous moral disposition, and rituals acknowledging a dependence on divine providence. However, each of our founders also had a “private religion,” some being Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholics, Congregationalists, and so on. George Washington said simply, “We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to dictates of his conscience.” There is a distinction, however, between professing a conviction and using an established church to coerce not only belief but also conformity with political and cultural mores. Those concerns would become the basis for our separation of church and state as well as the first amendment.

Our fledgling nation was about to become preoccupied with a Revolution. It was a Friday, June 23, 1775 when Reverend William Smith was preaching at Christ Church in Philadelphia. This would be the same day that George Washington left the city to take command of the continental army. Reverend Smith stated, “Religion and liberty must flourish or fall together in America. We pray that both may be perpetual.” One year later, we can see that the Declaration of Independence was written as an indictment of It was during our Revolution that Thomas Jefferson would summarize for us today, what our forefathers were most concerned about. Jefferson would say, “I doubt that whether the people of this country would suffer an execution for heresy, or a three year imprisonment for not comprehending the mysteries of the Trinity. But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? No,” Jefferson answered, “it was not. The spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is when our rulers are honest, and ourselves united.”

Therefore, we would wait as our country was being created, first focusing on our grievances as in the Declaration, then on our individual States rights as in the Articles of Confederation and finally, our form of government as defined in our Constitution. While each of those documents acknowledges a reliance upon a greater power, none establishes our country’s belief in God or Christ. But what would keep a group of diverse people together, serving and defending each other in support of a nation? It would be become known as the “Bill of Rights.” Yes, now it would be time to finish what the Magna Carta started, to establish the rights of the people.

Our founders knew that Americans respected the idea of God, understood the universe to be governed by moral and religious forces and prayed for divine protection against their enemies. They knew from personal experiences that an earthly government tied to a State church served only men. In June of 1787, Benjamin Franklin, in a fierce debate would say this, “I have lived a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that except the lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: we shall be divided by our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages.” Franklin when on: “And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war and conquest.”

Benjamin Franklin would remind us that we are not a democracy where a majority rules. We are a republic where everyone begins with certain rights, rights that no one including our government, the majority or the minority can take away. Our forefathers understood that to have a moral country, to prosper, to live in peace and security, our first set of rights needed a strong foundation: Rights to prohibit our government from establishing their own brand of religion. Rights granting each of us the free exercise of our own individual faith; and to assure our freedoms of speech, the press; or peaceful assembly, and even to guarantee our right to complain to our government about the government. Our freedom is built upon this foundation. Without these rights, we are merely subjects of a worldly king, dependent upon his benevolent nature. Our forefathers understood that for a great nation to grow and prosper, every citizen would also need to have a noble purpose to keep productive, compassion and love for each other to remain united and, above all, a hope in something greater than one’s government.

John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as their governor for 12 years. His writings and vision of the colony as a Puritan “city upon a hill” dominated New England, influencing the governments and religions of neighboring colonies. In his book entitled “A Model of Christian Charity” Winthrop would establish the goals for our fledgling nation saying, “For we must consider that we shall be a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.” If you accept as true that without God, America will lose God’s providence and become nothing more than a byword, a footnote in history, how then would you expect the enemies of America to attack us?

Remember my three points to prosperity and happiness — a noble purpose, unity and hope.

First, our enemies would attempt to weaken American ambition. Unearned entitlements and legalization of drugs might be good starting points. The definition of success would change to rewarding everyone equally, destroying personal initiative. Burdensome taxes and debt works well too. This is no different from what King George the III tried when he controlled the prosperity of colonists by forcing them to deal exclusively with the East India Tea Company, a single source for goods, services and a constant supply of rum and opium. Let us not forget the Sugar Tax, Stamp Act or the Tax on Tea either. All people were to work for the betterment of something greater than themselves, the betterment of England and, of course, and the betterment of the king.

Next, an enemy would divide our citizens. We would become a nation, filled with prejudice and bigotry, clustered together around our special interests like race, nationality or maybe even the environment. Our enemy might consider re-engineering our children’s educational system, exchanging history for issues of social justice. Patriotism would be frowned upon, loyalism and political correctness would prevail. That was just what King George III was trying to do. To retain his power, he divided a nation into patriots and loyalists. Neighbor killing neighbor, brother killing brother, colony against colony. The king knew that if he kept the colonies separated, focused on their self-interests, they could easily be controlled. King George III would grant privileges to some and take them away from others. Remember, the goal was loyalty to England and of course, the king.

Finally, any accomplished enemy of freedom and liberty would define for its citizens what is sinful and what is not. Rules, regulations, their very behavior would be defined and controlled. Special interests would rule morality. The non-compliant would be relentlessly persecuted to destroy all liberty. God would be removed from America. Why take away God? People without liberty place their hope in their government, in their king. Yet, it almost seems comical that humanity spends so much time trying to tell God what is sinful. Doesn’t common sense tell us that only God knows what He detests? Better that we spend the rest of our time understanding what God has told us throughout history! To fail to learn from our past mistakes may very well be the greatest sin of all. In 1776, King George III controlled the Anglican Church. The king appointed the judges, he ruled by decree. King George III picked the winners and the losers.

The news, however, is not all hopeless. We can successfully fight against the dark forces within our universe. To overcome evil, we must:

First, raise every generation to understand that in order to be happy, to have liberty and to be free, it must be earned. Freedom has never been free and it has never been a gift from government. Citizens throughout history have shed their sweat and blood to earn and keep their freedom. Our children must defend what our forefathers fought and died for and not let their freedom be chipped away by the false teachings of a society focused on social justice. We must save our republic for our children’s sake and save our children for our republic’s sake. This can done by protecting the family, showing each generation by example that true satisfaction and happiness can only be achieved when hard work is aligned with Godly values. Please remember that complacency is an enemy of liberty.

Second, ask yourself, why did we win the American Revolution? On July 4, 1776, our forefathers said it all. They entitled it, “The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America.” Yes, they were unanimous in their declaration of unity. At the time of the signing, there were 5,000 British troops already in the colonies. Forty five thousand more were waiting in ships off our coasts. With God’s providence and 8 years of sacrifice, a new free nation would be born. Fifty-Six men signed the Declaration; two would become future presidents, three vice presidents and ten, members of the US Congress. However, twenty-seven signers would lose every earthy possession and many their very lives as well. We can honor their sacrifice by never letting anyone divide us. We are blessed with one God whose providence guided this country from its founding days and it is in Him we must always remain united.

Finally, we must never forget that the power of evil can only affect hope in worldly things. Evil has no power over God. It takes only one person and God to be a majority. Each of you can take great comfort in knowing that your God came to us long ago and chose to become human so that you could have an everlasting example of His love, forgiveness and hope. Christ is that example. While we all fall short before God, Christ has already removed any barriers between yourself and God. Be cautioned, however: we are not to just profess our faith–we must also possess it within our very hearts and souls.

So why was the First Amendment first? Because God’s Truth will be triumphant. Our founding fathers knew that the cornerstone of true liberty could only come from God. God loves this World! God will not give up on it! And when God is for us, who can be against us?

Bible Verses for the Service

First Congressional Prayer given on September 7, 1774 at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia by Reverend Duche’ was Psalm 35:
1 Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. 3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, “I am your salvation.” 4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. 5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; 6 may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7 Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, 8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. 9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation. 10 My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
~There are 18 more verses to David’s psalm. Powerful because God generously provided His providence and safety for our Revolution.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
~Matthew 10:29-31

A sermon Given on January 18, 2014, at the Alafia River Rendezvous Sunday Church Service

It’s disturbing how similar our problems are today to those experienced during the formation of our country. We were divided back then into patriots and loyalists. What was it that caused some people to desire to remain subjects of King George III, while others were willing to sacrifice their wealth, honor, and life itself to be free?

Life is a never-ending “war of nature,” involving the “survival of the fittest.” Individuals differ in their ability to survive. In other words, some become winners and some lose. It is a misconception to simply think that one group rejects their rights and is willing to reduce freedoms to get free things while another group sees themselves as free, desiring only life, liberty, and happiness. Everyone wants life, liberty, and happiness.

Common Sense, defined as “sound judgment gathered from experience rather than study,” is one of the most revered qualities in America. But here’s the catch:. Common Sense is not so common. If it were, people wouldn’t spend more than they could afford, they wouldn’t smoke or gamble, they would eat healthy food and exercise more, and for sure, they wouldn’t believe politicians. So what can we learn from American history about the roots of common sense?

In 1764, Reverend Thomas Reid, a Scottish theologian, created the fundamentals for education used to teach Washington, Jefferson, and other founding fathers. It is called the Scottish Common Sense Philosophy of Education. Simply, Reverend Reid insisted that all must be trained to know: (1) there is a God; (2) that God placed a conscience into every individual along with God’s Natural Law; (3) it was God who established “first principles” such as law, government, education, politics, and economics, all this to be discovered and governed by “common sense;” and (4) that there is no conflict between reason and revelation.

Reverend Reid mentions the concept of “Natural Law,” referring to the use of reason to analyze how we act and deduce rules of moral behavior from it. Reverend Reid is emphatic, however, that it is God who creates and permits all of society’s laws to exist and each of us has the responsibility to use “Common Sense” during their application. So how do you think we are doing? Does our nation lack common sense? For common sense to prosper, we need three things: Truth, a Love for God, and Humility.

The truth seems like a fleeting concept these days. Deception is commonplace. Deception was always around, however, even in the formation of our great country. Hercules Mulligan was born in Antrim, Ireland, in 1740 and moved to New York City when he was six. New York could have been called the bastion of loyalism to the king. Some things never change, do they? After attending Kings College, he became a tailor. It was in 1770 that he first took sides, going against King George III and fighting with patriots at the Battle of Golden Hill. In the summer of 1775, he helped the Sons of Liberty steal muskets from the city armory. In July of 1776, Hercules led a group of patriots to tear down a statue of King George III. The statue was made of lead and soon became musket balls for the revolution. His career during the war, however, was mostly passive, working in his New York tailor shop, listening to the idle chatter as British officers would avail themselves of his sewing skills. Mulligan was a spy. So was this truthful behavior, spying for the Sons of Liberty and the Patriot’s Committee of Correspondence?

This was also the period when loyalists gave food and shelter to the British troops while withholding such support from the patriot army. Numerous letters and journals indicate that while our patriot soldiers were without food, there were plenty of people who gladly gave their livestock and crops over to feed the British soldiers. One only needs to read the stories of Valley Forge where our troops, freezing in the Pennsylvania winter, boiled and ate their shoes to fill their stomachs. Our troops had been promised much from the leaders of our fledgling country, but adequate food, shelter, clothing, and even gunpowder and balls were never forthcoming.

So how are we to discern the truth? Were the patriots and the Sons of Liberty truthful in their pursuit of a rebellion? Were the Loyalists being truthful, pledging themselves to their mother country, England? Were our government leaders truthful when they promised to support our troops knowing there was no money to purchase it? Well, I only know of one way to sort this out: we must seek God’s Truth first. When God is with us, so is victory. While Hercules Mulligan lived in deception, he is given credit for providing important information that saved George Washington’s life, not just once but twice. He provided information overheard within his shop. Traps had been set to capture Washington, but Mulligan’s sharp ear would, in the end, allow Washington to avoid capture. So my vote goes to Mulligan as the truthful person here. God wanted a new nation. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on our government’s broken promises back then. When we see chaos in our nation today, always ask whose side God is on. God’s side always wins, you know. So our responsibility should be to seek God’s Truth at all costs.

Is it fair to call our country and its leaders indifferent to God? Though it was common for ministers to preach the cause of liberty, few stepped out of the pulpit into the line of duty. Reverend James Caldwell was one of the few. Caldwell graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1759, studying under the great Presbyterian orator and President of Princeton, Samuel Davies himself. He became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown, NJ, in 1762 and later served in the Third Battalion of Company No. 1, New Jersey Volunteers, as their chaplain.

James Caldwell had the honor to travel through Virginia with Reverend John Witherspoon, the only active pastor to sign the Declaration of Independence, to raise money for Princeton College. Caldwell was a very good pastor; his church had 345 rented pews and had just finished an addition. It was one of the oldest in the country, having been constructed in 1667. Caldwell was a mover and shaker. He made it in society. In a world where only the fittest survive, Caldwell was a winner.

So why did Caldwell choose to fight? On January 25, 1780, the British burned his church, destroying all personal papers as well as the church’s records. A tough introduction to the patriotic cause. After the fire, Reverend Caldwell would carry a rifle and participate with his troops as they fought the British. He used his love for God to minister to his battalion. Later, a British soldier would shoot his unarmed wife, Hannah, as she sat protecting their two youngest children, and then burn his home. Caldwell fought on. And then, in 1781, an American traitor would kill an unarmed Reverend Caldwell for no other reason than money. Caldwell had been assisting in the ministry to those held on British prison ships. The British hated Caldwell’s zeal and placed a bounty on his head. Reverend Caldwell had placed all his faith and hope in God. And while we may not like the end to his story, Caldwell helped give his ten children a new and free country to prosper in. There is no doubt that Reverend James Caldwell loved God. Can you find similar sacrifices made by our leaders today? Are they willing to share in the same pain, sacrifice, and risks as you? Do they have a love for God? Remember, God wins!

Our third point today is that for common sense to prosper, humility must be present. It is in humility that we can hear our God speak to us, guide our lives, and help us discern our way. How is it that a brave person can stand before their nation and ask for nothing, but instead, only thank them for the opportunity to serve? “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments onto the road and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?” So here is a story about humility in the American Revolution that often goes untold.

Deborah Sampson was five when she was first sent to live with her mother’s cousin, Ruth Fuller of Middleborough, Massachusetts. Ruth died when Deborah was eight. She then went to live with Mrs. Thatcher, the 80-year-old widow of a First Congregational Church minister. Another local minister noticed how hard Deborah worked and made arrangements for her to serve the household of Benjamin Thomas.

Deborah Sampson was ten years old when the Boston Massacre happened and thirteen years old at the time of the Boston Tea Party. In 1774 King George III issued the Intolerable Acts, and the people of Boston started talking about how they would starve under King George’s laws. Deborah’s response was to plant a garden for herself and the Thomas family.

In 1779, she became a teacher in a Middleborough public school. Deborah still thought about joining the Continental Army but didn’t know how she could do it. Then, in the winter of 1780, Mr. Thomas came for a visit and told her about two of his sons being killed in Virginia when they were fighting with Marquis de Lafayette. She was close to the Thomas boys. Deborah grew up with them, hunting and learning to shoot just as well as they could. This is when she committed to finding a way to serve with the Continentals.

On May 20, 1782, at the age of twenty-one, Deborah Sampson finally enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army at Bellingham, Massachusetts, as Robert Shurtleff, which was the name of her oldest brother who had died at the age of eight. Deborah was almost immediately detected when she held the quill with her finger in that funny position, like a girl. No one else seemed to notice and Deborah Sampson, otherwise known as Robert Shurtleff, was now a soldier with the Continental Army, having enlisted for three years. Three days later she was officially part of Captain George Webb’s company. She was soon excommunicated from her Baptist Church because the people of Middleborough had heard she was dressing as a man and serving in the Army.

Her first narrow escape from discovery was when she was altering her poorly fitting uniform and was observed to be very good with a needle. She explained it away by stating there were no girls in her family, so as the youngest, she had to learn how to sew.

Her regiment was sent to West Point, New York. During a scouting party to try to find food for her regiment, she was shot in the leg by Loyalists who caught her stealing from a cave near Tarrytown. To maintain her disguise, Deborah refused to see a doctor and took care of her wound. She was at West Point for eighteen months and fought in several battles. Deborah was injured two more times. Once near Tarrytown, her head was cut with a sword, and then again near Eastchester. This time she was hit in the thigh by a musket ball and was carried to the hospital. But, once there, she showed the surgeon the lesser wound to her head, and he released her. She tried to dig the musket ball out of her thigh with her pen knife! Failing that, she nursed the wound as best she could. But having left the ball in the leg was to cause her trouble for the rest of her life. She again refused to be treated by a doctor thus causing her injuries not to heal completely.

It wasn’t until she came down with a “malignant fever,” which was being passed around the soldiers, that she was forced to see a doctor at a hospital in Philadelphia. A doctor examined her and discovered she was not a man. He didn’t tell anyone but took her to his own home where she could get better care. Once she was well again, the doctor met with her commanding officer.

Deborah Sampson knew right away that her doctor had told her commanding officers, and on October 25, 1783, almost two months after the Peace Treaty of Paris was signed, she was asked to deliver a letter to General Washington. Washington, in turn, handed her papers that honorably discharged her from the Army with some money so she could get home. Later, in 1804, Paul Revere sent a letter to Congress telling them she should receive more money for her duties in the War. Deborah Sampson then received a U.S. pension of four dollars per month and a land grant for her military service. She is celebrated as the first official female soldier of the American military. Deborah gave up her identity and all she had to defend her country and asked nothing in return. To be humble is to live a life of service and sacrifice.

If Truth, Love for God, and Humility serve as the foundations of Common Sense, where do you find them and how do you get them? Well, the search for Common Sense begins at the foot of Christ’s Cross. You must think of yourself as nothing more than the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory. Sound judgment can only come from placing our faith in the hands of the perfect Teacher. Christ IS the truth, Christ IS love, Christ IS God and Christ IS the ultimate example of humility, and suffering so we would have life. Each of us must practice and demand Truth, have a Love for God, and seek Humility first of ourselves and then of our leaders. Most importantly, we must pass common sense on to our children. Jean-Paul, a German author born in 1763, is quoted, “The conscience of children is formed by the influences that surround them; their notions of good and evil are the result of the moral atmosphere they breathe.” If we are ever to hope for leaders who govern with common sense, if we are ever to have citizens who act with common sense, we must demand it from each other and create it in our children. All of us must develop the skills to recognize the folly of empty messages of hope and change that make no sense. What our forefathers saw so clearly is that a government created of intrusive laws, regulations, and bureaucracies perpetuates injustices. However, when a discerning nation relies on faith in Christ above all things and relies on their God to accomplish great things, each generation will have the common sense to remain “One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.”

Bible Verses for the lesson chosen from the New Living Translation (NLT)

7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. 9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. 11 Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
~Proverbs 2:7-11

5 “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey — even on a donkey’s colt.'”
~Matthew 21:5

 

A sermon given on January 20, 2013 at the Alafia River Rendezvous Church Service

Humans owe much to our God. He gave us our sky, our earth, our waters, our very life, and all of the necessary resources to sustain us but God also gave us responsibilities:

• God gave us “Dominion” over this planet and we each are held accountable for how we use those resources.
• God also gave us free will. We each can choose right from wrong; we can choose to love or hate.

It is estimated that our warring nature has probably cost 200 million lives in the 20th century alone and maybe as many as one billion throughout our earth’s history, mostly spawned by hatred and greed. Our earthly resources continue to be depleted in pursuit of luxury (just ask the Buffalo) and our freedoms seem fleeting, being eroded by the human lust for power. But God also gave us an instruction manual to go with earth and He also gave us His Son. This morning, let’s look at one of those Biblical instructions, to love, and see what we can apply to our lives today.

There are four kinds of love mentioned in the Bible: eros, philia, storge and agape. Eros is portrayed in the Old Testament in Solomon’s Song of Songs. It is erotic love but God is very clear in his Word; this is the physical love of a proper relationship, marriage, not the erotic lust of mankind. Philia means close in friendship or brotherly love. It is the basis for the name of our early Amercian capital, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Storge is family love, the bond found among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Today, however, we will limit ourselves to agape love. This is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest form of the four types of love.

Christ’s greatest commandment to us is to love our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. We often lose sight of this commandment do to the daily pressures of life. But Christ’s commandment went on, Christ also called on each of us to love our neighbor as ourselves. So what grade would you give human beings on our responsibilities for loving God and how are we doing with the “loving our neighbors part? Let’s begin with a few true stories that help us understand agape love.

Susan Seawell was born December 20, 1817 in southeast Missouri, not too far from where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers converge. She was the seventh and youngest child. Her parents were typical pioneers, moving frequently. After Susan’s birth, they moved back to their roots to eastern Tennessee. On November 17, 1836, Susan, just a month shy of 19, married Richard Haile. Over time, the couple had six children with their two youngest sons born after Susan’s family moved back again to their old homestead in Missouri. Richard and Susan’s older brother John went out to California during the gold rush. After their return, Susan dreamed of living in California. For this next trip, Richard, Susan, their children and other extended family members set out on the Oregon Trail to fulfill her dream. The journey by wagon train was not without hardships and somewhere near the Platt River in Nebraska, Susan succumbed to cholera and died. Richard placed a temporary grave marker on the spot where he buried his wife. Leaving the wagon train, he place his children under the care of an aunt, Martha Seawell, and returned to St. Joseph Missouri with his horses. Once there, Richard sold the horses and used the money to purchase a proper engraved marble headstone for Susan. Unfortunately, he no longer had enough money for horses and a wagon to return to his wife’s grave. Using his remaining few dollars, Richard purchased a wheel barrow and began to walk back to the Platt River, pushing his wife’s headstone ahead of him, somewhere between 250 and 300 miles. When he reached the simple marker he had placed on Susan’s grave, Richard set the new headstone and proceeded to move westward to re-join the wagon train. Richard and his family eventually reached California having left a simple mound of dirt, heaped by loving hands and a proper marker on a knoll 4 miles from Kenesaw, Nebraska. This was his last tender offering to a devoted wife and mother. He never returned to her grave. Numerous sightings authenticated the story on the “Lone Grave” because a formal marble headstone was not common along the Oregon Trail.

This is a love story we can understand. Susan and Richard enjoyed a love much deeper than anything physical. Richard’s long walk must have been filled with sadness, yes, but that painful journey must have also been filled with thoughts of love and admiration for his wife. When people care for each other, when they share a life of sacrifice and dreams, they share agape love. But what if hate is present? Can agape love even exist?

Toward the end of the Revolutionary War, a traitor, named Michael Whitman, was captured. At his trial it was proven that he had given the British army invaluable assistance on numerous occasions. He was found guilty of spying and sentenced to death by hanging.

Michael Whitman was from a Pennsylvania town called Ephrata. Word got back to that town of his imprisonment and impending execution. In Ephrata was a Baptist preacher whose name was Peter Miller. He heard about Michael Whitman’s plight and in the cold Pennsylvania snow, Peter walked 70 miles to Philadelphia to see George Washington.

George Washington and Peter Miller were very close friends. Miller had done a great many favors for the army; he had given them spiritual nourishment and emotional strength during many difficult times. When he came in to see George Washington he said, “General, I have a favor to ask of you.” Washington said, “What is it?” He said, “I have come to ask you to pardon Michael Whitman.”

George Washington was stunned. He said, “Pastor Miller, that’s impossible. Whitman has done everything in his power to betray us, even offering to join the British and help destroy us. I cannot be lenient with traitors, and for that reason I cannot pardon your friend.”

Peter Miller said, “Friend! He’s no friend of mine. He’s the bitterest enemy I’ve ever had in my life. For years he persecuted me and harassed me. He did everything he could to hurt my church and to hinder the preaching of the Gospel. He even waited for me one time after church and beat me almost senseless, spitting in my face, knowing full well I would not strike him back. Peter said, “General Washington let’s get this straight—Michael Whitman is no friend of mine.”

George Washington was puzzled. He said, “But you asked me to pardon him.” Peter replied, “I have, and I ask you to do it to me as a personal favor.” “Why?” asked Washington. The reverend responded, “Because that’s exactly what Jesus has done for you and for me.” With tears in his eyes, George Washington walked into the next room and soon returned with a paper on which was written the pardon of Michael Whitman. Peter Miller went with Washington to the stockade, saved Michael Whitman from the hangman’s noose, and personally took him back to his own home where he led him to faith in Jesus Christ. Peter Miller and Michael Whitman went on to become close friends for the rest of their days.

What makes this story harder to understand is that Reverend Miller had all of the human reasons on this earth to let justice prevail. But whose justice? Apparently, human justice and Godly justice are not the same. Why would anyone suffer for another who hates them? Here, something special prevailed and overcame hatred.

There is one more story I must tell you to get to the bottom of this thing called agape love. So I want to look to the life of one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. There are many misunderstandings about his life. One of those misunderstandings is that Jefferson tried to re-write the Bible, leaving most of God’s instructions and Christ out. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Thomas Jefferson was a member of the Virginia Bible Society, who distributed full unedited Bibles to Virginia residents. He also helped finance the printing of the largest Bible of its time, a full two volume set of the Holy Scriptures. However, it is true that Jefferson did write two summaries. In 1804, his first abridged version entitled “The Philosophy of Jesus” was created expressly for the purpose translating, printing and teaching the American Indians about the Gospel. Thomas Jefferson also assisted in the passing of laws to spread Christianity to the Indians and provided both governmental and personal funding for missionaries to reach out to the frontier. So let us for a moment, imagine a meeting between a group of early missionaries and the tribes occupying the Ohio Valley, still part of our frontier back then. Imagine a camp where the chiefs were present from the tribes of Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Seneca and Wyandot. After pleasantries would be exchanged and the pipe of peace passed among them, the missionaries would have sat down with the chiefs to share the story of Christ. One missionary might have told them that God so loved this world that to save it, He sent His Son to live among mankind. With this news, there might have been real excitement among the chiefs. One chief might have said, “this is wonderful news, to have the Creator’s son present in our world. Tell us more, did you make Him Chief of Chiefs?” What would our missionary tell the chief? “No we didn’t make Him a chief, we beat Him and killed Him.” The council would be silent I am sure. If this story ended here, it would make no sense. No one could understand such hatred, especially against our Creator. But thankfully, it doesn’t end there.

When God gave us our free will, that was both a good thing and a bad thing. Did you ever wonder why God, who knows all, would place Adam and Eve into a garden with a forbidden fruit and then give them the free will to choose to eat it, knowing they would eat the fruit and be cast out forever? Does this sound like the actions of a loving God? You bet it is. Because without free will, we are nothing, life is nothing and love is nothing. Our very nature is to seek to be free, to fight to be free and to die to be free. What greater example of love have we seen than to see our sons and daughters, our fathers and mothers, willing to sacrifice their lives for the people of this country or other countries that, at times, are not even deserving of their sacrifice. Yes, we all have that predisposition to stray from God but what would life be like if your every moment was predetermined and controlled. Could love or joy even exist if no free will existed either?

The “Good News” is that God has always had a plan to counter our free will. That plan is based on the love He has for each and every one of us. And that love is a personal love, an agape love, a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that is at the very root of His creation. God’s plan has always included a reconciliation that would bridge the gap between ourselves and God that was created by our free will. God’s plan has always been to bring us into an everlasting fellowship, a glorious and eternal fellowship with Him. So to end our missionary’s story, he would tell the chiefs that Christ’s death was not without purpose. It was the perfect sacrifice to erase the sins of mankind, your sins, my sins, their sins so that our human freedom would not disqualify any of us from the hope and joy of eternal life with God.

When God sent His Son, Jesus, to us, the plan was always to let Christ carry our sins, by suffering for you and me, even though we are not deserving of God’s love. And the plan was always to let Christ die for you and me. This is a sacrifice created out of the greatest story of love our history has ever seen, God’s love overcoming the hatred and sins of all mankind.

Yes, humans were given dominion over this world and we have done a less than stellar job. Humans have been given free will (true freedom) and our people constantly throw it away for a simple promise of “free stuff” or the pursuit of a material life and worldly pleasures. In spite of us, our God, our loving God chose to become incarnate, to become one of us, so that the gap that separates each of us from Him could be bridged once and for all. God gave us what I call “the gift” and like any gift, we have free will to accept it or reject it. But Oh what a gift this is! Because when we grasp the significance of Christ on the Cross, it changes us, it changes our world. We now want to love our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. God’s gift also makes us want to do “work” for Christ, modeling our lives after Him. This is exactly what Thomas Jefferson saw that he so much wanted to spread throughout this new land. Jefferson wanted us to work together in a selfless, sacrificial and unconditional way. Jefferson saw Christ’s philosophy of life as that way to build a nation based on freedom and love for one another. Jefferson saw in Christ’s life that love always wins over hatred.

So how can you get “the gift,” do “the work” and be assured of “the prize?” First, know that your very sinful nature separates you from God. This is something you cannot fix yourself. Eternity for YOU beings with the knowledge that Christ suffered for YOU and that Christ DIED for YOU. So what is “the prize” offered by Christ? Christ rose from the dead to show us that there is life after death and Christ lives for YOU today. Be reassured that when a repentant heart places it’s faith and trust in Christ, “the work” of life becomes God’s work and “the prize” of eternal life is assuredly yours.

Message based on John 3:16 and John 15:13

A sermon given on January 15, 2012 at the Alafia River Rendezvous

Modern society loves a patriot but often leaves out one important component to patriotism, God. This morning, I would like to go back to a time when the term patriot was being defined and see, can patriotism exist without God?

It was a cold, damp night in Boston, the 18th of April, 1775. British were on the move, going to Lexington to relieve the town of its supply of gunpowder and weapons. You all know the story of that night, the famous ride and that first shot heard round the world the next day. History, however, is often embellished to serve personal interests but buried in the proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, written some 100 years later, is the real story of what happened that night.

The Old North Church is the oldest standing church in Boston. In 1775, on the eve of America’s Great Revolution, the majority of the congregation were loyal to the British Crown and many of its church members held official positions in the royal government, including the Royal Governor of Massachusetts. King George III, himself, had given the Old North its silver that was used at services as well as a Bible. The fact that some members were also loyal to something known as the “patriot cause” was even more extraordinary. But soon, the steeple of the Church would serve a military purpose. Chosen because it was the tallest building in Boston, easily visible from many directions standing high at 191 feet and the other reason would come from within its congregation. God would begin to choose His people to step forward in the creation of our country.

Into history comes one of our first patriots, Paul Revere, a talented silversmith, engraver but more importantly an active member of Boston’s Sons of Liberty. For months he had served as the group’s messenger, carrying information as far away as Philadelphia. Revere was involved in the battle for freedom because he cared about his country. When the leader of the Sons of Liberty, Dr. Joseph Warren, learned that General Gage’s army would march on Lexington and Concord, he called once again on Revere (and a young William Dawes) asking them to ride into the countryside to warn area militia members. Dawes was to take the land route out of Boston through the Boston Neck. Revere would cut across the bay in a small boat and then ride to Lexington.

With Boston under curfew, British soldiers were on guard to arrest anyone caught wandering the streets after dark. If both Revere and Dawes were detained, their warning would not reach Lexington. A back-up plan was needed; Revere recalled the view of Charlestown from atop the Old North Church where he rang the bells as a teenager. An important point here, Paul Revere grew up going to church.

Paul Revere chose to approach an intimate friend and business associate, a man named Captain John Pulling to help. Both Paul Revere and John Pulling were members of Boston’s Committee of Correspondence. One of the principle roles of its members was to gather intelligence and track the movements of British troops within the Colonies. Pulling also had with ties to the church and Revere would ask a huge favor—to hang signal lanterns in the steeple.

John Pulling was the perfect choice. He was not only a member of the church but also a vestryman (part of the church’s governing body, like an elder). John Pulling was a passionate patriot but he also believed that God wanted our country to be free from British rule. We know this because earlier that day, the vestry, Pulling and other vestrymen, made a decision to fire their Loyalist Rector, Rev. Mather Byles Jr., for preaching against their patriot cause. A bold move for liberty. If captured hanging the lanterns, Pulling hoped he could provide a believable reason for being in the church, he was part of the “management team” and needed to be there after firing their Rector. So on April 18th, Captain Pulling was ready to go to the church and hang two lanterns from the window on the north side facing Charleston. This would be the signal that the British Regulars were coming by sea.

Robert Newman, the sexton (janitor) of the Old North, also had clear patriot allegiances but, perhaps more importantly, he had the keys to the building. He also lived just across the street from the church. Newman was generally considered to be a trustworthy young man, but had not, as yet, been very active in the rebellion. He was not able to find work and had taken a job he did not like as the church caretaker. Eager to help out, he was known to be a man of few words and right for the job of helping in signaling a secret message.

Dawes left by horseback taking the land route while Revere went to his boat in Boston Harbor and was rowed across by two friends. The men used a petticoat to muffle the noise made by the oars. Soon, 700 British soldiers embarked on their journey to Lexington.

While Revere and Dawes planned to deliver their messages to Lexington personally, using the lantern method, they would have a fast way to inform the back-up riders in Charlestown about the movements of the British; these back-up riders, about 40 of them, could also deliver the warning message.

It was about 10:00 PM when Newman opened the church door with his key and Pulling joined him inside. A third patriot, Thomas Bernard, stood guarding the door. John Pulling lit the lanterns and proceeded with the task of climbing to the top of the steeple and flashing the two lanterns that would signal the British troops were now disembarking by sea.

The lanterns, one exactly like this one here with us today, were hung for less than a minute but this was long enough for the message to be received in Charlestown. The militia waiting across the river were prepared to act as soon as they saw them. It was this kind of unselfish act, this risk, this attitude to be involved that Christ was talking about in His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:14-16.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

If there ever was an example to follow, it is this one. Too many of us try to leave well enough alone or just are not interested in lifting our light, taking risks. Too many of us just don’t want to get involved. But can patriotism exist without involvement, without risk? Can patriotism exist without reliance on God? Hardly not, something that our founding fathers understood and today’s leaders have seem to forgotten.

The lanterns were immediately seen by the British troops and they quickly found Robert Newman and placed him under arrest. It was Newman who would give John Pulling’s name to the British officials. Newman was released and a search for Pulling began immediately. It is this fact that the Historical Society used to determine that Robert Newman was probably not the one who raised the lanterns high in the steeple or else, the British would not have released him and pursued John Pulling instead.

At first John Pulling went back to his home and hid in an empty wine cask in the cellar. Then, later, disguised as a fisherman, he eluded the troops and embarked in a small skiff leaving Boston by sea. The skiff would be challenged by a nearby British warship at anchor, but through God’s providence, allowed to pass. You see, even the mightiest navy in the world was no match for our God.

Sarah Pulling, John’s wife can also be called a patriot. Her husband, John was now a hunted man and she too had to flee Boston. John and Sarah chose to rendezvous at an old cooper’s shop on the Cohasset shore. Because the British were looking for John, his journey would take much longer than Sarah’s. Sarah, then pregnant, would arrive first and give birth to a daughter before John’s arrival. In their haste to leave Boston, John and Sarah would abandon all their possessions and would be forced to live without resources in what would have to be called primitive accommodations at best. While the Pullings remained safe from the British, they would be in exile until the last British troops evacuated Boston about one year later.

Despite its historical significance, the “One if by Land Two if by Sea” signal was just a backup plan. It was meant to warn patriots in Charlestown, a borough across the river from Boston in case Revere himself could not make it to start his ride. So were John and Sarah’s risks of no value? Well, history tells us that Revere was actually detained by the British and did not reach Lexington until the battle had already begun. William Dawes did not make it either. He fell off his horse and the horse ran away. Upon procuring another horse, Dawes showed up late too. The message reached Lexington because of the many riders who could see the lanterns that night in the steeple. God’s providence, those lights high on the church steeple, would start 13 colonies on a path that would create the greatest nation on the earth and the freedoms we enjoy today.

So how did the Pulling’s sacrifice fare in history? I am afraid not too well. It is not the predominant story surrounding what we now celebrate as “Patriot’s Day.” Upon their return, they found that everything, their possessions and their home were gone. John had become ill during their exile and died shortly after their return to Boston. For Sarah, this already was a second marriage. Now she would be a widow again. Returning For John and Sarah Pulling is not the ending that we like in our stories. Each was willing to be used for God’s purpose, no matter what the consequence. They would give up everything and get nothing that the world values, not even notoriety for their sacrifices.

But there is more to their story. Sarah had grabbed only a few possessions, only a few things she could carry as she left that cold April night. What would you choose to take if suddenly, your very wellbeing was at risk and you had to give up everything you owned, everything, and run, run for your life? Sarah’s choice was to take her Bible and that very Bible remains in the possession of her decedents today. It was that Bible and the stories shared between Pulling’s family members that the Massachusetts Historical Society had so carefully noted. John and Sarah’s light had lived from generation to generation through her Bible and the sharing of their story.

So how does history remember this event? Well, from a worldly perspective, the statues and poems, all well-deserved, and went to Paul Revere. The plaque on the side of Old North Church and most of the history books honor Robert Newman without any mention of Captain John Pulling and no one mentions Sarah. However, I believe that God honors the Pulling’s as true examples of light shared with the world.
To close out this idea of patriotism and how it might help us this week at Alafia I must ask, how will you measure yourself against Christ’s call to keep your light high and visible? I am going to end today with a story about a Presbyterian minister named William John Henry Boetcker. He lived during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Boetcker was an eloquent motivational speaker and was noted for his strong opinions on serving both God and country. Quoted by Abraham Lincoln and later by Ronald Reagan, Boetcker is less well known for his message on what he called the “Seven National Crimes.” These are, in a way, the antithesis of patriotism. So here is, what I believe, what Jesus was trying to tell us, but in Boetcker’s own words: The seven national crimes are: not to think and be discerning; to say you don’t know or not to care; to be too busy to get involved; to leave well enough alone; to have no time to read and sort out the truth; and finally, to say you are just not interested.

John and Sara pulling, Paul Revere, even Robert Newman understood that they should not hide their light under a bowl. They thought about their country and they believed in their God. They knew the truth, they were never too busy. They didn’t leave well enough alone. They were not only interested in freedom, they were willing to risk their lives for it. Each raised the Light of Truth so that those around them could see.

All across this great nation, our religious freedom is under assault in ways that our founding fathers never could have imagined. We can no longer rely on our own government to protect those rights. The task belongs to us here today. Religious liberty is called the “First Freedom” for good reason Without it, every other freedom will crumble. Only by working together can we ensure that the rights which America’s founders sacrificially established as the foundation of this great nation will continue to shine, as the light high on the hill, for ourselves now and future generations to come.

For this week and for the future, do not place “your light” under a bowl. Do not be afraid to take a risk. Yes, risks are dangerous but looking at Psalm 18:28-29, we can always pray as King David prayed:

28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

You do not have to be afraid to hold your lantern high, your God will be with you. What is your light you might ask? It is the sharing with each other of your journey of faith and hope; the telling to others about sacrifices you have made for no other reason than because you trust God, have faith in Christ and love your country. Grab your lantern, hold it high, make sure your message is heard.

You can be the living patriots of today. Use Alafia to create that which does not rust or decay but lives forever. A personal faith journey like John and Sarah Pulling’s or your own journey of faith can be shared from generation to generation, assuring that the Good News and freedoms we all share today does not end with us.

A Sermon Given 1/16/2010 at the Alafia River Rendezvous Church Service

I was enjoying my local conservative newspaper one evening and the front page was filled with complaints about our government. Some of the complaints were:

• Refusing to bring forward laws, those which were most beneficial and necessary for our own good;
• Our States were being forbidden to pass important laws unless they first suspended their activities until permission could be obtained; unfortunately, those same leaders were withholding permission; and
• There was my favorite complaint, a multitude of new offices were being created, and those very representatives were being sent to harass us and take away our very economic existence.

The articles I read went on to say that no matter how much we were asking for relief, even in the most humble of terms, what we got back was more oppression. Yes, the editorials stated that we were being led by someone whose character was marked by behavior that might actually define a tyrant, and questioned as to whether any of our leaders were even fit to govern a free people.

Now this could have been this morning’s paper but it was actually taken directly out of the Declaration of Independence. Those are some of the very complaints our ancestors had with the leaders of the 18th century. You might want to ask yourself, why are we still, some 235 years later, complaining about the same things? Why after all of the sacrifice, suffering and history, are the people of this nation failing to solve the most basic problems within its government? Is human nature so corrupt that there is no hope for us?

Today, I have good news; our great God actually gave us the road map to a better world. It was written down around 750 BC, during the time of Isaiah in what we know today as the Book of Micah. So who is Micah you might ask? Well, we don’t know much about him. His name means “one who is like God.” He lived during a time when the people of Israel had abandoned God. Idolatry and abhorrent lifestyles were prevalent among the people. The rich took advantage of the poor and the Laws of God were being rejected. Micah came out and warned that the lands and the people’s freedom would be lost unless they changed. The people were religious alright, but it was an empty ceremonialism. Religion had become a matter of form; ceremonial observances were thought to be enough. There was an attitude that as long as the external acts of worship were performed, the people were entitled to God’s divine favor and protection. The people had replaced heartfelt worship with empty rituals, thinking that this is all God demands. They had divorced God’s standards of justice from their daily dealings in order to cover their unscrupulous practices. Unfortunately, the people rejected Micah’s message from God and Micah’s prophesy was fulfilled. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and again by the Romans in 70 AD and yet again in 135 AD. Frightening isn’t it, they lost their freedom for almost 900 years by not listening to their God.

Our times are again sounding similar and unless we put our knowledge of history to use, we could repeat those same mistakes, mistakes that could be fatal to our freedom and the freedom of generations to come. So I chose for today, our Scripture passage from the Book of Micah, where he was asking God what they should do in order to get back on His good side. I read from Micah 6:6-8: With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah is asking God, what do you want us to do? This is a very personal question too and it may be the greatest question any human can ask God, what do you want of me?

Micah starts off by first asking God do you want me to give Your really important sacrifices, “like my best calf?” Back then, families kept a fatted calf, to be used for that special occasion. You remember the story about the Prodigal Son and how his father was so happy for his son’s return that he threw a banquet, serving their “fatted calf.” Families would not have given their calf up easily.

Micah also asks, will it take gifts so great that they are impossible to comprehend, “like thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of olive oil?” Here Micah is really asking whether God wants the impossible from us. No one would have had thousands of rams and one river of olive oil would have been hard enough to comprehend but 10,000 rivers?

Micah again asks, “God, do you want me to give up the most valuable thing I might cherish, my first born child?” While we would love all of our children equally, in Micah’s time, it was the first born child who would be granted all of the legal rights as heir to an estate. The first born assured that the legacy of a person would continue to the next generation. A first born child might very well have been the most difficult to ever give up.

God answers Micah back by saying; “I don’t want any of those things.” Here is what I want of you: “Act Justly, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with Me.” Pretty amazing isn’t it. The question of all times, what does God want of us and the answer is just three basic things that anyone can do. Well, let’s take a closer look at what God wants from of each of us and see if we really did those three things, would we have a better world. If we chose leaders that did those three things, would we have a better country? If our country did those three things, would we assure freedom for ourselves and our children?

I first need to draw your attention to the way God’s answer is worded. It is stated with three action verbs, act, love and walk. There is no free pass here, no way to avoid effort on our part. God is emphatic that we must take an active role in changing ourselves as well as changing this world. God is calling to everyone — do something!

For any of us to act justly, we must give everyone that which is due to them. God’s commands, however, do not demand justice. God commands us to act in a just manner meaning we are not to give others “what is due them” in our own eyes, but “what is due them” according to God’s eyes. To act justly, we need know God’s Law well enough to understand our Master’s perspective on justice. Jesus tells us that we are to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”¹Mark 12:28-30 So justice must be delivered through loving eyes, just like God’s. Jesus adds a second commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”²Mark 12:31 Strange, isn’t it justice and love working together.

So justice then, is to be compassionate and fair. And we must conclude that the only difference between justice and vengeance may be the love of God. There is no place that we can see this more clearly than in the death of Christ. The Romans and Jews killed Christ for vengeance but Christ’s death for mankind’s sins was history’s greatest act of justice. In an act of supreme love for us, justice for sin was satisfied for all.

And now we have this concept of love again, we are to love mercy. God was telling Micah that while He realized mankind may come to know that justice is necessary, justice can be cold and unfeeling. So to act justly alone is not sufficient; we must also love mercy and do what mercy requires us to do. Mercy comes from characteristics that include kindness, benevolence, and charity. Part of what mercy requires is to be willing to forgive others as God is willing to forgive us. It is this very aspect of mercy through which our own salvation comes, not because of the good things we have done, but because of God’s unconditional mercy.³Titus 3:5 To be merciful is to help someone when they are not deserving of help.

And lastly, God calls us to walk humbly with Him. It helps if we first acknowledge that we are sinful people, separated from God but willing to acknowledge God’s own mercy. It is only through a humbling of ourselves that we will be allowed to walk with God. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”⁴1 Peter 5:5 The Apostle Paul points out that it is self-focused pride that leads to unbelief and lack of faith⁵Romans 11:20; 12:3. The humble attitude required by the Lord will always show itself through a life of prayer, repentance, and service. Just a quick note here: to be repentant is not only to be sorry but to change direction, something necessary if we are to walk WITH God. God chooses the path, we follow Him.

Are there any of us that have not reached out to our God in prayer and petition and asked for a favor? And how many of us have wondered, God, do you hear me? Why don’t you answer? Well, there is an amazing benefit that comes from humility. To fully comprehend this, I need to tell you a little about Moses.

Moses had every opportunity to boast about his many accomplishments. Instead, he never forgot his faith as he led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Of all the character traits of Moses, the Bible cites only one: his humility. In the Book of Numbers⁶Numbers 12:3, we are told that “The man, Moses, was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” So how are we sure? Well, God used Moses to lead 2 million people out of captivity to the Promised Land. God spoke to Moses face to face and as a friend. Moses was humble enough to always notice when God was close.

We know that humility born of a deep respect for God was a large reason for this honor given to Moses⁷Isaiah 57:15; 66:2. God cared so much for Moses that He even wrote down in stone, the exact commandments to follow. Wouldn’t it be great if you could receive answers direct from God and in writing too? What perfect humility brought Moses was perfect communications with His God. Think about that, the ability to know when God is near you and to hear God when He speaks to you. Now that my brothers and sisters is a worthy pursuit.

Moses also listened to the counsel of other wise men and shared leadership instead of drawing all of the glory to himself. God used Moses to write the first five books of the Old Testament. The opportunities given to Moses during his first 40 years were all orchestrated by an influential God. His training in the wilderness was provided by a faithful God. And Israel’s journey to the Promised Land was guided by a patient God. Yes, Moses understood that it was by God’s grace that he became the person he was⁸1 Corinthians 15:10. And the good news is that same opportunity for perfect communication with God is available to us. A lot of Moses’ humility came through hindsight. Moses frequently looked back and saw all the years God worked with him, even though, at times, he wasn’t aware of it.

As lovers of history, each of you share that same hindsight gleaned by Moses. Just think back of the journey of our ancestors who stepped out in faith, fought, died and persevered to give each of us the freedom we enjoy today. You are the people who know best that it was not chance alone that our great country was created but through divine providence and the hand of a loving God that we are a free people. Like looking at the backside of tapestry, Moses at first could not see the purpose for all that had happened to him, but when the tapestry was turned over, he could clearly see the greatness and mercy of God in his life. Moses learned that when God is involved, all things work together for good⁹Romans 8:28.

At the end of his life, Moses’ own words state why he and all people should obey God. In Deuteronomy¹⁰Deuteronomy 4:39-40 he said, “Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

What Moses said so eloquently is lived-out by following the prophet Micah’s teaching. The verses in Micah are my favorite Bible verses and I think of them daily as I reflect on the graciousness of my God. One day I was reading a story about our 18th century forefathers and how they would sit by their fires in winter camp and carve maps, pictures and sometimes Bible verses on their power horns, making a pictorial history of their life. I could not think of anything more important than a good horn and dry powder during the formation of our great country. So that is why I chose to scrimshaw Micah 6:8 on my horn. Like my forefathers did, my horn is my constant reminder of God’s answer to the question I have always pondered: God, what do you want me to tell the people you bring into my life? And God’s answer to me is to tell all of you to act justly in all you do, to love mercy and, like Moses, to walk humbly with your God everywhere you go.

Now, be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid of anything; for the LORD your God goes with you this week and He will not ever leave you or forsake you.

• 1
  Mark 12:28-30
• 2
  Mark 12:31
• 3
  Titus 3:5
• 4
  1 Peter 5:5
• 5
  Romans 11:20; 12:3
• 6
  Numbers 12:3
• 7
  Isaiah 57:15; 66:2
• 8
  1 Corinthians 15:10
• 9
  Romans 8:28
• 10
  Deuteronomy 4:39-40

A Sermon given on July 1, 2012 at Westview Baptist Church, Sanford, FL

I love history! As a member of the Florida Frontiersmen, my grandsons and I enjoy the 18th century for one week each year at the Alafia River Rendezvous. Several years ago, I spotted a lantern in a catalog. My wife had remembered me talking about it and behold one Christmas, a copper lantern appeared under our tree. This is the lantern I have right here.

The lantern came from the Monticello Foundation, a group that has restored and maintains the home of Thomas Jefferson. The lantern was described as typical of those used on Thomas Jefferson’s estate. To me, this lantern is more than a light, it is truly a thing of beauty. Out I went on my next Alafia River camping experience confident that I had the best lantern. But I was quick to learn much more about lanterns and of course, much more about Thomas Jefferson and our God. So today, I bring you a message from Thomas Jefferson’s lantern.

Our modern world is changing all of the time and this causes us to lose the subtle intent of history’s examples that were so evident to people long ago. Living as our ancestors did, the Alafia River Rendezvous offers an insight into history in a unique way. Participants get to understand life’s struggles not by reading about them in a book or watching a movie, they get to live them. Our problem of understanding grows even more difficult, the farther back into history we go and the more modern our lives become. Have you wondered why the Bible is sometimes hard to understand? Well, for the people living 6,000 years ago, life was very, very different. Let me use King David’s Psalm 119:105-106 as an example:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

On the surface, the psalmist, David, is saying that God’s Words are a guide just like a light. Specifically, he says it’s a lamp. In David’s day, it would have been very much like this lantern, a small single flame flickering in the breeze. David takes an oath and affirms his intent to uphold his oath and then follow the rules, God’s rules. But today, who walks with a lamp, a lantern? Well, the people of the Alafia River Rendezvous do and that gives each of them the opportunity to go back in time and understand the mind of King David and to understand more about their God.

When you walk about the Florida Frontiersmen’s 323 acres at night, lighting your way is done in a historically correct manor, by simple candle light. When I saw this lantern in the Monticello catalog, it seemed perfect to blend in with my 18th century persona. Copper is also like a good bottle of wine. It mellows well with time and that is definitely a goal I have set for myself, to get better with age. I also love the night time at the camp. It is a time to wander and listen to the historical music, to look up at the stars, to hear the distant drumming of the Metis’ Indians who camp with us. These are the reasons why it is so easy to slip back in time. I found myself wondering whether our great leader Jefferson might have taken a late night walk, maybe to clear his thoughts when he was authoring that most famous document, “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” We know that Jefferson played the violin to help his words flow from thought to paper. A nice evening walk with a copper lantern could have been just as effective. Having this lantern led me to want to learn more about Jefferson and, of course, take more of those evening walks during the Alafia River Rendezvous.

Isn’t that how a person’s knowledge grows? It starts from some innocent event like getting a Christmas gift, creates a curiosity and before you know it, this Lantern becomes the basis for a Sunday’s message. As I learned more about Thomas Jefferson, I found out that he had made an attempt to write his own summary of the Bible. Jefferson arranged selected verses from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in chronological order, mingling excerpts from one text to those of another in order to create a single narrative. Thus Jefferson began with Luke chapter 2 and Luke chapter 3, and then followed with Mark chapter 1 and Matthew chapter 3 and so on. He then authorized the printing of this first summary for use by missionaries which he funded to reach out to the American Indians. Jefferson knew that a full Bible would not be understood by local tribes unless it could be translated into their native languages. Jefferson felt that a chronological summary of Christ’s life was a great place to start.

Later, Thomas Jefferson further summarized his notes for his own personal use. Here is the full Bible of the times, the King James 1611 bible, the one the people of the 18th century were reading and here are Jefferson’s notes. Notice the difference in size. There has been quite an effort lately to make people believe our founding fathers were not devout Christians and that Jefferson’s intent was to re-write God’s Words. What you may not know is that the title, “The Thomas Jefferson’s Bible,” is not accurate. Jefferson’s original notes were titled “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.” Yes, the man who could envision what would become the greatest country in recorded history also envisioned that Jesus was the best example of how each of American should live. Jefferson who had studied the Scriptures documented 50 moral attributes of Jesus’s life. Each night before he went to bed, he would read them to make sure his walk was in step with that of Jesus.

So are you curious yet to see what history can teach us about what God meant way back when David walked this earth and what this simple lantern can teach us?

Well, have you ever walked at night with a lantern? The first thing you will learn about the Jefferson Lantern is that it has a mirror in the back and the lantern is shaped in a triangle. Candle light reflects off the mirror through the glass and is projected forward. Notice also that the handle of the lantern was placed so that you could not hang it on a wall. It is 90 degrees in the wrong direction for hanging. This lantern was created to hold in a hand. As they walked, the mirror would reflect the light forward toward their destination. Yes, Jefferson’s lantern is an Early American flashlight.

From this design, we get a clue about our God. Jefferson’s lantern is such that you cannot see where you came from but only where you are about to go. The light from the candle is used to move you toward a destination and it is not diluted by reflecting back at where one may have come from. You know, the light is focused on the journey ahead.

This first point is also a basic element in the doctrine of the Christian faith. We have been forgiven for all we have done. As Christians, we do not have to earn our way into eternal life – is a free gift, given to those with Faith in Christ. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 43:25-26 gives us a message directly from God to help us understand this better:

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.”

Through the prophet Isaiah, God is reminding us that when we are truly repentant, when we “state our case to God,” God not only forgives, He FORGETS! God says He forgets for His sake, and that allows us to live in perfect fellowship with Him. It does not matter where any of us have been, it does not matter what any of us have done, it does not matter that any of us are imperfect and will fail again. What matters is that we ASK GOD FOR HIS FORGIVENSS and our God has promised to always grant it.

I want to read that part of God’s promise again because it is easy to miss. “I will not remember your sins.” This does not say I will “forgive” you, it does not say I will “try” to forget what you have done but if you screw up again, I will bring your past up again and really give it to you. It says, “I will not remember your sins.” This is such a hard concept for humans to understand because no matter how hard we try, we can’t do this. Trust me, any married person knows that there is no such thing as a spouse not remembering what you did wrong. But our good news is that God forgets so perfectly it is exactly as if we never did anything wrong, just like it never happened and it will never be held against us now or in the future. God wants us to be just like the mirror in that lantern, focusing ourselves forward toward Him and not looking back. How about a big Halleluiah!

Could Thomas Jefferson’s belief in God and his understanding of this lantern have influenced the formation of our country? I don’t know that answer. But when Thomas Jefferson penned our Declaration, he did so with a forward vision of creating a nation of free people, free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. You pursue Jefferson’s dream not by living in the past, but by looking to the future. Jefferson and the other 55 signers of our Declaration closed out their thoughts with this last sentence: And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. There is no more forward reaching pledge that a human can make than to rely on God and be willing to give their life, their wealth and their honor so their families and countrymen can look forward to being a free people.

There is more knowledge that comes from this lantern. The second thing you learn when you walk with a light, with only one candle in power, is that you can only see a few feet ahead. You never really see your destination until you arrive. A simple lantern only lights up enough of the darkness to guide your next few steps. This is enough, however, because you should always be looking immediately in front of you anyway. Now let’s consider why this is true – the camping area of the Alafia River Rendezvous has probably over a 1,000 tents; most of these tents have stakes and ropes that stick out to hold them down in the wind. If I conservatively estimate maybe 25 to 50 ropes per tent, this adds up to tens of thousands of stakes and ropes everywhere you walk. And the truth of the matter is that one of those ropes always seems to want to jump out and snare your leg, especially in the dark.

Those ropes and stakes are not unlike the hazards that befall our human plight. We are here on earth, being tempted by things that seem to jump out and grab us, ensnare us. Before we know it, we are face down in the dirt. Remember the story of David and Bathsheba? One afternoon King David was just gazing out his palace window and before he knew it, one of those “tent ropes” was bathing in his view. King David tripped hard: adultery, murder, deceit to name a few.
However, a night time walk with just one good candle in your lantern will give off adequate light for any journey and each step can be taken in safety. Look out too far into the darkness and the rope right next to your foot will entrap you. That is what our walk of faith is all about – thousands of careful and small steps guiding each of us safely to our eternal destination. But even as hard as King David fell, his repentance and love for God was sufficient to receive God’s forgiveness and God’s forgetfulness. David went on to be a good king for his people and it is from David’s lineage that God chose to send us our Savior.

Before my third and final point, I have a question for you: What is your source of light in life? What kind of candle do you have in your lantern? Is it a good beeswax candle that burns long and does not drip or is it a cheap substitute, smoky, quick to drip and is it consumed before your walk is over? The perfect candle, the perfect source of light must be our Savior, Jesus Christ. The light of mankind today can found in John 1:4-5:

“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

Have you ever wondered how a little candle, just one tiny flame can overcome the darkness that befalls over 300 acres? Yes, that little flickering light cannot be overcome by the darkness. The lantern light always wins. And that is the greatest lesson of them all. You see, the Apostle John was trying to tell us that Christ is the light of men and Christ can be our candle light for life’s journey. Christ cannot be overcome by the darkness of the world. Not only does the lantern always win, Christ always wins. And this my brothers and sisters is why we place our faith and hope in our Savior. This is why Thomas Jefferson thought Chris’s life was so important that he read His words every night. Jesus will always be the light that shines in the darkness, lighting up for each of us the next step we need to take so that the “tent ropes” of the world do not entrap us.

I would hope that you never look at a lantern the same again after today. My hope for each of you is to see the “Light of men” in every flickering candle. Look at this simple flame and remember that all of the forgiveness and love one needs to overcome anything is flickering before you in Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it too bad that it takes going back to a simpler life to see this lesson? Street lights, high power flash lights, night vision goggles all make us think we can move swiftly through the night to any destination of our choosing. But in this patriotic week you may have a new opportunity. Unlike the modern flashlight, a candle flame can be shared so be sure to share your flame and light someone else’s candle. Others will see you coming from a long distance in the dark of night even with a simple lantern. So be sure to share your light and be a guide for others to our Savior.

Now let us end this Sunday with a final message from our God: “Follow my Words, follow My Son, My Lamp for your feet, and you will always arrive at My destination for you, safely.”