IS IT TIME FOR A STREET FIGHT?

 

 

 

Coach Dave Daubenmire
March 22, 2007
NewsWithViews.com

All talk no action. That is a phrase that fits most Christians. They say they are pro-life, they say they are tired of the moral degradation; they say they want to protect marriage, but it is hard to find any evidence that their talk is any more than jaw-jabbering.

The Internet is full of those who are pointing out what is wrong with America. Anyone with any discernment at all knows that America is in trouble. You don�t have to be a social scientist to realize that America is becoming a vast, moral wasteland, and that we are becoming slaves to un-elected government. You certainly know that if things continue the way they are going our children and grandchildren are in a world of hurt.

Some are banking on the Rapture. The escapism-theology has convinced many that there is no need to fight. Jesus is coming soon and He will rescue all us sheep from this evil world.

I don�t want to argue about it. All I know is that Jesus told us in John 9:4 �I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.� Or how about this one, �occupy until I return� Luke 19:13.

The sun is still shining, so we must continue to work. If you believe Jesus can rescue you, what else can you believe Him to do?

Jesus told us in Matthew 13:18 �upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.� Isn�t it interesting that Jesus said the gates would not prevail AGAINST THE CHURCH? Not the Republican Party, not conservatism, not the Christian Coalition, but against THE CHURCH. There are certain battles mandated that the CHURCH must fight. A fighting-for-Truth Church? A storming-the-gates-of-Hell Church? Boy that doesn�t seem very Christ-like. Instead we have hired political-mercenaries to do the fighting for us. We spend most of our time begging evil men (politicians) to do what�s right.

Most folks will lament, �Well Coach, we just have to pray.� Want to know what I think? I think that is a cop-out. Sadly, most don�t really pray when they say they will, and for most the �let me pray about it� answer just gets them off of the hook. They don�t ever have to DO anything; they just hide behind their "I�ll pray about it" excuse.

It�s like I told a pastor-acquaintance of mine when he gave me that I�ll-have-to-pray-about-it line after I invited him to go to a school board meeting with me. �I already prayed, Pastor, and the Lord told me to tell you to come with me.� He didn�t come. I guess he must have a special private-line to the Lord.

Prayer is powerful, if we really do it. Jesus prayed. But He was a man of action. Isn�t it odd that most of his ministry was done on the streets? When He fed the 5000 it wasn�t in the safety of some mega-church edifice. Jesus took the Truth to the streets.

Our Father in heaven saw that the world was in a mess so He did something about it. God so loved the world that HE DID SOMETHING. We would do well to follow His example. But that is the problem. We want HIM to do it. He wants to empower US for the work.

The civil rights movement was launched when Dr. King and his followers took it to the streets. They didn�t just pray for freedom; they put their prayers into action. Prayer is like the electric wires along the highway. They are not the power; they are merely the conduit through which the power flows. Prayer, which is potential energy, becomes power, kinetic energy, when the one who prayers goes into action. Before He went to the cross Jesus prayed. Would you be free from your sins if He hadn�t followed His prayer with action? His prayers provided the power to do the work before Him.

Peter would never have walked on water if he had stayed in the boat. The water would never have been turned into wine unless someone had been obedient to �go and fill the water pots.� God rewards Faith. Action is the evidence of Faith.

Today�s evangelical church has lots of faith. Most teach that Jesus can make one healthy, wealthy, and happy. In fact, that is where much of the focus of the teaching is directed. �If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.� You see, it is never a question of what Jesus can do; it is only a question of what you can believe. We have faith that He can forgive sins, we have faith that He can heal; we have faith that He can give one wealth, but we don�t have faith that He can do something about this mess-of-a-nation.

Why? Because to believe He can clean-up this cesspool would require action on our part. God works through people. It is more pleasant to ask for a financial blessing than to ask for courage to face the giants. No, we don�t lack faith, we lack courage�and desire.

So let�s try this. If it doesn�t work you�ll never hear me complain again.

If the Church really believes that God created our children and that we should �train them up in the way that they should go,� then our faith should lead to action.

Imagine if you will the Southern Baptist Convention issuing an order that all Christians remove their children from government schools. What if other Christian denominations followed suit? What if the folks in the pew obeyed the leadership? How long would it take for parents to once again get control of the education of our children? Instead, we beg Caesar for vouchers. Whose children are they? Let our children go!

Do you really think abortion is murder? Is all life sacred? Does God approve of abortion? Does God obey the Supreme Court? Let your walk match your talk.

What if the Pope ordered all American-Catholic churches closed until abortion was ended in America? What if he issued a mandate that in all cities where an abortion clinic was located, local parishes would be assigned a day in which they were to surround the death camps and pray without ceasing for the end of abortion? How long would it take to shut those abortuaries down if each day a different parish surrounded the hell-holes? Instead, we fight for pro-life judges. Our claims of being pro-life sound empty. If abortion is murder, then the CHURCH must stop it.

Do you think a values-free education is a good thing? Do you think our government is better without the acknowledgement of God? Tired of all of the evil legislation? We can stop it.

What if Focus on the Family, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and other national ministries joined together for a march on Washington? What if they encouraged their supporters to take a week�s-vacation and stage a sit-in right in the halls of Congress? What if they asked two million Christians, two hundred thousand at a time, to go to Washington and bombard the halls of Congress to do something about the lie of Separation of Church and State as currently practiced in America? Can you imagine 200,000 Christians a week for 10 weeks turning up the heat in Washington? Instead we sign on-line petitions and seek larger donations for political causes. We know Christian values are what made this nation great and that they are our only hope for a return to sanity. But we give lip service, when we need foot service.

Isn�t it strange that Dr. King led much of the civil rights movement from jail? His willingness to suffer inspired others. How many members of the National Association of Evangelicals are willing to go to jail for what they believe in? Paul wrote much of the New Testament from behind bars because of his witness for Truth. Today�s leaders want to fight global warming and be tolerant. Keep sitting on your butt and I promise the globe is going to get warm!

But here is the Truth. We lack the courage and the desire to do it. Our leadership is not willing to take the steps necessary to clearly speak for Christ. They have a foot in both worlds, they are serving God and mammon, they are double-minded and without vision. They are trusting in political parties, dumping millions of God�s dollars into political action, praying some politician will have the courage to do what they will not.

In a time when we need God�s men, the Church is looking to hire the States' men.

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

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Americans used to love to win. Christians used to love to fight. Today we seek compromise and comfort. �Where there is a will there is a way.� Our leaders lack the will. No will, no way.

I�m going to Lexington. Seventy-seven common Minutemen changed the world. God can do it again. It�s time for a street fight.

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Do you think like a Christian or a humanist? Did the Founders really separate Church and State? Is Judicial tyranny ruining America? Check out these great teachings by the Coach.

� 2007 Dave Daubenmire - All Rights Reserved