From His Heart

Speaker 1

Listen, what are we supposed to do as Christians? We're supposed to shine, we're supposed to share, we're supposed to open our mouths for the dumb, those who can't speak and defend the rights.

Because listen, there is only one issue. That's the hole in the Titanic and that is the issue of abortion. And if we don't get that right, it doesn't matter what else we get right.

Speaker 2

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve as he continues the lesson Winning When Life Begins. Now, this is a foundational question that is passionately debated in our society today. There are wide-ranging differences of opinion on both sides of the topic, but the issue of when life actually begins is not a subjective thing with God. It is very clear in God's word what He says about when life begins and about this thing called abortion.

Today we'll revisit what God says is the true value of the unborn. Today's lesson is from the series we're in now entitled Foundations, based upon Proverbs, chapter 11, verse 3, which warns us by saying, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Listen, spiritual biblical foundations are critical to our survival.

So let's continue with part two of this message that we began last time that answers the pivotal question about the value God places on human life. Note, if you can't be here for the whole lesson today or missed part one from last time, you can catch up at fromhisheart.org; click the listen link. Open your Bible now to Psalm 139 and let's learn the definitive answer about when life begins.

Speaker 1

I want to share with you four insights that give us understanding of this issue of life and of abortion.

Insight number one: What does God say about it? God says that life begins at conception. That's what God says. Life begins at conception. The moment a woman's egg is fertilized by a man's seed, life begins. A fertilized egg is conception. The definition of conception in the dictionary says this: the action of conceiving a child. Job said in Job 33, verse 4, "The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life," and that life from the life giver God happens at the moment of conception. God gives us life at conception.

Secondly, God says that the fetus growing in the womb is a person. It's a person. You know, when we're in the womb, one of the things the American Heritage Dictionary of Science said is that life responds to stimuli, and we can recognize and respond to stimuli in the womb. Now, that's been shown in studies with ultrasound. It's been shown that babies respond to things. They respond to sound. They respond to things that jolt them or hurt them. They respond. And that is talked about in the word of God. Little six-month-old John the Baptist in the womb recognized that Mary, who was carrying the Lord Jesus, was in his presence, and he leaped for joy. That's a person in there. That's a person. And that person responds to stimuli. And God says, "You protect that person. I am doing work in the womb. This is not a blob; this is a person." And life begins at conception.

Thirdly, God says that to take the life of an innocent person is murder. It's murder. See, that's the issue of it all. And that's what the abortion advocates don't want to answer: the question of when does life begin? Because if you say, "Well, life begins when the scripture says it begins," because God is the author of life and His word is true. And so if life begins at conception, then no one can have an abortion. That would be murder. So they don't want to say that. They say, "Well, it's up to the mother. The mother determines when life begins."

Now, when you think about the issue of life and abortion, you need to know that the devil is into abortion up to his eyeballs. He is all for abortion. Why? Because Jesus said in John 8:44 that the devil is a murderer. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he's into murder. How do we know that? Because after the fall in Genesis chapter three, you flip the page to Genesis chapter four, and one of the first things that happens is murder, as Cain kills his brother Abel. And God says to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And Cain says, "I don't know. How am I supposed to know? Am I my brother's keeper?" And God says to Cain, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground." He murdered his brother. The devil is a murderer, and the devil wants to murder the babies.

We read in Exodus chapter 1 when God's people were in Egypt that the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh, said, "We're getting too many Jews here, and they could be a potential problem for us because they're greater than we are in number. And so we need to put them under our thumbs." He commanded that the Hebrew midwives would kill the baby boys. Kill the babies. Kill the babies. In the New Testament, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the magi came before Herod and they said, "Where is he who is born king of the Jews?" They told him in Bethlehem of Judea. That's where the Messiah is supposed to be born. And Herod said to the magi, "Please tell me. Come back and report to me when you find the king so I too may go and worship him." He didn't want to come worship him; he wanted to kill him. When he found out the magi weren't coming back, what did he do? He sent soldiers into Bethlehem and ascertained the time that the star appeared so he could figure out the age of the child. He said to his soldiers, "Go into Bethlehem, and every baby boy two years and older, kill them." The devil wants to murder the babies.

And the devil wants to deceive the people today. So the people today say, "Well, you know, I don't really understand much about abortion. I don't really want to know much about that." See no evil, you know, out of sight, out of mind. And the devil wants to deceive people. Carol Everett said, "You know, one of the things that people will ask when they come into the abortion clinic? They'll say, 'If I do this, am I killing my baby?' And they would say, 'Well, those are very explosive words. Killing and baby. You're terminating your pregnancy. That's what you're doing. You're not killing your baby. What are we talking about? Get that out of your mind. This is terminating your pregnancy.'"

But you know what? Even the abortion clinics cannot deny the scientific facts that abortion stops a beating heart because the heart begins to beat at three weeks of gestation. Abortion stops a beating heart. Some say, "Well, hey, listen, I believe that a woman should have a right over her own body." I believe that, too. Here's the issue with that: that baby is not her own body. That baby is living in her body, but that baby is another body. You know, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The next commandment is just like it: love your neighbor as yourself. Could there be anyone closer, any neighbor closer to a pregnant mother than her own baby inside? That's your neighbor. You're to love your neighbor. You're not to kill your neighbor. It's not your own body; it's the baby's body.

Some say, "Well, what about rape and incest? I mean, surely it's right to... You can't ask a woman who was raped to carry that baby." Well, rape is a terrible, horrible sin, and so is murder. Why would you compound the sin of rape with the sin of murder? James Robinson is a friend of mine, a preacher evangelist in the Dallas area. His mother was raped. He's a product of rape. He's very, very grateful that his mother didn't choose to exterminate him in the womb. He didn't have anything to do with the rape; he's not at fault for that.

Oh, but people say, "Well, you just... You don't understand. You're a man. You can't understand. You don't know what's going on." Adrian Rogers, some years ago, appeared before the Senate to talk about this issue of abortion. He shared from the scripture about how life begins at conception and how abortion is a horrible, terrible sin and how it is the murder of that which God is doing in the womb. After he got done, he was in the hallway, and a female lawyer who was pro-abortion buttonholed him. She had her hands on her hips and was mad, staring him in the eye. She said to him, "Mr. Rogers, you have no idea. You don't know what it's like to have an unwanted pregnancy. You don't know about the trauma." He looked at her and said, "Lady, do I hear you correctly? Are you saying that if someone gives you trauma, you can exterminate them? Because you're giving me trauma right now." She backed up a little; she got a little nervous because of the trauma.

You know, why do people have abortions? Why the abortion industry? People have abortions because of fear. People have abortions because of selfishness. People have abortions because of convenience. This is inconvenient for me. This is not a good time for me. That's why they call it an unwanted pregnancy. "I don't want this. And I have a choice." You really don't. You know, once a woman gets pregnant, she doesn't have a choice whether she's going to have that baby or not. She is going to have a baby. The only choice she has is whether she's going to have a dead baby or a live baby. Because she's going to have a baby. Because life begins at conception. And that's a life in there. Whether it's at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 6 months, whatever it is, that's a life.

So it's selfishness, convenience, deception, and greed. Greed on behalf of the abortion providers.

Speaker 2

You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve today, who is teaching the lesson called "When Life Begins Part Two." The core theme is that human life begins at conception and that every person is created by God with a purpose and a value, which shapes how believers think about abortion and the sanctity of life.

Now, if you don't believe that, you have fallen for society's lies, for Satan's lies. Pastor Jeff has an offer to make to you that'll help you learn how to dispel the lies of the devil on this and many things in this world.

Speaker 1

Pastor, you are surely aware that Satan loves to make people view God through the lens of their bad circumstances instead of viewing their bad circumstances through the lens of God's goodness and grace. The devil loves to whisper that sin has no consequences. Hey, has he done that to your loved ones, to your friends, to people at work, people at school, people in the neighborhood?

If ever there were a time when people needed clarity, boldness, and biblical conviction, it's right now. That's why I've written a new book called *The Devil's Newsroom: Muting Satan's Fake News and Tuning into God's Truth*. It's our gift of appreciation for your joining this effort to expose the lies of the devil.

When you do that, you'll be speaking into the chaos with biblical truth, and you'll help share the gospel with those who've been blinded to the only truth that can set them free. Our prayer is that this book strengthens your faith, sharpens your discernment, and helps you to tune out the enemy's lies and tune in to the voice of God.

Here's how to get your copy.

Speaker 2

Book the Devil's Newsroom: Muting Satan's Fake News and Tuning into God's Truth is our gift to you for your support this month of any amount.

To get your copy, make your gift when you call 866-40-BIBLE or go online to fromhishheart.org. That's 866-40-BIBLE. Make your gift, and we'll send you the Devil's Newsroom, a new book from Pastor Jeff.

God bless you for standing with us in this battle against Satan. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 1

Planned Parenthood is the nation's biggest abortion provider. In 2014, Planned Parenthood did 324,000 abortions. That's 887 abortions per day. That's 36 abortions per hour. That's one abortion every 98 seconds. They had income of $1.3 billion. The American taxpayers gave them $500 million. They say, oh, well, none of that money is used for abortion. They say, you know, abortion is only 3% of all the services that we offer a woman. Yeah, only 3%. But it's 51% of your income is abortion. 51%. The other 38% of your income comes from the government that gives you money. So all your other services, they produce 11% of your total gross income. Don't tell me that abortion is a minor thing that you do.

Somebody said it's kind of like this. It's like Major League baseball saying, well, you know, at our baseball games, we sell 20 million hot dogs. And so really, when you look at how many games are played versus how many hot dogs are sold, we're really in the hot dog business. I think you're in the baseball business. Hot dogs are just an ancillary part of that. The devil wants to deceive. You know, in Nazi Germany, Hitler killed 6 million Jews in the concentration camps. And you know what we have done since Roe v. Wade in America? Since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, January 1973, we have murdered in the womb 58.5 million babies, 58.5 million babies. Nearly 10 times what Adolf Hitler did in Nazi Germany to the Jews.

Now, if the blood of Abel was crying out to God when Abel was killed by Cain, can you imagine the cry coming up to the Lord of 58.5 million little babies who cry out to God and say, we were murdered in the womb? Ruth Bell Graham looked at the state of America a few decades ago and said these words: if God doesn't judge America, he's going to have to send an apology letter to Sodom and Gomorrah. Listen, judgment is coming because of what we're doing in America. Killing the babies, murdering the babies, dismembering the babies.

And as gruesome and as horrible as abortion is, there is nothing as gruesome and as horrible as partial birth abortion. That is murder in the worst degree. Anyone who would advocate for partial birth abortion has the devil's initials carved into his heart. That is so awful to see what happens in partial birth abortion. I don't know how any doctor could live with himself doing that. Delivering the baby complete, except for the head. The head's in the birth canal. And he takes sharp scissors and sticks it in the back of the baby's skull and then gets a suction device and sucks out the baby's brain until the skull collapses. And then he delivers the dead baby in the ninth month. Sickening. God sees that, and it's sickening.

God says that life begins at conception. God says that the fetus growing in the womb is a person. God says that to take the life of an innocent person is murder. And then God says this: the blood of Jesus can wash away all sin. That's great news for all of us. And maybe you're here, or maybe you're listening on the radio, watching on television, live streaming. You say, man, I had this done. I was a party to this. And I am so overwhelmed with guilt over what I did five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago. How do I live with myself? The blood of Jesus, God's son, can wash away all sin.

Moses killed an Egyptian. David made sure that Uriah the Hittite was killed in battle because David wanted to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. The Apostle Paul, before he was Apostle Paul, when he was just Saul of Tarsus, he was there when they stoned Stephen to death. And he was giving a standing ovation to those who were throwing the stones. He was excited about the death of Stephen. And God forgave Moses, and God forgave David, and God forgave Saul. And God can forgive you. I don't care what you've done. One lady I read about had 13 abortions, and God can forgive her.

Carol Everett, who had the two abortion clinics, said, don't tell me abortion's not about money. She said, I got $25 for every abortion that we did in my clinic. And I was counseling the women, and she said, what do you think? I counseled them to do not have an abortion. Her abortion clinic, I believe she said they were doing 500 abortions a month. A month that was on her. God forgave her. God can forgive anyone who will cry out to him in repentance. Faith, the blood of Jesus, God's son, cleanses us from all sin.

Some people, they have a sin that they've committed, whether it's this sin or some other sin. And they're just so overwhelmed with the weight of the sin. And they say, well, I don't know. I mean, I ask God every single day, God, forgive me for this that I did. Forgive me for this that I did. Forgive me for this that I did. And I pray a thousand times that God would forgive me for sin that I committed last year, last five years, last 10 years. You don't need to do that. You don't need to ask God a thousand times to forgive you for a sin you committed in the past. You need to ask him once and thank him a thousand times for forgiving you. When he forgives, he forgives completely. No one has to live in guilt and shame.

Did you know that women who have an abortion have their potential to commit suicide increase by 400% because of the guilt and because of the shame? And the Lord says in Isaiah chapter one, come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you consent and obey, you'll eat the finest of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

So what does God want us to do? If we have been a party in some way to abortion, he wants us to confess it. He wants us to confess it as sin. He wants us to receive his forgiveness. David, who was a party to murder, the murder of Uriah the Hittite, said in Psalm chapter 32, verse 5, I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. And Lord, you forgave the guilt of my sin. And he didn't walk around in guilt anymore over that. You receive his forgiveness, complete and total. And it's all taken away at the cross.

And then you defend with all your heart the defenseless unborn. You defend with all your heart the defenseless. And there's none more defenseless in America than the unborn. That's a life, that's a person. And we're to defend them. The Bible says in Proverbs, chapter 31, speaking of kings, speaking of leaders, this is what a leader is supposed to do: open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth. Judge righteously and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. Speak for those who can't speak. The unborn can't speak. They need somebody to speak for them. They need someone to defend them. God loves the unborn.

Listen, what are we supposed to do as Christians? We're supposed to shine. We're supposed to share. We're supposed to open our mouths for the dumb, those who can't speak, and defend the rights. Because listen, there is only one issue. That's the hole in the Titanic, and that is the issue of abortion. And if we don't get that right, it doesn't matter what else we get right.

Speaker 2

This truly has been an important admonition to believers everywhere to take very seriously this matter of abortion and to stand strong for the innocent.

You've been listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve today in part two of the lesson When Life Begins from the Foundations series. You can pick up part one when you go to fromisheart.org and click the Listen link. Thank you for joining us.

Today on From His Heart, I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be here next time for another foundational lesson from the series Foundations. And this time it's on marriage and family. Here on From His Heart.