SPEAKER_00 5:04

Well, welcome to the ProLife Team podcast. Bryce, I'm excited to have you on, and I'm excited to hear your motivational talk once again after the MICO event. Would you introduce yourself a bit and then yeah, go ahead and yeah, motivate us?

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Okay. Jump right in. Sounds good. My name is Bryce Asberg, as you already said. I'm the director, the executive director at Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center in Hillsdale, Michigan. And then I also serve on the board of MICO, which is the Michigan Coalition of Pregnancy Centers. And the event that Jacob's referring to there is the annual conference that we hosted in beautiful Muskegon, Michigan, about a month ago, maybe a little over a month ago. And it was a great, great event that the Lord blessed, and I think brought a lot of fruit from. And Jacob, you and I, of course, had a little bit of chance to uh hang out. And I guess we didn't play pickleball this time, which is good because I would have lost, but maybe next time we will. So anyway, it's uh yeah, it's good to be here. I guess all I said was my job. I have a wife and two kids. We live in Hillsdale, Michigan. We both attended Hillsdale College, which is also in Hillsdale, Michigan, and are involved with our church to serve with uh a campus ministry and a Christian young adult discipleship summer program thing, too. But that's probably another talk for another day, I would guess. Or a no day, but not today, that's what I know for sure. So, anyway, uh the this talk that you asked me to share again was a message that I delivered as kind of the closing charge of the conference. And after two or three days of events and lots of different talking and time and worship and teaching together, the idea was to give a little bit of motivation and inspiration and tie it up together. So, you know, as I've kind of frame this, at least initially, as thinking, what should the pregnancy center movement do when we're facing dark days? And that that's the question that I I want to answer a little bit. But first I need to defend that, which is included in that is the idea that we are facing dark days in the pregnancy center movement. And let me unpack a little bit what I mean by that. Simply, from an earthly perspective, we are losing. Now, I I don't mean to be defeatist, and anyone who knows me knows that I'm a I'm if nothing if not an optimist and a dreamer. And so I don't say that with any ounce of defeatism, but just the reality that we need to look at reality. And from any earthly metric that you want to look at, the pro-life movement has not had a good last couple of years. We've gotten our rear ends handed to us in just about every major electoral contest that has come up. Uh, feels like we're kind of coming apart at the scenes as we're facing division from within, and as our we can't gain ground in the culture, so it seems like we're starting to pick ourselves apart instead. At least that's my assessment of that. More could be said, but that's probably another show that again is for another day or no day, but not today. But when you look at even the closure of Planned Parenthoods across the country, there's been a strategic miscalculation, I'm afraid, on some parts of the pro-life movement that look at that solely as a success. While obviously it would be a good thing to not have an abortion facility present in our communities, it's not only a win. For example, in the state of Michigan recently, Planned Parenthood closed three of their lowest performing centers that had the lowest number of client visits coming through their door. And and they did it for the purpose of being able to expand access access to telemedicine abortion. And so the trade-off that Planned Parenthood is doing there is they're realizing that we can kill more babies for less money if we mail our death pills into these communities rather than maintaining any kind of a physical presence there. And side note, just that one change really highlights the difference between what the abortion industry is doing and what the pregnancy center movement is doing and trying to be the hands and feet of Christ, where we see in our Savior Jesus one who actually seeks out the undesirable and the lost in order to minister to them, the ones who have been overlooked by the world, of course, precious in God's sight. And rather than doing that and actually going in, right, the command to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, not to send them checks from afar, but to actually visit them in their affliction while they're suffering. And rather, instead of that, you see the abortion industry taking their cues from the evil one himself who came to steal, kill, and destroy. And you recognize that's exactly what the abortion industry is doing as they take a woman's money, kill her baby, and leave her to deal with the aftermath and the guilt on the other end of it, totally alone, without ever even seeing a person face to face. And you just have this stark difference that's held up for the world to see, for anyone with eyes to see, to recognize, on the one hand, seeking to follow the example of our savior to visit the weak and the vulnerable and the overlooked by the world in their affliction, and one that removes themselves from the community and just mails in their death pills and extracts the money instead. It's hard to get more stark of a contrast than that. And of course, electorally, it's not been a good couple of years. You see, in the state of Florida, for one example, a full 25% of voters voted both for Donald Trump and for unfettered abortion access through all nine months of pregnancy. And we held off because it was a supermajority threshold, I believe 60% that was required, and we kept the vote just under that. But you still look at the fact that a full quarter of the people, if you walk down the street and you saw someone and they were a voter, a one in four chance that they voted both for Donald Trump and for abortion. And it's pretty consistent in these in these electoral contests that the Republican Party will outrun the pro-life vote by 15 to 25%. And so we have a huge issue where the life issue, when it's voted on an up and down vote, is 15 to 25% less popular than a generic Republican candidate is. And I'm afraid it's gonna get worse before it gets better. And so that's my background. What do we do then as a pregnancy center movement and a pro-life movement generally, but my intended context is especially pregnancy centered. What do we do in these dark days? And I want to have a threefold charge for us as we think about this. And the first is that to begin with, we need to be utterly rooted and unmoved in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Utterly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. What does this look like? Well, there's a thousand implications of the gospel in our lives. It changes everything to believe the message of God's grace in Jesus Christ. The the the glorious exchange where he takes his our sin on him, bearing our sins in the cross, dying for them, and that we might have his righteousness, that God would look at us and count us righteous on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is absolutely glorious, and it changes everything about our lives. But one of these implications that I want to draw out for a minute is just this amazing fact that God doesn't need us. God doesn't need us. And that is wonderful news. That's the best news you'll hear all day that God doesn't need you. And what am I talking about? And for some of you, I'm sure that that ruffles feathers a little bit. Like, what do you mean? You know, what are you talking about here? Are you saying I'm not important? And right there, that's a problem, is that we're always tempted to draw our value from our usefulness, to get our value from the work that we're doing or what we're able to accomplish. But don't we as a pro-life movement hold out the fact that all human life is valuable apart from its usefulness to us, apart from what it's able to do? And so it shouldn't be a shock to us to hear this truth that God doesn't need us. And it's obvious because God made us. How could he need us? He created us. In fact, we read in the New Testament that Jesus Christ holds together the universe by the word of his power. That doesn't sound like someone who needs what we're bringing to the table, does it? God doesn't need us, he made us, and the biggest gap in the universe is the gap between the creator and the created. And we need to know that we are decisively on the created side of that spectrum. And the God who made us, the infinite, almighty, eternal God, does not need his finite, puny, weak creation that he makes. And that's what we are. And so we need to stop coming at this from a perspective that says we're bringing something essential to the table. You know, one of my mentors in this movement said something to the effect of price there's nothing that you're doing that God couldn't accomplish more effectively or cleanly without you. And so pay more attention to what God is doing in you rather than just what God is doing through you. And that was a really that's a really profound message that we need to reckon with and see there that God doesn't actually need us, right? The one who made the universe out of nothing could accomplish everything that we hope to accomplish in our lives in the span of a millisecond without lifting his finger, and it would be done much better than if we did it ourselves by the strength of our flesh. That's an astounding thing. And we really need to meditate on that and say, Am I beginning to introduce this mindset that God needs something from me, that He's relying on me for something, that I'm indispensable to the work that God is doing. You're not. You are utterly dispensable, and that's great news. And how can I say then that that's good news? Well, I want to draw our attention to this amazing passage from Isaiah 64. There's a lot more that could be said, but just but listen to these words. Speaking about God from of old, no one has heard or perceived by the ear. No eye has seen a God besides you who acts for those who wait for him, or who works for those who wait for him. Isaiah points to this as the distinguishing factor of God from all the other gods in the universe. Not the only one, but a very important one that this God, the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the New Testament, the God of the Old Testament, the God of the Bible, is the one who works for us. You see, human history is riddled with false gods, and something these false gods typically have in common is that they create humans to do their dirty work. They rely on humans to do the work that they don't want to do, the work that's below them, the work that is undignified for them. But God actually shows his glory in a truly glorious way by working for us, even though we are the needy ones. And so rather than us doing the dirty work for him, God actually gets down in the dirt and visits us in our affliction. And how else do you describe the incarnation to recognize that God made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant? How does he make himself nothing by becoming like us? Right? That's a humbling thought. That he made himself nothing to serve us in the incarnation. Talk about visiting the weak and the vulnerable and the overlooked in their affliction, right? That is who our God is, that he visits us in our need, right? God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, that he came to us. And that's how God shows his glorious character is by working for us to joyfully meet our needs. And that is what God loves to do, and that is an amazing thing. But it's true about our God. God doesn't need us, but he delights to work for us and to meet our needs. And brothers and sisters, we have to let that truth sink deep into our soul because an earning mindset will come in, or a works mindset will creep in that says that God needs this from us, or if I do this, then God will be happy, or X, Y, and Z. And it's absolutely tragic, and it will absolutely bankrupt our ministry and prevent us from serving in the fullness that comes from Christ if we forget that God is the one who works for us and shows his glory in that way. You can't stop me, so I'll keep going. Just to highlight for us briefly, the parable of the prodigal son is poorly named. And the reason it's poorly named is because it's actually the parable of two sons. Now, the the little section headings in our Bible are not inspired, so I'm not criticizing scripture here. I'm criticizing the way that we've referred to it, which is as the parable of the prodigal son. Um but I there's two sons in this story, and they're at least equally important. Um, but I I actually think the older brother might edge out as the main lesson because in the context we see Jesus is telling three parables here a lost sheep, a lost coin and and a lost son, right? And and the the son comes on on the end of that progression as we as we see Jesus responding to Pharisees and tax collectors, Pharisees and scribes, I believe it was, who were annoyed that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. I think I have my people groups right there, but they were irritated at that. And Jesus then tells these three parables in response to that irritation, knowing their hearts, right, he shares to illustrate the joy that's found over a lost one who repents. And so that's the prodigal son who comes back, right? But the older brother plays the role of the Pharisees in that example. And the amazing thing in that parable, I believe it was Tim Keller who pointed out, that both both of those sons actually had the same attitude toward their father. They both treated dishonored him gravely. And the younger son said, I'm done with these rules, right? My father seems to have heavy burdens. I I'm done with this, right? I'm gonna take what I can get from him, but I'm done. I'm getting out of here, right? Give me your inheritance and let me go somewhere else. Let me get out of here. And he misunderstood the character of his father, right? We see that by the end of the parable. He still doesn't fully understand it. Even as he's coming back to me, he says, Maybe he'll at least treat me as a servant, as a slave. And his father joyfully receives him back as a son, showing his heart has always been for the good of his sons, right? But the older brother is out having his pity party in the back. And it's like, what is going on? And the father shows his love again. He seeks out this older brother, his his older son, and he goes to him and he says, What are you doing? This is paraphrased, right? What are you doing? And he says, All these years I have been with you, and you've never given me so much as a goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But you see his indignation coming out. Here's this younger brother, and he comes back and you throw a party for him and you slaughter the fattened cap and you give him the best. But I've been working so hard and you haven't given me anything. Both of them have a harsh view of their father, as one who is not generous, as one who is stingy, as one who the only way to get something from him is to try it out of his hand. They both dishonor their father gravely. And then the father speaks, right? And he and he says something to this effect My son, you are always with me, and everything that I have is yours. That is an amazing parable that Jesus shares there. And he's revealing the heart of his father. There's much joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. But you see in that parable that both the younger s younger son and the older son have misunderstood the heart of their father. They've misunderstood the heart of their father to think that he is a stingy, unkind old man. And they've missed the fact that he delights to be with them. He's always with that older brother, and he's already reckoned everything he has as his. His heart is to give all to him. This is exactly what Paul is talking about in Romans 8, when he speaks of him who did not spare his own son, but freely gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Or when David is rebuked for taking taking Bathsheba, and the prophet comes and Nathan rebukes him, and included in that dialogue is this you know, everything that you have I've given to you, and if you would have but asked, I would have given you more. And we just see an overflowingly generous heart of our God that delights to give good gifts to his children, that loves to abound in generosity. If we would but ask, how often do we have not because we ask not? And how often do we ask not because we misunderstand the heart of the Father, which is to show his glorious character by providing for every one of our needs. That's that's how you make sense of the gospel. That's how you understand what God is doing. He did not spare his own son, but freely gave him up for us. What does that show? It shows a heart of the Father who displays his glory by meeting the needs of his children. We are his children. We rely on him. He doesn't need us, we don't earn from him, but he freely gives good out of his gracious character. And we need to avail ourselves of that. And we need to rely on him for everything good in this work. And so that's the start. What are we going to do in dark days? Well, it begins with rooting ourselves in the gospel of Jesus Christ, because there are always temptations, but there are certainly temptations in dark days. And there will be temptations to begin to do this work in ways that aren't honoring to God, that aren't in accord with Scripture. You can save babies from abortion and displease God if you sin in the process, right? There's going to be all kinds of temptations that Satan will bring in. He already is, but will continue to. And we need to begin by rooting ourselves unmovably in the gospel of Jesus Christ and recognizing we're not earning, we're not taking from God. We are relying on a gracious Father who delights to give good gifts to his children. And so that's the first point. Root ourselves in the gospel. The second point that I have for us is that in these days we must be utterly committed to excellence. We must be utterly committed to excellence. It stood out to me as in Ephesians 5, a passage that I think we would do well to meditate on a little bit. Be very careful then in verse 15, be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. He goes on, do not be foolish, understand what the will of the Lord is, do not get drunk on wine, that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, singing to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and making music in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another. But especially those first two verses. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. There's a call to efficiency in this passage. Make the most of every opportunity. Be very careful then how you live. Why? Because the days are evil. We have to serve with excellence because the days are evil. That's not the only reason to serve with excellence, but it is a real reason that when we look around and we see the evil in the world, when we realize how short time may be, when we recognize these things, we need to take that as a motivation to abound in good now, to commit ourselves to good works now. You know, something that I think Satan often succeeds in is drawing Christians away from the good works that God would have them to do and getting them stuck wallowing in despair instead. And that can be an understandable temptation when the days are evil. And not only are the days evil, brothers and sisters, but we have unlimited access to all the evil news of everything bad happening in the world at any given moment, anytime we want, and often even when we don't want, because we're stuck on these things all the time, right? And so the days are evil. And Satan's going to try to get us stuck and say, oh, aren't those days so evil? Isn't that just terrible? Isn't that just discouraging? But what we need to do, and what Paul is calling us to do, is to move beyond that and say, the days are evil, we've got to work. Oh, brothers and sisters, we have work to do because the days are evil. There is much good that needs to be done still. We need to commit ourselves to doing the good that's in front of us and doing it in a biblical way, not getting drunk on wine, but filled with the Holy Spirit, not being allowing ourselves to be controlled by any influences or earthly passions or anything like that, the desires of the flesh, but be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit of God and abounding in good, making the most of every opportunity that the Lord would give to us and not slacking off for a second. Why? Because the stakes are high, because the days are evil, because the time is short, and we must move beyond despair to commit ourselves to do all the good that God gives us to do with excellence. Our clients are made in the image of God. The babies that we're trying to save are made in the image of God, and we must commit ourselves to do this work the best that we possibly can, because the days are evil. Utterly committed to excellence, doing the work to the best of our abilities, with all the strength that God gives us, with all the strength he powerfully works in us, like Paul prays in Colossians 1, relying on him, being controlled by his Holy Spirit, encouraging, singing, singing to one another along the way, but relying on him because the days are evil. You know, I when we were going through our core virtues as a pregnancy center, one of the ones we were discussing, I think I had brought up was professionalism. You know, I see the need in a rural area. There's not a ton of resources, and my goodness, I mean, you can go to doctors' offices or dentists or various places and be treated very poorly or encounter very not professional environments. And I'm sure that's true everywhere, but that's certainly true in rural areas. And I said professionalism. And one of my board members very wisely pushed back. And he said, no, not professionalism, excellence. It wasn't professional when David ripped off his clothes and danced in the street. I thought that's good. That's really good because we can't mistake it. It's not cold, it's not just professionalism, it's excellence. It means genuinely loving our clients. And sometimes it's not professional to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. Sometimes you end up getting a little stained along the way. And I'm not talking about moral stain, right? But your genes might get ripped. Metaphorically speaking, there's a cost that's connected with this. And it's not professional, but it's excellence. Treating our clients like they're made in the image of God, like they are his image bearers and deserve to be treated accordingly. We're excellent in the work that we do that we genuinely love and seek to serve our clients. I don't, I'm not sure that David ripped off all of his clothes, by the way, so I don't want to give that impression. Um, because there is I don't I don't mean to misrepresent him in any way there. The point is it was not a particularly dignified display, but I I think it was warranted. I think it was, if I'm reading that passage correctly. So this is the second thing. We cannot lose a commitment to excellence. And we actually need to look at discouraging days and say we need to redouble our efforts to do all the good that God gives us to do with all the strength that He powerfully works in us. Because the days are evil. Because the days are evil, rooted in the gospel, never straying from that. We've got to get our motivations right, absolutely have to get our motivations right, but utterly committed to excellence as well. And then the last charge here is perhaps surprising. I think some people were surprised. Maybe you won't be, and that would be great. The last piece of this is that we need to have the courage to innovate. We need to have the courage to innovate. I firmly believe, and I say this especially when I speak to younger audiences, that the organizations that are going to be instrumental to ending abortion in this country, I don't think they exist yet. I think some of them do. I think the Lord will bless the faithful labor of many Christians over the years. But new ideas are needed. What ideas? I don't know. That's not my job to figure out. What I'm doing here today, though, is to charge all of us as a movement to say, we need freshness. We need to commit ourselves to even trying crazy-looking, audacious things, excuse me, because we have to be willing to innovate. And we have to innovate grounded in the gospel with a commitment to excellence and a recognition of who God is. We need to innovate, though, because there needs to be a freshness. There needs to be new ideas that we're bringing to the table. And so just to illustrate this, I read an article several years ago on Desiring God about this passage, and it just stood out to me. But in 1 Samuel 14, you have one of the most amazing episodes in the Old Testament. And it's not flashy, it's often overlooked, but it's spectacular. And so here you have Jonathan, and it is Jonathan and his armor bearer. And Jonathan sets out and he says to his armor bearer, come let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side. But he didn't tell his father, so he hasn't told the king. It's just him and his armor bearer going over. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gabea in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about 600 men. It lists some of the men. The people did not know that Jonathan had gone, the text says. Within the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other. The name of the one was Bozes, and the name of the other Sina. The one Craig rose on the north in front of Mikmash, and the other on the south in front of Giba. Bryce, what are you doing? Just wait, just wait. We're setting the scene here. You've got Jonathan and his armor bearer, it's a rocky area, mountainous. Craig's here, craig's there, right? He's left. Nobody knows. It's just him, just him and his friend, him and his armor bearer, the young men, just the two of them. And then mark what Jonathan says to his armor bearer next in verse six. Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. I just love that. Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. And then the armor bearer's response, Do all that is in your heart, do as you wish. Behold, I am with you, body and soul. And then they go over. Jonathan said, Behold, we will cross over, we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, wait until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, Come up to us, then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand, and this shall be the sign to us. So they show themselves to the garrison, and the Philistines say, Come on up! And they come on up, and they route them. And that's the start of routing the entire Philistine army, and it's absolutely spectacular. His armor bearer was afraid, and that first strike which Jonathan and his armor bearer made killed about twenty men within, as it were, half a furrow's length and an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earthquaked, and it became a very great panic. And then they further pursued and routed the army there, like I said. So it's an amazing victory. It's an amazing victory, but look at how it starts. It starts with Jonathan, a man on his own, but he's not on his own. He's got an armor bearer. And and that's he's a critical man in this story as well. Both of them are very important. But they're setting out just two against the whole garrison of the Philistines. And the words of Jonathan, I think, are so instructive. Let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. Look at that faith in God. Look at that faith in God. It may be that the Lord will work for us. There's that idea, God is working for us. Jonathan knows who God is, and he knows that God might delight to deliver the enemies into their hands. Even though it's crazy, even though it's just two of them going away without even letting the leaders of the camp know, up to the garrison and beginning this attack, that's an a that's a crazy thing, right? It's a crazy thing to do. But it's rooted in a firm faith to know nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. And then look at the response of that armor bearer. Do all that is in your heart to do, for I am with you, body and soul. Do as you wish, behold, I am with you, heart and soul. There we go. Heart and soul. Don't think he said body, my bad. Do all that is in your heart, do as you wish, behold, I am with you, heart and soul. He unites himself to it. And so you've got Jonathan who looks out, looks at the enemies and says, something's got to be done about this. Let's try something. It may be that the Lord will work for us. Nothing can hinder him from saving, whether by many or by few. And we need to have that attitude in the work that we do and say, there's some real giants out there. There's some real garrisons of the Philistines all over us, right? We can think of a hundred different ways that we're outmanned, that we're outnumbered, that the odds are stacked against us. But what if we didn't look at those things? What if we looked at God? What if we said it may be that the Lord will work for us? And you know what Jonathan does the next is he tries. He doesn't know if it's going to succeed or not. I mean, he he gets the sign. And so at that point he does, and he has confidence in the Lord. But he knows there's a chance that sign might not come. He knows there's a chance they might return without having had any success. And maybe they're found out. Where did you go? You can imagine mocks and taunts that might come if it had failed. There was a risk, not to mention they're going into armed combat against their enemies, sneaking around. There's a real risk that he's bringing on. But that attitude of utter confidence in God, and that confidence then fuels a daring innovation. And you don't need certainty and success to do that. And we absolutely have to have that kind of mentality that says to not try, to bury my talent, is grievous. We can't afford that to happen. When there's a garrison around us and the Lord is prompting us and opening a door, or we're not even sure if he is, we can have that kind of heart that says, it may be that the Lord will do this. And so let's try. Let's see what happens here. And I bring this up because I am convinced in the Pregnancy Center movement, we need to innovate. And it's hard to say that because I don't know what form that will take, but there are people out there who do, and they need to try and they need to be willing to risk even for it. And it needs to be motivated by a firm confidence that the Lord delights to work for his people and nothing will hinder him from saving, whether by many or by few. And so you might be few, but you need to try. The abortion pill has transformed the abortion landscape in this country. Have we figured out what to do about that? I don't think we have as a movement yet. As abortion moves online and away from physical locations, how do we reckon with that? Those are huge questions. Huge challenges for the life issue, huge challenges for the pro-life movement, for the pregnancy center movement in particular. We have to try. We have to be willing to innovate and to risk boldly and to take this kind of an attitude that says, let's storm the hill and let's see what happens here. What's the worst that could happen? It could go wrong. It could go poorly. It could cost you money, time, embarrassment, disgrace. All of those things are true. You might make real mistakes along the way. You could give in to temptation and sin against your brothers and sisters. There are real risks that come with innovating. You might get proud. There's huge risks. We need to count the costs. We need to fight sin, kill sin. But the risks of not doing anything are severe. The risks of not being willing to try are deadly as well. And we must have the courage to innovate. We must have a heart that says, let's charge the hill. Let's see what happens. Because God might do amazing things. One of my favorite figures is an abolitionist named Granville Sharp, and he hasn't gotten the airtime that he deserves. But he's an absolutely spectacular man. And one of the amazing things about him is how unspectacular he is. He never set out to do anything crazy, but he just tried to be faithful. And uh the Lord brought a mistreated slave across his path. His brother was a doctor. He brings him to the doctor, brings him back to health. And now they're working with this man. Well, a couple years later, his former owner comes by and sees him and steals him back and says, Oh, he's in good health. I thought I'd killed him. But but I hadn't. And so he takes him back. And Granville was having none of that. And it started them off on a journey where he ended up teaching himself law and going back through original Blackstones commentaries. He composed an argument up to the highest court in Britain that slavery was against the English common law and against all the government lawyers. He won. The court sided with him and struck down slavery on the British mainland. Now there were still the slave trades, that continued for a while. But he won. It was unbelievable in that no one could believe it, but he won. And one of his biographers said something absolutely amazing about it, about Granville Sharp. They said, unlike Don Quixote, when Granville tilted at windmills, the windmills fell. And what's spectacular, well, many things, as I've already mentioned, some, he is a memorial stone that was collected by a black group in England or a group of former slaves or someone. And it and it essentially says at the end at the end of it, lest anyone think that we're exaggerating in this, we promise you we're not. Everything we're saying about him is true. And he's almost lost to history. And it just makes me wonder how many more people like that, how many faithful Christians has God used bold, courageous efforts to do spectacular things, and we just have no idea about it. Just lost to history. Not lost to God's history, but from our recollection, it's gone. No one even noticed. And this idea that maybe there's some windmills out there that we needed to tilt at. Maybe we need to charge some absolutely unmovable objects and watch what God does. Not out of confidence in ourselves, not thinking that we're so great, but knowing the heart of God to do good, to do good for us, to work for us, to meet our needs, but also to bring justice in this world and say, let's give it a shot. And yeah, there's some real risk here, but the risks of not doing anything are severe. And so let's see what happens. It may be that the Lord would work for us. You don't have to know it's going to turn out your way, but sometimes we have to try. And I think our movement right now is in a place where not everyone, but some people need to hear this message and say, We need to try something here. I've got an idea. I'm not even sure it's a good one, but it may be that the Lord, right? And then there's another character in this story we've talked about, and that's the armor bearer. And I love his response, which we've already talked about. Do all that is in your heart. I am with you. Heart and soul. Or as I mentioned in the words of Gimli, son of Gloin, and my axe, right? You see someone doing something brave, doing something courageous, doing something right, and you say, That's good. That is good. I am with you. Do all that is in your heart. I am with you, heart and soul. I will be with you. Heart and soul, but obviously body too, right? That armor bearer was there. He was fighting with Jonathan. He was risking his life for Jonathan too. And so you recognize that that kind of attitude is needed in the pro-life movement. Where some of you listening to this are not the ones who are going to have the crazy idea of storming a garrison. But maybe your coworker will. And maybe your job is to be with them heart and soul, is to encourage them, is to pray for them, is to be a wise counselor for them, is to support the work that they're doing in whatever way it needs to be supported and to make it better. This story doesn't happen without the armor bearer, I don't think. It was a team effort that the Lord blessed. And this is an analogy in some, I'm I'm using this as an analogy. I'm not saying that's what it was written for, but I'm using this as an analogy for where we are as a pro-life movement because we need the courage to innovate, grounded in the gospel, in the firm confidence that it's God who works for us, in an utter need to be excellent for the clients that we serve. We must do that. But to get there, we're gonna have to innovate. We're gonna have to try something crazy. We're gonna have to try some bold things, some new ideas. And some of them aren't gonna work. Some of them are gonna fail spectacularly. But if they're undertaken in faith, they must be tried. They must be tried and they must be supported. That we need to be a movement that has the attitude of that armor bearer and doesn't just look at the Risk doesn't just look at the liabilities or the cost or the ways that things could go wrong. Yes, those are needed in wise analysis, of course, but those aren't the determining factor. Because if we just keep doing what we've been doing, I think we're gonna keep losing. Something has to change. Someone has to look at someone among us, some ones, many of us need to look at the garrisons of our enemies all around us, of the Lord's enemies. And yes, we know we don't fight against flesh and blood, but look around and say, I wonder what the Lord might do here. I wonder how the Lord might bless. It may be that and you are gonna have to fill in the blank. You're gonna have to figure out what is the Lord giving us to do. But we need to be a movement that has the courage to innovate, that's rooted in a firm confidence in who God is. And then to have the attitude of that armor bearer that says, yes, do all that is in your heart to do. I am with you, heart and soul. I'm will I'm gonna be there for you. And I'm willing to risk myself even for that. To not just sit here and look at the ways it could go wrong and to calculate through that, but to invest my own self into that innovation because the need is great, because the days are evil. And so I think I really think, Jacob, I really think this is where we are as a pregnancy center movement. I think these three things sum up and, you know, what do I know? I'm a 27-year-old guy, I've spent five years directing a center, not even five years, it'll be five soon. And so you can take it with all the grains of salt that you need to here. But as we look at the dark days, we recognize that we have to begin by rooting ourselves in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because if we're trying to earn something from God, if we don't understand who He is, if we're approaching it from the wrong attitude or the wrong motivation, we're just not gonna go where it needs to go. When we're rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, when we're committed to giving our clients the best service that they could possibly get, yes, their image bearers made in his image, we're matching the heart of Jesus that seeks to to to seek and to save the lost and to recognize to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, but also the day is evil, and so we cannot slack off. We must do the good that God puts in front of us. We must do the good because the days are evil. And then lastly, to have the courage to innovate and to take a risk and to say, yes, the stakes are high, and there are it is a real risk. There are bad things that could happen if I try this. But there are bad things that are sure to happen if I don't. And it may be that the Lord would. And then to respond, do all that is in your heart to do when we see a heart of faith in God and a genuine heart to do good for his people or to do good for the lost, to come alongside and support that, even at great risk to ourselves. And I think, Jacob, I really think that if we filled this out, if we live this out as a pro-life movement, as a pregnancy center movement, I think the windmills would fall. I think that God would do amazing things that we would be astounded to see the fruit that He brings from it. We're rooted in the gospel, utterly committed to excellence, and take on ourselves the courage to innovate and the courage to support innovation and to be in the game, right? Not not not taking pot shots from the stand, but to be in the arena, actually engaged in this work. Wow. I mean, I think if if we did those things, stand back and watch out. I God would bless it. I really believe that God would bless it, that it matches with his heart, and he would bring abundant fruit in this movement, and we'd be ready. We'll be ready for what comes next. I don't know what's coming next, but I think if we do those things, that God is gonna supply the need, we're gonna rely on him and you'd be honored by that. I really think that that's true. So I'd love to just close in in prayer along those lines and then I'll I'll be done. So Father, we recognize you as the God who graciously meets all of our needs, and we know that every good and perfect gift is from you. It's from above, coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there's no variation or shadow due to change. Hallelujah. We rely on you for everything good. And I pray for these listeners that something would would strengthen them and encourage them, that your spirit would use your word to do that, that you would equip us for the good works you've given us to do, Lord, and we would be committed to excellence. To make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil, God. But to have such a character, such a confidence in your character, such a faith in you that says, I'm willing to risk, I'm willing to venture forth, I'm willing to stick my neck out, as it were. Because the days are evil. There is work to be done, there are mountains to be taken, and there are victories that you will give your people if we will but venture forth in faith with that kind of an attitude. How often, Lord, do we have not because we ask not? And we don't ask because we don't trust you, we don't trust your heart. Lord, it's not a name and claim it guarantee. It's none of that, but it's a recognition of your heart to give good gifts and to give victories to your people who pursue them in faith. And so would we do that? And would you lead this movement forward into the future with greater and greater effectiveness, Father? So that twenty years from now we would look back and see your hand preparing, guiding, shaping, bringing solutions and ideas we never would have thought of, and recognize that you have prepared us for this moment. So would you do that? And we ask these things with thankful hearts in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

Amen.