(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Now the title of the sermon this morning is Children Are a Blessing. Children are a blessing. This is just something that I was thinking about throughout the week, kind of light of current events. You know, just kind of this attitude that's in our nation today that we want to treat children like they're a burden and something to be endured. You know, just as an experience of a father, you know, having several children, I have to say that, you know, children really are a blessing. We're going to look at some scripture this morning that's going to show us that that's indeed exactly what they are. Now you're there in Psalm 139. Go ahead and keep something there and we'll be coming back. But the text I want to read from is in Psalm 127. So the Bible reads in Psalm 127, Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that buildeth. Except the Lord keep the city, and the watchman walketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early to sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows. For so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo, children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gates. So here we see a couple things. I'm going to go through this chapter here and understand from here that there are certain things we can learn about having children. That we should all understand. That these are things that when we're thinking about kids, what it means to have children, these are the things that should come to mind. It shouldn't come to mind all these negative thoughts that people tend to have. And people tend to think that children are just this burden. That they're just something that we have to put up with in life. And people will put up having children. But the Bible makes it really clear here that children are a blessing. It says right here that children are in heritage of the Lord. It says there in verse 3, lo, children are in heritage of the Lord. Now what is a heritage? When we think about what a heritage is, you know, heritage is property, as is defined in a dictionary, as property that descends from an heir. You know, you would think about an inheritance, a heritage, something that you would get from somebody. You know, you might meet somebody who has some kind of a, something, an heirloom, a family heirloom that's been passed down from generation to generation. They'd say that thing is representative of their heritage. You know, it goes back several generations. People will look back to their forefathers and they don't think of their heritage. So a heritage is something that descends, it's something that comes down, it's something that's passed along. The Bible is saying here that children are in heritage of the Lord. So when God's saying that they're in heritage, what they are to us is something that's been passed down to us. There's been something that's been gifted to us. There's something that has been given to us. It means this, that they're a blessing. You know, that there's something that God wanted to give us as a blessing. You know, when you think of an inheritance, you know, if you're, you know, your long lost uncle who died, you know, that everyone's dream is that long lost uncle dies and leaves them a million dollars or whatever it is. You know, it's always they think about inheriting something very good, right? No one thinks about having to inherit, you know, a host of problems from a relative. So whenever you think about a heritage or an inheritance, you think about receiving something that is good, something that will be a blessing to you. And that's what God is saying here in this verse. He's saying that children are in heritage of the Lord. It's something that God gives to us. It's something that descends down to us. It's something that is transmitted or acquired from a predecessor. It's a legacy. It's an inheritance. It's something that is possessed as a result of one's birth, like a birthright. It's something that that the heritage of a is something that is passed down to us. That's the point I want us to get from this first section of the scripture is that when God is passing down something to us, it's because he wants to give us something good. He's giving us a heritage. You see, children are given to us by God. It's not an accident the children that we have today. If we have children, you know, it's not an accident that God opened the womb and those children were conceived and that they had a healthy delivery and that they're here with us today. That's not an accident. God wanted that to happen. God wants us to be fruitful and to multiply and to have that heritage in children. Now, if you would keep something in Psalm 127, turn over to Psalm 139 where he read. See, God gives children to us as an inheritance, which means this, that children are made by God. They're made by God. You know, it's not it's not just this cosmic, you know, just conundrum that takes place where things are just, you know, like the Big Bang Theory with every slight slamming together and these gases and everything comes from nothing. I mean, children don't just happen. You know, there's there's a miracle that takes place in conception. I mean, even modern science can explain they don't they understand, you know, the mechanics behind it, how how the egg of the woman and the seed of the man come together and that creates love. But they can't explain to you why it does that. They can't explain to you why it's that way. They can't explain to you why your heart beats or why you have a conscience. But it's because the thing is, is it's something that God made. God gave us these children. It says there in Psalm 139, verse 13, For thou has possessed my reigns, thou has covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He's saying, hey, I was made. I was made wonderfully. I was made fearfully. He goes on and says, Marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect. Now it says not perfect. It's meaning that it wasn't complete. It wasn't whole. It wasn't finished. He's saying before I was even formed, before I was even done growing in my mother's womb, you saw my substance, that God was knitting him together in the womb. And in thy book, all my members were written and in continuance were fashioned, as yet there were none of them. God knows every child that's made before they're ever made. It says right there in which continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them, when there was none of them, back it up, in thy book, all thy members were written. All my members were written. God already knows the members. He's already got them written down in his book. He already knows who's going to be born. He knows what children are going to come to full term and be born, and even those that are miscarrying, those that are untimely birthed, as the Bible would say. God knows all these things because God is the one who makes a child in the womb. He is the one that knits them together. He is the one that, as it says here, that fearfully and wonderfully makes them. He makes them in secret. He curiously wrought them in the lowest parts of the earth. So we see that children are in heritage, meaning this, that children are made by God. Not only that, but go back to Psalm 127, Psalm 127. The Bible says in Psalm 127, Lo, the children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. The fruit of the womb is his reward. We see also here that not only are children given to us, not only are they in heritage, but the Bible's showing us here that children are a reward from God. A reward. Now do you give something as a reward to curse somebody? Or do you do it to bless somebody? When you give somebody a reward, you do it to bless them. You do it because you want to do something good for them. You know, because you're trying to help them, you're trying to, you know, you're trying to give them something good. That's what the Bible's showing us here, is that children, it says, are a reward from God. We should never look at our children and think, you know, what a burden. Or what, you know, that you've been cursed, or that you're being punished with children. But a lot of people today, that's what they think. That's the mentality that's out there in the world. They think children are this curse. They think that it's something that has to be endured or put up with. And people do horrible things, even to their own children out there. Or they treat them poorly, or they ignore them. They don't understand that the children that God gave them, the children that God made, the heritage that he's given to them are a reward, and it's them God trying to bless them. One way we can understand this and know this to be true is when we consider the fact that in Scripture, if we read our Bibles, we would see that God often opens the womb of the barren. I mean, that's one thing you see over and over in Scripture. I'm going to just cite a few examples here. But I bet even now, maybe perhaps there's somebody in the audience that is thinking about an example of that in Scripture, that I didn't even think of, because it happens so often in Scripture. The first one that comes to mind is the Hebrew handmaids in Egypt. When they didn't obey Pharaoh's wicked command to slay the sons of Egypt, they went ahead and they helped the Hebrew women give birth. That God, the Bible says, turned around and opened their wombs, and they had houses of their own. So we see one of the first things that we know that God has a reward. He's rewarding these Hebrew handmaids for obeying Him rather than man, for doing what it is they ought to have done. He rewarded them with their own children. You can think about Sarah, the wife of Abraham. I mean, think about having your womb open and that she had her womb open well on in years, right? She was an old lady. She was very old. But God, it was a miracle that she was born, but God was able to do that. That's something that God does. He said that He would reward Abraham. How did He do it? He opened up his wife's womb and gave him a child, Isaac. And then we can even see that in Isaac's life, the son of Abraham, that Rebekah, the Bible says, that she was barren and that God had to open up her womb. Another person would be Leah. Are you starting to see there's a pattern here? That when God rewards people, that it's God that opens and closes the womb? Leah was another one, the wife of Jacob. Jacob's other wife, Rachel. I mean, they had two wives where God, the Bible says, opened their wombs in gay children. We can think of Hannah, Samuel's mother, who prayed and asked God and lent the child that God rewarded her with unto the Lord. The Bible says that He opened her womb. I mean, so there's several examples right there of God opening the womb and rewarding people, showing us that it's God that makes the child in the womb, that they're a blessing to us. Now, this woman, her name isn't mentioned, but the wife of Manoah. The wife of Manoah, which would have been... I'm drawing a blank on it, but I believe it was Samson's mother. The wife of Manoah, she had her womb opened. Then there was another nameless woman. This one's open to interpretation exactly what the Bible means when it says it was the great woman. You remember when Elijah was going from one place to another as he passed by, there was a great woman that constrained him. She set up the candle and gave him a piece of bread and a bed and he said, What shall we be doing, this woman? And he said, This time next year, you'll have a baby, essentially. So there's no, now what it means by great woman? You know, you decide. I'm not getting in the hot water. So anyway. But, you know, that was another lady that had her womb open. I mean, just see it over and over and over again, God opening the womb of these women, giving them, rewarding them with children. What about perhaps in the New Testament? Well, there's some great examples in the New Testament. You can think about Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, right? We've been talking about him on Thursdays. Last Thursday we were here, two Thursdays ago. You know, I mean, a great man of God did great things. Well, his mother had to have her womb opened. You know, they had no children. And it seems like they were a little bit later on in years. And God opens the womb of that woman and she gives birth to the man who Jesus said was the greatest, that were born among women. What a blessing that would have been. What a reward that would be. And that should make us take heed. And that should make us, as parents and those that desire children, to understand that you don't know that child that's being born into your family, that heritage, that reward that God is giving you, you know, just what the potential that that child has, the way that God could use that child for His honor and glory. Another great example, of course, is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Now, the Bible says she was barren, but no doubt the fruit that she bare of her womb was a miracle. You know, a virgin conceived and brought forth a son. You know, so that was God's doing. So again, we see all these examples through Scripture of God rewarding these people with children by opening the womb and showing us that it's God that has made these children that He rewards us with. They're made by God. I mean, that's a miracle. You know, we might take that for granted. You know, we think about birth as just kind of this function that takes place throughout life, and that's just something that people go through. You know, it's kind of commonplace. It's something we see often. But, you know, the Bible says that even our own breath is held in God's hand. So just the fact that we're drawing breath should be something that we take note of and say, wow. Just the fact that we're even here, you know, to understand these things. So the fact that women can give birth and bring forth these children that can do great things for God, that's a miracle. Every single child is a miracle because it's made by God. It's somebody that was knitted together in the womb. If you would turn over to Psalm 113. Psalm 113. So we see that God in the Scripture just rewards woman after woman after woman after woman after woman after woman after woman with a child. Children are a reward. The Bible says in Psalm 113 verse 4, The Lord is high above all heavens, and has glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifted the needy on the dumb hill. That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord. So the Scripture is saying here, what an amazing thing that the God who dwelleth on high would humble himself. I mean the God whose right hand spans the universe, who hung every star and place and gave it a name. That God would humble himself to even behold the things that are in the earth. That he would look down, as it says there, and raise up the poor. You know, somebody that we wouldn't give a second thought to. That God would actually raise the poor out of the dust. That he would lift up the needy out of the dumb hill. I mean God's looking in the dumb hill to try and lift somebody up. I mean that's something, that's the refuse, that's the trash, that's something we don't want anything to do with. But God looks into it. He humbles himself. And he sets those people on princes. And then he gives his also, in the same breath he makes his comparison. He says, you may get the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. I mean mothers today, they're kind of, society doesn't really lavish them with praise. They're not lifted up as the role models. They're not lifted up as people we should look to and honor and cherish and bless and be thankful for. You know, they're kind of, especially the stay at home moms. They're kind of just treated like, well you're a doormat. You're just letting, you're not living to your full potential. The Bible says here that when God causes a woman to give birth, when he opens up the womb, that it's his doing. And that's something that we should take note of. And we should praise God for. It says there, he may get the barren to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord. You know, when we have a child, you know, we don't put those names in that bulletin to pray for these expectant ladies just as a courtesy to them. We really ought to pray for these ladies. I mean, as somebody who's been through a few childbirths with my wife, I can tell you it's not, you know, it's not always the best experience. It can be either one of the greatest, most joyful experiences of your life, or it can be one of the most traumatizing, emotionally draining days you'll ever have. And I think a lot of it would help if God's people would pray and help the God of heaven look down and behold these ladies. And to look into them and to help them and to help them to have a good delivery. You know, we ought to praise the Lord for these children. Now it says there, he may get the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. You know, people ought to find joy in their children. I mean, if you're not finding joy in your children, there's something wrong. There's something wrong with your heart if you can't look at your children and find joy. And I know sometimes, I'm not saying every moment of every day that your child, everything that they say and do is just going to put a smile on your face. Because we know that's not the case. You know, sometimes they say and do things that we have to step back and just say, why? You know, I heard a guy who was kind of losing his hair and he made the joke. He said, I had, first I had young children and I went like this and that's how I lost it back here. Because I couldn't figure out what they were doing. And then I had teenagers and I lost it by going like this, going, what are you doing? You know, so I, stupid joke. But the point is, you know, we're not always obviously going to be thrilled with everything our kids do. But I mean, I can't think of a single day that goes by that my, one of my children doesn't do something that doesn't make me smile. I mean, just my little newborn, my five month old. You know, I'm getting ready this morning to go to church and she's laying in bed, you know, and she, I'm getting ready, getting dressed. I look over and she wakes up and she turns over and the first thing she does is look at me and smile. You know, I said, oh, you, you dirty rotten little, oh, I got to pay for that thing over there. It cost me so much money. You know what I mean? No, I think that's what's through my mind. You know what I did? I smiled right back. I stopped what I was doing and I sat down and I, you know, if some of you guys saw me the way I behave with my children at home, you'd be disgusted. And it's just, you know, you know how your dads get, you know, these big tough guys that get all soft and they start, you know, start making baby talk and stuff like that. But why? Why did I do that? Because it made me joyful. Because it's a joyful thing to have children. You know, we, you know, we might, we might get a little curt sometimes or upset with our children, but I mean, by and large, they are blessing to us. It says there, Psalm 127, lo children of heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is his reward. Verse four, as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. He says there that children are as arrows in the hand of a mighty man. You know, that's something to think about. What does the Bible mean by that? What does it mean by the fact that he's saying that children are as an arrow in the hand of a mighty man? Well, think about it this way. An arrow, I mean, what do you use an arrow for? You use it to defeat an enemy or to take down game or to hit a target that's farther than you can reach. Right. I mean, you know, if we were to have some kind of a melee weapon, like a sword or knife or something like that, or something that would be close, you know, close quarters combat hand to hand. Right. You wouldn't pick up an arrow. You know, if I was going to put you in a phone booth with somebody and say, you guys are going to fight to the death. You know, you can have your choice of weapons. You obviously wouldn't pick out a bow and arrow. At least I hope not. Right. It would be kind of hard to shoot that thing in there. Right. But if you were fighting in a battle and you had an enemy that was farther out that you couldn't just reach out and smite, you'd want an arrow. That's what it's used for. You know, arrows are, he's likening children under arrows is because the fact that through our children, our influence can reach farther than we can ourselves. You know, we're all going to grow old and die one day, but the influence that our children can have on the world can reach beyond what we can. You know, you know, a hundred years from now, it could be my, I could have a grandchild that's standing up behind a pulpit and preaching the word of God. I can have grandchildren that are going out and knocking on doors and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I could have a heritage that carries on beyond me because I had children and I set those children up. I put them in the knock and I launched them out in the world. And now in their lives, they're reaching out farther even than I can. So that's what the Bible is saying here. I believe is that that's one way that they are arrows in the hand of a mighty man is because of the fact that they can reach further than you can. They can have even more. Your influence will extend beyond what you can reach in this life. You know, so we see here that children are all these great things. We see that they're in heritage and are something that God gives to us. You know, that says he wants to bless us. He wants to reward us with these children. We know that children are made by God himself, that he makes these children, and that they're a reward. And that when God opens the womb and he blesses people with children, he causes us to have joy and gives us reason to praise the Lord for our children. And that's something we should praise God for, that we have these children. And I'm sure that we do. But if children be all these things that we understand the Scripture to say that they are, why are so many people out there in the world today view them as a burden? Why do so many people in the world today look at children as something undesirable, as something that they don't want to have, as something that, you know, is just going to cause them pain and agony in their life? You know, so what do you mean? Well, one example would be birth control. You know, the Bible is very clear that we are to be fruitful and multiply. The one example we see of Onan in Scripture used practicing birth control, God killed him for it. He spilled his seed on the ground. The Bible says that God killed him. So the Bible is real clear that, you know, we're to be fruitful and multiply, that we shouldn't be tampering with the natural way of God, the way that he made us, to have that desire, you know, towards the opposite gender, with our spouses, and to have that relationship, and then the fruit of that union, of course, is children. And we should allow those things to take place in our marriage. Because, you know, really we're robbing ourselves of a great blessing. You know, but that's not the way the world works today, is it? A lot of people are on birth control today. In fact, a lot of people, most people, I would say, that are actually trying to, you know, or have the potential to have children are on birth control. I'll just read some stats for you real quick, and I won't be too dry about it here. But this is a percent of women aged 15, okay, to 44. Now, I don't know what any 15-year-old needs to be on birth control for in this country. If you've got a daughter that's 15 and taking birth control, you've got a problem. You've got a big problem. You know, your daughter shouldn't be out sleeping around and need to be on birth control at 15 years old. But that's where these stats start, is at 15. You know, that's just a shame. It goes on and says here that women aged 15 to 44 currently using the pill, 15.9% of our population. So 16%. Same age group using long-acting reversible contraception. This would be some kind of an implant or a device that you put in your body, 8%. 8%. So we're climbing, right? We're over a quarter almost here. It goes on and says using women that have female sterilization. Now, what is sterilization? That's where you make it to where you can never have kids again. You know, they're getting your tubes tied is what they're referring to here. You know, and people better think long and hard if they're going to do that because, you know, I know people that have done that and they regret it to this day because they got, you know, maybe they did it younger and they didn't understand when they were just going along with the world philosophy. You know, and I'm not trying to pick on anybody or beat anybody up. These things need to be preached, one, for the young families that are in this room and also for the children that are coming up in this room to understand that God doesn't want us using these unnatural methods. But also, you know, we just need to understand that if you go ahead and make that decision to sterilize yourself, maybe, you know, early on in life and you didn't have a full understanding of these things, you might come to regret that. You know, you get right with God, you get in church and say, you know what? You understand now that, man, children really are a blessing. And I've known couples like this. People think this is just crazy, but I've known people like this. They got it right. They had children that were a little older. They wanted a few more before they were past childbearing age, but they had their tubes tied. Or as the other 4.5%, the male got sterilized, you know, had himself clipped. You know, those things are irreversible. And if you come to a point in your life where you want to have children again, you know, you're sterilized. That's not good. You know, that could be a real heartache for you later on in life. So, you know, if you were to add all these numbers up, we're saying about 42% of the population is on some form of birth control. Let's say that's less than half. That's not too bad, right? That's still a lot of people. 42%, that's a huge percentage. You know, and what's the other percentage of the population? Well, you know, they're probably either celibate or having children, you know, so we break that up. Now, I found this article. You say, well, what's the problem with, you know, not being fruitful or multiplying? Well, one, if everyone adopted that philosophy, you know, and had 1.8 children, or viewed like they did in China where it's, you know, one child per family, eventually there ain't going to be any left. You're not going to refill the earth. That's the problem. And that's where we are in this country. This might be shocking, but I found this article. I read about it. I had heard about it a few weeks ago. I said, that can't be true. Then I looked into it, and it's true. It says the birth rate fell for nearly every group of women of reproductive age in the U.S. in 2017, reflecting a sharp drop that saw the fewest newborn since 1987, according to a new report by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. That's the CDC. This isn't just some crazy, you know, right-wing conspiracy website. Further, the CDC said there were 3.8 million births in the U.S. in 2017, down 2% from 2016, and the lowest number in 30 years. Well, these are just numbers. It doesn't sound so bad so far, right? The general fertility rate sank to a record low of 60.2 births of 1,000 women, a 3% drop from 2016, the CDC said in a tally of its provisional data for the year. The results put the U.S. further away from the viable replacement rate. They put us further away from the viable replacement rate, meaning the rate at which we can replace ourselves, a rate at which the population can just sustain where it's at. It's a standard for a generation being able to replicate its numbers. Quote, the rate has been generally low since, the rate has generally been below replacements since 1971. 1971, according to the report from the CDC. They say, well, you know, where are all these people coming from? I don't know. The border? Maybe we should rethink that wall, you know, although we already should be. I mean, that's a whole other topic, that stupid wall, you know, and it'll get me going. But, you know, we've got bigger problems in our hands than somebody trying to come across the border and work. You know, but maybe that's where they're coming. I mean, how do we manage to keep the population that we have? I don't understand when these replacement rates are just dropping. So, you know, that's the problem right there. Why is it when we understand that the children are wonderful, that they're a blessing, that they're our heritage, that they're mighty, they're arrows in our hands, that we're to be happy that if we have our quiver full of them. You know, I read other articles that said that bigger families are happier. And you can go out and find articles that say it either way. But then I've read some other people that and they give you some good reasons why, why children and parents, you know, that and it seems like that I remember I read one where I said it's pretty stressful up until the fourth one. And then it seems like the stress actually drops off after the fourth one. We just had our fourth. I'm finding that to be true, at least for myself and my wife a little bit. But keep praying for us. So anyway. But why is it when there are all these great things that people are, you know, going to such great lengths to not have children until they're into their 30s? You know, my wife told me something interesting, too. She was reading something about because the general. Just the thought is, is that women will have you're prone to more having more birth defects if you give birth after 30. So we always thought that meant, you know, after 30, no matter what, you know, there's a chance that. And so what if they do, you know what I mean? And so what? You know, you know, people with Down syndrome are some of the sweetest people they ever meet. And I'm not saying it's not a challenge or difficulties to overcome, but, you know, there's never a reason to abort a child. But. But the thing is, my wife was telling me, you know, it turns out you're more prone to have birth defects. If you're over 30, if you've never had children before 30. So I kind of was like, well, that's interesting. You know, so if you're if you're having children in your youth, in your 20s, that really doesn't apply to you. The older you get. But people, you know, they freak out and a lot of people aren't having children until their 30s. You know what? They have a dog. You know, we're going to get a dog first and see how it goes. That first kid comes along, you're going to say, what? That dog had nothing to do with what we're trying to do. Let's have a dog. I mean, this is stupid. I mean, just to sit there and think that you can gauge how parenting your parenting is going to go by having a dog. You know, I don't know what you've got in store for your children. You're going to feed them out of a bowl on the floor and tell them to sleep outside. You know, tell them to quit barking or. I don't get it. But that's what people that's the mentality that's up. It's funny. But don't people think like that? I've known people like that. Well, we're going to get a dog first and see how it goes for a few years. Ridiculous. Stupid. So that is the mentality. You know, people are going to sterilize themselves or take these pills and things to keep themselves from having children. You know, that's not to say anything about abortion. You know, that's a big topic that's kind of been on everybody's mind this last week with what's taking place out there in New York. And, you know, I took a little time to read a few articles on what happened out there. And I mean, it's not anything new, really. It's still kind of the same old same old. What they've done is they've just kind of protected themselves in case Roe v. Wade is ever overturned. They've kind of they've insulated themselves. So, you know, even if that long shot that all that all these conservatives, you know, that dream about one day they're going to overturn that law. And by the way, they're not. I don't care who's in office. That law is never getting overturned. That law is in place by wicked devils. And it would take it would take an act of God to overturn that thing. I don't care who's in office. I don't care if if both houses are red, the president is red, Republican through and through and conservative. That law is never going to change because it's a political issue. That's my opinion. You know, this is my opinion right now. But that's my opinion about that whole stupid law is that now you've got both sides, the liberals and the conservatives, and they'll just take that law and leverage it to get votes. You know, the people, I'm pro-life, you know, so you got to vote for me. Well, if that law weren't in place, it wouldn't matter whether or not you're pro-life, would it? So now you see how they put that out there and they use it as a tool to just work that paradigm and get your votes and help manipulate the public. That law is not going anywhere. But that's kind of what they did out there in New York, is they insulated from that long shot, that Hail Mary, if that law would ever get passed or taken out, the Roe versus Wade. From an article on CNN, it says on the 46th anniversary of Roe versus Wade. So they did it on an anniversary of Roe versus Wade. You know, this was well thought out. This is something that was planned, that Democrats have been trying to do for a long time in that state. New York State passed a law to protect women's access to abortion if the historic case is overturned. This is what Governor Andrew Cuomo, or Cuomo, after he said, he said, Today we are taking a giant step forward in the hard fought battle to ensure a woman's right to make her own decisions about her own personal health. And you know what? It's her own personal health, but that child that's in the womb, that's not your own personal health. That's that child's own personal health. The time to think about your own personal health as a woman is when you're out gallivanting around town, running around, thinking about who you're going to sleep with. That's the time to think about it. And they want to say, Oh, we're just doing that for cases where abortion is just a better option for the mother. You know, I've known women who use abortion as a form of birth control. You don't think that's out there? That women will go out there and sleep around and get knocked up and then use abortion as a way to regulate things. And slap a smile on their face and go on life like nothing's wrong. They got bloody hands. Wicked people. I don't care what the case is, what the instance is. At what point do you say it's okay to tear a child out of another person and kill it before it even has a chance to draw its own breath? When it's completely defenseless. So this is what he said. With the signing of this bill we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have a fundamental right to control their own body. Well, that's not the only person that's getting a message from Andrew Cuomo in the state of New York. God's also getting a pretty loud, clear message where these people are at and where their hearts are. And they're wicked. They're wicked people that are trying to do this. They always have the fundamental right to control their own body. Well, you know, a lot of times they can't control their own body and that's why they're in that predicament to begin with. And this thing goes on and says not only will the law preserve access to abortion, it also removes abortion from the state's criminal code. Well, it doesn't remove it from God's criminal code. It's still murder as far as God's concerned. It says it's going to remove it from the criminal code. This would protect doctors or medical professions who perform abortions from criminal prosecution. Think about the fact that you even have to make that law. That you have to make this law to protect the people that are performing abortions from criminal prosecution. It's because deep down people know it's a crime. It's a bloody crime. That's murder. And that people ought to be punished for it. The law also allows medical professionals who are not doctors to perform abortions in New York. So now the medical assistants, the nurses, and even midwives. The women whose whole purpose is to help you have a child in the state of New York can now also perform an abortion for you. See, they're just trying. They just want as much blood shed as they can. Let me tell you something. God is going to judge innocent blood. God does that in the Bible. We're going to look at it in a minute. And so it's my belief that the devil is working to shed as much innocent blood as he can because he wants God's wrath to come upon people. The devil wants people to be destroyed, so he wants them to incur God's wrath. That's what I believe. That's why they say, let's just open up abortions. Now even more people can perform abortions. You don't have to just go to the clinic. Now the midwife can come over and help you out with it. The old criminal law had penalties. Well, there's an even older law that still has penalties. And this law isn't going anywhere. And it's still going to penalize it. It was written that the doctor or professional could be held criminally liable. The, you know, the governor said. The law also addresses late term abortions, and this is what everybody is up in arms about. I mean, never mind the fact that they were still committing abortions. I'm glad people are getting upset about the fact that what's taken place recently, but let's not pretend like it's something new. Let's not sit here and fool ourselves and think, oh, what a travesty all of a sudden. This has been going on for decades. 3,000 lives are snuffed out in this country every day in abortion. And it's been going on. And I'm telling you, the blood is piling up in this country. The law also addresses late term abortions. Under New York's Reproductive Health Act, they can be performed after 24 weeks if the fetus is not viable or when necessary to protect the life of the mother. And, you know, people would do well to do a little research and go find out how many times the doctor has told a woman, you need to abort this child. It won't live. And it lived. Living had a happy, normal life. I mean, you're going to let some doctor tell you whether or not you should have this child and just trust his professional medical opinion when they've been proven to be wrong. After 24 weeks, I mean, babies, I mean, they've lived a lot earlier. They've lived after, you know, 30, I know kids at 34 weeks is like the minimum, right? You know, I'm not going to start shooting numbers out there, but I believe that, you know, they'd have a tough go of it if they were born too early. But you'd be surprised at how well a child can do if it's born a little, you know, premature. Como says, it's about the health and safety of the mother. Yeah, no kidding, it's about the mother. It certainly is about the unborn child. It's seriously about the health and safety of the life that God put in that womb. And it's always been about the point where the conservatives wave the flag, they want to roll back, blah, blah, blah, and now he gets into politics. Which is my whole point that I made earlier, that it just gets into, this is just a political issue, and it's a real, just, it's a real shame. And the fact is, you know, I don't care what laws they do or don't make, we've already got enough, you know, Roe vs. Wade gets defunct tomorrow, the ground opens up and New York falls into it tomorrow, great, you know, swallow up all that wickedness, and unfortunate for the people there that might not be as evil, you know, or, you know, the Roe vs. Wade gets stopped tomorrow by some act of God, there's still blood on this country's hands that has to be paid for. The Bible says in Isaiah 59 verse 1, Behold, the Lord's hand is not short, that it cannot be saved, neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. It gets to a point where God stops listening, and when his wrath starts to come, he's not going to hear it, because it's his judgment that's being poured out. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, your tongues have murdered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth. They trust in vanity, they speak lies, they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. What are we talking about this morning? We're talking about how children are a blessing, children that are conceived, children that are brought forth. Well, what are these people doing? What are they conceiving? They're conceiving mischief. They're bringing forth iniquity. You know, the child in the womb is a life at conception. And it says in Matthew 1 23, Behold, a virgin shall be with child. That's quoting Isaiah 7, where it says, Behold, a virgin shall conceive. So we see there, when you compare scripture with scripture, that conception, biblically speaking, is a life, is a child. If you would turn to 2 Kings chapter 24, 2 Kings chapter 24. We'll wrap up here in a minute, but I want to just drive this point home. That it's too late for this country to spare itself from the judgment that's going to come. The blood has already been shed. It's there. It must be avenged. No bones about it. Now God, in wrath, can remember mercy. We should pray for that, and that God would put off that wrath that might not come in our days. You know, if he looks down and sees somebody, a righteous remnant, trying to do the works of God, crying out to God for mercy, crying out to God to let us continue to do his work and see souls saved, maybe he'll put it off, but there's going to come a time when God says, I have to judge the blood that's been shed. The Bible says in 2 Kings chapter 24, in his, talking about Jehoiakim, King Jehoiakim, In his Jehoiakim days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him, and the Lord said against him, Bands of the Chaldees, bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by the servants of the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah. God's judging this country. And it says, as was spoken by the words of his servants the prophets, as he spake by his servants the prophets. And that's exactly what we see today, is men of God who understand this book standing up and telling people it's coming. That this country is going to be under judgment. And people, they just turn to death, they just don't want to hear it. They don't want to hear it. But doesn't it come? Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did. And what was it that he did? Verse 4, and also for the innocent blood that he shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. You go back and read the law. Now for the sake of time we can't really go into it, but God says that innocent blood will be avenged. And that he will not pardon it. That it defiles the land. That it gets to a point where God is even willing to send the foreign hordes against his own people and destroy them out of his sight. Bible says in Proverbs 6, these six things that the Lord hates, seven are an abomination unto him. So you know there's hating something and then there's something that's an abomination to you. I mean you think about your food that you hate. You know then think about a food that you really hate. Right? That's an abomination. Like if I were to offer you some food you didn't like, say man I hate those things. Then I offered you like a whole plate of them. Say oh that's an abomination. You know I don't want to do that. God not only hates these things, but he considers these things an abomination. They are incredibly detestable to him. A proud look, a lying tongue. And I like that a proud look. You know I was reading these articles and just reminded me of this. When they were signing this law, all the proud looks that I saw on these people's faces. These pantsuit wearing, short haired women standing there in their blue power suits. And all these men standing around them. Happy as can be that they're signing this wicked law in the state of New York. And it goes on and says there, and hands that shed innocent blood. God hates them. God hates the abortion doctor. He hates them. Because he sheds innocent blood. And I hate them too. I hate those which the Lord hated. Now let's end in a little bit more positive note. I think we started out a little more positive. Talking about how children are a blessing and that they are. And it says there in Psalm, if you're still there, nah that's fine. It says there in Psalm 127 it says, Happy is the man that hath his quiver full. He says that a guy that has a lot of kids, he's happy. It's a guy that has the children, whatever children God has given him, whatever children God has blessed him with, that man is happy. Because they bring joy. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full. I mean think about it, if you were back in these days and you were going out in a battle, and you had to fight, and you only had one arrow, would you be happy? The battle is just getting started, the horns are blowing, and you've got your one arrow. And you're not going to be a happy camper. When you've got a quiver full of them, and you can just start taking people out, you can take out the enemy all day long, you're going to feel a little bit more confident about what you're doing. Bible says, Happy is the man that hath his quiver full. And some of these people that are killing their children at home, or poisoning their bodies so they can't have kids, or putting devices in their bodies so they can't have kids, I wonder how happy they really are. I wonder if they understand how miserable they really are. The joy that they're really missing out on. The Bible says, I'll read this in Proverbs 17, that children's children are the crown of old men. And the glory of children are their fathers. Children's children. You know, I'm a dad, I love being a dad, it's great. I'm happy because my quiver might not be as full as others, but we're working on it. I've got a few arrows in there, and they make me happy. But you know what I really look forward to? Is having grandkids. I don't know why, but there's just something about that, as it says there, that children's children are the crown of old men. Not only did you obey the command to be fruitful and to multiply, but your children were as mighty arrows and went out and did the same. You brought them up in the nurture of the initial Lord, they understood these things, and now they crown you with their children. That's quite the thought. So let's never let society convince us or try to influence us to think that children are anything other than what they are, which is a blessing. Let's pray.