A Biblical Motivation For Sidewalk Ministry

0:00 I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours, sin. Welcome to the Gospel Center prayer life podcast. There's various motivations that people have for getting involved in Ministry at our local abortion center, and this episode we examine some of those motivations and then we look at what we believe should be our primary motivation for ministry. Say tuned me, Lord. I felt show passish touch your heart. Welcome back to the Gospel centered prayer life podcasts. Appreciate you guys joining us and, as always, we appreciate if you guys would share this podcast with others on show the social media, however else you would share things like that. We just want to be a blessing to people.

0:51 Want to equip people and encourage people, specifically folks that are involved in sidewalk ministry at abortion centers, but in any area of pro life ministry. We want to want to help, equip and encourage people. Amen, this is a necessary battle that we as believers need to fight and we want people to be well equipped to fight this battle in a way that honors the Lord. Yes, and so we're going to talk in this episode about very important topic as it pertains to any kind of ministry, but in particular the sidewalk ministry in front of abortion centers. Okay, and that's our motivation for ministry, because I think really this podcast, this episode, could apply to any area of ministry, but since our area of ministry is sidewall counseling and abortion centers, we're going to focus on that. But Hey, was that if you got other folks that you know? Maybe they're not ministering as of yet in front of an abortion center, but they're minister and other capacities. There's all kinds of things that God calls his church to do, not just abortion center ministry, although we feel like that's, I would say, the most important ministry, just not because we're involved in it, because children are dying.

2:02 Yeah, but not to go in a rabbit shaw with that. I think this would be a blessing to people at all areas of ministry. So please do share it and we'll give you, guys, as we always do, our email addresses at the end if you have things that you want to add or things that you subjects you want us to cover. It may be a different angle to this subject that you think would be a blessing. We'd certainly love to hear that from you, but let's jump into this, Vicky. Yeah. Yeah, our desire is that if someone decides they want to Minister on the sidewalk of an abortion center, that they're in it for the long haul. Yeah, and we see so many people disappear so quickly. You fall away because of discouragement, and I think a large part of that discouragement arises from what was their motivation for? Yeah, for being out there.

2:50 Absolutely. So, if you can identify early on what your motivation is and if it's one of them, that what we say is, okay, we understand it, yeah, but it's not going to be the one that's going to sustain you. Maybe you can realign your priorities of why you are out there. Yeah, that was the purpose of writing this article. So the the first one that I think everyone can identify with as a motivation, and I think all these were going to mention, all of us have all of these motivations if we're out on that sidewalk. But I guess in a way what we're trying to point out is it can't be your primary motivation until we get to the last one. That should be what and we're not going to tell you what that is to the end. So listen to hope, to stated kiss. That's right. But so the first one is just the horror and grief of abortion. Yeah, yeah, I mean we should be understanding the truth of what abortion actually is. We should be horrified by it.

3:46 Yeah, it should. It should burden our hearts, it should grieve our hearts because it grieves the heart of God. Yeah, I mean, what are we actually talking about? Because we can get ourselves into all kinds, I think I've shared this on podcasts before, because we can get ourselves and all kinds of mindsets, and we can, we could, we could forget, like what we're actually talking about. And I had a situation a couple of months ago, maybe a year or so ago, where this kind of came to bear for me, and it was when I was going through our pamphlet, our hope is here pamphlet that we hand out of the abortion centers, and I was kind of refining the part in the middle that panel that talks about abortion procedures. Write what happens in it, what happens and an abortion, and so we have, at different stages of development, also the different types of abortions, the cost. Yeah, and so we have all of that there. As I'm going through, I get toward the end of it when I'm doing third trimester abortion and kind of explaining what's going on there and try to really be technical about it, because I think it's important for us to know these things and use technical terms but also practical terms it people can relate to it. All of that and I just stopped kind of in mid sentence when I was kind of refining one point and I begin to think, okay, what am I what am I writing about? Yeah, and it came just fresh to my mind. I'm riding and I'm getting technical and I'm not that it's bad or anything like that, but let's let me not lose the reality what I'm actually talking about, that I'm not just talking about abortion as a medical procedure, but I'm talking about the murder of innocent children,

5:23 right, and in that moment it was and I think this is this happens and shit happen to us on a regular basis where we're reminded, because we can lose the grasp of what we're really dealing with and it can become technical and it can become just just another ministry or just another aspect of our walk with God or something like that. Right, we need to be gripped with the horror of abortion. We do. And if, but if we stay there, if we stay ripped continually while we're on the sidewalk, several hours a day, sometimes several days a week, for many people just one day week. But nonetheless, if that's what we are experiencing predominantly while we're out there, we will burn out. Oh Yeah, because you cannot sustain that level of horror and grief for very long without just being drained of everything inside of you. So there has to be something that. I think what what you pointed out. I do think that needs to be revisited on a regular basis for anyone who's involved in sidewalk ministry. But it can't be where we live, right because if that's where we live, where we are going to be just so sad all the time. The first day most people come out, they cry. They often try to fight their tears and I always say no, this is appropriate. You should be crying, you should be grieving, but but then you need to get to work. God has given you a purpose out here and it's very hard to complete that if you're overwhelmed

6:58 by grief. Yeah, yeah, and so, as we mentioned, we should be horrified, we should be grieved by abortion, but it cannot be our primary motivation and it cannot be and it is not a sustaining motivation. And I will submit that people that I have had experiences with in this world of ministry that have kind of gone off the rails and just become almost like nutcases. Yeah, have been people that they're motivation and there their daily thought is the horror of abortion, right, and so I'll say we cannot be motivated and should not be motivated by the horror of abortion, but the beauty of Jesus, abortion is a terrible thing and I do think it needs to be in say in the peripheral but at least a motivation, but it cannot be the primary motivation, I even say, for those that are involved.

7:53 We can become desensitized to the reality of abortion, and so I do think, like you mentioned and like I mentioned earlier, that we need to revisit this, we need to be gripped afresh by it. Yeah, and I do think we need to. I mean I want I make myself on a regular basis. Look at the graphic images of abortion. I don't like looking at those, but I need to be reminded of what we are allowing as human beings. Yeah, that it really does grieve the heart of God. But again, I cannot I cannot stay there, I cannot dwell on that constantly, or my heart will be consumed just with the horror of abortion rather than the glory of Jesus. Right. And you speak out of in all of these things, you are going to speak out of what your motivation is, and it does change your tone. I think your tone is dependent on which one of these are your primary motive, motivation, and we talked a lot about how the tone is critical. Yeah, maybe more so than even the words that we use as route ministering. Yeah. So let me come to the second one, the desire to help the moms in heart circumstances.

8:58 Yeah, a great desire, absolutely great motivation. We're called to do that, without a doubt. It's biblical. Yeah, it's a biblical motivation for yeah. Yeah, but we know one who ministers in front of an abortion center is out there very long before they realize that quite often these MOMS really don't even want our how? Yeah, they're they they are angry, they are often very abusive towards us in their language and even threatening, and their stories are often very tragic. Yeah, but but most of the time what I have found is, yes, there are in some cases things that they could not prevent, that they could not help, but I would say in the vast majority of the cases it's been a series of very poor, anti good choices, yeah, that have led them to that place. Yeah, and and their circumstances are often so terrible that it would take truly a trained team of social workers community resources to be able to help them. And if your primary motivation is that get these moms out of these hard circumstances, you'll fail. Yeah, you will fail. Yeah, I mean a lot of times they don't want to be out of those hard circumstances. I think personally, and I know you've experienced this before, about domestic abuse situation. Yes, we've encountered those. We did podcast about those and it's as strange as

10:33 it sounds, we have dealt with women who are in domestic abuse situations and we've done everything we can to try to get him out of those situations. Even find like save houses and stuff like like that, and it's almost like drug addiction when they go back to the man. Yep, that didn't always happen, but it happens often times. Yeah, and if your motivation, your primary motivation, is to help these poor innocent women in their circumstances and you find out very quickly that they don't want your help, that they're even though you got them out of that domestic abuse situation, they're just going to go right back into it, you're going to get deflated real quick, you're going to get discouraged real quick and you're going to find yourself no longer involved in ministry now again. It doesn't mean that this can't be a motivation.

11:20 A love for other people should be a motivation as believers in Jesus, but it can't be our primary and sustaining motivation. Right, and I think love life coming along has really helped in this area, because they really are two separate areas. Sidewalk, being out there on the sidewalk trying to convince Mot's not to kill the baby and and then providing for the ongoing needs that will help make an honest life change. And love life provides mentorship programs in training for mentors so that the sidewalk counts are really doesn't need to be doing that. Should in fact shouldn't be doing that because it's too much. Yeah, so burned out she you do. And you know, I know one story of a woman that we've helped many times over the years, fully furnished.

12:07 It was before she started, before love life came along. So I was kind of her mentor and I can remember at least three separate times when she got a new apartment, lost the old one, needed new furniture and we got it. We got her the furniture, we got her Washer, dryer and everything, and then she loses the apartment and I have no idea what happened to all those that stuff. Yeah, but it disappears and we're just doing it over and over and over again, and that is not unusual. The cycle of poverty is very hard, yeah, to break out of. So so anyway, so it's we should desire to help moms but, like you said, it should not be our prime reason for why we're out there.

12:52 Yeah, yeah, I know. I've experienced in just seeing new people come along and some of the questions I ask, and even in the applications that we get people to fill out like what do you feel, why do you feel called to this ministry? And I don't. I don't marginalize people and I don't write them all if they write certain things, but I can tell if they write you know, why are you, why do you feel called this ministry, that you know, I want to help these poor women who need someone to be there. I think we kind of zero in on that and we make sure that, yeah, that's a good motivation, it might bring you out there, but it's not a sustaining motivation and we try to direct them toward actually, our primary motivation is what we're going to talk about the end. Going to give that. We're gonna give you keep.

13:37 It's not a big keeping surprising. Yeah, but when I read that kind of stuff, or even like my wife, who's a ultrasound nurse right she has nurses that come along who want to get trained up to do ultrasound and they kind of have this idea that they're going to show up with the awesome power of ultrasound and they're going to change the world. All these women are going to flock to them for free ultrasounds. Hey, they're going to choose life because the ultrasound and all of that. It's like, well, that's cute. Yeah, but you're going to find out how you're going to do ultrasounds on women who don't necessarily want the ultrasound but for whatever reason they came on the board, the mobile ultrasound unit. Yeah, and but they're not very happy with you. Right, they're not really happy with some of the things you're saying. Now. Thank God that most of the time by the time we get them on the ultrasound unit their hearts are softened and all of that. Right, but if you think you're going to show up with the power of ultrasound, you're going to show up with the power of your your voice, and these poor little innocent women are going to just flock to you, I'm going to say you're going to be sadly disappointed. You are going to meet this here is. They don't necessarily they again, we've shared stories where there are plenty of women that come that are just looking for someone to share with them and they're praying for a sign and all of that. Yeah, yeah, not not to discount that, but so many more are there and they don't want to hear from you. You've got to have another you've got to have a some other things sustaining you to be out there rather than just a love for the women, even love for the babies. Right,

15:07 right, and and we're actually going to get to that as a motivation. The love of the baby be as supposed to love it. But but not yet. Our next one, and this one I have seen maybe people burn out the quickest this one. Political beliefs. Your political beliefs are your motivation. You belong to one party or another. Yeah, you feel that party is the salvation. They it's it's that party is what's going to change the face of abortion. And you're the type that your political beliefs then make you believe that if you can just change the law, if you can just outlaw abortion, abolish abortion, if you can just limit abortion, whatever, and you know, I don't want to get into the argument of abolishing versus incrementalism.

15:54 We have done a podcast on that. Yeah, but that you think it belongs in the political realm. There is a political solution and you join the political groups and your pres sent on the sidewalk sometimes looks more like a political rally then like a sidewalk NSTRY. Maybe you have tracks that you're handing out, that are pointing you to city council meetings or and none of those things are bad, please understand. That's not what I'm saying. But if that is your primary motivation, again, what happens when your party loses, what happens when the laws don't go with the way you want? And what I have seen as a result of this kind of a motivation is great division, bickering and name calling if you don't fit the political agenda of whoever.

16:47 Yeah, so it again can become greatly discouraging and follows the cycle and the flow of politics. Yeah, absolutely, and just practically speaking, listen, if the especially here in Charlotte, but I think this is this rings true across the nation. Yeah, the women that were reaching out to at the abortion centers, yeah, are typically African American women, low income people, right, and they would typically not align themselves. It's just face it. What we're talking about is Democrats versus Republican if your motivation is to advance the Republican Party, right, and you're talking about that on the sidewalk, that's you know, you whatever, you're mentioning politicians names, you're going to shut the conversation down real quick. You come and you show up add an abortion center, we if you'RE DONALD TRUMP T shirt or your make America great again hat, right. And Yeah, it's not going to go over so well with the people that you're desiring to reach, if your desire is to reach the women going into the abortion set. Yeah, and you know, the the things that you hope to change. And but that's what I when I'm saying political beliefs, I also mean whatever you feel needs to be changed in society, as sexual revolution, the the black lives matter, the whatever it is. If that becomes your agenda out there and you start to wear t shirts, for example, that that have slogans, it is going to put a wall up, yeah, between most of the people that you're trying to

18:17 reach. Your your agenda maybe a wonderful agenda, but it's not the time or place for that on the sidewalk of an abortion center. Yeah, if, especially if you examine, well, what do I hope to achieve out here? Do I hope to achieve some sort of societal change in this movement that I feel is going the wrong way, or do I hope to honor God and speak for the unborn children right and change the minds and hearts of people bent on abortion. Yeah, I've had just the kind of a funny story. If you were there in this happened. But we had somebody show up on the side walk on a Saturday with a Donald Trump flag, oh dear, like wave of the Donald true flag and was hand. Imagine how that went. Yeah, I'm not going to get into all of that.

19:04 I mean, Donald Trump whatever, right, but I don't care if Donald trump was a greatest politician that ever lived. Right being out in front of an abortion center and waiven some politicians flag, it's just not the place for it. If you think about it, the difference, and we never say protesting is bad. I don't think political rallies, all that stuff that stops great. Do that right. She's not the place where, in front of an abortion center, because with those things, what are you trying to do? With political rally or with a protest? You're trying to appeal to people in positions of power, people who can influence society at large. Right, that's what you're trying to do in a protest. You're trying to influence society at large. At an abortion center, when you're doing sidewalk out reach.

19:49 You're not trying to influence the powers that be, you're trying to influence individual mothers to choose life for their babies. It's a really good point. Yeah, that's a really good point, for your motivation becomes very individualized it. It needs to be looking at each and every woman walking in there and how can I best reach them? Yeah, it's definitely not going to be wearing enough or get flat flying Donald Trump flag. I guarantee that. Yeah. Yeah, so, so you'll burn out. You'll burn out quickly if that is your motivation, because you'll recognize probably right away what's going to happen is you're going to insight anger. Yeah, she in fact fury. I think if people's if the angriest I see the pro abortion crowd and the mother's going in is when people show up with a political motivation and they tend to be the angriest people. Yeah, that I have found in my experience being on the sidewalk. Yeah, you don't about angerish people in our side, on our side, on the pro life side, they tend to in my experience, I could be wrong, but they seem to be the most angry yeah, because they have. You know, I think quite often I would agree with what their anger is stemming from. I do feel that there are some really terrible things happening to our society, not just abortion. Yeah, but my anger is not going to draw those women out of that place. Yeah, sure, and and so that then we had talked earlier. So desire to help the mom, but then the next big desire, which is an

21:22 outflow of that, is the compassion for the baby. Yeah, and actually the mom is sometimes your enemy. Well, I guess always in a sense, because her being there is saying I'm going to kill the baby. Yeah, and so she is your enemy in terms of your agenda. If is compassion for the baby, that's your motivation, right, which is I mean, God bless you, you should have compassion for the baby. What's going to happen to them is terrible. Yeah, so I would say just these two are very closely tied together, actually, the helping the MOMS and helping the baby. Now, in the situation with the MOM, obviously the mom is ultimately that she's we've laid this out before, she's the judge and when that abortion takes place, if that abortion takes place, then she's a perpetrator of the crime as well, all right, not just the abortionist, but she's guilty before God as well. But we have to of course have compassion for her understand her circumstances. We've talked about that. But the innocent victim, the innocent person in this whole scenario is the baby. That's sure right, and so we have to have compassion, and this really is a biblical motivation, compassion for the innocent. You look throughout the whole scripture and you'll see very plainly God is for the innocent, and those who are for God should be for the innocence, should be for protecting the innocent. The reason why God judges nations is because they don't take care of the innocent, they

22:56 don't take care of the orphan in the widow. God Judge The Nation of Israel for that very that very thing, hey. And so, as the people of God, we certainly should have as a motivation compassion for that baby. Yes, no doubt about it. Yeah, I mean listen, Basic Christianity, one hundred and one Luke, chapter ten, the parable, the Good Samaritan, the man in the ditch. Right this, this is this baby, is the person in the ditch and there they can't speak for themselves, they can't run way they are. They unlike the other vulnerable people groups in our past that have been annihilated. They truly have no avenue of escape.

23:37 Not that the other vulnerable groups did easily have escape, but they were out of the womb. They could run, you know, they could scream, they could, they could it raise something in their defense, even if it's just a scream. But the baby can scream in the womb but no one can hear it, right. And so it is. I mean again it kind of goes back to that first one, the horror of abortion. Very similar. If your motivation is out of compassion for the baby, which is an important motivation. It can't eat. That can't be absent. But if it's the primary motivation, the sad and horrific truth is most of those babies are going to die. Yeah, so again you're going to be filled with such overwhelming grief and sense of failure if that's your motivation, because no matter how wonderful a counselor you are, most of the babies are going to die. That is just the sad truth, right of what happens out on the sidewalk. Yeah, I'll give you an example of a kind of an extreme example of where this can really derail you. Now again, where we are not saying this shouldn't be a motivation. This absolutely should be a motivation.

24:51 Yeah, it just cannot be your primary motivation. Yeah, and in all of these I think we're saying in some measure, these need to be a motivation, right, they just cannot be your primary motivation. Right. So there was a story, and I believe I may have shared this several times, but this is a story that just kind of sticks out of my mind, and this is maybe I don't know, six seven years ago, where there's a young lady who came on board the mobiultra sound unit. She was pregnant with twins, eighteen weeks along. Wow, and the counselor and the nurse poured into this mom every reason why she came to the abortion center, every struggle that she had. They gave her a corresponding resource. We're going to help you, you're not alone in this thing. So there are.

25:34 There is every reason for her to choose life for and I'm sure they saw the baby on the ultrasound which, as eighteen weeks I mean you can see everything. Yeah. Well, again, she was a mother of twins, and twins, so twins, she said so too, of those babies on the ultrasound yeah, very clearly at that point you could tell whether or not there boys and girls. All of that, they gave her again, every reason to choose life, going to walk with her and, of course, out of compassion for those babies and a love for her, they're pouring everything into her. Right, but at the end of the day, she stepped right out of that mobile atra sound unit, walked right into the abortion center and kill those twin babies eighteen weeks. Yeah, now you think about that. How did that feel to the counselor who poured everything they could into that mother, who who visually was in the room when those babies were in the ultrasound screen? There's no denying that these are human beings, right, there's no denying that for everyone who was in that room, including the mother.

26:36 Yeah, does that feel for the nurse? Right, and tell you what can happen in those situations is self doubt. Am I even called to this ministry? Is this ministry even effective? Right, that's that's the things that the devil wants to play in your mind and our flesh plays in our mind. All Gosh, I should have said this. If I if I would have did this, if I wouldn't have did that, then she wouldn't have walked out of this, this mobile. Just so on, you didn't kill those baby. Here is all these things that can come. Yeah, and even like the potential to neutralize you from this battle. If you, if you were only motivation or if your primary motivation is a love for those babies and you're seeing things like that take plays, then you're going to be quickly neutralized and you're not going to be on the sidewalk anymore. Yeah, now, no matter what your motivation is, there's not a person alive who wouldn't be grieving when that, when that, when that mom walks off of that mobile. Ultra sound unit. I've been there, I know I've.

27:32 I'd had a similar situation. I didn't, we didn't see the baby, but I spent I don't know, half an hour pouring car side into someone just last week and I really gave everything I knew to give, including descriptions of the baby. They were fairly far along and talking about what that baby could and couldn't do and the development of that child. And and they went in any way. They drove away at first and then circled back and and so there was then the hope that they had changed their mind, and then they circled back and they told me they'd change their mind, but they circled back and and I just felt I felt like collapsing. Yeah, I was so worn out from that battle, that spiritual battle, and that's a that's a natural response in no matter what your motivation is, and we are all going to be discouraged and sad when that happens. But because I hope and pray my primary motivation is one of these ones, were going to get to at the end. I was able to recover from it. I was able to get past it. Let it go. Know, this was it.

28:37 It's what happens. It happens, and it wasn't my fault, anymore than if they had chosen life, it would have been my victory. Right. So, so it's not a bad motivation and we should grieve when they walk in there and that baby that we have fought for so hard is killed anyway. But you will you will be quickly. I love the word derailed. They Satan will derail you from your mission. Yeah, if that is why you're out there. Yeah, yeah, but if that is the prim primary yea out there. Yeah. So the next someone we're going to talk about, and the Bible says be angry and sin not. So anger is not a bad thing, right, in every situation. But one of the motivations that I've seen and I've seen others come out there, the primary motivation is anger at the murder of the innocence. Yeah, and really a desire for justice. Right, we should want justice. We should desire for people who are doing evil to be held to account. Right, we should be angry.

29:44 Listen, Plan parenthood is a wicked entity. We should hate plant parenthood, not the people, I don't think as believers we have the allowance to hate people, but everything that they stand for. We should hate everything plan parenthood stands for. We should hate, right, the fact that they're involved in, just as an entity, the murder of more human beings in any other entity on the face of the planet. All right, we should be angered at that. The fact that we as a society moving on from plan parenthood and abortion centers and all that other stuff. But just as a society and political systems. Talking of again about a political motivation, the Democrat Party being as wicked and pro abortion as they are. We should be angry at that. We should want justice, we should pray that God brings justice, we should pray that God would grant repentance to the people that are in positions of power and Democrats and Republicans alike right who are pro abortion. And so I think it can be in some sense a motivation be angry and sin not who should be angered? We should be stirred up over injustice. Yeah, will seek justice. Seek justice is over and over a praise in the Bible with it. And we are made in the image of God and God is a just God. He is a god of justice. So the desire for justice for that child is is an important biblical motivation. But again, just like in all of those other ones, the reality is most of the time,

31:17 well, we're going to see on that sidewalk, is injustice appearing to win? Yeah, yeah, and so if our primary motivation is justice and we're not seeing justice day by day, right, we're going to get derailed. Yeah, we're going to get deflated, we're going to get discouraged. Yeah, and so the reason why bitter. I think, what a word we haven't used up to up to this point, and I think it's critical because I see it's I do see it. I see it creeping in easily, a root of bitterness at what you face because you're so angry, there's so much injustice, there's so much horror that in you begin to be filled with bitterness. Yeah, and if you're filled with bitterness, that's what comes out of right. Yeah. And if that's what comes out of you, guaranteed that's what the women are hearing and that's not what they need to be right. Yeah, that's not going to change their hearts. Yeah. Yeah, we're in in one sense, not offering them anything more than they already have. They're already better. Angry. Yeah, overwhelmed. They know, they know life hasn't been just for different reasons. They don't always connect that they're being unjust right towards that child. But but, yeah, so, so justice. Frankly, it's not going to be served here on earth.

32:35 Right. Yeah, I in some ways it will be. In some ways, our hope is, when abortion comes to an end, that these abortionists are brought to justice. And people that are involved in abortion to we we want justice. We should desire justice. I believe that's a godly desire, our desire for justice that even people that are that are godless, even so called atheist, Yep, there's a sense of justice they desire. Yeah, right, and we should never stop fighting for justice. Right, we should. We should desire justice and the Bible says seek justice, Love Mercy and we'll comely with our God. We should seek justice. Yeah, as people who believe in I believe in the rule of law, I believe that God establishes nations with a certain justice system. I'll believe all of that stuff, but ultimate justice is not going to happen until Jesus Christ establishes his kingdom and and he's he's the just judge, he's the just king. Right. So we should desire justice. We should have as a motivation justice and desire for justice for these babies, but it cannot be our primary motivation because, like you said, we don't see it day after, day after day, we can become embittered and I've encountered people like that. Yes, I said to look wonderful people who are committed Christians love the Lord, but they're their focus has derailed them. They have become bitter rather than motivated what we think are better motivation. Yeah, and I've seen that not just kind of like a bitterness against society, a bitterness against government entities or whatever, but I've seen

34:10 it manifest in a bitterness against the church. Like the church should be involved in this battle, right, the church should be, like we should be the the drivers behind pro life ministry, saving babies, ending abortion. And yet the church has not been. Sadly, I think we can recognize that. And I've seen people in this realm of ministry become bitter against the church because of that injustice, because the church is not seeking justice and loving mercy and walking home humbly before their God in this area. Right, and it manifests itself in bitterness toward the church. People withdraw themselves from the church. All they talk and think about is abortion and how bad the church is for not doing anything about abortion, and and they get theologically and then just experentially derailed. Yeah, and they become people that you just don't really even want to be around. Right. I think the ultimate end of that, if it it, if it, that person dwells in that too long becomes bitterness towards God. Yeah, thanks, because ultimately they say why God? Why?

35:19 And and there are many, many great people of the Bible, great saints of the Bible, who call out why God, why are you not ending this now? But and they do. I mean there's plenty of people in the Bible that that that call out to God saying why? Yeah, but if that's where they stay, then it just becomes a complaining, bitter spirit and an anger at God, a bitterness towards God. All, honestly, a lack of trust and faith that he has a plan and we may not like how we're seeing it played out, but we do have to trust that he ultimately is the one that will bring justice and is in control.

36:04 Yeah, and that bitterness is not going to serve as well. Yeah, you see in some of the psalms you mentioned about people that cry out why God? Yeah, and you see the Psalms David does that very, very frequently. Yeah, very frequently. Yeah, but typically in those psalms where he starts out with why God, what have you forsaken me and all of this, yeah, it will end with sort of like a reconciliation in his mind that you're good God and I trust you. Yeah, and that's certainly you know, as we're crying out through the Lord, any attitude of bitterness toward God is unfounded, right, and they needs to be reconciled with the truth of who he is and the fact that we need to trust him. Yeah, and, like you said, we get in this kind of being our primary motivation, this desire for justice and anger against injustice and all of that. Yeah, bitterness is a horrible thing that spreads like a cancer throughout people and it's designed to destroy people and it will destroy teams. I have seen it where one bitter person speaking out bitterly can kind of poison the attitude of everyone around them because everyone the bitterness, the injustice is there. All of us are feeling it and all of us want it to end. So that bitterness can spread like a cancer among your team members, and it can.

37:19 It can destroy a ministry. Yeah, if that becomes too prevalent, and I think sometimes it does. Yeah, so now we're getting into the good stuff. Yeah, now we're coming to I separate them out. They're really not separate, but I do separate out the last two motivations, which we think are the motivations that are sustaining. Yeah, and that will ultimately really should be our primary motive and should be our primary and all of the other motivations should really come under the umbrella of these two. That's right. And the first is biblical conviction. Right, as believers in Jesus, if we can't point to scripture as to why we do what we do and and and how we do in every area of life, right, every area of life, then we're off base. That's right. We need to see.

38:07 What does the Bible say? Yes, and so if the Bible, like some claim says nothing about abortion, then should I even be involved in in this ministry? Yeah, does a matter of fact, that the Bible says a whole lot about abortion. Doesn't use the word, but use the word abortion, uses the concept over and over over again. I'm killing the innocent. Yeah, and so we see that and yeah, we're angered at the injustice, because God is. I was actually talking to one of the pro boards, which I don't do on a regular basis, or try not to, and I don't let them be a distraction. You guys know that. Don't say not our mission, but I was. I was sharing with one of the pro boards just Saturday about my motivation. I was talking to her about her motivation, just pointing out to her your obvious motivation is not because you love and care about these women. Are. You wouldn't be saying some of the things that you're saying, acting like you're acting, because you're not helping the women that are going into the abortion center. And so you need to check your motivation. And she talked about motivation for me. I said for her my motivation. Listen, if I wasn't a believer in Jesus, I could care less about these babies, I could care less about these women.

39:15 In my selfishness and in my sin, I could care less about other people. Yeah, because God has transformed my heart and he's given me his word, the revelation of who he is in his word and what he desires. His desires, by His grace of have become mind. So I care deeply about these women. I cared deeply about these babies, but only because of who god is in my life. Apart from him, what do I care? Yes, selfish individual, just like that pro board, because it's really my point with her was your motivation is as really self righteousness. It's really to try to cover up your own sin and your own past and really to push your own agenda. You don't care about those women, you care about yourself. Right. That's my point there. And I would be just like that if it wasn't for God and how he changed my heart through his word. Right. And and so we look to his word when we're when we're motivated by biblical conviction, we are looking to his word. So the word is filled with action verbs. I think we've mentioned this before. Speak for those who can't speak for themselves, hold back those on a path of destruction. Yeah, you know, we've taught the parable of the Good Samaritan.

40:30 Get them out of the ditch, GE get them ongoing help. So our motivation, our actions, follow that motivation of what does the Bible tell us to do? Yeah, but then that leads kind of inseparable from the final motivation. Biblical conviction is absolutely a very good motivation. Yep, but I think there's one I kind of part it a little and say there's one that that you are certainly alluding to, that is the strongest motivation, and ultimately that is the love of God. Yeah, yeah, and what we mean by that is not just like generally, the love of God should be your motivation, but a love for God, Right, Matthew, Chapter Twenty Two, verses thirty seven through forty. This is a man asking Jesus what is the greatest command and Jesus said to him you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.

41:27 This is the first in great commandment. This, this is it, this is the thing above all things. If you want to know what what God wants, here's what he wants. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. M and then he said the second is like it. So Jesus is saying these two are very closely tied together. Right, is a matter of fact. I would say. You can't have one without the other. You can't. You can't properly love your neighbor, those babies, those women, you can't properly love your neighbor until you love God first. Right, because you'll get the cart before the horse and things will be out of whack. Right, but you can't say that you love God if you're not doing any. John Talks about this. And First John, how you how you're going to say you love God and don't love your brother? Practically right, so to say that you love God. That's what the Pharisees did.

42:15 Yeah, we love God above all things, and they rejected their neighbor. They neglected their duty to their neighbors. So these are very closely tied together. So he says. The first, this is the first and great commitment, Love God, and the second is like it. You should love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophet so all that that God has written. If you wanted to sum it up, it'd be summed up in this love God and love your neighbor. Right, but notice that there is a primary motivation here. There's motivations. Love your neighbor is a motivation. We should but the primary motivation is love God. That's right, because a true again, a true and a proper love for your neighbor will float out of a love for God. And that's really I think. When you get into people who are okay with violence against abortionists, it's because likely they've they've put the car before the Horse. They've thought about those babies, they've thought about what those babies suffer more than they've thought about what God actually says, because God never gives us an allowance to commit acts of violence, to to make things right in the way that we think we should. We have the Gospel. We're supposed to bring the Gospel, and that's that's what God, in his words, called us to do and because we love him, that's going to be the weapon that we willed, the Gospel, the word of God. Right, you get the car before the horse. In the same way you can get the car before the horse.

43:42 It manifests itself and really two ditches and the other ditches. Let's just let's just not talk about God and let's just really be women focused. Let's be woman focused, because that's being your burs with some people would say that's loving your neighbors. Let's just meet her kneed. Let's just think about her, yeah, or let's just think about the baby even and it really manifest itself, and just let's not talk about the hard truths of the Bible, let's not talk about God's judgment and all these other things and repentance, none of them repeaus. I'll make her feel bad, that'll make you feel bad. I don't you. And so you see how I can manifest itself in two extremes. Yeah, violence, and this is going to this is going to solve the issue of abortion, or just completely going solved and not even talking about sin. This is how it's gonna this is how we're going to really help those women. Yeah, we God, and having the things that God has put in place in order properly helps us to walk that tight rope that we're supposed to be walking of Truth and grace. That's exactly what I was thinking there, which is why I think, honestly, not to our own horn, but I do think that our ministry has that balance and I think it's because the focus is love God, and out of that motivation you will speak with a tone of love. But it is not loving to deny truth and justice. So you'd so you have both and it's attention and and you're constantly moving back and forth between those two. But but if love of God is your primary motivation, then everything that happens there is something that no

45:20 one and no result can take away from you. Yeah, because you love God and you're acting out of a love of God, and no matter what happens, if you're in your head. I'm doing this because I love you, Lord. Then every moment you're standing before God, loving him, he has gained the victory, he has been glorified and you feel like you can come back to continue in that battle. Yeah, yeah, because it's practically speaking, if you're standing out their day after day, right and you're not seeing baby saved, yeah, you're not having interactions, or the only interactions you're having are negative interactions. What if, if these other things are your primary motivation, you are going to get the real right, kind of get discouraged right and listen, I'm not saying that there isn't times of discouragement.

46:07 There are, even in we're trying to keep the love of God as the chief. This is a tension that we live in. Yeah, this is why we really need to be around other believers. If you're if you're out on the sidewalk and you're going to serve in that capacity, is kind of like a lone wolf. That itself is going to derail you and discourage you need other believers with you. You need to be a part of a church where you get encouragement and that sort of thing. You need to feast on the word of God, because otherwise you you won't have anything to offer anyone. Yeah, so we do want encourage you, guys. We do want to just help you guys alone. We hope that this was helping you guys, and just reminded you just keep a love for God. You're out there because you love God and whether you see results or not, you're out then they're in obedience to him because he's the king of Kings, he's the Lord of Lords, he's the one that saved you and redeemed you and you're speaking out of a love for him. And all these other things that are good motivations don't compete for that. That greatest of all motivations. I love for God. Right. Yeah, so we hope this was an encouragement to you, guys. We want to encourage you to reach out to us. You can reach me, Daniel at Love Life Dot Org. You reach her, Vicky at Love Life Dot Org, if you have suggestions for other podcasts.

47:20 We'd love to cover subjects that you would like for us to cover. We'd love to hear some feedback from you on these podcasts and again, we'd love for you to share these podcasts with others. But until next time. God, bless God. Bless our love for love. Give me our love for gratitude. I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious, and some that you