I greet you all in the name of our dear Savior. And I am glad to be among you, dear friends, so that I can bring God's Word to you in line with this otherwise very difficult topic, abortion. Let's read from Matthew chapter 23. It is not going to be an expositional preaching at all, but this passage, we are going to read Matthew 23, verses one to five, and then verse 13 and verse 15. I will be referring to this later near the end of my speaking. And this is what God's words say, Matthew chapter 23, verses 1 to 5 and then 13 and 15. Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do. but do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge the borders of their garments. And then roll down to verse 13. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. For you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Verse 15, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he's won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Let's just pray. Lord our God, we now look to you again. thanking you for all the prayers that have been offered here, and we again look to you now, asking that, Lord, you guide our thoughts, and that though these issues before us can be very emotional, we pray, Lord, that you would help us and direct our thinking biblically. Indeed, to the end, Lord, that we will see the urgency of the gospel, And that, Lord, we will not ever put the stumbling block in anyone's way to make sure, Lord, that all would hear the gospel. Because it is the only way, it is the only way for one to be saved and to enter heaven. Please hear us then, bless us together now. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Yes, I did mention that this is a rather sensitive, emotional subject. By definition, and I'll try to be very, very simple, simple because as we are seated here, we do have different, levels of being able to take these things in. And so it's only a good principle in teaching to be very simple. But secondly, actually, I have no choice. I have to be simple because I don't have any big words. I'm not a medical person to give anything which would make everyone stand back and say, wow, wow. No, I don't have that. So we will seek to be very simple. In definition, abortion, my friends, is the termination, the termination of pregnancy by the removal of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, and that results into death. But we need to clarify one or two things here that an abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy, but also it can be induced, an abortion induced, of course, to preserve the health of a pregnant woman. that can be done, and that is termed therapeutic abortion. While abortion that is induced is done for any other purpose. So just get this too. A woman may be in danger maybe suffering, as it were, health-threatening matter, and so something needs to be done so an abortion can be carried out on her, therapeutic abortion. However, any other abortion, for example, a woman goes to a doctor and says, honestly, this is going to inconvenience me. If it happens, I'll lose my job. If it happens, then this or the other will happen. You know, and so many other reasons may be given. All that is called an elective abortion. We usually use the word induced abortion. It's that deliberate termination of pregnancy. There is, my friends, a group in America calling themselves pro-choice. There are many. But really they have this one thing. They are campaigning. they are seriously campaigning to legalize the rights for women to terminate or really to be at liberty when they want to just get rid of their pregnancy. It began or these things began in America but you know they never stop there and so all over the world these things then spread where campaigns are done to legalize abortion. The fact that there is such a serious campaign in the world, and I think now in every country, there's every group very many groups in every country saying, we want liberty as women, we want our women to be at liberty, to do what they want with their bodies. That is everywhere. But you know, that tells you something. It tells you actually that naturally, if you like, originally, that was not the case. Well, the World Health Organization has written something on there, many things, but something I picked on their website, and they say this, unsafe abortion mainly endangers women in developing countries where abortion, and listen to this, where abortion is highly restricted by law. And you know, when they put it like that, they are admitting something. they are really saying, obviously abortion should not take place. But therefore, where that restriction is there by law, then sadly, there are those who then carry out what these people are calling unsafe abortion. My aim is just to show that This craze, these campaigns where billions of dollars are spent every year, is over something, honestly, that should not have been there in the first place. Abortion should not have been there. But anyway, it is there, they spend a lot of money, and now they shift gear, and they actually say, ah, the unsafe abortion brings these problems. But is anyone talking about abortion? Well, thankfully a few organizations and churches, there are some organizations in America, and they are fighting this, but they are also being fought. Let me say this right now, that depending on who gets to the White House, If it is the Democrats, and I know many people would love to see that Clinton go into the White House for whatever reason, let us realize if she goes there, then there will be the floodgates open for abortions, right, left, and center. And efforts to thwart it, efforts to restrain it, will be really meeting fierce opposition. When Republicans are in power, they put in place such laws, or at least they enforce that law, which is there. It's interesting how the Republican comes in power, then that law is there, and it's restricting it. Democrats come in power, and they leave the white door open. And later, if there is opportunity, just to show that it is a political tool in America at the moment. Let me give you some facts and figures on this matter. The purpose of doing this is just to make us feel that, oh, so this is not just a hearsay. This is something that is really affecting lives in millions. Some of the facts then run like this. When we look at the fact worldwide, and depending on whose reports you are reading, but there is a report that approximately 56 million abortions take place each year worldwide. 56 million. That's actually many, many, populations of many countries put together. Someone has narrowed it down to 126,000 of babies aborted every day. Every day. And so it goes on. Well, of course, they also talk of those mothers who in the process of carrying out the abortion, they die. And in their numbers, 80,000 of them each year. Those facts come from African Christian action. But then when we look at America itself, where a lot of things begin and then spread to other places, America has some staggering figures. America alone has 55 million cases that have been reported since 1973. 55 million. That comes from lifenews.com. And then Canada follows after it. In every 100 births, 31 are aborted. That's 30% are aborted. UK is not left behind. Eight million plus babies have been aborted in Britain since 1968 when the Abortion Act came into effect. Someone says that actually comes down to 552 children every day being aborted. the CEO, the chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in UK says this and I quote, our country has been deprived of millions of never to be repeated lives by the hidden horror of abortion. That's taken from Evangelical Times of June just this year. Well then, If we move away from those parts of the world and come closer home, Africa, 8.3 million, 8.3 million were reported cases of abortion between 2010 and 2014. Those are figures, huge figures. Well, I come from Kenya and I thought I could actually even have a quick rundown for every country most probably represented in our conference here, but that wasn't possible and all I'll end up doing is just giving you these figures. My aim, by the way, of doing this is so that we can now move into, what does God say about abortion? But this is important that we lay some kind of understanding as to what figures we are dealing with. So in Kenya, it is reported that 400,000 abortions were recorded in 2012. That's heavy, 400,000. Then in Zambia, I read of a record that 52,000 cases of abortion between 2003 and 2008. That's 52,000. It's large numbers, large numbers. Let's quickly ask. What's the reason? What is the reason behind such a terrible thing as murdering babies in such magnitude, year by year by year? You know, in my country, by the way, Kenya, abortion is not permitted. I carried a copy of our draft constitution, and they clearly in our constitution state that, that abortion is not permitted. We will be seeing later the fact that life of a person begins at conception, but clearly they go on to say abortion is not permitted. Then later, I think, pressure mounted from where you also can guess, just like myself, pressure amounted, and so some clause was added that, but only at the decision of a trained personnel. Then they say, if a woman's health is in danger, But when you analyze all the cases that they claim that a woman's life is in danger, maybe of every 10 of those cases, maybe only two, or maybe one, or maybe none, a woman goes to a doctor and says, listen, doctor, but surely if this continues, I mean, I'm going to miss this, and this will happen, and this will happen, and my parents will know and so doctors are in the business of carrying out these abortions. Anyway, so while abortion is not permitted in my country, as I've indicated, teenagers raise a number of reasons why they go through it. Of course, they say the stigma, the shame, the disgrace, that to be thought that she's now a mother and yet she's not even married. Ooh, that just makes them want to go through the process. then of course they will claim inability to support such a child. They will also say, well, I may lose my school and soon we will be doing our final exams and so abortions are carried out. So that's in my country, but I suspect that what is true about my country as reasons women would give or girls would give is basically the same in other countries. In your own country here, when I was reading in preparation, I came across this that, In 1972, the law was quite tough that any intent to procure abortion in this country would earn someone seven years in jail. And any woman involved in abortion would get twice, that is 14 years. Anyone then involved in assisting in that abortion also gets 14. Then they also saw it was necessary then to bring in a few closes and say, well, it could only be allowed in a situation of health and socioeconomic grounds. And you ask yourself, what is that? That's quite a mouthful. What does that mean? Well, they basically say that when how life and health or the health of other members of her family would be put at risk by that pregnancy. How many of that do we know? Maybe one in a hundred or one in two hundred? But anyway, that's what they say. Also they say when the fetus is suspected or expected to have been damaged, then in that case it can be allowed. Later, remember this was in 1972, but later, more recently, 2005, again in your country here, there was a bit of an amendment on that. And the amendment then now added in, in a case of rape or incest, then abortion would be allowed. However, even though that window was left open, that okay, in case of incest, you know, defilement, or in case of rape, then it can be considered There are those who made noise. There is the organization called Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, or CISA. They rose up and said, no, this is not enough leverage for women. They basically say, women need much more than what they have been given, full choice and control over their bodies. My friends, it doesn't stop there. When a little leeway, a little window is open, okay, in that case and in this case, let this happen. It just goes on and more demands are made. Let me put it this way. And the reasons they give get more and more worrying. You ask people, generally you ask people, about Hitler, you know, and the Holocaust, where millions, six million of the Jews were murdered. And people condemn that man outright. Generally speaking, as I was doing my preparation, various, you know, projects have been carried out and various interviews done. People outright just condemn Hitler. Ask the same people. They stand on abortion. They support it. There's a terrible double standard there. And then you ask, but why? Why do you do that? Why would you actually agree and even allow a baby beginning, forming in the womb because life has begun. Why do you allow that to happen? Many of them would say, well, life actually begins three days after a baby has been born. In other words, let a baby be born. Let three days pass. Within these three days, then this little baby is checked and analyzed and examined to make sure that there's going to be no defect. There's no disease in this baby. After three days, then, yeah, we declare that baby to be a human being. Otherwise, within the three days, kill it. So they say. Well, some say seven years. So within seven years, children can be murdered because otherwise they'll cause problems in the society. And so it goes on. Basically, people don't like that responsibility of a handicapped baby. And so if you detect, then kill it as quickly as you can. I said it gets more worrying. I'll give you some example here. What we call pro-choice in America. It all began there and of course it's all over in the world. They often say, come on please, don't judge us as being trigger happy in the matter of abortion. So they say that. They say we need to be fair on them. They are not just happy to murder babies. But these people, they go ahead and shoot themselves on the foot. What do I mean by that? I'll give you an illustration. The president, the highest person in the Planned Parenthood in America, is a lady called Alice Hogue. Difficult name to pronounce. Alice Hogue is on video saying that she aborted for convenience. She wanted to follow her career. She actually wanted to pursue her dream and therefore pregnancy was going to weigh her down. Let's quote her, to be fair. This woman, she says, I am Hogue, I am the president of what is called NARAL, and NARAL is simply National Abortion Rights Action League, Pro-Choice America, and this is what she says, which, that is, being the president, I am the president, but I would not have been the president which I might not be if I hadn't had access to legal abortion 20 years ago when I got pregnant due to a contraception failure. I got that from a live action news of early this year, February this year. Here is a woman at the top of an organization that promotes abortion, and she simply says, motherhood is a hindrance to women. If I didn't terminate that, if I didn't abort, I would not have been here as the president. It was going to inconvenience me. And therefore, of course, legalize abortion to empower women with the rights to manage their lives better. That woman says, now, astonishingly, astonishingly, last year, this woman gave birth to twins. She gave birth to twins. Thankfully, she didn't abort them. Thankfully, honestly. But, amazingly, you would expect then, had to resign and say, listen, guys, honestly, my belief is you become a mother, you miss these great opportunities to be on the top of the world. The amazing thing is that this woman is still, to date, the president of NARAL. So, what do you call that, a double speech? I wonder, how many people do you think she may have influenced? to make sure that, you know, pregnancy does not stop them achieving their goal. But in her case, well, she got twins. She's still working there. You see, this parenthood Planned Parenthood, this pro-choice, actually they see abortion or pregnancy as a disease that needs to be cured through abortion. To them, pregnancy is a disease. The treatment, abortion. Why do I make such a serious statement? It's simply this. A very key person in the Planned Parenthood organization, a man called Willard Cates wrote this, and he died a few months ago. He wrote this, he wrote a paper actually, and the title of his paper is this, Abortion as Treatment for Unwanted Pregnancy, the Second Sexually Transmitted Disease. our old doctor with so many things before and after his name. And that is what he says. Pregnancy, a disease. The best way of treatment, abortion. Very sad indeed. Well, I had mentioned earlier that in America, abortion sadly now is a political tool and different parties use it at will. Let me just now give you very quickly what procedures do they take or do they use in abortion. And I'm going to put it in language that we, which should shock us, by the way, because that's really what they do. Procedure for abortion. The first three months, which is called first trimester, they basically inject in or take in a tube in the system of a woman. Why? For the purpose of crushing the baby. Because it's still tender. Crush the baby and sack the baby out. And you can just now imagine what dangers they leave a mother in. Of course, the baby is basically brought out dead in pieces. And then the mother sadly suffers in the process. That's the first. Suck in! You know, suck out the baby after crushing it in there. And then in the second place, that is the second trimester, they use a needle to reach a particular sac inside the woman's body, amniotic sac, which is the baby's safe home for those nine months. But they take a needle in, and then the aim of this needle, my friend, is to suck out the natural fluid that the baby needs around him or her. And then they replace that kind of fluid with a salt solution. Why? For this purpose, that then the baby will be burned up. And then in 24 to 72 hours, then the poor thing then has no life, but is forced out. In the third trimester, when now of course the baby is much more formed, then they would do a surgical operation to remove the baby. Some, and many of these babies actually, when that operation is done, they come out still alive. But remember their aim is abortion. And so these babies come out alive and they are killed or murdered out there after they have survived that kind of surgery. I mean, it is horrible. but that is what happens. Let's leave all that behind. Surely I didn't just come here to give you facts. Honestly, that you can read on the internet and in books, but let's quickly just look at some matters here. God's word on abortion. Really, the fact that governments around the world make laws to regulate abortion, tell us something. that abortion should not be there in the first place. There is a higher being. These governments, whether they say it loud and clear or act in terms of making laws to regulate so that these women don't just murder these babies, they are admitting There is a higher being who we are responsible to. And these are humans. They cannot just be murdered anyhow. That higher being is God. The guilt, my friends, the guilt that plagues a woman when she aborts, whether the first time or the second, and some, in the process of doing my preparation, I talked with some people who tell me, ah, pastor, you know, we know some girl, now a woman, but a woman living a miserable life because she had aborted four times, and she had kept all these, and her life became so miserable, and she finally opened up to speak about these things. Guilt. conscience bothering her. And I suppose we could multiply such kind of illustrations. Everyone, every woman, everyone who aborts are answerable to God. What does God say about abortion then? Abortion is murder. And God takes murder very seriously. There is judgment waiting. Let's see then how this thing works out. And the way I want us to approach it is I'll give you a few points as we go along. And friends, I want to say this. I introduced the matter, I gave you some facts and reasons why people are bought. We can sit easy and just listen to it. But as we begin now, very soon you'll realize you need to have your seat belts on, as it were, because this really, it gets very serious. We can't deal with this matter of abortion, biblically now, but we can't deal with this matter just simply like that. No, it's going to be bumpy as we go along. And so let's move on within the time we have. God and conception. That's where we begin, God and conception. Conception, I say, is an act of the sovereign God. In other words, God is the one who allows it to take place. Yeah, it's true, it's when a man and a woman meet sexually, Then the conception, pregnancy begins. Ah, but we must look at this thing biblically and we realize it's actually within the sovereign control of God. The Old Testament has passages very clearly teaching us this. Genesis chapter 17, Genesis chapter 18, but I want us to read chapter 18 verse 14. This is when the Lord had visited Abraham and spoke to Abraham and said, Abraham, my covenant Honestly, it's with you. And so your wife Sarah will conceive and have a son. And Sarah heard of that and Sarah laughed in unbelief. And then in verse 14 we are told this. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Sarah is asked. at the appointed time, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." That is God's declaration. Did God keep it anyway? Well, yes, a few chapters later, Genesis chapter 21, verse one. And the Lord visited Sarah, as He had said, and the Lord did as Sarah. did for Sarah as he had spoken. So that in verse two it say, for Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. And friends, it is the sovereign God bringing about conception. There are other passages in the scriptures, you can note them down. 2 Kings 4 verse 17 about the Shulamite woman and how she bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her." But then we move to the New Testament just to see that really this is the case. And we are seeing now in Luke chapter 1 verse 24. Luke chapter 1 verse 24. about Elizabeth. This is what is said in verse 21 and verse 25. Now, after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid herself five months. Why? She hid herself, saying, verse 25, Thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked on me to take away my reproach among men. Surely it is this, conception or pregnancy. It's not an accident. It's not a disease, my friends. It is a visitation of God. And God does this sovereignly as we know there are times and many times when even a man and a woman or a husband and a wife can be in a relationship and that conception does not take place. This is a visitation of God taking place at the sovereign pleasure of God alone. But let's move on now. We have seen that God and conception, conception is an act of the sovereign God. But secondly, God and his image in man. God and his image in man. What is conceived is a human being. Precious to God and expects care and protection surely. And so we break that down in a few points. One, it is God's image. Genesis 1, 26, then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. And verse 27 says, so God created man in his image, in the image of God he created. Male and female, he created them. This image of God in man is that moral likeness that we have of God, so that we have a conscience with us, a conscience to know what is right, what is wrong. We have this capacity to love, to relate. That is why when a woman is involved in the process of abortion, I remember my son telling me that, Dad, my, A friend of mine came to me and telling me they were quite agitated because this young man with his boyfriend were contemplating going for the girl to a boat and they were panicking. And so they come and ask my son, you know, for advice. Of course, my son, you can guess what he told them, but then they disappeared from him and Weeks or months later, I think weeks later, they came back to tell my son that yes, they did it. But even then, their conscience was bothering them. Friends, what is conceived is a human being. You know, that's why I mentioned in the law of Kenya that life begins at conception. And then, or therefore, when a woman decides to remove that, to abort, conscience bothers her because she knows she's doing what is not right to do. what is conceived is a human being. And this we see in the scriptures in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 1 verse 20, Hannah conceived and bore a son. Later on in chapter 2 verse 21, Hannah again, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Even that passage that we, many of us know so well, Psalm 51 verse five, and send it my mother conceive me, David could say, a human being was conceived. Life begins at conception. Not three days later, not seven days later, or seven years later. And so my friends, It is God's image. It's a human being that is born, and that human being requires care and protection. I found it quite fascinating in preparation, just to learn something about how a womb is structured. And it has three layers, very interestingly, as to their structure and their purpose. Perimetrium is the first layer of a woman's womb, and we are told this is a thin lining connecting the uterus and the body lining. Perimetrium. But then the second one is called myeloma. Matrium, myometrium. And what about it? We are told it's such an important part of the womb and it provides those muscles for contraction needed during the childbirth. And then the last layer, Acetua, is Endometrium, which contains glands that through this gland's placenta is formed, which supplies oxygen and nutrition to the baby. It's amazing what God did in ladies. Amazing. So that God makes sure that there is protection from danger, there is provision for food and even there is a way so that the waste is removed and therefore no infection will reach this baby. Amazing. Dear friends, a baby in the womb is protected. It's not a disease that should be removed through abortion. But also I want to say conception presupposes responsibility. When we read in the scriptures, in the Old Testament, we see that a pregnant woman enjoyed protection. In Exodus chapter 21, you write it down, you look at it later, Exodus 21 verse 22 to 25, two men are fighting for whatever reason and a woman comes and in the process she's knocked, a pregnant woman. And if she miscarries, then the husband of that woman can demand whatever he wants from that man. Of course, there will be then the judges who would say, okay, your demand is too high. No, we can lower it down to so much. But the point is now, the husband has the right to say, because of the miscarriage now of my wife, the injuries she has faced and the miscarriage itself, this man should pay so much. But should death also occur, then my friend, it is, the Bible goes on to say, eye for eye, foot for foot. Actually, capital punishment is what is prescribed there. And so God cares for babies in the womb. And God expects such pregnancies to follow some responsibilities. You know, children are a gift of the Lord. They need to be cared for, need to be nourished and protected. Of course, Psalm chapter 127 verse three. Let me now spend the remaining few minutes, time is not on our side, but let me spend the remaining few minutes to deal with some very important matters. And these are the three matters I want us to deal with. One, God and murderers of babies. And then we will deal with God and murdered babies. And then finally, I just want to say, what is the church's duty in this matter of abortion? God and murderers of babies. God condemns those who murder. Exodus chapter 20 verse 13 says, you shall not murder. And if you shed a man's blood, Genesis chapter 9 verse 6, you shed a man's blood, yours will be shed. A life for a life. That's capital punishment. Why is human life valued so high? Why is God so tough in his word about human life? Friends, it's because man is made in the image of God. That's why. He's special. And that's why, by the way, David was able to say, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139 verse 14. Therefore to murder a human being is to murder that which is most like God. It is to attack God himself. And by the way, capital punishment is clearly also taught, I say clearly, but it's taught there in the New Testament. One time when Peter, and I think I'm very near there, when Peter, got really worked up and in his desire to defend the Lord Jesus, drew out his sword and wielded it to cut the head of this person. I'm reading Matthew chapter 26 verse 51. It says this, and suddenly one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. His aim was to chop off the head, but somehow the man ducked and the ear was gone. Verse 52, Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." He's not just making a prophecy, he's actually stating what is capital punishment. You take a person's life, your life will be taken. And later on in the book of Acts chapter 25 also, we find this brought out by Paul before Felix, where Paul says, listen, honestly, if I'm found guilty of some terrible crimes I've done, I do not refuse to die. And there he's really saying, it's life for life. If I've been found, I've done something that is worth my life, let me die. God hates shedding of innocent blood. And so, when you, when anyone sheds innocent blood, you meet with God's full wrath. Every abortion leaves behind blood as it were on the ground, crying out to God, every abortion. And Cain knew that. And that truth has not died yet. Let's now spend some time, a few minutes, to look at this thought. God and murdered babies. I do confess this has been the hardest part of my preparation. Going through so many sites on the internet and listening to various YouTube videos, not hard. But having to deal now with God and murdered babies, I found that hard. Very hard, my friends. What does God do with all these millions of babies that their lives have been cut short? Put it differently and to the point. Do all aborted babies, and those who die in infancy, do all these aborted babies have an automatic ticket to heaven? And I want you to think about that. There are two views. One view is, and held by people I respect, people who I labored and wept and prayed and I said well Lord I just have to bring your word according to the scriptures and may the Lord make use of what I will have to say otherwise people who I respect and you respect you know them one name that I know many of you respect and know so dearly is Dr. John MacArthur. He holds the view that all aborted babies are just there in heaven now. All who die in infancy, and of course there are many other names. Their argument is that, well, God cares for his helpless creatures. God requires punishment for any who causes harm to babies. And then they usually, of course, make reference to the passage in 2 Samuel, where in chapter 12 verse 23, David having sinned against Uriah by having a child with Bathsheba, then the child dies. And then, of course, David basically says, okay, is gone and where he's gone I cannot go. I will go, basically. And so that I too will go, these people conclude Where has such a young child gone? Where their father, but a father who loves and fears the Lord will also go because that one will not come back. Therefore, that place must be heaven. And so all babies born, aborted, are in heaven. And friends, I found that herd. I found that herd. It's emotional. Remember, we are dealing with millions of children. But is that what we should conclude from here? Then of course, to back it up, they say, now listen, what condemns people to hell? It is refusing to believe in the Lord Jesus to be saved. That's what condemns people to hell. But these children have not rejected Him as Savior. Now that sounds quite, almost watertight. But surely, are we doing justice to God's word? And I want to make a contribution. Remember, when I've given you the name, Dr. John McArthur, and who am I standing here, Naftali Ugalo from Kenya, where is that place? And he said he's from Eldoret. Where is Eldoret? He's hardly in the map. But friends, when you think of these And please, I'm not a hater of babies, no. But it's just looking at this matter, I want to say no, I must stand against that doctor and many other theologians on this point. I say no. because the belief in that, this automatic entrance into heaven for those who die young or are aborted, this belief, my friend, would destabilize the whole basis of salvation. And that is my worry. Then the gospel will be taken, the strength of the gospel, the uniqueness of the gospel will be gone. If I believe that, then I don't think I am giving a balanced teaching of God's word on this matter. And surely to hang on and with all due respect, but to say, I shall go means my baby has gone to heaven. I therefore will go to him in heaven. No, if you want to use other passages, but surely it is not that. This surely means I also will go. I will die. I said it would be bumpy. We need to go through it. I feel that when we look at the doctrine of salvation, then it would be hard for us just to give a sweeping statement to say, aborted heaven, aborted heaven. That is not really the case according to what I see in the scriptures. You know why? In terms of the doctrine of salvation, salvation is absolutely essential to enter heaven. Those who will be saved, my friends, are the elect ones. Now, I know the argument also goes that, you know, what about the elect babies? Please, I'm doing it with all due respect, but what about among those who would have been elect among the aborted babies? But surely, surely, election is not an end in itself. The scriptures would teach us that it is election unto. And so when we read 1 Peter 1.2, you can note it down, but I see in Ephesians 1, a passage that many of us know, Ephesians 1.4. Ephesians 1.4 says, just as He elected us or chose us in Him, why? Before the foundation of the world to this end, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. And we know those who are elect, not because there's a sign on their foreheads that they are elect. No, but we know they're elect, why? Because then they get to hear the gospel preached and they get regenerated or born again. And what then is the outcome? They believe and they live godly lives before their God. And so I want to present my case biblically that there is no automatic entrance into heaven for aborted babies just like that. I said it is emotional. I don't find it easy. Going against those who know the scriptures many times better than I am. I'm sorry I tried to wriggle out from this topic and my good brother told me, no, we got the right man. And so here I am. Well, but friends, I present that to you. You see, the election, the election is something that a number of other passages bring out this way. If you look at 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 1, 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4, excuse me. Knowing, brethren, your election by God. How could Paul know the election of the Thessalonians? But he goes on to explain, our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we lived among you for your sake. And he goes on to say, and you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy. of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all. You see, these people are elected. How do we know that? Well, they heard the gospel. It came upon them with power. It changed their lives. They were willing to suffer and live for God's glory. Well, and many other passages you write down, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. Friends, we all, please be assured, I love babies. We all love babies. We love pregnant women and give them respect. But that emotion we have towards babies should nonetheless not make us then bring out teachings and lead people on things which are otherwise overbought. God is not as emotional as we are. But then, it's not only the doctrine of salvation, but surely being conceived in sin. And who got it right? David! Of all people, David understood the fact that we are conceived in sin. Psalm 51. I'd spared it up to now, but Psalm 51, verse five, many of you know it. You can note it down, but verse five says this. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. David is announcing that. And really, David is clearly teaching us there, and even in other passage, you can turn to Ephesians 2 verse 1, God treats us not in terms of age, but in status. And that's why in Ephesians chapter two, verse one, we are being described as people who once were dead and our situation only changed in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse one says, and you, he made alive who were dead in trespasses unseen. We did not become dead when we got to seven, eight, or nine years. Spiritually dead from conception. David understood this all through, by the way. Later on, he would say, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. I have to cut off some other things. Let me just say this. Someone has said it, and it's true, any child who enters heaven does so only if he has been elected, yes, and has heard in his tender years, been born again, you know, through the gospel, so that he's able to go to heaven. Well, to be born again, my friends, follows the fast and the natural birth. To be born again comes about when one has heard the gospel, then believes and is saved. And then I therefore can only say that aborted babies have been denied this necessary opportunity for them to be able to live to reach a stage where they could hear the gospel preached so that they may enter heaven. Now, let me say this. Of course, our good friend, the doctor, had indicated that really what sends people to hell is refusing to believe to be saved. But I want to say no there. I say no. That is false. We go to hell, or people go to hell for the inborn state of sin that causes the daily sins. What am I talking about there? We are all, because we, from conception we are sinners, we then otherwise would be just candidates for hell. and we live longer and we get born and we begin to grow, what do we manifest naturally? Stubborn hearts. Activities and lives of sin. But of course, by God's grace, my friends, when grace comes, then our lives get changed because our hearts get changed. Someone has said, by nature, we all would turn out to be like Hitler's. but by grace, then we turn out to be like spudgeon. And that is by God's grace. That is God's grace. By the way, that is why the Lord Jesus Christ died. He died that we now may have a new life. You ask yourself, that point you have labored so hard, so emotionally? I mean, how does that help us with the abortion matter? Just this, just this. This matter, my friend, underscores, underlines, in red, the horror of abortion. To me, this is very sad. Abortionists are cutting short lives of those who otherwise would have lived and have had opportunity to hear the gospel preached, that gospel which alone would have allowed them to enter heaven when they are saved. These abortionists are cutting their lives short from that. And that's why we read that passage in Matthew. These people are behaving like the Pharisees of Jesus' day. And what were they doing? These people, the Bible tells us, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. I say this all due respect for whoever they are, but abortionists are hindering people from ultimately having opportunity to hear the gospel. God's woe is upon them. That is why it is so sad. Many are then dying without the gospel and these people who are preventing them may achieve the highest in their career, but God's woe is upon them. God's judgment is set up for them. Anyone, anyone involved in this abortion business, God's judgment hangs upon them. My friend, because you have not, or I can just change that again, Why are we here alive today? Why were we not aborted? Now you may say, our day, that abortion was not true. But why? Why were you allowed to live? It's to the end that you may hear the gospel, that you may be saved. And by the way, if you are here and you're not saved, see it in the light of these millions being aborted. They failed to get opportunity to hear the gospel. But you hear the gospel. Why? What's the aim of the gospel? To the end that you may believe, you may turn and trust in the Lord Jesus and be saved. And let me just say this and I'm done. What is the church's duty in this matter of abortion? What can we do? It's so greasy. Millions have died and millions are dying. And you know, as I had said earlier, if Democrats then remain in power in the US, then the point is they'll put even greater pressure against those who are objecting to abortion. And the church in America and what happens in America affects the rest of us. So what can we do as a church, as believers in our various churches? Quickly, I have these three things, not strange, you know them, but these three things surely should grip us. One, preach the gospel, urgent gospel to all. Well, but you're talking about abortion. If you're talking about preaching, preach to women. The rest of us are safe. Reach it to all. Why? These women, of course, need the gospel. Dear women who are here and women who are away and when we go back we will meet them. Friends, let us tell them their body is not their own. They need to repent of the misuse they have had with their bodies. The body belonged to God. They need to repent, those who have been involved in abortion. And women need to hear this. But men need to hear this too. It takes two to tangle. Women do not get pregnant anyhow out there, no. Some man has been involved. There's 55 million per year. 55 million have been indulged in some sexual relationship with women, usually illegally. wrongfully. Men need to hear this gospel urgently. And if you are here as a man, you know you've been involved in this kind of a matter, sex out of marriage, before marriage or extramarital sexual relationship, you know then my friends, you better know that maybe that pregnancy they have ended up in abortion. So you contributed to one more person being denied opportunity to hear the gospel which could save their souls. But let me say this, no sin is too grievous. No sin is too much that you may be here and saying, I should have known that earlier, but now it's too late. No sin is too much that the Lord cannot forgive. And therefore you repent and you will be forgiven. Even the sin of murder of babies, helpless babies. So preach this gospel to all. Repentance is urgently needed. And then let me rush and say this in the second place. Give assurance and give warning. Give assurance and give warning. Let's start with the warning. Warn pregnant women and girls never to abort. Warn them please. My son tried it with these two young people, but they disappeared. And the next time they appeared, they had done it, but their conscience was bothering them. Warn women and girls not to abort. It is murder. They will live with guilt for the rest of their lives. Warn them, but my friends, Assure them. Assure them that if they carry that pregnancy to the end, then someone can actually adopt that child. Yes, there is adoption. I could say more, but I hurry to my last point. My last point is this. Let us engage boys and girls, young people, young men and women. Let us engage them in wholesome, wholesome activities in the context of the church. Let's do this for our young people in our churches. Why? So that their energy will be spent for God. and so that they can learn that this boy or this girl, this is my sister, this is my brother, not a sex object as is so often is the case. So let's make sure we engage our young people in wholesome activities, as many as possible. And dear friends, let's be involved alongside them. They will grow knowing that we have interest in them, rather than when we leave them and they're all in the internet, and nowadays just in your finger and you have it all there, and pornography and all other horrible, illicit videos. And then what happens? Young men get enflamed and want as quickly as they can to relieve their sexual emotion. And what happens to that young girl? They don't know, they don't care. In fact, they move to another place and abortion is going to take place. We need to be proactive, not pro-choice, but proactive and help our young people. Ah, my friends. Let us not just talk of safe abortion, let's talk of godly living that comes by the gospel preaching. Why are you alive today? Why are you alive today? That you may hear the gospel and be saved and go to heaven. Friends, if you're not saved, then I ask, why are you not saved? Why are you not saved? I want you to look. I want to really plead with you. Look to him. Look to another, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was not aborted. Yes, Mary carried him in the womb nine months, safely delivered. But then he died. He died a horrible death. Why did he die? He died. that we who are sinners, who are dead in sin, may live. Friends, there is hope. I know it's been not a very exciting topic, very emotional topic, but it's something that should return us to the gospel, that we be faithful in ministering to our people. Let us pray. Oh Lord, our God, these are hard things. On the one hand, millions of lives are lost. Millions of lives are deprived of opportunity to then hear the gospel. Lord, there is so much that we could still continue to say. We just pray that you have spared our lives. We are where we are today. Not just because our days' abortion was not there as it were. Lord, you had a purpose for us that we may hear the gospel and be saved. This, Lord, must be our urgent prayer that no abortion may take place, that no Pregnancies that so-called unwanted may take place, but Lord, should such pregnancies happen, may none of our people, Lord, be involved in abortion. Help us to help our young people, our young girls and ladies to make sure that such a situation is handled and we show them love and concern that such babies then can be adopted Ah, but we pray, help us to be urgent with the gospel. Because we live at a time when our young people are facing serious problems. Lord, hear us. Please bless these words for our souls. Be with us now as in a short while we will part from here. Give us opportunity to discuss these things to the glory of your name. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.