Psalm 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Today is marked as “Remembrance Day” on our calendars. It was a day that began as “Armistice Day. It was the result of the Armistice that was signed on Monday, November 11, 1918 at 5:00 am. At that time, Germany and the Allied Forces gathered in Paris to set the terms for the ceasefire that went into effect at the 11th hour of the same day. A year later, in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson established the first commemoration of Armistice Day in remembrance of those who died in WWI. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill to expand Armistice Day to include a remembrance of all American veterans.
The agreement signed in 1918, did not end all wars. The expansion of that memorial in 1954 did not end all wars either. There is something going on that is much deeper than what those who signed these agreements understood.
The Bible declares that God is the Author of true peace. Unless a person knows the true God, he cannot know His peace. Adam and Eve knew God’s peace for a short time in their lives. They soon chose to reject that perfect peace and chose to try to invent their own peace. They failed miserably. Their son, Cain also rejected God’s peace and his descendants could not find peace either. Abel knew the peace of God in his heart. The war that took place between Cain and Abel was Cain’s fault, not Abel’s. Many people wrongly assume that if we would get rid of religion, we could live in peace. Religion is simply a form of belief. Everyone has a form of belief. The world tries to find peace through compromise. History shows us that this has been an exercise in futility. Interestingly, due to the stubbornness of man, every generation still insists in finding peace on its own terms.
God has been merciful and given every generation access to His truth. In every generation, He has had a few godly individuals to proclaim His truth to society. In the Old Testament, God’s primary means of proclaiming His truth was designed to be the nation of Israel. Sadly, the nation of Israel did not appreciate God’s peace and thus they could not find peace within their own boundaries, nor outside their nation.
Jesus Christ came unto His own and His own received Him not. The nation of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Saviour. As the result of this rejection on their part, God implemented the next phase of His plan. He established the church upon the Lord Jesus Christ. This church is not a universal church. As we see in the Bible, the first church was in Jerusalem, but due to the rejection of the truth by the majority of the people in Jerusalem, the centre for the true churches moved to Antioch. God directed the apostles to go into all the world and establish churches in many different places. This command was not just for the apostles, but is important for others in every generation. Ephesians 4:11 tells us that God uses apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to establish true churches everywhere. The apostles and prophets are found in the Word of God. There are no living apostles and prophets today.
There are evangelists who work in their home country and also travel abroad to help establish true churches. Pastors need to be appointed to lead a local church in the way of God’s Word. Pastors also need to be teachers. A pastor needs to know how to preach the Word of God. He also needs to be able to teach the Word of God. The true local church is the most essential place in a community. It is of greater importance than anything else. The true local church is not built on compromise, but rather, is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is not divided. He has given us His Word. We can know how to walk and what to believe.
In our world, this is scoffed at. However, as we read in our verse, without a right foundation, nothing else will last. We have witnessed this in our world.
Today we read of doctors and nurses who are in court trying to defend their right to believe the truth regarding the shots and the virus. There are also pastors who still have tickets that were written in defiance of the truth of God. The government, the medical establishment and the courts have agreed to prosecute those who hold to the truth.
After the second world war, the world agreed to what became known as the “Nuremberg Code”. This code was established to protect the citizens of the world from any government being able to use human beings as guinea pigs. Hitler had used Jews and others as guinea pigs to test drugs on. Many died due to the experiments conducted on them.
I believe many soldiers who died seeking to defend our country from the tyranny of Hitler, would be deeply saddened to see the present state of our governments in Canada. Many soldiers died seeking to defeat the dictatorship of Hitler. Yet today, many are embracing a dictatorship in our own country.
We see history repeating itself because we have refused to build upon the true foundation of the LORD. Jesus stated it this way:
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
We see that the wise person builds his life on the rock. The rock is Jesus Christ. Those who build their lives upon the Lord Jesus Christ have everlasting life. This gift of everlasting life influences their decisions in this present life. It helps them to make wise decisions. Those who build their lives on the Lord Jesus Christ have the privilege of helping others to see the importance of building on the truth as well. They do not just talk about the Lord. They also demonstrate the blessings of building upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is a good thing to remember the sacrifices that others have made. It is important to remember why men and women would be willing to leave the opportunity to purchase a house or buy a farm or work in some legitimate occupation and would give their lives to learn how to shoot a gun and fly an airplane that would be used to stop someone they deemed to be unjustly aggressive. We know that man’s reasoning is not always just. We know that not all wars have been fought for just causes. I believe that Hitler was an unjust and extremely aggressive ruler whose intent was to mould every person into his way of thinking. He was not the only aggressive and power hungry person in Germany at that time. His “gestapo” were equally aggressive and unjust. His soldiers joined his war effort and many died for his cause.
Sadly, today we can observe members of Parliament who assume they know what is best for the rest of the country. They do not listen to the voice of opposition. They plow ahead with their agenda, assuming they are of superior intelligence to the rest of society and they must force their beliefs upon the “ignorant”.
It has been reported that at today’s official Remembrance Day observances, there is to be no prayer given. From what I understand this includes pagan prayers and legitimate prayers to the true and living God. A God-fearing man who has the opportunity to lead in a public Remembrance Day event today would not adhere to that ungodly dictate. He has a higher authority than that of a godless system. The removal of the true God from all public activities is not the answer to the divisions in our country today. It is not the answer to the current wars being fought.
As we have stated, no person can know true justice until they are first of all “born again” of the Spirit of God. The “new birth” is a spiritual work that only God can do. The Bible declares that the born again person has been changed from his heart outward. He needs to grow and continue to cast off his past ungodly philosophies. He can and he will do that because of the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. The Word of God is his authority and the God of the Word will chasten His child when He needs to.
True Biblical Christianity is still the answer to man’s troubles today. True Biblical Christianity is worth “fighting” for today according to Ephesians 6. It will never be achieved with guns and bombs. It is advanced through the genuine hearing of the true Word of God.
On this day that is called “Remembrance Day”, it would be wise for those who are truly born again, to reflect on their own walk with God and be sure they are growing in Him according to His Word. Then also encourage others to know this One and only God for their salvation and hope as well.
Pastor Bartel
