| Know
the saying: “The truth will make you free”? It’s been rightly said
that though the truth can make you free, often before it makes you
free, it makes you mad! Ain’t that the truth?! Truth is like a knife
that divides and separates. It draws a line, a very thin, but distinct
line, making very apparent to all which side of the line we are
on. That is an uncomfortable thing for most people. Truth is a hard
thing for most people to handle; yet it is needed, desperately needed,
like a fresh gulp of air when you’ve been under water too long.
It’s the difference between staying alert or fading off into unconsciousness,
followed by death.
History
is a cool thing. The more I learn of history, the more I appreciate
the freedoms and comforts I enjoy, because I have come to know that
it came with a high price tag that someone else was willing to pay.
Their willingness to stand for truth has made us free.
Truth is a powerful thing. Back in the 15th and 16th centuries,
there was an incredible bunch of men called the “Knights of St.
John.” They were monks who, because of the times, were forced to
become warriors in their stand for truth. What warriors they became!
They came from different countries; England, Spain, Italy and France,
and though their own nations were fighting amongst themselves, these
warriors banded together in unity to fight a common enemy - Islam.
While their homelands were too busy with internal strife, overly
occupied with high society parties and political power struggles,
these gallant men were the only thing keeping the entire Ottoman
empire from sweeping through western Europe like a freight train.
TRUTH
IS LIKE A KNIFE
THAT DIVIDES AND SEPARATES.
Their
first stand was on the tiny island of Rhodes, situated in the Aegean
Sea, and then finally on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.
Both islands were situated precariously within Muslim shipping lanes.
The Knights began to sink Muslim ships, cutting off their supply
lines, thus making it impossible for the Turks to sweep into Europe
until they took out this handful of pesky monks. In a period of
over 200 years, these Knights stood time and time again against
the most powerful armies known to that day - and they defeated them!
They were held under siege, sometimes up to 6 months at a time under
a bombardment of up to 1,000 cannon balls a day and always outnumbered
at least a hundred to one; and they prevailed! There were never
more than 600 knights at a given time, standing against an army
numbering in the hundreds of thousands! Among this innumerable army
were thousands of Iayalars (those who sought death in a jihad).
Each Knight had sworn that they would never give up one inch of
ground to a false belief. They had sworn themselves, whether in
life or death, to stand for truth. And stand they did! During one
of the battles of Rhodes, after the Muslims daily pounded the castle
walls with cannon balls (some as large as 9 ft. in circumference)
for over a month, a breach was made in the walls and thousands of
Turks poured into it. The castle was overrun and the Knights were
fighting a hopeless battle.
FREEDOM
IS AN AWESOME THING, AND
BECAUSE
IT’S VALUE IS SO HIGH,
IT’S
COST IS GREAT.
D’Abusson,
who was grand master of the knights at that time, had an arrow in
his thigh, four other wounds besides, and a spear thrust through
his breastplate that punctured his lung. He was held up by 3 bearers
in shining armor on the last remaining parapet. With the defeat
of the knights obvious to both sides, suddenly this huge Muslim
army became gripped with terror and ran! Looking up and seeing d’Abusson,
it was as if they were seeing a god or something-----and it was
in reality, only one wounded man being held up by 3 others! Because
they stood for truth, God stood with them doing the miraculous and
Europe remained free. We are free because of them! Other men have
lived and given their lives for truth, and because of that, we have
remained free. Freedom is an awesome thing, and because it’s value
is so high, it’s cost is great.
WILL
GOD'S PEOPLE HAVE THE BACKBONE
TO
STAND FOR WHAT IS RIGHT AND TRUE.....
History
is repeating itself. Over 500 years have passed since a handful
of those awesome men paid such a price, as few have ever known,
to keep the world free. Now the same conflict is again upon us.
While there are those who are too concerned with personal comfort,
and others jockeying for personal political power, the enemy stands
at the gates. Will America arise and stand for truth? Does she have
within her ranks the strength of that WWII generation? Will God’s
people have the backbone to stand for what is right and true, even
if many of America’s churches have preachers behind the pulpits
who are afraid of saying anything that might “rock the boat” or
cost them their jobs? Truth is a fearful thing, and there is a growing
hatred for it in the ranks of churches, the news media, and main
stream society as well. To stand boldly for truth these days will
come with a price. But it MUST be paid if we, and others, are to
remain free. Are we willing to pay it?
MIRACLES
HAPPEN WHEN
SOMEONE
STANDING FOR TRUTH
MUST
HAVE A MIRACLE TO REMAIN STANDING!
Ibelieve
there are a few more still in our ranks like Pat Tillman who walked
away from a multi- million dollar contract with the AZ Cardinals
to become an Army Ranger and fight for freedom. He was not only
willing to give up millions-----he gave his life! I believe that
God still has his “7,000” that have not bowed the knee to Baal.
They’ve been hidden by God, and at the right moment He will bring
them to the forefront. I believe that God has an end time army of
men, women, and children who have already made the decision to “follow
the Lamb where ever He goes”-----even unto death. We, as God’s people,
have long desired to see the miraculous, but what we’ve often missed
is the fact that miracles don’t happen for our entertainment. Miracles
happen when someone standing for truth MUST have a miracle to remain
standing! I believe that God is preparing “heroes” for the task
at hand. Anyone with the morals of an alley cat can flash their
body on national television, but to lay down our lives for the truth
so that others can be free...now that is the stuff heroes are made
of!
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