Coming up higher is not a metaphor, or a figure of speech! This is a real, living experience. I don’t want to go there today because it would take too long for the time we have left, but in a couple of weeks, we will talk about living in the presence of the Lord. That is something that Della and I have experienced in time past with unbelievable but tangible results. Consider how John experienced the kind of revelation that opened up whole new dimensions to him.

Bill and Gloria Gaither have written a song that the Gaither Vocal Band has released on their latest CD, titled, “Praise God, I’m a Child of the King.” The second line to the song is, “And His royal blood now flows in my veins.” That’s a revelation that seems to escape most of us. The truth of that phrase is that it is the very life blood of the Lord that flows in us, and with that life blood comes the very character, nature and essence of Who He is. With that essence comes a level of inheritance in Heaven that incorporates the authority and power.

Let’s wrap up this discussion on liberals and conservatives today. Next week we will get into a prophetic message that comes out of two experiences I had with the audible voice of the Lord a few weeks ago. It's been awhile since I've had such a volume of responses to a short series of Coffee Breaks, but these articles on being "liberal" have provoked a series of comments that run the gamut. Some people have gotten irritated -- maybe downright angry -- that I would highlight the fact that Jesus -- and all true Christian believers -- are in fact "liberals" and not "conservatives." Others treat this as humorous, and some treat it as "tongue-in-cheek."

Today we begin our discussion with a brief history of the life of Alexander Hamilton. The details of his life and his involvement in the formation of our early government are so voluminous that it would take many Coffee Breaks to recount, so I offer you the following. We’ve already mentioned him and talked about some of his influence with our nation’s founding, but let’s get a little more specific today. For a man who had such a short life with such questionable beginnings, Alexander Hamilton used his life to literally change the world of his day and influence the world economy even to the present.

We continue today with our discourse on Daniel Webster and his history. As noted last week, few names are more discussed or mentioned in today’s discussions than that of Daniel Webster. Losing a race in 1836 for the Presidency on the Whig ticket, he nonetheless gained more in national prominence, and when William Henry Harrison ran for President in 1840, he was offered the position of Vice-President. He declined with a dry but humorous phrase he would use again eight years later when Zachary Taylor ran for Presidency, "I do not propose to be buried until I am dead." 

Today we will talk briefly about Abraham Lincoln; and then we will -- over the next few discussions -- delve into the process that has unfolded over the past 50 years or so in which our covenantal rights as Americans have been stolen, and the emerging reversal of that process which has taken place in the past few years. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1861 - 1865), has been both praised and vilified: either as one of the greatest presidents this nation has ever had, or as one of the worst -- all subject, of course, to the biases of those praising or criticizing.

I’m going to run a little long today but I want to finish up with our abbreviated history of one of the most significant founding fathers, George Mason. In May of 1776, George Mason wrote, "All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights .... among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." His statement became part and parcel of the Virginia Constitution. It was a mere two months later that Thomas Jefferson cribbed from Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights while writing the Declaration of Independence. Many historians have suggested that Jefferson's version was not an improvement on Mason's.

The spirit of condemnation is one that pursues every woman who has ever had an abortion. Despite what you see and hear in the media, and the baloney coming out of Hollywood, the overwhelming majority of women who have had abortions also suffer from extreme guilt, from an overwhelming sense of loss and condemnation that they seek to hide from in a wide variety of ways.   Deliverance from both the Spirit of Abortion and the Spirit of Condemnation are an absolute necessity for these women. What sometimes accompanies these spirits is a Spirit of Murder – and the woman who has had the abortion sometimes commits suicide to escape from the guilt that haunts her.

Last week, we talked about responsibility and consequences of choice. One of the things that goes with "a woman's right to choose" is the consequence of that choice. The Spirit of Abortion, of course, always hides the responsibility that goes with choice, and particularly the consequences that follow our choices. The deception for Christians who get contaminated with this same spirit is that they think that because they protest and take a stand against something so obviously hedonistic -- something which so clearly violates the Word of God -- they can avoid the consequences when their protests also violate the laws of the land.

Today, let’s touch on an evil that has beset our generation, and has plagued both our nation and the body of Christ pretty much since shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. With Georgia and Alabama leading the way in the news lately with their efforts to pass legislation essentially blocking all kinds of abortion, no matter the circumstance, and no matter the timing in a woman’s pregnancy, as well as the controversy surrounding the Virgina governor’s statement saying that it was OK to allow a child to come to full birth, then keep it alive, until a decision was made to kill it, the controversy surrounding abortion has taken center stage.   Let’s tackle this subject today from a Scriptural standpoint.