1 00:00:04,820 --> 00:00:09,439 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:09,439 --> 00:00:13,919 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and 3 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:20,260 faith. And today, how do the grounds for our founding fathers dissolving the political 4 00:00:20,260 --> 00:00:25,839 bands which connected them with another, as the Declaration of Independence says, that is with 5 00:00:25,839 --> 00:00:31,820 England, how does that compare with our grounds for doing the same thing with the deep state of 6 00:00:31,820 --> 00:00:38,880 America in our own day? Brother and sister, it is time to move from a deep state of America to the 7 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:44,539 United States of America deep, deep in constitutional principles and our relationship with God. 8 00:00:45,039 --> 00:00:50,619 In weeks previous, we've been looking at the 29 particulars of the Declaration of Independence 9 00:00:50,619 --> 00:00:56,439 that Thomas Jefferson listed as reasons why the American colonists were perfectly justified 10 00:00:56,439 --> 00:01:01,500 in carrying out a revolution against the mother country, England. Now, we have seen 11 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:08,980 how these 29 particulars are eerily parallel to conditions in America today, if not, maybe 12 00:01:08,980 --> 00:01:17,480 worse. The so-called Wuhan China virus is only the most recent acceleration of that tyranny as our 13 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,799 constitutional liberty to practice our religion, speak freely, peaceably, assemble as a church 14 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:27,859 congregation and petition our government for redress of grievance. That's a summary of the 15 00:01:27,859 --> 00:01:34,920 First Amendment. All of this has been abridged in one fell swoop. The draconian measure to lock down 16 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:41,859 America is urged upon us because of medical necessity. We must do this to protect, to keep safe the American 17 00:01:41,859 --> 00:01:48,400 public. It's only temporary, but it's necessary for the moment. But remember what William Pitt, that great 18 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:54,459 British statesman and parliamentarian, said. He said, necessity is the plea for every infringement of human 19 00:01:54,459 --> 00:02:02,219 liberty. It is the plea of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves. You're no safer at the end of this period of 20 00:02:02,219 --> 00:02:08,879 lockdown, are you, than you were at the beginning? For anyone who yet subscribes to the efficacy of the 21 00:02:08,879 --> 00:02:16,719 measures being imposed upon us by your state and federal governments, I urge you to begin by screening a 22 00:02:16,719 --> 00:02:23,900 video, a news conference by Dr. Erickson, COVID-19 briefing. And you're going to find this 23 00:02:23,900 --> 00:02:30,800 then on DuckDuckGo. It was on YouTube, but YouTube has since taken it down because it is so challenging 24 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,599 to the establishment and to the present way of doing things. But I urge you, write this down, look up on 25 00:02:36,599 --> 00:02:42,620 DuckDuckGo. There they still have it posted as of yesterday anyway. Dr. Erickson, and his name is spelled 26 00:02:42,620 --> 00:02:52,520 E-R-I-C-K-S-O-N. Dr. Erickson, excuse me, COVID-19 briefing. And you'll find that on DuckDuckGo. That 27 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:58,199 should still be up. But I'll not go into all the details here, since this is not my bailiwick, but it 28 00:02:58,199 --> 00:03:04,400 is that of Dr. Erickson's. But what is apparent is that we are less free than we were when this scare 29 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:11,479 began. Step by step, increment by increment, your liberty will be increasingly restricted now that you've 30 00:03:11,479 --> 00:03:17,460 proven yourself so compliant in this phase of operations, dear sheep. Do you think things 31 00:03:17,460 --> 00:03:23,479 will return to normal? Oh, just about the time that the present lockdown is lifted in three gradual 32 00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:29,479 stages, the old virus will return, or a new, deadlier pestilence will appear, or some other 33 00:03:29,479 --> 00:03:35,620 crisis of necessity will fall upon us, necessitating another lockdown or severe restrictions of our 34 00:03:35,620 --> 00:03:40,479 liberties. You don't need to be a prophet or the son of a prophet to see these things coming. 35 00:03:40,479 --> 00:03:45,639 Again, just when you thought you were safe and things were returning to normal, right? We'll 36 00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:52,879 see all of this again. We are no safer, but we are less free. Our experience with the stampede 37 00:03:52,879 --> 00:04:00,520 panic created by our government only proves Ben Franklin's dictum. And he said, those who would 38 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:06,800 give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. 39 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:12,719 America, at this rate, by our performance in this crisis, we deserve neither liberty nor safety, 40 00:04:12,900 --> 00:04:20,560 and we will have neither in the future because of our bovine compliance. King George III would have 41 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,319 loved to have the present population of America back in 1776 rather than the one he had. 42 00:04:26,319 --> 00:04:33,339 The colonies rebelled against a 3% tax on tea. We blithely put up with over 40% tax on our income, 43 00:04:33,339 --> 00:04:39,800 conservatively 40% by the time all the hidden taxes are factored. The colonists rebelled because King 44 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:46,579 George restricted immigration of free Englishmen who cherished liberty. And we calmly allow untold 45 00:04:46,579 --> 00:04:52,860 millions of illegal immigrants to flood our shores who have no interest, no conception of what liberty is. 46 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:59,519 We saw, when we looked at this issue, we saw how the tactics were different, but the goal was the 47 00:04:59,519 --> 00:05:08,019 same, to destroy the kernel of free, self-aware citizens who prized principal liberty. Our founding 48 00:05:08,019 --> 00:05:13,439 fathers rebelled when the King broke up town hall meetings, established the Church of England in the 49 00:05:13,439 --> 00:05:19,439 colonies, and smashed the printing presses of papers who criticized them. We obediently shut up and do as 50 00:05:19,439 --> 00:05:25,660 we're told, when media is banned or censored, when churches and services are closed as non-essential, 51 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,920 and our gatherings are broken up despite peaceably assembling. What King George III could have done 52 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:38,620 with a brainwashed herd that is 21st century America. He would have had a circus day, milking us for all he 53 00:05:38,620 --> 00:05:44,079 could, ordering us to shut up and shut down, eating and drinking what we tell you, and line up for your 54 00:05:44,079 --> 00:05:50,899 vaccines. Liberty would have been left to another generation, if at all in those days, if he had us. 55 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:56,600 And it might well be, excuse me, that if our generation had existed under King George, we might 56 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:04,420 still be an abject slavish colony yet today. But thank God that was not the case under our founding 57 00:06:04,420 --> 00:06:11,939 fathers. As facts submitted to a candid world, as Jefferson put it in the Declaration, the Declaration of 58 00:06:11,939 --> 00:06:17,980 Independence laid out 29 particulars as a brief summation of a long train of abuses and usurpations, 59 00:06:17,980 --> 00:06:26,519 as he put it. And we take up where we left off now at number 19, which reads, for transporting us 60 00:06:26,519 --> 00:06:33,680 beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses. That was a complaint number 19. This was a complete 61 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:39,920 captive change of venue. And we see this effectively done when in many federal cases today, a trial is 62 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:45,439 shopped for a friendly judge to the prosecution. Could be all over the country. Once more, this is 63 00:06:45,439 --> 00:06:50,720 precisely what happened most recently to Roger Stone. Google his trial and you'll see what I'm 64 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:56,639 talking about. Then number 20, for abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 65 00:06:56,639 --> 00:07:03,899 province, establishing therein an arbitrary government and enlarging its boundaries. So as to render it at 66 00:07:03,899 --> 00:07:11,699 once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into those colonies. Ah, yes, 67 00:07:11,860 --> 00:07:18,439 what King George ministers did very cleverly was to arbitrarily enlarge the jurisdiction of a province 68 00:07:18,439 --> 00:07:23,639 in a state friendly to the king, and then enlarge that into the province of another resistant to the 69 00:07:23,639 --> 00:07:29,279 king. And they could then impose the tyranny from the former onto the latter. Now, our federal system 70 00:07:29,279 --> 00:07:35,759 allows for much the same thing. When a federal judge rules in one jurisdiction, it applies in every other 71 00:07:35,759 --> 00:07:41,180 federal jurisdiction across the country. And the attempt to upend President Trump's building of a 72 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:46,899 wall at the southern border is a very good example. When opponents of President Trump find a federal 73 00:07:46,899 --> 00:07:52,220 judge friendly to their case, they file it in whatever venue over which he presides. But it is binding 74 00:07:52,220 --> 00:07:58,560 over the rest of the country too, not just in that judge's jurisdiction. In this manner, the Democrats and 75 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,220 progressives have been effective in at least delaying many of the measures the president has enacted, 76 00:08:03,459 --> 00:08:11,480 regardless of how frivolous or absurd that filing may be constitutionally. Well, 21 and 22 then, 77 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:18,399 taking these two together. For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 78 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,519 and altering fundamentally the forms of our government. And then 22, for suspending our own legislatures 79 00:08:24,519 --> 00:08:30,139 and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 80 00:08:30,879 --> 00:08:38,539 The American colonies were created as legal entities by means of a charter granted by the British crown 81 00:08:38,539 --> 00:08:45,620 to operate under the authority of and benefit to the king. Now, these charters were granted for a 82 00:08:45,620 --> 00:08:52,159 specific period of time to be renewed at the expiration of that fixed period. And as these charters expired under 83 00:08:52,159 --> 00:08:57,559 the reign of King George, he would substantially change the form of government to which the colony 84 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:03,519 may have operated for generations and suspend the laws under which it had enacted and found to be just 85 00:09:03,519 --> 00:09:09,559 and salutary. Otherwise, he threatened the charter would not be renewed. This was one of the reasons the 86 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:15,639 ninth and tenth amendments were created. Amendment number nine says the enumeration in the constitution 87 00:09:15,639 --> 00:09:22,179 of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 88 00:09:22,659 --> 00:09:29,080 And then amendment number 10 says the powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution 89 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:35,600 nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people. 90 00:09:35,860 --> 00:09:41,159 Unquote. Those are amendments number nine and 10. These two amendments, how often have you heard these? 91 00:09:41,159 --> 00:09:49,080 Oh, these two amendments have been entirely ignored in our history. Our form of government has been 92 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:54,919 altered, suspended, and abolished as the complaint of Thomas Jefferson puts it. They have been altered, 93 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:00,220 suspended, and abolished in the course of our history, just as it was under King George for the 94 00:10:00,220 --> 00:10:06,600 colonies. Our founding fathers knew that the people's rights were innumerable, that is without limit. 95 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:13,480 And so the articulation of 10 of them was not meant to deny or disparage the myriad of others 96 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:20,519 that were not specifically named. This is one reason why James Madison was so hesitant to list 97 00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:28,200 only 10 amendments. He was wary of putting even these in the constitution because Madison knew that when 98 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:33,759 it came to the rights of the people, the sky was the limit. They cannot objectively be numbered at the 99 00:10:33,759 --> 00:10:40,139 end of the day. And if that weren't enough, Madison insisted that this qualifier be added in the 100 00:10:40,139 --> 00:10:46,399 10th Amendment, that is, every power not specifically enumerated in the constitution for the federal 101 00:10:46,399 --> 00:10:52,899 government is the prized possession of the states or the sovereign people. We the people, it is the 102 00:10:52,899 --> 00:10:59,799 people that are sovereign in the constitution. The federal government is limited to only those things 103 00:10:59,799 --> 00:11:04,840 specifically granted to it in the constitution. That's the way it used to work and no others. 104 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:12,179 Enumerated powers, not innumerable powers, which the federal government seems to be exercising these 105 00:11:12,179 --> 00:11:19,779 days, right? It cannot go around. The federal government, at least technically, should not be able to go 106 00:11:19,779 --> 00:11:26,220 around sequestering you in your home or saying you can't meet at church or in a restaurant or go for a 107 00:11:26,220 --> 00:11:35,080 walk in the park. Oh, that is way past its mandate. The federal government has no inherent power to 108 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:42,159 dictate education policy as in the National Education Administration or environmental policy like the 109 00:11:42,159 --> 00:11:49,159 Environmental Protection Agency or gather every factoid of personal data on you as the National 110 00:11:49,159 --> 00:11:55,440 Security Agency has done or dictate what you must put into your body like an unknown vaccine cocktail. 111 00:11:56,220 --> 00:12:02,299 Filled with adjuvants, preservatives, stem cells from aborted babies, and God knows only what else. 112 00:12:02,740 --> 00:12:11,299 And that is coming, dear listener, a cocktail vaccine, right? It is the goal of the pandemic paranoia 113 00:12:11,299 --> 00:12:17,120 that's being created by the government. And let me tell you one thing, dear listener, if you trust 114 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:24,519 Bill Gates to punch one of these in your arm, then you are truly a naive, brainwashed Pollyanna. 115 00:12:24,519 --> 00:12:32,639 Now, the federal government has morphed from a strong, noble eagle into a corpulent, cumbersome, 116 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:40,139 vicious dragon. From an eagle to a dragon that now tyrannizes over us. And we like it just fine, 117 00:12:40,259 --> 00:12:46,019 too, don't we? Oh, we are such brainwashed Pollyannas. We just like it so fine. We skip merrily 118 00:12:46,019 --> 00:12:51,820 through the daisies, ignoring the warning signs, content to see only the positives. Your government 119 00:12:51,820 --> 00:12:58,159 loves you. As long as we can have our drugs and devices trusting that they only mean our good in 120 00:12:58,159 --> 00:13:04,460 the government. Investing a trust in government that should only be reserved for God. Instead, 121 00:13:04,820 --> 00:13:10,500 Americans are suspicious of the God of the Bible and implicitly trust the dragon. That is the federal 122 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:19,039 behemoth. Oh, okay. On we go. On we go from sections 23 through 27, because they're all of a group. These 123 00:13:19,039 --> 00:13:26,659 six particulars, 23 through 27. Let me read them for you. He has abdicated government here by declaring us 124 00:13:26,659 --> 00:13:32,860 out of his protection and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, 125 00:13:33,039 --> 00:13:38,340 burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. That was 24, 25. He is at this time 126 00:13:38,340 --> 00:13:44,460 transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and 127 00:13:44,460 --> 00:13:51,679 tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous 128 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:59,179 ages and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. Number 26. He has constrained our fellow 129 00:13:59,179 --> 00:14:05,860 citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of 130 00:14:05,860 --> 00:14:12,620 their friends and brethren, or to follow themselves by their hands. Number 27. He has excited domestic 131 00:14:12,620 --> 00:14:20,460 insurrections among us and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless 132 00:14:20,460 --> 00:14:26,559 Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, 133 00:14:26,559 --> 00:14:37,700 and conditions. Complaints number 23 through 27. Now, these six particulars are sides of one huge tumor. 134 00:14:38,220 --> 00:14:46,000 That is, the king had already in reality declared war on his own colonies. By the time of Lexington and 135 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,919 Concord, which is generally considered to be the start of the revolution, even by them, the king had long 136 00:14:50,919 --> 00:14:56,759 since opened hostilities upon the colonists. He had already burned and plundered cities like 137 00:14:56,759 --> 00:15:02,980 Boston. He had sent in paid mercenaries, that is, like the German Hessians. He had provoked the Indian 138 00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:08,539 tribes on the frontier to terrorize the colonists, and he had even captured merchant marine sailors on 139 00:15:08,539 --> 00:15:13,519 the seas, and he had forced them to serve in the British Navy to fight against their own countrymen. 140 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:20,620 When governments reach this stage, dear listener, becoming active dragons against the very people it is 141 00:15:20,620 --> 00:15:29,580 meant to protect, revolution becomes inevitable. Revolution becomes inevitable, at least for free men it does. 142 00:15:30,519 --> 00:15:39,120 Are we at such a stage yet, dear listener? Ha ha ha. Has our dragon turned on us? Oh, do you feel the 143 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:48,679 heat of that dragon's breath down your neck yet? I sure do. Are we freemen or are we slaves? The dragon is hissing, 144 00:15:48,679 --> 00:15:56,200 isn't he? The dragon is hissing, necessity, necessity. Oh, all this is for your own good, right? All this, 145 00:15:56,279 --> 00:16:04,139 it's only temporary. Oh, once again, what did Pitt say? Necessity is the plea for every infringement of 146 00:16:04,139 --> 00:16:11,279 liberty. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves. Which will we prove ourselves to be, 147 00:16:11,379 --> 00:16:16,759 dear listener? Will we forfeit all that has been given to us, that we've inherited from our 148 00:16:16,759 --> 00:16:24,360 forbearers? Will we be slaves or freemen? Sections 28 and 29. Then let me read those for you. Sections 149 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:33,320 28 and 29. Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from 150 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:43,519 time to time of attempts by the legislature to extend, to extend then. Excuse me, I lost my place 151 00:16:43,519 --> 00:16:48,899 here. Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to 152 00:16:48,899 --> 00:16:55,700 time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded 153 00:16:55,700 --> 00:17:01,019 them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native 154 00:17:01,019 --> 00:17:07,019 justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow 155 00:17:07,019 --> 00:17:11,740 these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connection and correspondence. 156 00:17:12,339 --> 00:17:19,519 They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and to consanguinity. We must therefore acquiesce in the 157 00:17:19,519 --> 00:17:26,099 necessity which denounces our separation and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, 158 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:35,140 in peace. Friends. Oh, yes. The argument for the colonies to declare themselves free states 159 00:17:35,140 --> 00:17:41,619 ends, as it should, with a rehearsal of how they patiently and peacefully sought a redress 160 00:17:41,619 --> 00:17:47,059 for all of these grievances, dear listener, to king, parliament, and people, but all of it was 161 00:17:47,059 --> 00:17:55,460 ignored or contemptuously dismissed. This, of course, is the first avenue of redress. Peaceful, apply, 162 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:01,539 application for redress of grievances. Proverbs 25, 15 says, 163 00:18:01,539 --> 00:18:08,140 with patience, a ruler may be persuaded and a soft tongue will break a bone. That's the power of an 164 00:18:08,140 --> 00:18:14,299 argument. A soft voice with a powerful argument will break a bone, right? For decades now, in our 165 00:18:14,299 --> 00:18:20,599 own time, patriots have patiently tried to persuade our rulers, and that is what they have become, not 166 00:18:20,599 --> 00:18:27,880 servants, but rulers. We have tried to persuade them patiently for the constitution. Many of you 167 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:34,079 have lived this, haven't you? And you've done what you can. I have shelves of books which articulate the 168 00:18:34,079 --> 00:18:39,019 meaning and history and proper place for the constitution, and that is as the supreme law of 169 00:18:39,019 --> 00:18:45,440 the land. Articulate spokesmen and spokeswomen have filled our airwaves on television and radio 170 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:52,480 and cyberspace with programs that do much the same. We have sent liberty-loving patriots to our capitals 171 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:58,240 and state and federal governments to represent us in our legislatures and executive branches who have 172 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:04,440 then in turn appointed constitutional originalists in the court. I have spent personally a good portion 173 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:11,460 of my ministry as a minister patiently establishing the biblical roots of our constitution, a culmination 174 00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:17,720 of millennia of development in redemptive history. That has been a glorious history too, and we have 175 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:24,920 patiently articulated all of these things, have we not? But tyranny has had a life and development 176 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:31,819 track of its own, hasn't it? As it always does, almost seems to be a parallel development, and we are 177 00:19:31,819 --> 00:19:38,420 in the deep, dark tunnel of chaos right now. Who is going to be victorious? Who is going to re-establish 178 00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:45,599 themselves in America? Will it be patriots and liberty, or will it be tyranny? Tyranny has had a life 179 00:19:45,599 --> 00:19:51,099 and development track of its own in American history. As we look back, we see Abraham Lincoln 180 00:19:51,099 --> 00:19:58,859 imposed dictatorial measures. Much of tyranny got into warp drive during Abraham Lincoln's administration, 181 00:19:59,299 --> 00:20:04,680 imposed dictatorial measures he did on the country during the war between the states, and he did it 182 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:11,259 all out of necessity too. What is it? Necessity, right? It's the plea of every infringement of liberty, 183 00:20:11,259 --> 00:20:18,480 and Abraham Lincoln did that. It's the argument of tyrants, and you can make an argument that Abraham 184 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:25,279 Lincoln was, in many respects, a tyrant. He's practically deified in America as Saint Abraham, but he was 185 00:20:25,279 --> 00:20:33,099 not. It is the creed of slaves too, imposed. He did dictatorial measures all out of necessity. He suspended 186 00:20:33,099 --> 00:20:38,259 the writ of habeas corpus. He jailed journalists who disagreed with him, and he imposed the first forced 187 00:20:38,259 --> 00:20:44,880 forced impress of citizens into the army, which, of course, is the draft. And then, tyranny was given 188 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:51,819 a further injection of steroids in World War I under Wilson, and has been metastasizing ever since. 189 00:20:52,619 --> 00:20:58,259 Americans have been complacent and consciously ignorant of their liberties, and their ultimate 190 00:20:58,259 --> 00:21:04,440 source, that ultimate source of our liberties, of course, is our creator, from whom they are endowed 191 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:12,559 inalienably. Instead, we have been lulled by lies. We, in America, have been lulled by lies. We believe 192 00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:18,460 this lie. First of all, number one, wealth comes from government, doesn't it? Oh, wealth is bestowed 193 00:21:18,460 --> 00:21:24,099 on us by government. They print the money, don't they? You didn't make that, as Obama said, right, 194 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:28,079 about your business that you have labored over, sweated over all your life. You didn't make that. Now 195 00:21:28,079 --> 00:21:33,779 it's gone forfeit in this so-called pandemic. Oh, wealth does not come from government, 196 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:40,140 John Locke, Adam Smith, all articulated very clearly for our founding fathers that wealth 197 00:21:40,140 --> 00:21:47,019 is created by the individual, by his labor, by the sweat of his brow, and his wealth is his own, 198 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:52,859 not to be taken from him by government or anyone else. Wealth does not come from government. It comes 199 00:21:52,859 --> 00:22:00,539 from the labor of the individual. And we have also been lulled to believe this lie. Your rights come 200 00:22:00,539 --> 00:22:06,319 from government, don't they? Your rights come from government. You speak. You have freedom of 201 00:22:06,319 --> 00:22:11,680 speech. Yes, you do. You have freedom of religion. You have freedom to assemble, as long as we say you 202 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:19,319 do. The minute a crisis comes along, though, those rights go forfeit. You have a right to a gun until 203 00:22:19,319 --> 00:22:25,500 we recall them, until we call them in, as Dianne Feinstein was fond of saying, turn them all in, 204 00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:31,099 Mr. and Mrs. America, just turn them all in, right? So your rights come from a government. That's the 205 00:22:31,099 --> 00:22:37,099 lie. And they can be taken or suspended by government then. No, our rights are endowed by 206 00:22:37,099 --> 00:22:43,559 our creator. Then they are inalienable, as the Declaration of Independence says. And thirdly, then, 207 00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:49,700 we have been told this lie, and America largely believes it, too. You are here to serve the state. 208 00:22:50,299 --> 00:22:54,420 The state is omniscient, and they are trying to know everything they can about you, aren't they? 209 00:22:54,420 --> 00:22:59,980 That's the idea of all-knowing. The state is also omnipresent, and they are trying to be 210 00:22:59,980 --> 00:23:05,940 omnipresent. That is everywhere at once, right? And then, of course, the state is grasping after 211 00:23:05,940 --> 00:23:10,700 and trying to be omnipotent, too. That is all-powerful. In other words, they're trying to be God. 212 00:23:11,779 --> 00:23:19,640 You are here to serve the state, you little worm. And if you obey, if you comply, then you will be 213 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:25,559 rewarded accordingly. Oh, we're developing, indeed, a national paycheck for you. 214 00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:31,440 All of these things are a lie. You are not here to serve the state. The state is here to serve you, 215 00:23:31,599 --> 00:23:37,099 to protect you and your rights. Not for you to serve the state. And then, of course, there's always 216 00:23:37,099 --> 00:23:42,940 the lie. This is not the dragon you're looking for, right? Don't worry. The dragon doesn't bite. 217 00:23:43,319 --> 00:23:49,079 Oh, the dragon is so safe. He's like a little kitty, right? No, that's the Jedi mind trick 218 00:23:49,079 --> 00:23:54,220 that's being played on you in most of America. This is not the dragon you're looking for. Whenever 219 00:23:54,220 --> 00:23:58,900 it's pointed out that, oh, hey, this is not an eagle anymore. Look, he's a dragon. No, he's not. 220 00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:05,640 Don't worry. He doesn't bite, right? Oh, while we were told that the strong, bold eagle 221 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:11,779 our founding fathers saw, soaring in the sky, was only putting on a few pounds now through 222 00:24:11,779 --> 00:24:16,680 the centuries. In reality, that eagle has been feeding on us and morphing into an ugly, 223 00:24:16,859 --> 00:24:22,519 twisted, seeding dragon, who, as Revelation puts it, is making war on the saints. That eagle 224 00:24:22,519 --> 00:24:28,319 is no longer taking care of your rights, watching Steningard. No, the dragon is taking care of your 225 00:24:28,319 --> 00:24:33,420 rights and your liberties. Now, by destroying them, he's taking care of them, all right. And 226 00:24:33,420 --> 00:24:38,720 that eagle is no longer serving you by protecting your rights and your liberties. No, the dragon 227 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:44,039 is serving you and serving your rights. He's serving them rare, medium, and well done, and 228 00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:51,319 he's feasting on them himself. Oh, the Declaration of Independence then concludes, we, therefore, 229 00:24:51,779 --> 00:24:56,900 the representatives of the United States of America and General Congress assembled, appealing 230 00:24:56,900 --> 00:25:02,440 to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by authority 231 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:08,079 of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies 232 00:25:08,079 --> 00:25:14,460 are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. That they are absolved from all allegiance 233 00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:21,019 to the British crown. And that all political connection between them and the state of Great 234 00:25:21,019 --> 00:25:26,779 Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved. And that is free and independent states. They have 235 00:25:26,779 --> 00:25:32,079 full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 236 00:25:32,079 --> 00:25:36,299 acts and things to which independent states may have right to do. And for the support of this 237 00:25:36,299 --> 00:25:41,960 declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other 238 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:49,299 our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. What a beautiful, a beautiful, beautiful conclusion, 239 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:54,640 is it not? Our founding fathers put it all on the line, dear listener. They appealed to God to judge 240 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,539 their conscience as to whether they were acting in accordance with biblical principle, that is, 241 00:25:58,599 --> 00:26:03,619 for the rectitude of their intentions. Stop and do the same, dear Christian patriot. And relying 242 00:26:03,619 --> 00:26:08,400 on the same God, they were willing to lay it all down. Are we willing to lay it all down, 243 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:16,059 brothers, for our liberties, for our freedom, for God, and for the country that our founding fathers 244 00:26:16,059 --> 00:26:22,460 have handed down to us? Will we squander our heritage, or will we be willing to lay it all down? 245 00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:29,619 This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We're meeting on Sundays now 246 00:26:29,619 --> 00:26:35,099 at 10 a.m. Come and join us. Check us out. We're meeting for worship, holy worship, at 10 a.m. 247 00:26:35,099 --> 00:26:44,220 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. 248 00:26:44,619 --> 00:26:48,839 Area code 208-523-0196.