The American Soul
The American Soul
We must strengthen our communities before it's too late.
What would someone see if they watched your life from the outside? Would they recognize you as a follower of Christ by your actions alone? These challenging questions form the foundation of this soul-searching episode that invites listeners to examine the authenticity of their faith beyond mere words or church attendance.
Jesse Cope dives deep into what it means to truly prioritize God in our daily lives, suggesting that prayer shouldn't be reserved for major life events but woven into the fabric of our everyday moments—from morning coffee decisions to interactions with family members. This consistent communion with God represents the kind of relationship that transforms not just individuals but communities and nations.
The episode explores 1 Corinthians 12's powerful teaching on spiritual gifts, emphasizing how God specifically designed each person with unique talents and abilities for distinctive purposes. Much like the human body depends on all its parts—even those seemingly insignificant—our communities thrive when every member recognizes their God-given value and purpose. This biblical principle extends beyond church walls to our entire nation, where the suffering of one region or group ultimately affects everyone.
As Cope reads from historical documents including Fox's Book of Martyrs and Revolutionary-era sermons, listeners gain perspective on the tremendous sacrifices made by previous generations to secure religious freedom and national liberty. These accounts serve as sobering reminders that the comfortable faith many practice today came at an extraordinary price—one that required communities to band together, communicate effectively, and stand firm against persecution.
The message grows increasingly urgent when addressing America's current spiritual climate, characterized as a battle for the nation's soul. Listeners are called to strengthen Christian conservative communities through improved communication, support for local institutions like law enforcement and emergency services, and vigilant preparation for challenging times ahead. The historical parallel to pre-Revolutionary America's "minutemen" provides a compelling model for readiness.
Take time today to evaluate how your faith manifests in tangible actions, consider your unique role in God's design for both church and nation, and recognize that the challenges facing communities across America will eventually reach us all. Will you be prepared spiritually and practically when they do?
The American Soul Podcast
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Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. I appreciate y'all joining me and giving me a little bit of your time, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully it'll give us all some extra tools for our toolbox and hopefully it will draw us all a little closer to God and Jesus Christ, both as individuals and as a nation. Excuse me, for those of y'all who continue to share the podcast and tell others about it, thank you so much. I'm very grateful for that. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much, very, very grateful for your prayers, father. Thank you for today. Thank you for you, father, and your Son, jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace and forgiveness, for all your many blessings, the ones we admit and the ones we don't. Forgive us when we go our own way, father, when we think that we know better than you, when we're more interested in our own desires and plans than yours, when we're more interested in what we want instead of what you want. Please help us to truly love your Son Jesus Christ, and therefore to follow his commands, to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to turn back to you as a people, father, to turn back to you as a nation, both in our private lives, as individuals, in our marriages, in our families, but also in our public lives, our churches, communities, schools, towns, states and as a republic, here in America and wherever people are listening around the world. Father, please Be with our leaders. Help them to rule in fear of you, to lead in fear of you, both in the state and in the pulpit. Be with our educators, whether they're at home or private school or public school. Help them to teach our children about you, father, and your Son Jesus Christ. And please be with those who are listening, father. Thank you for them. Be with them and their families, comfort them, bless them, surround them with your angels. Protect us all from evil, father, and help us to do your will above all else, and bring us home to you in your timing. In your Son's name, we ask and pray, and please guide my words to your Father. Amen, our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Have you made time for God today and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit? Have you made time to read their word? Is that what you're planning your day around or is that something you just try and shove in when you can't?
Speaker 1:If we claim that God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are our priorities, do we act like it, folks? Priorities do we act like it, folks, if somebody was watching our lives from the outside and they didn't know anything else about us as far as what we claimed we were or weren't, would they see Jesus Christ in our lives? Would they see us loving God with all that we are, loving our neighbors as ourselves, taking care of the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy, the least of these? Would they see us following Christ and his example to serve? Would they see us feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, visiting those in prison, visiting those who were sick, visiting the widow and the orphan, giving clothing to those who were cold and naked. Would they see us loving our spouse in the way, if we're married, in the way that God tells us to, following those scriptures that outline our roles and responsibilities 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Peter 3, titus 2, ephesians 5, hebrews 13, 4, proverbs 5, 19,. Song of Solomon.
Speaker 1:Proverbs tells us that even a child is known by his actions, by whether he does right or wrong. So if somebody is watching your life and there are people watching somebody is always watching. Sometimes it's God alone, because it's always God right at the bare minimum, but so often when we think that no other human being is watching, they are Somebody's watching folks. And as they watch us, what do they see? Do they see Christ or do they not? Do they see the world? Just somebody else in the world and of the world, and we don't have to go far folks, this.
Speaker 1:I have a few people that I, a few missionaries that I know of. I have a good a friend that I'm developing. Missionaries that I know of. I have a good a friend that I'm developing have, over the past several months, that knows some missionaries and very closely, and there's there's nothing wrong with that, folks. I don't ever want to come across as downplaying the importance of missionaries around the world, because Christ tells us go and make disciples of the nations right, and so nothing wrong with that at all.
Speaker 1:But for so many of us, I think we confuse going with doing, and what I mean by that is not even us literally going other places, but sending our money or our resources, when we have so much in our own backyard, so many people who are hurting, who need the love of Christ, who need the love of Christ. And it's a huge deal, folks, because we are in the middle of a war. We're in the middle of a spiritual war for the souls of individuals, but we're also in the middle of a spiritual war for the soul and the future of America. And for a lot of y'all listening around the world in different countries, you're going through the same battle. In your countries the UK, where we have some people listen for sure y'all are in the midst of a struggle for the soul of your nation. France easily say the same thing, Canada 100% say the same thing, and so this applies across the board. I talk about America, but it applies across the board.
Speaker 1:But, folks, we have people in our own family, in our churches, in our communities, our schools, that need our love and are following the example that Christ set. You know there's a quote attributed to Mother Teresa that's talking to women in particular. If you want to change the world, go home and, you know, love your husband, love your children. But that's true for us as Christians, for a lot of us, for a huge percentage of us In general. If you really want to change the world, start in your own home, your own church, your own community, your own school. It's a big deal, folks. I can't make enough of that. I feel very strongly about that. We need to be shoring up our defenses, and not just spiritually but also physically. We need to be increasing in our Christian conservative communities, our law enforcement, our firefighters, our EMS, our militia, training with arms training and combat for the boys, wrestling, martial arts, improving that training, improving the equipment that our law enforcement, our C2, between communities and schools, school boards, searches. That was a huge deal prior to the Revolutionary War. It's a huge deal now, folks. A huge deal now, folks. It's going to become more and more important the closer we get to a hot civil war with those individuals who demand and insist on following the evils of that bucket of isms that we talk about all the time, or Islam Very, very important. I can't stress that enough.
Speaker 1:1 Corinthians 12, the use of spiritual gifts. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray by the mute idols. However, you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. I'll say amen to that, folks. Jesus Christ is Lord, lord and Savior, son of God risen from the dead who died for our sins.
Speaker 1:Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons, but to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit. To another, faith by the same Spirit. To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits. To another various kinds of miracles and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits. To another various kinds of tongues and to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all things, all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills.
Speaker 1:For even as the body is one, yet has many members, and all the members of the body though there are many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body, it is not, for this reason any the less, a part of the body. And if the ear says, because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body, it is not, for this reason any the less, a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing? Where? Where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
Speaker 1:But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members but one body, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Or again, the head to the feet I have no need of you. On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor and on our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body and individually members of it.
Speaker 1:And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues? All are not apostles? Are they All are not prophets? Are they All are not teachers? Are they All are not workers of miracles? Are they All do not have gifts of healing? Do they All do not speak with tongues? Do they All do not interpret gifts of healing? Do they All do not speak with tongues? Do they All do not interpret? Do they but earnestly desire the greater gifts? And I show you still a more excellent way. Again, folks, not a priest, not a pastor, not a theologian and absolutely a sinner guilty of so much. So this is just my simple layman's reading of the Bible, that last verse there but earnestly desire the greater gifts.
Speaker 1:I think, at least for me, folks, the best way that I see to accomplish that is asking God, praying each day. Help me to do your will in everything, in the big things and the simple things. I was having a conversation with one of my children recently and we were talking about praying and different scenarios. You know we think about prayer and big things, like when somebody is in the family, is pregnant and keeping the mom and the baby safe, or when somebody's sick and praying for their healing or needs a job or just got a job, or you know they're driving on a long road trip, protection, et cetera, et cetera. But there's no reason for us not to talk to God about everything throughout our day, folks. So pray for guidance in everything.
Speaker 1:What do I need to do? Is this a good idea to go get coffee? I know that sounds simple and silly, folks, but just anything. Guide me in my relationship with my spouse. Guide me in my relationship with my kids. Guide my tongue. Help me to keep relationship with my kids. Guide my tongue. Help me to keep my mouth shut. How about that one? I need that one. Help me to keep my mouth shut when I don't need to talk. Help me to listen. Guide me in my interaction with my parents, neighbors. Guide me driving up and down the road. Guide me in shopping. A lot of us probably need that these days because things are so expensive.
Speaker 1:Help me spend money wisely. Help me to be frugal. Help me to be a good steward with the resources you've given me. Help me to use the talents that you've given me wisely. Guide me on this paper that you do. Guide me in this test that we have tomorrow. Guide me at this volleyball game or football game or tennis match you know. Help me to exemplify you, father, and your Son, jesus Christ, across the board. That's. I think that's the best way, at least the way I see it. This is verse 31,. But earnestly desire the greater gifts, at least the way I see it, this verse 31,. But earnestly desire the greater gifts, because I'm not sure. Sometimes I think we get kind of confused, even when there's a list like this about what's greater based on what we personally value more. And so the best thing you know is God, thy will be done, help me to do your will. And this whole chapter is whatever your gifts are, folks, whatever gifts God gave you, they're important and it doesn't matter if you think they're big or small, or the world thinks they're big or small or not. They're important.
Speaker 1:I was talking to I mean, a friend to me that is a brother recently, and talking about a kid of theirs and how important it is for us, as parents, to explain to those kids at all different stages, folks, sometimes, when they're young middle school, high school, college and beyond God designed you, specifically you, to fulfill a purpose that he wants you, needs you, and when I say need, I mean that's why he designed you. Now, if we don't fulfill it, god's going to get the job done anyway. But we're designed specifically with a purpose. Just you folks, whoever you are right now. God designed you specifically to accomplish something in this life. I don't believe that God wastes even a single second, and so if we're still here, there's a reason for it. There's a reason for it, and it doesn't matter whether the world thinks our talent is phenomenal or not. God designed us specifically a certain way, the God of the universe, and that makes that gift, that talent that he's given us, extremely important.
Speaker 1:The other thing here which it's not only us as a church but us as a political body and we talk about this going back to the revolution, often on this podcast and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. We can't look at different parts of the church and say, oh well, those people are suffering, that's too bad. Oh well. We can't look at one part of our family, one member of our family, and say, oh, they're suffering. Yeah, they're having a tough time. Oh, that's too bad. We can't look at different parts of our nation and go, oh, you know that city or that state over there they're having kind of a rough time. That's just too bad. It affects us folks and if we don't see it right now, it will.
Speaker 1:Whatever, that little area that you're thinking about right now in your head that you think, ah, that's their problem, that's not my problem, just wait, give it time, it'll be your problem, it'll be your problem. It's like one part of a body saying to another part oh, that cancer that you have in your liver, in your spleen or whatever, in your back, in your head, a brain tumor, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bone cancer, whatever that's a problem for that part of the body. We don't have to worry about that over here. You don't think that cancer is going to spread. You don't think leftism, socialism, communism that cancer is going to spread. You don't think Islam. You don't think that cancer is going to spread. You don't think, inside the church, apostasy, idol worship, approving of sin. You don't think that that's going to spread. No, it's going to spread. It's going to spread. And so we have a responsibility inside the church, as members of the church body, inside the United States, as members of our republic or in your country, wherever you are around the world. We need to be concerned about what's going on in other places. If we're in a particular place where we don't have that problem yet and if we're in one of those places where we do have that problem, then obviously we need to be concerned about that problem. Another reason for the communication that we talk about on this podcast Medal of Honor. I think Richard Bates was the last one, so we're going to go to Matthew A Batson.
Speaker 1:Matthew Arlington Batson, 1st Lieutenant High Strength Captain, philippine Insurrection, 4th US Cavalry, us Army, july 26, 1899. Alamba, luzon, philippine Islands. Swam the San Juan River in the face of the enemy's fire and drove him from his entrenchments. Accredited to Carbondale, jackson County, illinois. Not awarded. Posthumously Presented March 8, 1902. Born April 24, 1866. Anna, union County, illinois. Died January 13, 1917. Buried Arlington National Cemetery 2, tac 3604, tac WS, arlington, virginia. Matthew Arlington Batson that's one you don't hear very often about, isn't it? Philippine insurrection Swam the San Juan River. Oof, that doesn't even sound fun. Harold William Indian.
Speaker 1:Joe Bauer, ranked Lieutenant Colonel Conflict, world War II Marine Fighting Squadron 212, us Marine Corps. Action date May 10th November 14th 1942, guadalcanal, solomon Islands, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage. A squadron commander of the Marine Fighting Squadron and conspicuous courage as squadron. Commander of the Marine Fighting Squadron 212 in the South Pacific area during this period, from 10 May to 14 November 1942. Volunteering to pilot a fighter plane in defense of our positions on Guadalcanal, lieutenant Colonel Bauer participated in two air battles against enemy bombers and fighters, outnumbering our force more than two to one, boldly engaging the enemy and destroyed one Japanese bomber in the engagement of 28 September and shot down four enemy fighter planes in flames on 3 October, leaving a fifth smoking badly. After successfully leading 26 planes on an overwater ferry flight of more than 600 miles, on 16 October Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, while circling to land, sighted a squadron of enemy planes attacking the USS McFarland. Undaunted by the formidable opposition and with valor above and beyond the call of duty, he engaged the entire squadron and, although alone and his fuel supply nearly exhausted, fought his plane so brilliantly that four of the Japanese planes were destroyed before he was forced down by lack of fuel. His intrepid fighting spirit and distinctive ability as a leader and an airman, exemplified in his splendid record of combat achievement, were vital factors in the successful operations in the South Pacific area. Accredited to Nebraska, awarded posthumously yes. Presented May 11, 1946, camp Miramar, california, presented by Major General Fields Harris to his widow, mrs Harriet Bauer, born November 20, 1908, woodruff Phillips County, kansas, united States, died November 16, 1942, 15 miles north of Russell Island, solomon Islands Buried. Abmc Manila Cemetery Wall of the Missing Manila, philippine Islands. Location of Metal National Museum of the US Marine Corps, quantico, virginia, harold William Indian, Joe Bauer.
Speaker 1:I can't help but read these folks and think that we just have no clue what we're about to step into here in the united states. And also just the thought has struck me multiple times today, for different reasons, different little snippets I've read out of world war ii. Do we, do we not think that these men who gave their lives, maybe we just don't think about them at all, and that's the problem. But do we not think that, that these men had dreams and hopes outside of the military and dying for their country? Do we think that they didn't have a desire to own their own business, or be an author, or be a teacher, or just be a member of their community, to be a husband, a father? Do we not think that they had any desire to be at home around the Christmas tree, to be at home on the 4th of July celebrating parades? Or again, do we just not think about them? Are we so comfortable in our life that not only can we not imagine being willing to sacrifice, we don't even think about the men and women who have sacrificed? Or if we do so, it's once or twice a year, maybe. Or if we do so, it's once or twice a year, maybe. What about these officers in Texas that have been shot recently by people supporting illegal immigration? Or the firefighters up in Idaho that were ambushed? Do we think that those men didn't have dreams, didn't want to spend their retirement years with their wife and watch their grandchildren grow up, or were young enough that they wanted to get married and weren't married and have children?
Speaker 1:We need a wake-up call in America for a lot of reasons, folks. We need a wake-up call to turn back, a great awakening, to turn back to God and Jesus Christ, and we need to realize how much sacrifice and blood and tears and sweat has gone into protecting liberty liberty, and for sure ought to be grateful for those who have been willing to give it and should probably have less than no sympathy for those entitled brats Scumbags was a word I think I heard used recently who want to tear down America and liberty and idolize evil men like Hitler and Stalin and Mao. Sorry, got a little hot there, folks. Maybe I'm not sorry. Let's read just a little bit before we get back into Fox's Book of the Martyrs. Let's read just a little bit of this sermon From Ezra Stiles before the General Assembly of Connecticut and the Commander-in-Chief, jonathan Trumbull. I think that's where we stopped.
Speaker 1:Another object of great attention in America will be commerce, in order to form some ideas respecting it in the United States, we may take a summary view of it while we were in connection with Britain and then judge what it may be after we shall have recovered from the shock of this war. The British merchants represented that they received some profit, indeed, from Virginia and South Carolina as well as the West Indies, but as for the rest of this continent, they were constant losers in trade. Mr Glover has candidly disclosed the truth, and he and other writers enable us to form some ideas of the matter. It appears from an undecenary account laid before Parliament in 1776 that the state of commerce between England only and English America for the 11 years preceding hostilities was thus as continental colonies 26 three-quarter million sterling. West Indies 14. Continental colonies 26.75 million sterling. West Indies 14.25,. Those are the exports and the imports continental colonies 13.75 million sterling, west Indies 35.25, mostly on account of the continental colonies 49. A commerce of 26 million exports and only 13 million imports is self-annihilated and impossible.
Speaker 1:The returns from the West Indies comprehended a great part of the continental remittances. The American merchants buy a circuitous trade from this continent and from Africa, remitted to London and Britain by way of the West Indies, and bills of exchange drawn on sugars, the balance of what they seemed to fall short, and direct remittances on the custom house books. The whole American commerce monopolized by Great Britain must be considered collectively and was to England only, in the above account, 41 million exports and 49 million imports. This, inclusive of the 12% charged, amounted to a real annual profit of 32% to the English merchants and actual remittances of the year, besides a standing American debt, it is said of 6 million, carrying interest. Well, might the British merchants sustain a loss in American bankruptcies of a million a year, though probably at an average not five or ten thousand, and so lucrative a trade.
Speaker 1:An idea of the mercantile debt may be thus conceived. There is a district within the United States upon which the state of European trade at the commencement of hostilities was thus being chiefly carried on by foreign factories, a mode of commerce which the British merchants intended to have been universal. In the course of a systemic, systematical trade had at length arisen a standing debt of a million sterling among about a quarter of a million of people. To feed this, the British merchants sent over a quarter of a million of people. To feed this, the British merchants sent over one quarter of a million sterling annual for which, and collected debts. They received an actual remittance, half a million within the same year. Ie a quarter of a million returned a half a million and fed or kept up a debt of one million, paying to Britain an annual lawful interest. The security of all which complicated systems stood upon American mortgages. This is true mercantile secret history.
Speaker 1:I know folks. I'm assuming that that's as confusing to y'all as it is to me. Some of y'all probably get that a lot better than I do. I almost guarantee it. Interesting thing, though, here to me is that this is a sermon from a pastor who also happened to be president of Yale, before a political assembly gathered as that political body. We need men in the pulpit talking about politics today openly, especially on the conservative Christian side. I say Christian because there seem to be a lot of quote-unquote churches out there that really don't want much of anything to do with Jesus Christ. And again, this just shows the idea of separation of God and state how ludicrous that really is when you look at history and facts. Our founders were gathered here in a political body, as a political body, to listen to this sermon. They didn't want God and Jesus Christ kicked out of politics, they just didn't want any particular denomination being favored. Huge difference between separation of God and state and separation of church and state.
Speaker 1:I think, even though that was just a short little bit, we will stop there for today, folks, and we'll come back to it next time. We'll move on for today. So we're going to go back into Fox's Book of the Martyrs and it's been a while since I read the title page, so we'll go back and read that. This is Fox's Book of the Martyrs, or A History, the Lives, sufferings and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs, from the Introduction of Christianity to the Latest Periods of Pagan, popish and Infidel Persecutions. This is 1881. This is 1881. And we are talking about the persecutions in the valleys of Piedmont.
Speaker 1:I think we'll finish that up today as the troops of ruffians belonging to the monks did great mischief about the town of St Germain, murdering and plundering many of the inhabitants. The Reformed of Lucerny and Agrony sent some bands of armed men to the assistance of their brethren of Saint Germain. These bodies of armed men frequently attacked the Rephians and often put them to rout, which so terrified the monks that they left the monastery of Pignerol for some time so they could procure a body of regular troops to guard them. The duke, not thinking himself so successful as he at first imagined, he should be greatly augmented his forces, ordered the bands of ruffians belonging to the monks should join him and commanded that a general jail delivery should take place, provided the persons released would bear arms and form themselves into light companies to assist the extermination of the Waldenses.
Speaker 1:The Waldenses, being informed of the proceedings, secured as much of their properties as they could and, quitting the valleys, retired to the rocks and caves among the Alps, for it is to be understood that the valleys of Piedmont are situated at the foot of those prodigious mountains called the Alps or the Alpine Hills. The army now began to plunder and burn the towns and villages wherever they came, but the troops could not force the passes to the Alps, which were gallantly defended by the Waldenses, who always repulsed their enemies, but if any fell into the hands of the troops, they were sure to be treated with the most barbarous severity. A soldier, having caught one of the Waldenses, bit his right ear off, saying I will carry this member of that wicked heretic with me into my own country and preserve it as a rarity. He then stabbed the man and threw him into a ditch. A party of the troops found a venerable man upwards of a hundred years of age, together with his granddaughter, a maiden of about eighteen, in a cave. They butchered the poor old man in the most inhumane manner and then attempted to ravish the girl when she started away and fled from them, but they pursuing her, she threw herself from a parapus and perished.
Speaker 1:The Waldenses, in order to more effectually be able to repel force by force, entered into a league with the Protestant powers of Germany and with the Reformed of Dauphine and Regella. These were respectively to furnish bodies of troops and the Waldenses determined, when thus reinforced, to quit the mountains of the Alps, where they must soon have perished, as the winter was coming on, and to force the Duke's army to evacuate their native valleys. The Duke of Savoy was now tired of the war. It had cost him great fatigue and anxiety of mind, a vast number of men and a very considerable sum of money. It had been much more tedious and bloody than he expected, as well as more expensive than he could have at first imagined, for he thought the plunder would have discharged the expenses of the expedition. But in this he was mistaken, for the popes, nuncio, the bishops, monks and other ecclesiastics who attended the army and encouraged the war sunk the greatest part of the wealth that was taken under various pretenses.
Speaker 1:For these reasons and the death of his duchess, of which he had just received intelligence, and fearing that the Waldenses, by the treaties they had entered into, would become more powerful than ever, he determined to return to Turin with his army and to make peace with the Waldenses. This resolution he executed, though greatly against the will of the ecclesiastics, who were the chief gainers and the best pleased with revenge, before the Articles of Peace could be ratified. The Duke himself died soon after his return to Turin, but on his deathbed he strictly enjoined his son to perform what he intended and to be as favorable as possible to the Waldenses. The Duke's son, charles Emmanuel, succeeded to the dominions of Savoy and gave a full ratification of peace to the Waldenses, according to the last injunctions of his father. Though the ecclesiastics did all they could to persuade him to the contrary. Though the ecclesiastics did all they could to persuade him to the contrary.
Speaker 1:Just again, folks. And again, you know if there's a denomination that is calling for the slaughter of anybody just because they won't join that particular denomination, you know that that denomination is not following Christ, guaranteed 100%. He never saw Christ force anybody to faith in him and he knew what the alternative was. I mean, he knew what was going to happen. He knows what's going to happen. He knows what's going to happen with each of us that refuse to turn to him, which is why, again, folks, I cannot tell you enough to turn repentance from him, ask for forgiveness for those sins that he died for your sins and that God raised him from the dead and that because of his perfect life and his sacrifice, him dying in your place, you have forgiveness and eternal life with Jesus Christ. That's it. That's the Jesus Christ. That's it. That's the ballgame. That's everything.
Speaker 1:A couple little points here. You know we talk often on this podcast about the need for us to be communicating between Christians and conservatives different cities, towns, churches, schools, county level, state level, increasing our police, firefighters, local law enforcement of different city, town, county sheriff's office and our militia and our conservative Christian states, between our school boards. And you see that here, the Waltons that were being persecuted by the Duke of Savoy. What did they do? They first they went into the Alps and they protected themselves there, right, they didn't just, and really they protected the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy, the women and children, girls, right. And then, when they could, they entered into treaties, contracts, whatever they were, with Germany and the Protestants and other places. They weren't trying to overthrow the Catholic Church, they were trying to serve Christ. That's all they wanted to do and that's kind of we need to be doing that.
Speaker 1:We don't have any requirement and we'll definitely get into Jonathan Mayhew's sermon about this when we get done with the current sermon that we're on but we don't have any responsibility to lay there and allow our women and children to be raped and pillaged and plundered and murdered. In fact, we have a responsibility from God to care for the widow and the poor and the needy. So just a good example of that Good example of that. All right, we are going, because that's the end of that little section. The next one, we'll get into account of the persecutions in Venice, into account of the persecutions in Venice, and so we're going to go ahead and get into, for today, the—my brain just went away—a little bit of history of the rise, progress and termination of the American Revolution.
Speaker 1:The minds of the people at this period, though not dismayed, were generally solemnized in expectation of events decisive both to political and private happiness, and every brow appeared expressive of sober anxiety. The people trembled for their liberties, the merchant for his interest, the Tories for their places, the Whigs for their country and the virtuous for the manners of society. It must be allowed that the genius of America was bold, resolute and enterprising. Tenacious of the rights their fathers had endured such hardships to purchase, they determined to defend to the last breath the invaluable possession. To check this ardent characteristic, it had, previous to the time we are upon, been considered as if by common consent among the plantation governors, a stroke of policy to depress the militia of the country. All military discipline had, for several years, been totally neglected, thus untrained to arms whenever there had been an occasional call in aid of British operations in America. The militia were considered as a rustic set of auxiliaries and employed not only in the least honorable but the most menial services. Though this indignity was felt, it was never properly resented. They had borne the burden of fatigue and subordination without much complaint. But the martial spirit of the country now became conspicuous and the inclination of the youth of every class was universally cherished, and military evolutions were the interludes that most delighted even children in the intermission of their sedentary exercises at school.
Speaker 1:If we're virtuous folks, we ought to be very concerned about the manners, the virtue, the actions of our society, whether they're moral or immoral. Our fathers and mothers have endured tremendous hardships to secure our liberties and, even more importantly, our ability. Well, one of those liberties, the top two of those liberties the ability to worship God and Jesus Christ without fear of persecution by the state or the church in Europe, and the ability to read our Bible. We don't take that. We talk about it each day on the podcast, folks, but we don't really appreciate the fact that so many people were imprisoned, tortured, raped, pillaged and murdered in cruel, cruel ways Simply for reading scripture or working to allow others to read scripture by the church. We take our Bible for granted today, that relationship, that ability to strengthen that relationship with God without having to go through a priest or a pastor or follow all the 15 steps that some particular denomination says that you have to do.
Speaker 1:And then the military evolutions right delighted even children, in the intermission of their sedentary exercises at school. Just again a reminder, folks, that we need to be striving to train both as adults and our young men in arms, a kind of strength in the militia in our Christian and conservative areas. Among the maneuvers of this period of expectation, a certain quota of hardy youth were drawn from the train bands in every town who were styled Minutemen. They voluntarily devoted a daily portion of their time to improve themselves in the military art under officers of their own choice. Thus, when hostilities commenced, every district could furnish a number of soldiers who wanted nothing but experience in the operations of war To make them a match for any troops.
Speaker 1:The sovereign of Britain could boast this military ardor were an unpleasant aspect in the eyes of the administration. There's a little bit here, folks, just from my very limited and brief exposure to the military. Just like any other endeavor, there's nothing that can replace experience, and so don't I feel like this sentence right here is a little bit misleading by the author. Don't make the mistake of thinking that we had, at the beginning of the war, troops that were just almost at the same level of Britain, because the British troops had a vast amount more experience, and that's one of the things that made it so amazing, that's one of the things that tells you how hard our ancestors were willing to fight, is that at the beginning of the war they were so, and for quite a while, overmatched. One of the things that really makes God kind of apparent, folks that was what I was trying to get at is we were, by so many different metrics, we should have lost. We had no right to ever win this war, and yet we did, and yet we did.
Speaker 1:This military order wore an unpleasant aspect in the eyes of the administration. By a letter from Lord Dartmouth to General Gage soon after he was appointed governor of Massachusetts, it appeared that a project for disarming certain provinces was seriously contemplated in the cabinet. General Gage, in his reply to the minister upon the above suggestion, observes your Lordship's idea of disarming certain provinces would doubtless be consistent with prudence and safety, but it neither is, nor has been, practicable. Without having resources to force, we must first become masters of the country. The Parliament actually prohibited the exportation of arms, ammunition and military stores to any part of America, except for their own fleets and armies employed in the colonies. And the King's troops were frequently sent out in small parties to dismantle the forts and seize the powder, magazines or other military stores wherever they could be found. The people throughout the colonies with better success took similar measures to secure to themselves whatever warlike stores were already in the country. Thus a kind of predatory struggle almost universally took place. Every appearance of hostilities was discoverable in the occasional reconnoitres, except the drawing of blood which was for a time suspended, delayed, on one side from an apprehension that they were not quite ripe for the conflict, on the other from an expectation of reinforcements that might ensure victory on the easiest terms, and perhaps by both, from the recollection of their former connection and attachment. This union of the colonies had long been zealously wished for and vainly attempted by administration. As that could not be effected, it was deemed a wise and politic measure to make an example of one they judged the most refractory. Thus, resentment seemed particularly leveled at Massachusetts. Consequently, they obliged that colony first to measure the sword with the hardy veterans of Britain.
Speaker 1:It never is just one person's problem. It's never going to just stay in one part of the country. I think a lot of people right now are looking at the election or the potential election of Muslim leaders in New York and maybe another one up in Milwaukee I can't remember and thinking well, that's not going to happen here, it'll come, folks, at some point somewhere. You have two choices we all do and those two choices are either to go along with the left and Islam and submit to their tyranny, their rule, their evil, or to fight and there's a bunch of different ways that that each of those paths can look, but those are the two general paths that we have. God bless y'all. God bless your families. God bless your marriages. God bless America. We'll talk to y'all again real soon. Your families God bless your marriages. God bless America. We'll talk to y'all again real soon. Folks Looking forward to it.