Animal Liberation Prophets
An all-creatures Bible Message

Animal Liberation Prophets
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
3 February 2019
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Psalm 71:1-6
Jeremiah 1:4-10
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Animal liberation prophets are those people who know that it is God’s heavenly will that all animals should be liberated and they tell the world around them, either verbally or in writing, that liberating animals is in the heavenly will of God and part of freeing creation from its present corruption.
 
Prophecy does not necessarily have to be about the future, it can also be an informed message about the heavenly will of God for us in the here and now, such as the message we are conveying today.
 
Animal liberation prophets are really not just talking about liberating animals, because the animals are just a part of creation, which also includes humans and the environment we all live in; so when we are talking about it being in God’s heavenly will to free animals from the evil in this world, we are also talking about freeing all humans from the violence and warring madness that is plaguing this world, and freeing our environment from all the human caused problems that are bringing about global warming and other problems.
 
Psalm 71:1-6 is about our own righteousness, and God’s deliverance, but we need to look at these verses and ourselves to determine whether or not our righteousness extends to helping to free the whole of God’s creation from its present corruption, and most importantly to our message for today, does it include freeing all animals from the human caused exploitation being inflicted upon them?

1. In Thee, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed.

If we are living in the heavenly will of God, and it is part of everything we do and say, then there shouldn’t be anything to be ashamed about.

2. In Thy righteousness deliver me, and rescue me;
Incline Thine ear to me, and save me.

Let’s assume that we are living in the heavenly will of God, and doing all that Jesus taught us, then we have a right to ask God to save us from the people of the world who have turned against us because we are telling them the truth that they don’t want to hear.
 
This is the problem with most of the world, because the truth about the horrible exploitation of animals is all around them, and they are really without a valid excuse.

3. Be Thou to me a rock of habitation, to which I may continually come;
Thou hast given commandment to save me,
For Thou art my rock and my fortress.

If God is really our rock and fortress, then it shouldn’t really matter if the Lord saves us here on earth, for we should know that we will be with the Lord in heaven forever and ever.
 
Therefore, we should never be concerned about being outspoken animal liberation prophets, for that is part of what God called us to be.

4. Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

We may call upon God to do this, but as we said above, it really shouldn’t matter if God saves us for doing His heavenly will here on earth, because we always will be in heaven with the Lord, where there are no longer any of the evil people we might want to be rescued from here on earth.

5. For Thou art my hope;
O Lord GOD, Thou art my confidence from my youth.

We sure hope that this is true for all of us, and we can freely be outspoken animal liberation prophets.

6. By Thee I have been sustained from my birth;
Thou art He who took me from my mother's womb;
My praise is continually of Thee.
NASB

We really hope and pray that this is true for all of us, for if it is, there should nothing holding us back from peacefully doing everything in our power to help free creation from its present corruption.
 
In Jeremiah 1:4-10, we are told about Jeremiah’s calling from God, and these words have also rung true in my life, as we hope they have in yours.

4. Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
 
5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

I strongly believe that the Lord calls all of us similarly to the way He called Jeremiah, but sadly, like most other people, I didn’t heed this calling as a youth.
 
It was only much later in my life that I truly heard and answered this calling, and then as I looked back over my life, I saw that the Lord was with me through it all, but I never acknowledged Him then.
 
But now, we are all hearing this calling again, and yes, it’s for all of us to become peaceful animal liberation prophets, to become vegans, if we are not, and if we are, to boldly speak out about the horrors going on in factory farms and slaughterhouses, and all other forms of animal exploitation.
 
And, if we do, we are going to see miracles begin to happen; we will see a greater awareness of the truth in the world, and a lessening of the millions of humans and billions of animals who suffer and die every year.

6. Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth."

And like Jeremiah, we may feel like saying the same thing, but God doesn’t want excuses, He just wants willing participants, and He will help us all to be just that, just as He did with Jeremiah, if we are willing.

7. But the LORD said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am a youth,'
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all that I command you, you shall speak.
 
8. "Do not be afraid of them,
For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.

When I first heard the Lord’s calling, I didn’t hear this last part, but I trusted in the Lord, and that seems to be all that He desires, because He is fully prepared to lead us.

9. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,
"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

God will even free up our mouths, if we are willing to fulfill His calling, and in the process He will take away our fear, for we will be so filled with God’s perfect love that it will remove all fear.

10. "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant."
NASB

We may not be called to be prophets to the nations, but we are all being called to expose the truth to our family members, our friends, and our neighbors.
 
And who knows how far it will go from here; we just may be the ones who can tip the scale that we will see the whole of creation being freed from its present corruption.
 
We call 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 the love chapter, because it speaks about what love should be, and most likely even more, because God’s love is infinite, and has absolutely no limits; this is the kind of love that animal liberation prophets must possess, so with this in mind, let’s take a look…

1. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

When it comes to talking about empathetic animal issues, this is what we believe most churches and their leaders sound like.

2. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
 
3. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

We have witnessed a lot of Christians, and even known a few, who think in these physical terms and that such acts make them better Christians; in a way they might, but they don’t seem to be doing these things with real feeling, because they lack unconditional heavenly love and empathy.

4. Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
 
5. does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
 
6. does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
 
7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In other words, we don’t let ourselves and our worldly feelings, and other people, get in the way of God’s heavenly love, which is unconditional and can feel the pain and suffering of the whole of God’s creation to such an extent that we are motivated to do whatever we can to end it and free creation from its present corruption.
 
This is something we can all do, if we sincerely want to, and this is why we are told…

8. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

In other words, none of the Gifts of the Spirit can stand up to God’s heavenly love flowing through us, and as Jesus taught us, this kind of pure love fulfills everything else written in the Bible.
 
There are no commandments or laws that aren’t fulfilled by living in the heavenly will of God and being filled to overflowing with His unconditional love, and a vital part of having this kind of love is having empathy for every other human and animal in the whole world.

9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
 
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

No matter how much we think we may know and have learned today, it is very little compared to what we will know and understand in heaven.
 
This is also why we believe that Paul concluded with the following remarks.

11. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
 
12. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
 
13. But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
NASB

Even Paul didn’t seem to fully understand about having unconditional love, compassion, and empathy for the whole of creation, and just because he didn’t write about it, it is no reason or excuse for us not to include it, for we know about the violent ways of this world that cause million of humans and billions of animals to suffer and die every year.

This is also why we strongly believe that we all need to be animal liberation prophets, for when we are, we will find that we are also helping to liberate both exploited and oppressed humans and animals, and helping to free the whole of creation from its present corruption.
 
Are you going to join me in being an animal liberation prophet?
 
We hope and pray you are.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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