Jacob Leisler, "I am ready. I am ready."

 Henry Sloughter signing Jacob Leisler's death warrant.

"I hope these my eyes shall see our Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven I am ready. I am ready." Jacob Leisler, May, 1691

"We are thoroughly wet with rain, but in a little while we shall be rained through with the Holy Spirit." Jacob Milborne, May 16, 1691 at his execution.

These two men died as traitors to the Crown of England. During the English Revolution of 1688, the people in New York were divided. Leisler befriended the Huguenots. And to keep them from being sold into slavery for being unable to pay their bills, he championed their cause in what would later be called Leisler's Rebellion. Jacob Leisler became the acting Lieutenant Governor in New York. A man truly before his time, Leisler summoned the first Intercolonial Congress in America in New York, May 1690. Their mission: to deal with the ongoing conflict with the Indians and the French.

When the rebellion ended, Leisler resigned his command to Governor Sloughter. The governor responded by arresting him along with others. After extensive trials, Leisler (along with Jacob Milborne and six other men) were convicted and sentenced to death.

Death will come. I know we don't want to think about it, but many will die today in accidents or from illness or from some other demise. We all have to face it. What a joy for those who have received salvation to be able to say, "I am ready. I am ready."

Our perspective tends to be limited to this present life, but God’s perspective encompasses all of eternity.
I've noticed that many of the Psalms open with the psalmist revealing sorrow and hurt in his life, but close with him determining to praise God. We should praise God always, for our hope lies not on the substance of this world but in our eternity in Heaven.

*What do you look forward to in Heaven?

• Spending time with Jesus 
• Worshiping God with the angels 
• Not suffering anymore 
• Getting rid of this ugly old body 
• Not struggling against our flesh anymore 
• Seeing people who have gone before us
• And so much more. 

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3

What will be waiting for us in Heaven? A place just for you and a place just for me.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Revelations 21:1-3 

 Who will we be with? We will be with God. How do you feel about that? Excited and maybe a little awed?

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelations 21:4-5

What will you not find in heaven? Death, sorrow, crying, pain, the former things.

What does God say He will do? Wipe away our tears, Make all things new.

What does that mean with respect to our sorrows we experience here on earth? They will no longer affect us, because they will have passed away. 

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelations 21:6-8

Who will be in heaven? He that overcometh. That refers to those who are saved. We find the definition of this in Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death.”

Who will not be in heaven? Sinners, those who are not saved—who are unbelieving. We have all lied. We’ve all been fearful and idolaters in some way. The difference between the two groups is that those who overcome go to heaven, and we see in Revelation 12:11 that it is through Christ that we overcome.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelations 20:10

What happens to Satan? He is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.

After that, will he ever be able to torment another again? No.

To God be all glory and honor and praise.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. We have a hope that we must cling to—a hope that will help us endure to the end. And that hope is eternal life in the new heaven and new earth." 

Revelations 21:4 

* The following is used with permission from https://sites.google.com/site/joabsfire/bible-study?offset=10

John Leland: Convicted and Saved

In the summer of 1772,... When I was returning from my frolicks or evening diversions, the following words would sound from the skies, "You are not about the work which you have got to do."...And without any usual horror of mind or dread of damnation, the charms of those youthful diversions, which had been sweeter to me than the honeycomb, lost all their sweetness, nor could I conceive how there could be any pleasure in them." 

John Leland, The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, p.10.
(Miss L. F. Greene, G.W. Wood, 29 Gold-street, New York, 1845)

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."

I Peter 3:10-11

The above quote is the testimony of the Baptist preacher, John Leland, who helped Madison win the Virginia battles for religious freedom.

Eighteen years old at this time, John Leland was already very knowledgeable of the Bible, having read and studied it since he was five. John's family was religious.Yet, John struggled to get past the thought that he, "was almost in all evil, full of vanity, exceedingly attached to frolicking and foolish wickedness."(p. 10)

His experience that summer evening began a series of events within his heart, reaching to the very depths of his soul. These experiences would change the course of his life. He went to another "evening frolic" to determine if he had truly died to such a lifestyle. In his own words:

"Accordingly I went, but found nothing to please, but everything to disgust." (p. 11)

Later that summer, he watched the baptism of a young woman he had danced with in the past. She had been converted after hearing Elhanan Winchester preach.

"What I saw and heard at the water, greatly effected me. There I stood upon a rock, and made my vows to God to forsake all sinful courses and seek the Lord, if he would direct me how." (p. 11)

Still he worried about his salvation. He concluded that first he must be deeply convict of sin; that if he were converted he'd feel as though:

"a surgeon should cut open my breast with his knife, take out my heart and wash it, put it back again and close up the flesh" (p. 12)

And that if he should ever believe in Jesus he would:

 "see him as plainly as I could see an object of sense."" (p. 12)

Having drawn those conclusions, John Leland pursued faith and salvation. He saw himself a sinner, was convinced that he was condemned, and discovered "the sufficiency of a Mediator," (p. 12) settling his hope on the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

But he was concerned his conversion was not what it ought to be, until he meditated on Ephesians 1:13b "after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise". He heard in his mind God say to him, "Ye are already sealed unto the day of redemption." (p. 13)

John Leland keenly felt the hold of sin on his life. And as keenly as he felt it, he also rejoiced in the grace of God, freely given to all who receives it. He became a powerful preacher, effective in spreading the Gospel from Massachusetts to Virginia.

If only we all would feel the depth of sorrow Elder John Leland felt for his sin. Perhaps then, we would begin to grasp the greatness of God's grace and seek to live out lives pleasing to Him.

John Leland's struggle to know God's salvation impressed me. He, who had caroused with the youth and danced with the ladies, when convicted by the Holy Spirit, found that old life dead to him.

His passion for the Lord grew and became the driving force of his existence, even to the point where he willing risked being beheaded for his faith. When a woman asked to be baptized, she warned him that her husband threatened to whip her and kill the man who baptized her. He answered, "If you will venture your back, I will venture my head." (p. 20) She was whipped, but he did not lose his life.

Have you ever come to eschew parts of your life that were not pleasing to God? Have you ever become overwhelmed by the knowledge of your sin to the point where you understood your condemnation--that you indeed deserve hell? Have you ever discovered the sufficiency of God's grace through Christ and settled upon the hope of Christ's atoning blood--Christ's payment for your sin?

So many people today claim the title of Christian, yet do not live a life demonstrating the death of sin in their lives. Yes, we still live in the flesh, and therefore we will still sin. But do we eschew evil? Eschew means to shun or keep away from. Therefore, to eschew evil means to keep away from evil.

Peter wrote to Christians who saw and experienced first hand persecution for 'eschewing evil,' for not walking in the 'will of the Gentiles.' How little God asks of us in shunning that which is contrary to His Word, when He took upon Himself the likeness of man and bore our sin on the cross.

"Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of win, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."
I Peter 4:1-5

The Soldier

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." George Washington

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" I Peter 3:15

Patriots in the 18th century fought for freedom. At that time, freedom from the tyranny of a king across the ocean was utmost on the soldiers' minds. Many pastors ( like John Gano whose claim to fame was baptizing George Washington) or ministers joined the fight, both from the pulpit and on the field. These men fought for the freedom to preach the Gospel as they saw fit. Their Lord's passion for saving lost souls the captain of their zeal. The war these pastors fought both on and off the field still exists today.

 John Leland, Baptist preacher in Virginia during the War of Independence wrote:

"Souls appeared very precious to me, and my heart was drawn out in prayer for their salvation." The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, L.F. Greene (p.20)

His heart so burdened, he fervently prayed that God might give him success. And God did:

"From November 1779, to July 1780, I baptized one hundred and thiry, the chiefest of whom professed to be the seals of my ministry...The chiefest of my success was in York, where Lord Cornwallis and the British army were made prisoners, in October 1781. Matthew Wood, Robert Stacy and Thomas Cheesman, (all preachers afterwards,) were the children of this revival." (p.21)

Even officers fought on both the spiritual front and the war front. Colonel Harwood entered one of John Leland's meetings with the intention of stopping him. However, John Leland stamped the floor and "made no more of me than if I had been a dog." The colonel left without stopping the preaching of the Gospel.

Captain Robert Howard determined to 'lash' John Leland out of York county, because the elder had baptized his wife. The captain lost the battle, and he became "serious, penitent, believing, and was baptized." Afterward he accompanied Elder Leland to meetings.

Those preachers who sought to win the souls of many lost before and during the revolutionary war stood with those soldiers who sought to win freedom. Against threats and persecutions, they spread the good news of the free salvation given by God to all men.

Today we celebrate the faithful service of those in the military. Without their great sacrifice our freedoms would be lost. They deserve our honor, our respect, and our gratefulness.

Let us also not forget the Soldier who took the hill at Calvary. He won the war for our souls by giving His own life. Let us stand along side His soldiers who fight in the spiritual fields of our lives, on their knees and with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Let us join them as Captain Howard joined John Leland. Let us listen to them as George Washington listened to John Gano. Let us be willing to suffer as Christ, our great Captain of the Lord's Army and of our salvation, suffered on our behalf.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
Hebrews 2:10