Restoration 2012: Restoring Power

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Restoration Ministry

John Bradshaw

Surrender

Our Father in heaven, we come to you tonight in the name of Jesus.

There's that old hymn that says, In my hand no price I bring, simply to the cross I cling.

We are grateful that you so loved the world that you gave.

And I pray Lord that in our experience We can love you enough to receive.

Make this time special for your glory, I ask you humbly.

We pray together in Jesus' name and we said it as 1, Amen.

World War II had dragged on for nearly 6 years.

Hundreds of thousands of people had died.

You know, it's interesting that there are parts of Europe still where every now and then they dig up a bomb, an unexploded bomb, some type of ordinance from World War II.

It's still in London, they're still digging up things from time to time.

You know, I'm glad that was never given that job, detonating bombs.

I had a friend who, I think I baptized this man, and during the Vietnam War, he was a bomb disposal expert.

And they'd call in him for the big jobs, and he'd have to detonate this stuff.

But in May of 1945, the war in Europe was effectively over.

Realizing that pressing on in this war was futile, Germany said, enough is enough.

But in the Pacific, Japan doggedly refused to quit.

Though thousands and thousands of their own people had died in the war.

The Japanese government seemed to possess a determination that said they would fight on until the last man or woman was standing.

In July of 1945, Allied leaders declared that Japan must surrender unconditionally, and I read, or the alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.

So on April 6, 1945, from the belly of the Enola Gay, a bomb that had been christened little boy, little boy, interesting name, was dropped from several miles above the city of Hiroshima.

In an instant, with a blinding flash, multiplied Thousands of people perished.

I believe I am safe in saying that was the single most destructive act of World War II.

Other thousands who lingered and died often gruesome deaths in the days or weeks that followed the dropping of the atomic bomb.

Still, Japan wouldn't surrender and so something else happened that we tend to forget when we run back through history and that is 3 days later on August the 9th, 1945, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki and again thousands of people died.

This 1 was called Fat Man if I remember correctly.

And finally it seemed the Japanese appetite for death and destruction had finally been satisfied.

The next day the government of Japan declared its intent to surrender.

There was jubilation all around the world.

Not just that Japan had been defeated because the truth was Japan was dead on its feet.

It had been defeated, but just wouldn't quit.

So until a surrender came, the war would drag on and drag on and drag inexorably on and more people would die and That means more boys from the heartland would die and more girls from the heartland would be widowed and more infants in the heartland would be orphaned.

This would drag on and not to think of what would take place in Japan.

I mean there must have been so many thousands of families that lost their boys and their girls for that matter.

American servicemen celebrated all around the world.

They celebrated on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

They say there was a great long conga line of American servicemen snaking its way up and down Regent Street in London.

They wouldn't have to go out to Europe and become a statistic.

Not to mention, though I'm sure this wasn't at the forefront, but there must have been many who did think not to mention that there would be no more Japanese casualties.

And even though Japan was the enemy, still, hallelujah, They wouldn't have to die anymore either.

There'd be no more death There'd be no more of this wanton destruction Wonderful news it was over that famous photograph, you know the 1 of the American servicemen kissing I think she looks like a nurse in Times Square You know the 1 and she's bent over and you know that that was taken on in the wake of the news that Japan had surrendered.

This was a time of great joy, happiness, jubilation.

And on September 2, 1945, in a ceremony that took place in Tokyo Bay on board the USS Missouri, the Japanese instrument of surrender was finally signed, and the war was officially over.

Japan was, and this is my term, not an official term, defeated long before this time, but just wouldn't give up.

What do you think comes to mind when you stop and ask yourself, Why would a nation not capitulate?

Why would they not say, that's it, okay, enough is enough, you win?

What do you think it is that keeps somebody from coming to that place?

And if you combine pride with Nationalism, I mean, you've got a recipe for disaster.

You've got someone like Saddam Hussein taking Kuwait and believing that he can do that without incurring the wrath of the rest of the world.

You've got a guy like that telling his own people that we are so mighty, we will never fall.

You've got that information minister in Iraq telling the Iraqis that it's okay there's no problem here while the American servicemen were crawling all over Baghdad nationalistic pride just doesn't make any sense does it Japan should have surrendered long before, should have just given up, run up the white flag.

Well, I hope you don't remember the Battle of Gettysburg, but you know what I'm talking about.

That tremendous battle there in that little Pennsylvania town.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, many people felt like it was done for the Confederacy.

This was a tremendous battle for the North, for the Union, and it seemed in many minds that now the Confederacy was done.

The Union went from victory to victory to victory to victory.

Now, there were some exceptions, of course, but now the Confederacy was in retreat, and I'm speaking generally.

If only the Confederacy had just said just then, You know we're on a fool's errand.

But the Confederacy would not and many more died.

The prospect of surrender was just too galling.

Maybe if we strategize, maybe if we stay in the fight, Maybe if we think, maybe if we re-arm, perhaps we can win.

But no, eventually Lee signed the surrender.

My son assures me it took place in a courthouse in Appomattox.

There's something about surrender that's just galling.

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Surrender

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