Samuel Rodriguez - The Lambs Agenda: Why Jesus Is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice

PRAISE FOR
THE LAMBS AGENDA

Reverend Rodriguez reveals that we are dealing with the clashing of human-interest agendas not far from those my father faced in April 1963. He also proposes the need to go back to the basic founding principles of our nation, which were biblical.

BERNICE A. KING, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, BE

A KING ENTERPRISES, LLC (FROM THE FOREWORD)

The Lambs Agenda is a clarion call for Christians to embrace truth and grace in equal measure. Sam Rodriguez believes that if we can get the balance right, America may be on the cusp of a Third Great Awakening. I pray it will be so!

JIM DALY, PRESIDENT, FOCUS ON

THE FAMILY (FROM THE FOREWORD)

The Lambs Agenda is the Christian Manifesto for the church in the twenty-first century and is a must read. The biblical principles presented by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez will revolutionize the church and restore biblical values to a culture that desperately needs renewing. Rev. Rodriguez articulates the relationship between the salvation in Christ and cultural engagement better than anyone. He is a powerful preacher who has skillfully articulated his stirring message of the vertical and horizontal meaning of the Cross into a blueprint for revival and cultural transformation.

MATHEW STAVER, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, LIBERTY

COUNSEL; CHAIRMAN, LIBERTY COUNSEL ACTION;

CHAIRMAN, FREEDOM FEDERATION; DEAN AND PROFESSOR

OF LAW, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

Sam Rodriguez is one of the most clear-eyed, clear-headed, articulate, and biblically sensitive younger leaders on the Churchs horizon today. His spiritual priorities are righteous, his heart for God and people rise from scriptural values, and his lifestyle of service and practical holiness are verifiably consistent to the Word. He is reasonable and convincing; always keeping his case fixated on Christ, as Lord of the Church. I urge us all toward that humility of heart that will enable us to read, review, and seriously consider The Lambs Agenda.

JACK W. HAYFORD, FOUNDER

AND CHANCELLOR, THE KINGS

UNIVERSITYLOS ANGELES

When you listen to Pastor Samuel Rodriguezs message, you hear a man with a passion to communicate the Message of the Cross and persuade believers to return to the core foundation on which Christianity was established. Samuel is desperate to see the United States of America return to godly values. The Lambs Agenda is a call to action that will impact the reader to reflect on the role the Church must take in these last days. Page after page you will be convicted of the aggressive stand Christians must take in order to establish Gods Kingdom on earth.

REV. ALBERTO M. DELGADO, M.A., TH.D. ; SENIOR

PASTOR, ALPHA & OMEGA CHURCH; PRESIDENT,

HISPANIC MINISTERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER MIAMI

With the eloquent passion of a preacher, national Hispanic leader Samuel Rodrguez charges all Christians to join personal faith in Jesus with a commitment to social justicethe vertical with the horizontal. This is a clarion call for Christians to impact the public square. The Lambs Agenda will stimulate conversation, even disagreement, but what it seeks ultimately is to generate profound change in the status quo.

DR. M. DANIEL CARROLL R. (RODAS),

PHD., DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF

OLD TESTAMENT, DENVER SEMINARY

THE
LAMBS AGENDA

2013 by Samuel Rodriguez

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from The New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rodriguez, Samuel, 1969

The lambs agenda : why Jesus is calling you to a life of righteousness and justice / Samuel Rodriguez.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4002-0449-6

1. Christianity--21st century. I. Title.

BR121.3.R64 2013

277.3083--dc23

2012033822

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

by Bernice A. King

by Jim Daly

Behold the Lamb

Acknowledgments

Notes

Scripture Index

Index

BERNICE A. KING

ON APRIL 16, 2013, WE COMMEMORATE THE fiftieth anniversary of my fathers letter from a Birmingham jail. In that letter he responded to a group of clergymen who were chastising his actions for being unwise, untimely, and extreme. The clergymen were looking to appeal to the agenda of man and self-interest while my fathers agenda came from above. The spring of 1963 was a dark period for the divided church community. This division was reflective of a broken nation, originally built on biblical principles, which began to lose its discipline and gave into a different agenda. Our nation forgot some of its founding principles and allowed itself to be carried by a slow political machine that only muffled the cries of the people who needed them most.

Reverend Samuel Rodriguez gives us a call to action in this book. He recognizes that the political machine today is repeating its mistakes from fifty years ago. Reverend Rodriguez is reminding us that we have a responsibility to speak up. He is calling on the church to recognize that she is not to compromise her spiritual righteousness in her political activism. Reverend Rodriguez reveals that we are dealing with the clashing of human-interest agendas not far from those my father faced in April 1963. He also proposes the need to go back to the basic founding principles of our nation, which were biblical.

Our founding fathers had the discipline to carry the Bible in one hand and an agenda for democracy in the other. Our history is marked by the efforts of strong leaders like my father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and my mother, Coretta Scott King. Their tenacity helped carry a nation through upheaval and uprising.

As I reflect, I try to discern what could be the common element possessed by these leaders. The one that stands out is the discipline to stand up for what is right and just. In our zeal for progress and change we have lost our discipline to pursue righteousness and justice. Our lack of discipline puts us in a position that challenges our loyalty to God and His kingdom. Thus, we see the absences of the Spirit of Christ in many arenas of our culture and in the lives of some Christians today.

Have we become a people with two citizenships: a citizen of government and of the Kingdom of God? We are forced to pose this question when we see elected officials compromising themselves to maintain party favor, including compromising their stand for what is righteous and just. We are living in a time that calls for a remnant of people to carry on the Lambs agenda once again. It is time to guide our country beyond these dark and difficult times.