"Why did God Allow Sept 11, 2001 to happen to America?’
Various Scripture
- Pray
- Terrible tragedy on Sept 11, 2001
- Probably be close to 4,000 dead when said and done
- We have heard many say, "rise up America…go take vengance"
- not a problem
- Heard many say comfort those who mourn…not a problem
- But I don’t think any of that addresses the problem
- I think we have to ask this question, "God, why did you allow this to happen to America?"
- If you don’t address that, then you are just dealing with surface issues.
- If I have a huge boil on my leg, it won’t get better until it is lanced and then the roots taken out
- I have been disappointed somewhat as many pastors have spoken on this issue and yet they speak of comfort, and militarism but haven’t heard to many address the question
- God, why did you allow this to happen to America?
- On TV they can get away with not telling you the truth but I can’t do that
- I am going to speak from a biblical perspective, from a Christian perspective
- Answer these questions
1. Why did it happen?
2. What we can do as a Christian community?
3. How do you pray?
4. What about seeking justice or retaliation?
1. Why did it happen?
- Turn to Prov 16:7, I think this passage answers the WHY
- I have heard people say "Where was God?" Where was God?
- Read Prov 16:7 (2x)
- Converse of that "If our enemies are not at peace with us it is because our ways are not pleasing to the Lord."
- Why Bro. Jimmy to that happen to America? It is because we are not pleasing to Him
- We all now are rallying together as a nation and everyone is saying "God Bless America"…I even had Duke put it up on our sign
- But then I got to thinking, "Why should God Bless America"
- We have murdered over 30 million babies through convenience
- 60% of teenagers in America today would have been taken out and stoned to death because of immorality
- 50% of marriages in America God says, "traitors, treachery, treason, because they end in divorce."
- These are not just the only ones…we could go on.
- Look with me at abuse, molestation, pornography, promiscuity, homosexuality, violence
- Go with me to Mal 3:5
- God says to Israel, "I am coming to judge you (2x)"
- Why God would you come to judge us? God gives a whole list of reasons why He would allow judgment to come against them
- And as you read that list it is nothing compared to this country
- Listen, we commit five times the violent crimes of any other nation in the world
- Not 1x, 2x, 3x but 5 times the crime
- We have said "yes" to homosexuality…our gov’t bends to it, we have special days set aside to recognize it (EXPOUND)
- We have said "yes" to immorality, divorce, abortion, pornography, garbage on television so many things that God hates
- My bible says, "whom the Lord loves He chastens"
- If He doesn’t chasten you He doesn’t love you
- God has been chastening America and we haven’t heard
- Please listen, He has sent earthquakes in the west, hurricanes in the east, droughts in the south, floods in the north
- He sent tornado’s, mud slides, fires, and tragedies beyond our comprehension and we haven’t listened, we didn’t hear
- SO now God has chastened us…He has allowed an enemy to hit us in our own homeland
- You see, if we don’t see the problem, we don’t identify the real enemy, we will rally our troops, approach it from a secular solution and it will be a wrong solution or no solution at all
- Malachi 3:5 says…(read)
- That is Kindergarten stuff compared to what we have done
- We love II Chron 7:14, (2x)…you can say it, quote it, sing it (QUOTE IT)
- You know what that verse is used for…Solomon has just competed the temple…and it has been consecrated to God
- God is saying to him "right now you are with me, you are under my favor, you are in palm of my hand"
- But if there comes a day when certain things happen, that says you’re not close to me and you need to draw near to me again
- Better heed to II Chron 7:14
- What were the things? He said "If I close up the heaven so that it does not rain…you better watch out…you’re in sin
- Call out to me, seek me, turn from your wicked ways
- If I send a pestilence, if I send a famine, if a send disease throughout the land…call out to me
- You know what the other thing He said was, "When you suffer defeat at that hands of your enemy."
- Cry out to me, repent, turn from your wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal the land
- What am I saying church? I am saying we must cry out to Him
- This is because of our sin, this is a judgment, and it is time to REPENT!
- If we are going to say "One nation Under God, In God we Trust,
- If we are going to identify with His name, we are going to have to live by His principles
- And His principle is, when we wander from Him and we rebel against Him and we turn our backs to Him…we are in danger of judgment
- Do you know what the movement that did this terrible act on Sept 11, says about America
- Do they say, "I hate those righteous, God loving Christians, that Christian nation"
- No! They say America is the great Satan! Why would they call us that?
- Look at Rev 2:12-14
- Vs 14, "people hold to teaching of Balaam…"
- This was a teaching to corrupt the people, defile themselves in every way, and separate them from their pilgrim character
- We have gotten far away from our pilgrim heritage and character in America
- What is our pilgrimage? Look at Rev 2:4 (EXPOUND)
- Satan has his throne perched in the great nation of America
- The terrorist call us the Great Satan because everywhere we go, we defile with our culture (Vietnam - not orphanages, hospitals, but whorehouses, bars, prostitution, drugs…)
- When Americans arrive on the scene, we are not for our righteousness but our unrighteousness.
- We defile with sexual immorality…through tolerance of things that are far from God
- If I speak out against these things…I am said to be intollerant…(EXPOUND)
- The man who orchestrated all of this is saying that he must do it because America is defiling the world with its culture
- Our three gods are materialism, pleasure (heathenism), and violence
- Look at Rev 2:20-23
- Vs. 22 again
- But we do have a promise…If my people (quote)
- Pres. Bush called for day of mourning and prayer…but not for sin…for lost ones
- Abraham Lincoln said, "Civil war is abomination to God"…called for a day of mourning and prayer…but it was for our sin…and called upon nation to repent.
- But if our Pres. Stood up and said to us, "It is because of our sin…" he would be run out office…He can’t even cry out and call us back to God
TRANS: So, is there any hope? The only hope I see is that God favors a remnant.
That remnant being the Christian community in America.
- Turn to Isa 1:7-9
- SO then, the question is…
2. What can we do as a Christian community
- Remember Abraham’s quest for God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Find 50 righteous, will you spare it…God said, I’ll spare it…what about 45…yes…what about 10…yes…but not found
- Abraham was pleading for God’s mercy if he could find the REMNANT in the land
- The remnant has tremendous power with God
- I want to call on you as the remnant of God…honestly this nation doesn’t get it
- We have pastors and people crying out…take the sword of justice…while others say be great comforters
- When what we should be doing is REPENT
- Turn with me to Luke 13:1-5
- We must REPENT…if it can’t be said in the gov’t it should at least be said in the churches
- Church I am calling on you as the remnant of God in America to prayer and fasting and pleading to God for the fabric and culture of this nation
- If we can turn to God, there is hope for us…but if we don’t turn to God…I don’t think we have any hope.
- If you remember God brought many violent uphaevels of nature to our forefront to get our attention and say "I am not pleased, hear me." And we still haven’t heard
- SO now He’s allowed the enemy to strike at our heart…to strike American people with American people…what a despicable thing
TRANS: So then I want to call upon you as the church to action…I want to give you some verses to be able to hold to. So then we ask…
3. How do we pray?
- I am calling on this church to be with me in prayer and fasting for our nation
- If we as the church will not stand in the gap for our nation, it will perish
- I am asking the prayer and fasting teams and all who would to pray and fast on Thursday’s until the evening meal…starting in the morning until evening meal
- During this time…over lunch if that’s the time you have…cry out for our nation to return to God
- I don’t think there is a military solution separate from a Spiritual solution…I really don’t
- I am commissioned to tell you the truth…not necessarily what you want to hear
- Turn to Joel 2:12-13
- Go with me to Daniel 9:3
- God is looking for a remnant that is willing to go before Him in prayer, fasting, and petition
- VS. 4 (read) and then Vs 5 "We have sinned…
- When you pray, you don’t say, "Lord, the homosexuals, porno kings, abusers, violent people, drug pins, abortionists, and on have messed this up
- Folks we are them…we are called the United States of America and her citizens
- When we pray we say as Daniel "WE HAVE SINNED AND DONE WRONG!"
- Vs 8…We’ve rebelled and sinned against God and turned from our heritage in Him
- This terrible act has come and it is proof that God is still concerned about this nation
- He doesn’t spank illegitimate children just legitimate children
- Look at vs 18 & 19
- I am giving you some verses and if you will mark these and pray them you will be on good ground
- Read 18 & 19
- Lord don’t leave us the way we are…hear us…send us revival…we need your outpouring of your spirit on our nation
- If we as God’s people will truly get serious and cry out I know He will hear our cry and will send revival to heal our land
- Look at Vs 23
- God answered Daniel…he cried and God heard
TRANS: That’s what we can do as Christians but what next…
4. What about seeking justice or retaliation?
- As a Christian community, where do we come down on military action?
- Share with you story of Detrick Bonhafer
- He was a great theologian and pastor in Germany during the time when Hitler was the leader and all terrible things taking place in Germany
- Detrick Bonhafer was a passifist…do you know what that means?
- That means he was against violence and military service but after several years of Hitler…one day in a staff meeting
- There was a brief case put down under the table next to Hitler, it was a bomb
- A plan to assassinate him, but the bomb malfunctioned and Hitler was only scratched and burned
- Detrick Bonhafer was part of that assassination attempt and he was caught
- People ask him "Why would he be part of this if he was a Christian pastor?"
- And he said, "He was convinced and convicted that if he saw a madman driving a car down a sidewalk killing innocent civilians and pedetrians, it would be ungodly to not try and stop him."
- Here’s the words I have heard…"SLOW TO ANGER"
- There was bomb that went off in Saudi Arabia on an Air Force base that killed 260 American servicemen and we were SLOW TO ANGER
- Two US Embassies in Africa all went up at the same time with a bomb attack with over 100 killed and we were SLOW TO ANGER
- In Yemen, the USS Cole had a huge hole blown in her side killing several sailors and we were SLOW TO ANGER
- BUT FOLKS IT’S TIME TO ANGER!!!
- They have taken our planes, our pilots, our stewardess’s, our civilians and murdered our civilians
- They have killed over 5000 and could be up to 10,000 people
- It’s time to get ANGRY!
- You say "can a Christian country get angry…yes a Christian country can get angry.
- One day John the Baptist had a soldier come to him and ask "what must I do" because he wanted to be saved and get baptized
- Would have been perfect time for John to say "Resign commission, quit being a soldier"
- But you know what John the Baptist said, "Don’t use your position to shake down people for money."
- He didn’t say anything about quitting soldiering and he baptized him and proclaimed him righteous and Godly
- There was great centurion that had a sick son that came to Jesus and ask Him to heal his son.
- Jesus said, where is he I will go heal him.
- Centurion said, Master you don’t have to go…I know you are a man…(Expound)
- Then he turned to the centurion and patted him on the back and said "I haven’t found anyone with such faith in all of Israel."
- At the cross, centurion in charge of detail of the death of Jesus, looked up at Him and gave the greatest of testimonies and said
- "Surely this man was the Son of God"
- Then another Centurion, when Jesus went to his house, didn’t just have himself there but all of his family and friends and he wanted them to come into the kingdom too
- I think God has the applause of heaven for the Godly soldier
- General Norman Schwarzkoff had a bible in his tent during Desert Storm…not just for decoration…he read it
- Part of the Star Spangled Banner that we never hear sung says
"O thus be it ever when free men shall stand, between there loved homes and the wars desolation, blessed with victory and peace may the heaven’s rescued land praise the power that hath saved us and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must when our cause it is just, and this be our motto ’In God We Trust’ and the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave for the land of the free and the home of the brave." O thus be it ever when free men shall stand between their loved homes and wars desolation."
- It’s time to stand…it’s time for free men to stand and free men to repent
- If your in the military in this country, we are going to honor you and if you go you are going to go with our blessings and our prayers
- We ask you to fulfill that which you have been called and sworn to do
CONCLUSION
- Why has this happened in America? I believe God is trying to get our attention…He is spanking us but good
- What can we do as a Christian Community…we can cry out to God as His remnant
- How can we pray? The verses in Daniel 9 are good and solid and we can fast for God’s intervention
- Should we seek justice and retaliation? It would be ungodly to not stop a madman from killing innocent people
- I close with this verse…turn to Rev 3:1b - 2
- If we really hurt for our nation…Church it’s time to WAKE UP in America
- We must pray, fast, cry to God and support our nations military as we seek justice
- Pray
