A Spiritual View of the 911 Attacking of America
All week we have been bombarded with the tragedy of the Attacking of America. The news networks are filled with so much information on this horrible tragedy. The secular world has been telling you how to think about this tragedy from a worldly, just the physical facts, point of view. However, you are here this morning because you want to hear from God and what He thinks about this. I stand in fear as I am going to attempt to tell you how to view this from a Spiritual point of view. My dependence is totally upon God who has revealed Himself in Scriptures for us to know Him and His ways. As we look at the Word of God this morning we are going to look at several things to consider in relation to this tragedy. Instead of hitting on one theme such as judgement or comfort, I am going to look at this tragedy from several spiritual angles. Just as they showed the second plane crashing into the Tower from a lot of different angles physically, so I am going to look at this event from a lot of different angles spiritually from the word of God.
1. God’s Comfort – There are several children that came home on Tuesday but their parents never came home and they never will come Home. There are countless numbers of family members who have lost loved ones. There is a good chance that you in here this morning are touched personally by this tragedy. You need to know that God is here to comfort you.
Listen to the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV), “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” God is here to comfort you in the midst of this painful trial. His ear is open to hear your cries and His arms are open to hold you tight.
All of us have had suffering at one time or another and we have received the comfort of God. It is in times like this where we need to “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” One way we can do that is by pointing others to the suffering that Jesus endured. Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Christ is able to sympathize with our weakness for he also suffered unto death. We need to point others to the throne of Grace that they might receive mercy and grace in this time of need.
2. God’s Protection – Fear grips us and we do not know where to turn to find security and protection from the calamities of this world. The only true shelter and protection is in God alone. Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah” We will not fear what man can do to us for God has said, “‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’" (Hebrews 13:5b-6)
His all consuming presence should ward off fear in our lives because He is closer to us than we can even fathom. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) God is with us in this tragedy, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
3. God’s Allowance – Make no mistake about it, God was not asleep when this happened. It is not as if His back was turned or this somehow surprised Him. In fact it was God who ordained, caused or allowed this (You pick the language that you are comfortable with). A lot of people might wonder if this is God’s judgement. I cannot say 100% for sure, but I can tell you that it is a possibility. Amos 3:6b says, “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” The context of this verse is the Lord is speaking through the prophet Amos to Israel. God is about to bring judgement on Israel, however the application can be universal. God had destroyed other cities and told Israel the same would happen to them and it would be from His hand. The same that was true then is true now of any city. When disaster comes to a city (New York City), the Lord has caused it.
In Amos the Israelites were living in idolatry, immorality, oppression of the poor and other sins. If judgement is the case for the events that unfolded this week then why would God judge us? It doesn’t take to many brain cells to see that America is living in major sin. For one, Greed is idolatry (Col 3:5), and there was no mistake that the stock markets were brought to a halt. Immorality is rampant, abortion is out of control, love for one another is almost non existent, etc…etc…etc… Instead of asking why would God judge us, ask, Why not?
Our sense of justice and anger drives us to hunt down those who did this and repay with great military force. Our leaders have vowed revenge once they find out who is behind this. The problem with this is you can’t hunt down God. If this is God’s judgement, you may get the ones humanly behind this, but you will never get to the one ultimately behind it, i.e. God Almighty.
For whatever reason, judgement or not, God allowed this to happen. In His sovereign plan for His glory He ordained this to happen. Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” We must say along with the Apostle Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)
4. God’s Accountability – Even though God caused, ordained or allowed this to happen, He is not morally responsible for it. Whoever carried out this wicked deed is totally responsible for their evil. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and Joseph meets up with them several years later and says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The brothers intended harm and are accountable for that evil, but God’s sovereign plan was behind it for good.
The most heinous act in world history, the crucifixion of Jesus, was brought about by God through the actions of evil men. The church in Jerusalem prayed in Acts 4:27-28, “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” God is not morally responsible for the sinful action of human beings. Those who carried out evil this past week are totally accountable to God and will face judgement.
5. God’s Mercy – The acts this week are a display of God’s mercy and grace that you are still alive. Every human being deserves to be under the rubble dead because we have all sinned against a Holy God. We all fall short of His glory and deserve death (Romans 3:23 & 6:23). The story that Jesus tells in Luke 13:1-5 is so fitting.
“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Those who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them were not more guilty than those who did not die. Those who died this week when the towers fell on them were not more guilty than others in America. God’s mercy has preserved your life. You are sitting right here by the Grace of God. Remember the song we sing in Habakkuk 3:2b, “…in wrath remember mercy.” God has showed His mercy to us by allowing us to live.
Instead of putting the whole world under the rubble, God put His Son under the rubble of the cross. Christ bore the brunt of the Father’s wrath so that by faith in Him we may never experience the rubble of His full wrath. Praise be to God for His mercy!
6. God’s Working for Good – Fellow Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ died this week. Many are still alive but physically and emotionally wounded. What does the Bible have to say to them? Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works or the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” For those who are alive God will use this for good to make them more and more like Jesus Christ. For the dead who were believers they are now experiencing the greatest joy ever. God did not abandon them but the Apostle Paul declares, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)
How are we supposed to respond to this tragic event? For our nation the words of Jeremiah 18:7-8 hold true, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” However, instead of focusing on how are nation should respond, let’s look at how we should respond individually and corporately as a church.
This should really cause us to examine our lives and repent. We need to turn from our greed, which is idolatry, turn from our apathy towards God, our ungratefulness of what He has provided, renounce our materialism, are neglect of the poor, filthy language, lust, anger, rage, bitterness, sexual immorality, evil desires, lying, hating, lack of love, fixation on entertainment, etc… It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming (Col. 3:6) We don’t need to point the finger out there at the world but we should point the finger right at our very hearts and say, “I am guilty! Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
This life is not a game where we can just live any way we want and give God a few minutes here and a few minutes there. God wants our whole lives! Wherever you are or think you are in your relationship with God, Repent!!! Turn to God right now and confess your sins and be assured of His Promise in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Let’s go to the Lord now in a personal time of repentance and confession.
