Intro: On Tuesday morning September 11, 2001 Dawn Robinson followed her usual morning routine while getting ready for work. Which consist of her morning quiet time where she prays for God’s leadership throughout the day. Shortly after arriving at work in New York City she made her way to her office in the south tower of the World Trade Center. At 8:45 a.m. she heard a loud boom and looking out her window saw smoke from the north tower. A voice came over the intercom and informed everyone that no was in danger and stay where they where. Dawn says that immediately she felt a compelling urge to get out of the building. Then she said she had a very intense feeling of Closter phobia. So she immediately began making her way to the stairs. Dawn then says, that about 75% of the people she came in contact with were following the advice from the intercom system and where going back to their offices to continue working. Never the less Dawn continued making her way down the emergency stairwells. When she made it to the 42nd floor at 9:03 a.m. Flight 175, a bowing 767 hit the south tower slamming into the area of the building where Dawn’s office was located. God put an urging in Dawn hearts. What if she would’ve brushed it off? What if on Tuesday morning Dawn skipped her quiet time, or didn’t pray for God’s leadership on that day?
There will be many stories of close calls and near misses we will hear from the past week. But while many of the people who experienced near misses are trying to figure out if it was luck, fate or God that saved them Dawn knows it was the hand of God that lead her to safety. While it brings us joy to hear Dawn’s story it brings us grief to think of the thousands who died. This brings up the question of all those who died. Where they not good, spiritual, God fearing people? Was this God’s judgment on those who died, was it God’s judgment on America? Mankind has asked these kinds of questions all throughout history. When something bad happens to people our natural reflex is to assume it’s God’s judgment.
Jesus addressed this exact question in the gospel of Luke chapter 13.
Luke 13:1-2
13:1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
As we have watched our televisions this past week and seen the cars and buses crushed from the tons of debris that fell as these enormous skyscrapers came down it’s hard to imagine a human body being subjected to that. We can’t understand thousands of American citizens dying at the hands of terrorists hear on our own soil. This is the first time since 1812 that Americans have been attacked on our own soil. So everywhere we go people are talking about it just as Jesus was asked about the horrible death of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate we want to know; what would Jesus say about those who died Tuesday? And in verse two we find our answer. The way and or the fact that these people died has nothing to do with God’s judgment.
The reason our countrymen died is because God allows evil in this world. These terrorist where evil men just as Bin Laden, Hussein, Hitler and many others who God has allowed to live at the expense of good people. Then we ask why does God allow the devil to exist? Why does He allow all these evil men to live and destroy so many innocent lives? Because He loves us so much that He allows us to have a choice. A choice to love Him or reject Him. If a person is forced to love then that’s not true love. But if we love someone because we choose to, then that real love. God greatest desire is to be in a love relationship with us. In order for that to happen we must have the choice to love Him. Then we step back and say; “well couldn’t He just cut back on some of this evil and not have quite so much?” I don’t even pretend to think I’ve got it all figured out, but I do know this much. It could be a lot worse. The only reason there is anything good in this world is because of God.
17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:18
Illustration: One of the greatest acts of heroism occurred on flight 93 that crashed into a rural area in Pennsylvania. 31yr old Jeremy Glick called his wife Liz from flight 93 using a passenger phone shortly after the plane was hijacked. He talked with his wife for about 20 minutes. He told her that three men had hijacked the plan and where using knives and told everyone they had a bomb on the plane. Jeremy had heard from one of the other passengers who had called family about the World Trade Center incident and he asked Liz if it were true. When she told him it about the other plans and their suicide missions he knew he had to do something. He and another passenger by the name of Thomas Burnette decided to rush the terrorists. He told his wife he was going to put down the phone and would come back. Liz couldn’t bare to listen so she gave the phone to her father. He said as he listened he could hear some screams which evidently was Jeremy and Thomas overtaking the terrorists after a minute he heard another set of screams, then a muffled sound and then the phone went dead. The last set of screams and the muffled sound was the plane crashing. Now it’s believed that the hijackers had planed to fly the commercial jet into the White House. In their act of heroism Jeremy Glick and Thomas Burnette saved the White House and countless other lives. In a culture that idolizes sports heroes who get paid millions of dollars to play a game we now realize what a real hero is. The true heroes of our day are Jeremy Glick, Thomas Burnette, the firefighters, police, and rescue workers who have all put their life on the line for their fellow Americans.
Luke 13:3-5
3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or 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? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Notice how Jesus brings takes the judgment off those who died and brings it back to us. Jesus makes it clear that their death has nothing to do with guilt or sin. But He also makes it clear that their death should serve as a wake up call to us. We’re to be doing some serious soul searching at times like this. One thing we all realize from this tragedy is that America is not invincible and we’re all mortal. None of us have a guarantee of tomorrow. So we need to take a spiritual inventory today and ask God to show us where we stand with Him.
Ps 139:23-24
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Job had a hedge of protection. A barrier which God erected but then took it
away allowing Satan to have his way with Job. It is the Old Testament’s way
of saying even the most righteous and best of this earth are not immune to
evil. Just because we are good does not mean we are protected from bad. Not
in this life. The writer of Job understood this. But Job himself could not.
He was too caught up in his grief and loss
I have heard Christians say who have good intentions that this was God’s
will and we need to have faith that something good will come out of this.
They are wrong. You cannot pin this on God. We must learn what Job
eventually learned. That as good and great as America is we do not have an
exclusive and closed relationship with God. No one does. There is a third
party in this world who at any moment can intrude. And Satan and all the
evil he inspires intruded this Tuesday through the hearts and minds of
ruthless men.
Where was God this week? Hear me now. God was not in the cockpit of those
four planes. I’ll tell where God has been. He has been in the fireman’s
suit. Behind police badges. Holding a scalpel and a syringe. He is near the
heart of all who in the face of this tragedy love their neighbor and turn to
God in repentance--those who in the ashes of these last few days turn to
him, not for answers, but because in the end tragedies teach us that we are
mortal.
I appreciated our President calling for a national day of prayer and remembrance on Friday. But I believe we need to have a national day of prayer and repentance. I’ve been so encouraged to see our country turning to God in this great time of need. We have seen a revival of patriotism and now we need to see a revival among the body of Christ. The formula for revival is spelled out in the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15
14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
Closing: Now I don’t want to use the events of the past week as scare tactics. But there is one thing I can’t get off my mind and heart. After the plans hit the towers in New York the people in the floors above the fire where trapped. I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures as I have of people jumping out of the upper floors to escape the fire and smoke. The thing that really shakes me up about this is the height from which they jumped. I’ve been to the top floor of the World Trade Center and I’m not afraid of heights but it made me feel weak in the knees when I went up to window and looked down. I can’t imagine anyone jumping from such heights but the alternative was burning to death. Jesus describes hell as a place where people burn but never burn up.
Mark 9:48
48where "`their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
What a freighting thought burning all through out eternity. Here on earth we will do anything we can to get away from burning and in hell there will be no escaping it. There is only one-way to escape the torments of hell and that’s by accepting Christ forgiveness of sins today. In light of this weeks events what Jesus would tell us that we should take the opportunity we have today to repent.
One of the other things that really sticks out to me from the past week is the stories of the phone calls the victims made to their families before they died. Liz Glick said, “we just told each other over and over, ‘I love you, I love you.” Some of the family members from those who perished in the World Trade Center received calls from their loved ones trapped in the upper floors by the flames. They all alike told each other over and over that they loved them. What would you say to the most important person in your life if you knew it was the last time you would talk to them? You would want them to know how you feel about them. What if you don’t get one more chance, have you told them lately? Let’s make it a point to tell those we care about how we feel today. Don’t put it off because we never know what just around the corner.
