THE LIGHT OF THE CHURCH IN THE HOUR OF DARKNESS
1 COR 13:13 & LUKE 13:1-5
I. LIFE AND TRAGEDY
A. The terrorist attacks against America and declaration of war
1-there always has been war and there will continue to be war until Christ returns
-Job 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
-Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2-the saved as well as the sinner have always gotten caught up in these kind of events
3-many in the church will say “This is God’s judgment on America because of sin”
-sin does bring it’s own repercussion but these events also stem from U.S. policy toward Israel
-there is a difference between the wars of man and the judgment of God
4-Jesus’ response to a similar situation - Luke 13:1-5
-there were righteous people mingled with the lost, people from many churches and denominations died in this terrorist attack
5-The church must deal with these issues the right way
D. What does the church do while all this is going on? - Help those we can in what ever way we can, pray, continue to let our light shine
E. The glorious light of the church is revealed in 1 Cor 13:13 and from those words we must minister to our society
II. LOVE
A. The lost need to be reminded that God is not the author of evil. There are evil people in the world and evil people will do evil things but God is love and lost humanity must look to the love of God. Humanity cannot lose site of God’s love. We can only overcome evil as we walk in the love of God
-Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
B. In times of tragedy people feel a variety of emotions - sorrow, pain, loss, shock, numbness, pride and anger
C. Many people will question God’s love - (summed up by a news commentator) - Where was God during all this?, If God is so loving why did He allow this to happen?
-the answer of the Jewish chaplain of the N.Y.F.D.
(God created earth and gave it to man to take care of, whatever happens here is due to the wickedness of man’s heart, not God. What God created was good, man made a mess out of it)
D. The words of Jesus in Luke 13 was a warning that spiritual destruction was just as real as physical destruction and the only way to avoid it is by repenting of sin, that God loves man and by repenting of sin we avoid spiritual destruction
E. The world needs to hear and feel God’s love as it radiates from the church
III. FAITH
A. When tragedy strikes some people draw closer to God and become stronger in their faith, others distance themselves from God and lose faith in Him
B. As the church we must show the world that we have faith in God despite the evil that may be around us and we must use these opportunities to encourage others to put their faith in God
-comments of Franklin and Billy Graham
-CNN commentator “Times like this remind us that we need God. I know a lot of people don’t believe in God but we need to look to God for salvation”
C. Faith has always been the means by which man received from God and overcame the evil of the world
-Heb 11:33-39 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:...
-I Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
D. Our faith is demonstrated in our living and our loving because “Faith worketh by love”
IV. HOPE
A. When tragedy strikes people need to be reminded that there is hope
B. That’s what the gospel is all about - in this life we struggle, we toil, we labor and life ends in the sorrow of death, whether by a terrorist act, accident or natural causes, death comes to all. We are all doomed to die.
-Ecclesiastes expresses this in it’s use of the word “Vanity”
-Eccl 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
C. The Hope of the gospel gets us through this life but the real importance of hope is realized in the promises of God and eternal life
-Jesus reminded the people in Luke 13 that they all would die and perish without hope if they did not repent
-again, the comments of Franklin and Billy Graham - “We all must prepare to die”
D. The church must demonstrate to the world the eternal hope we have in God, that hope which is a refuge for the soul
V. CONCLUSION
A. The church is a beacon of light in a world of darkness, believers are beacons of light in a world of darkness
B. The light of love, faith and hope must shine brightly in our lives and in our churches
SPEACIAL NOTE - Dear Sermon Central reader, the following article was one that I received in my email from Charisma News Service (charisma@strang.com)on Friday, September 14th and was written by Andy Butcher.
Sincerely, Wayne Burnett
Message to grieving nation should ’carefully balance grace and truth’ With millions of anguished Americans turning to churches this weekend for answers to the terrorist tragedy, a charismatic leader has cautioned preachers to be careful about talking of God’s judgment. As secular news media outlets report how people are looking to religion for comfort and help, some Christian commentators have said that Tuesday’s events could trigger a national revival. But author and speaker Dutch Sheets warned that the way Christians respond and pray "could very well determine whether our nation turns toward God or away from God." He added: "Measured, accurate and biblical responses from those of us representing God are critical." A leading figure in the prayer and intercession movement, Sheets said that the church’s message should be "one of carefully balanced grace and truth," not avoiding talk of sin but lacing it with "hope and with God’s merciful heart." Sheets’ appeal has been issued through Global Harvest Ministries, which coordinates international prayer and spiritual warfare initiatives. It comes a day after televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson came under fire for saying that liberal groups bore some responsibility for the attacks. According to "The Washington Post," Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) "700 Club" host Robertson agreed yesterday when Falwell said: "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies to give us probably what we deserve." Falwell also said that pro-abortionists, pagans, feminists, gays and civil liberties groups had "helped this happen." "The Post" said that a White House official had called the remarks "inappropriate," while Ralph G. Neas, president of People for the American Way, said the comments were "absolutely inappropriate and irresponsible." The newspaper said that Falwell was later "unrepentant," and said that he had been making a theological, not a legal, statement. In a statement issued by CBN, Robertson said the terrorist attacks had occurred because God had lifted His protection, reported the Associated Press. He cited abortion, Internet pornography and the limiting of prayer in schools. "We have insulted God at the highest level of our government. Then, we say, ’Why does this happen?’" Sheets, pastor of a charismatic church in Colorado Springs, Colo., wrote in "A Biblical Response to the Terrorist Attacks on America" that "great caution should be exercised in using the word ’judgment’ to define these events...most biblical judgment is the inevitable, built-in consequence of sin, not the direct hand of God." He advised against using the term "judgment" because "the world will probably not hear anything else we say." Some "immature leaders" had "brought forth only harshness and condemnation in their attempts to call the nation to repentance," while some pastors had "overemphasized mercy and grace, refusing to call individuals to biblical accountability." He said: "Our message must call sinners to repentance - we cannot compromise truth - but God’s heart of compassion, mercy and grace must fill the message with hope." Francis Frangipane, another respected charismatic speaker and writer, said that while some would see the week’s events as "the wrath of God released against our nation," he did not believe they were the judgment of God, but "the attack of the enemy because of our stand with Israel."
