Psalm 119:49-61
Hope In Times Of Disaster
Introduction. The date was September 11,2001 or 9/11/01: Now to be remembered as “911.” Tuesday was the beginning of days, perhaps an era, of emergency for America and the world community. Fanatical, fundamentalist, hateful, evil, suicidal, sinful Muslim* terrorists attacked our beloved United States of America. Thousands of lives were lost. The mission of these hate filled men was to destroy Americans and to show disrespect toward America’s social, material and spiritual way of life. They died believing that their false god, Allah, would give them eternal pleasure in paradise because of their acts of war against the America that they call “The Great Satan.”
Their well planned, financed, and orchestrated attack was designed to bring Americans to our knees… It did: But not in the way they intended. Americans immediately went to our knees in prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Only True God. Jehovah. We went to our knees to minister to the fallen, the injured, to gather and bury the dead… Church services were organized, service organizations sprang into action, a nation divided by all kinds of political values, mostly, united to share loving words and deeds with the suffering and with each other. Americans gave blood for the wounded, just as Jesus Christ gave his own blood on the cross for all of humankind who have been wounded by sin.
Allow me to ask and try to answer three questions. 1. What should we think about all of this disaster and tragedy? 2. What should we do immediately?
3. What does this mean to our future?
I. What should we think about all of this disaster and tragedy?
We must go to the Bible for answers and understanding. Jesus said that in this world we will have trials and tribulation. Jesus tells us that when we grieve and have sorrow that we should not sorrow as people who have no hope. It is OK to grieve when we suffer loss. It is OK to be angry: But we must be careful that in our anger we do not sin. We cannot hide our feelings and fears from God. An old song tells us that “Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will guide till the day is done…” God is big enough to field our questions, doubts and fears. Many, maybe even you, are saying, “How could God do this?” My response is that God did not do this. Sinful man did. God made everything good. Adam and every human, except Jesus, since then has first chosen to sin. God provided life. God told man ahead of time that if he ate of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden that he would die. Man chose death. God, even before the world was created had a plan of salvation, through Jesus Christ. God has always had a remedy.
Some are asking, maybe even you, “Why, if God is a God of love, if God is Love, would He allow this to happen?” My response is that when God created the world, He placed certain natural and spiritual laws in place. When they are broken, they bring predicted results. At times, His permissive will lets man endure the consequences of man’s actions. At other times, through reasons known only to Him, He works miracles to supersede those laws. Some who seem to think that all we need for a healthy, rich, happy life is to pray a prayer of Jabez, or to pray for a band of angels, or to pray for a hedge of protection… may have to rethink the story of the early church’s persecution and of all but one of the twelve apostles who died violent deaths.
Talk to Jesus. Read His Word. Pray for spiritual wisdom and commonsense. Listen to Him as we pray. Ask Him to forgive our sins. Sins which we are tempted to think of as small, in the light of the horrific events of the past week. I, for one, am glad God created me with a free will; that he gave me choice and did not make me a puppet. Christians choose to live with faith in God. If Allah is such a loving god why does he not work miracles of love? If the other gods worshipped by our world are the true gods, why do they not straighten out the messes in our world? God has been good enough to tell us, through the Bible prophecies, of the future. (Some nuts will set dates for Jesus’ second coming. Don’t) Be ready. Jesus is coming sometime… Several from the Tuesday night Bible study group told their teacher, Joan, “We are so glad we took time to study Revelation…” Do they have all the answers? Definitely not: But they do know that even more tribulation will one day assault this earth.
Satan is a reality. We know, that at the cross, he has already been defeated and that God’s Kingdom is here; but it is also coming…
II. What should we do immediately?
1. Realize the unknown date of our life’s end. One day we will die and we do not know when that will happen. Remind ourselves that we have sinned and must repent. The Bible teaches as fact that when we die we then face the judgment. Repent. Confess Jesus now. It is Heaven or Hell. Live every day as though it was our last. Enjoy the good stuff that God has given us to enjoy. Stay away from the sinful.
2. Knowing that physical life is uncertain, remind your family and friends that you love them. Do not get sidetracked by the petty cares of life. Talk to your children, parents, family about what has happened. Communicate. LISTEN. Being a Christian does not give us all the answers. People, families, colleagues, others are hurting. If we expect people to listen to us we must first earn their respect.
3. Do what you can to help. Should you run off and join the armed forces? I do not know. You can give to Nazarene Disaster Relief or our Nazarene Compassionate Ministry program, Salvation Army, Red Cross, etc. You can give blood in the next blood drive.
4. Be kind to those who would be treated unfairly because of these atrocious acts of hatred. Get rid of prejudice! Did you know that three fourths or more of all Arabs in the USA are Christians? They came to America to escape religious and ethnic persecution. They, like us, are here for freedom. Be kind to Muslims.** (Many are being persecuted unjustly.) The Crusades did not work and will never work. Jesus taught a gospel of love for God and neighbor.
5. We can all do a better job of Bible study and prayer. Knowing the Bible and knowing God in a personal way grows our faith and helps us share that faith with others who question and hurt.
6. Pray for our country and for President Bush. He is a confessed born again believer. The fickle press and politicians constantly try to make him look like a simpleton and fool. He is under tremendous pressure. Pray that few innocents will be killed in the coming punishment of those countries who harbor or encourage terrorism. The United States, a nation whose mottoes are, “In God we trust,” and “One nation under God,” must take leadership to bring justice and safety to our world.
This takes us to my last question…
III. What does this mean for our future?
1. That our country will go to war. A new kind of war. A war against terrorists. Jesus taught that soldiers should be good soldiers. Jesus taught about defending our homes. At times soldiers have to kill, but they must do it with justice and mercy. In Ecclesiastes 3 we are taught that, “1 THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to KILL and a time to HEAL, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to WEEP and a time to LAUGH, a time to MOURN and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to LOVE and a time to HATE, a time for WAR and a time for PEACE.”
(EXPAND ON THE WORDS IN CAPS.)
To ignore this horrible act of war against our country is to invite more of the same and to see even more lives and freedoms lost.
2. We must become more outspoken about all of our fellowmen around the world who are suffering injustice, prejudice and hatred. As Christians, we are called to be the “salt of the earth.” We must write and phone our elected officials; write letters to the editor… (Remember the two million Christians killed in the last few years in Sudan…) Read. Get involved. We must register to vote and then vote for the best and most godly candidates. Use and enjoy the freedoms that we have.
3. We must be patient. Americans want instant results. Acting with justice and mercy will probably take time. Pray for our armed services. Pray that Americans will not lose their resolve to do the right thing… It will take time to bring these terrorists to justice… Remember that God will one day judge these evil soldiers of terror.
4. We must continue to walk in love and faith with our Unchanging God.
Conclusion:
Much was written and spoken last week about national and world unity. Today, as Christians, we find solidarity, unity in the Sacrament of Communion. The Lord’s Supper exposes us to the healing grace and love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. May the symbolism of the bread and wine remind us of the One who gave His life for our sins. That by His wounds we are healed. May we commit our lives to be like His. Jesus can bring healing to our hurts and help us do what needs to be done, in His name, for this sin-scared world.
*(We cannot place all Muslims into the same category. Much that I read says that Muslims are divided on the subject of Holy War and Paradise for those who die fighting. I do believe that the Muslim terrorist groups want to exterminate Christians and Jews. Their god is not my God.)
**(Illustration. Article from page A2 “Cape Cod Times” Tuesday, September 11 edition from Jos, Nigeria… Where Christians and Muslims risked their lives to help each other in riots and fighting between Muslims and Christians in Jos. We must act as Jesus would act…)
(Sermon preached by Ron Keller, September 16, 2001)
