September 16, 2001
INTRODUCTION
We’ve wandered in a haze now for six days. Some fitting words for this week were sung several years ago by Bruce Cockburn, “Sometimes a wind comes out of nowhere and knocks you off your feet.” A wind has come out of New York and Washington, knocked us off our feet, and we have found ourselves on our knees.
At 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the United States of America was assaulted. Four Boeing jets forced from their familiar paths…
American Airlines Flights 11 and 73
United Airlines Flights 175 and 93
Two planes hit the World Trade Center – thousands dead, many still missing
One plane hits the Pentagon – nearly 200 are killed
Another plane misses its target, but over 40 sacrificial heroes die.
With all that has been said this week, what more can one possibly say? What more should one say?
I’m reminded of something C.S. Lewis once wrote.
“God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.” – C.S. Lewis
We’re definitely in pain, so if Lewis is right, God’s voice ought to be very audible. But what is it that God wants us to know right now? What words does God want a nation under attack to hear?
If we’re willing to listen, God’s message is clear.
TRANSITION: First, God says to us…
I. OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD
Has the attack on America made you angry? One of the most common sentiments I have heard expressed this past week is anger. And rightly so. Thousands of lives lost. Senseless acts of violence.
In Psalm 137 the Israelite poets record some words of national anger. Their beloved city of Jerusalem had been ransacked by the armies of Babylon. To make matters worse Israel’s blood-relatives, the Edomites, assisted in the massacre. They lended their aid and support to these terrorist activities. One thing you’ve got to love about the Psalmists is they didn’t hide their feelings when they talked to God. So they said…
Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
Perhaps not that different from the cry of those who attacked the World Trade Center. But listen to what comes next…
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. (Psalm 137:7-8)
That may be something like what we’re feeling right now.
We want to say – “Who did this? Who’s responsible? They’re going to get it and ten times worse. Let’s find these miserable terrorist cowards and the ones who house them and turn their country into a parking lot.”
We’re tempted to think of the most gruesome consequences – we fantasize about how we’d like to see them punished for what they have done to us.
“Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!”
We want revenge.
A Chicago Tribune reader from Berwyn named Scott Plapp wrote to the paper on Tuesday… “It’s time for revenge, not justice. Terrorists do not deserve the justice of a civilized society. An eye for an eye might be appropriate. Better yet, let’s make it two eyes for an eye.”
Anger. Revenge. It’s what we feel.
But listen to what God promises in Romans 12…
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19, 21)
We say, “Nobody does this to the United States of America and gets away with it!” How true. But God says it is mine to avenge.
The same is true of Afganistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Canada, Switzerland, Zaire, Mexico, Indonesia and Croatia. No one can unjustly attack them and get away with it either. God says vengeance is mine. He says, “I will repay.” He’s not going to let justice go undone.
So, beware. Make no mistake about it. Whoever you are who did this. You will pay, and you will pay dearly before Almighty God. Justice will be done and He will repay. However, that’s God’s job to do the repaying, not yours and mine. Let’s be secure enough in our relationship with God to tell him our anger in all its ferocity and explosiveness, then allow Him to seek justice.
But also understand this. The Bible teaches us that God has placed government officials in office to uphold justice. Romans 13:1 says the authorities that exist have been established by God.
At times justice is upheld through acts of military retaliation.
If this act of terrorism leads to an American military strike, and I hope it does not, but if it does, then that is how justice will be done. I trust our leaders to pray and God will lead them to uphold justice. The question for us, as citizens, is do we long more for God’s justice or American revenge? The follower of Jesus will have no interest in revenge – only in God’s justice.
I doubt that this is the case, but what if – what if all the people behind this are already dead? That might mean no military is possible. Could we trust God that justice will be done? That He will repay the souls of those involved in a just fashion?
What if those involved are brought to justice without destructive military retaliation? Will we be disappointed? Have we allowed our anger to turn into hatred and bloodlust? Will we be satisfied only if there is more destruction?
Only good conquers evil. God says vengeance is mine.
We don’t know for sure what motivated these terrorists, but it’s safe to guess that they believed their actions were a form of payback or revenge. Apparently they had the opinion that America had somehow wronged them or their people group, so they would punish America. In their minds filled with hatred it must have seemed logical – return evil for evil.
Let’s not fall into the same trap as individuals. Hate breeds more hate. Revenge has a way of escalating.
One of the clergy members at the closed the Prayer Service in National Cathedral on Friday closed with the words, “As we respond, let us not become the evil we so despise.”
So God says, “I will avenge and see that justice is done. You – make sure you overcome evil with good.” This is God’s message to a nation under attack, and I wonder today, can you hear Him?”
TRANSITION: There is a second thing God I believe God is telling us. He says…
II. ACKNOWLEDGE THE EVIL INSIDE
Every person has a dark side.
Each one of us has potential for incredible good and potential for incredible evil. I don’t think any of us would commit terrorist acts of destruction and mass murder – that seems hard for me to believe – but we still struggle with right and wrong. As a result of the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, we too, have an incredible capacity for evil.
Maybe we would like to think evil is something outside ourselves or only in other people. But when I look inside my heart, I discover the evil is in me.
In the book of Jeremiah it says…
The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9)
No one does. But God tells us that our hearts are wicked.
We have within us the capability of harming others – both emotionally, physically. Our hearts are in need of serious redemption.
So we may look at what happened this past week and wonder, “What kind of monsters would do such a thing?” Here’s a scary thought for us to consider…. Those weren’t monsters. They were human beings – people who fed the dark side of their souls. Horribly misled, deceived, depraved and misdirected people who became tools in the hands of Satan himself.
Maybe they were happy as children. Maybe they even came from decent homes. But then something went terribly wrong. Something turned them from innocent children to horrific agents of evil. And when the evil inside is allowed to run its course, you see the results. What we before thought unimaginable is now reality.
In Romans 1, Paul vividly describes the state of the humanity by saying, “they invent ways of doing evil.”
God says to us, “Acknowledge the evil inside. It’s not to be fed or embraced. Turn from it, and turn to me, otherwise it does terrible damage to people.” And I wonder today, can you hear Him?
TRANSITION: A third thing God says to a nation under attack is…
III. VALUE PEOPLE OVER THINGS
Make deposits in eternity. Invest in things that will outlast your life. Value the eternal destiny of people.
Perhaps in a strange way this event has given you a better perspective on life. When we think about what happened last Tuesday, suddenly we realize many of the things we normally consider valuable and chase after – money, possessions, cars, houses, success, and power – do not matter.
Jesus says…
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)
He wants us to know that if we only focus on things, our heart isn’t invested in the Kingdom of Heaven.
When you first heard the news of the attack, what was the first thing you did? My guess is that many of you called your loved ones. You wanted to talk to them, see if they were OK, assure yourself that they were.
One of our staff members, Marilyn Bourn, had a daughter and a daughter in law in D.C. that morning. She wanted to hear from them – talk to them. What a relief when she heard her daughter’s voice on the other end of the line.
I was talking to a hotel in Louisville. The lady on the other end of the line apologized for not being very focused - she couldn’t get ahold of her babysitter. She just wanted to hear that things were OK.
There hasn’t been much sports to report this past week, but I did see a clip of Shane Matthews, the Bears quarterback. He said he got up a few times during the night on Tuesday to just watch his children sleep.
We’ve all seen heartbreaking footage of people wandering through New York City looking for a father or mother, brother or sister, husband or wife.
Many of you waited in long lines to give blood.
In all these things, God has reminded us that people are what matter most.
Think of the World Trade towers themselves. A symbol of trade, commerce, American wealth. When they fell, no one was all too worried about what happened to the computers, the files, the documents, or even the market itself. In fact the market even shut down. None of that seemed to matter. We were concerned for people. A wake up call for what is most important.
So if you haven’t done so yet, make that relationship right – give an extra hugs, tell your family members you love them. None of us know that we’ll have another chance.
People are what matters in life. And to prove it, look at the cross. Where Jesus took upon himself the sins of every person in the world. He died in our place. From the cross we hear God’s voice clearly telling us…
“Be like me. Value people over things.” And I wonder today, can you hear Him?
TRANSITION: There is one last thing God wants us to hear. To people whose nation is under attack he clearly says…
IV. SEEK SAFETY IN ME
Safety is not ultimately found in a secure place or a safe situation. Safety is only found it God.
I lift my eyes up to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)
We may feel like our safety has been assaulted. One of the Holmes School teachers that works here in the building said on Tuesday, “I feel vulnerable.”
We may feel like we’re not safe anymore. God says, no place on earth was ever 100% safe to begin with.
No place or circumstance is truly safe. We may think we are out here in the suburbs, we’re safe. That’s what people thought in Littleton, Colorado too. But there are no guaranteed “safe places.” If all places were safe, why would they Psalmist lift his eyes to the hills for help?
In fact, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
In response to that, Julian of Norwich wrote, “God did not say, ‘You will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted;’ but God said, ‘You will not be overcome.’”
Are we safe? Yes, if the Lord is our God. He is our refuge and protection.
But you may say, “How can we feel safe? We don’t know what the future holds.”
I say, “Yes, we do.”
We do know what the future holds. I have seen the future, and in that future…
The lion will lay down with the lamb
The wicked will cease their troubling
The weary will get their rest
There will be no more death or mourning, no more tears or sorrow. This old order of things will pass away.
No more hunger.
No more thirst.
No more fighting
No more hatred
No more racism.
They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4)
Our future is safe!
In January a writer for the New Yorker decided to go on line and ask God what in the world is going on out there in the world. So he sat down at the keyboard and started browsing for God.
He started with some theological words, afraid to type the big one.
Hope was blank: “Sorry, this site is not accepting requests.”
Mercy.com links you to a Catholic hospital in Knoxville.
Charity is a site for collecting money.
Beauty?—Give the gift of beauty for under $40.00 Calvin Klein.
Truth, it turns out, is a hardware store in Owatonna, Minnesota.
Jesus.com is a guy in Virginia who is a performing artist.
When he typed in God.com, there was “a long wait, much confused back and forthing on the lower margins of the page, and then, not even ‘click again on the reload icon,’ but merely those chilling words: ‘Sorry, no such address.’”
The he tried God.net, but not until he tried God.org did he get something: “And there it was, in a mysteriously unsigned white page with six perfect and consoling words: ‘Coming soon–a site for all.’”
Jesus says at the close of the Bible, Behold I am coming soon. Soon! When you embrace me as Lord and Savior, your eternal destiny is secure.
TRANSITION: God has a message for us, can you hear Him? He says, “Seek safety in me!”
CONCLUSION
In the next few days, weeks and months, we may not know how the path will wind or bend, but we know where the road ends and the message the journey sends.
In this world of doom and doomsayers, we who know Jesus can be what Leonard Sweet calls a “doomslayer.” Those who sling doomslaying hope at a doomsaying world.
To those who feel doomed by crumbling towers, the doomslayer sings, “How Firm a Foundation.”
To those who feel doomed by lost security, the doomslayer sings, “The anchor holds and grips the solid rock.”
To those who feel doomed by lost direction, the doomslayer sings, “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us.”
To those who feel doomed by lost faith, the doomslayer sings, “Jesus Loves Me! This I know.”
To those who feel doomed by lost trust, the doomslayer sings, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.”
To those who feel doomed by lost riches, the doomslayer sings, “I’ve got a mansion, just over the hilltop.”
To those who feel doomed by lost friends, the doomslayer sings “What a Friend we have in Jesus.”
To those who feel doomed by lost confidence, the doomslayer sings, “My hope is built on nothing less.”
To those who feel doomed by a lost sense of God’s presence, the doomslayer sings, “Revive Us Again.”
To those who feel doomed by lost courage, the doomslayer sings, “Standing on the promises.”
To those who feel doomed by lost loved ones, the doomslayer sings “Christ the Lord is risen today.”
To those who feel doomed by the evil of this old world, the torrents of destruction and man’s inhumanity to man, the doomslayer sings, “Soon and very soon we are going to see the King. Alleluia, Alleluia, we’re going to see the King!”
ILLUS – Jill Lickteig is 4-year-old who attends church here with her family. On Tuesday morning as the disaster unfolded, Jill asked her mom a serious question. “Did they kill God?”
No. They didn’t kill God. He’s alive. He’s actively alive in the hearts of His people.
And I wonder today, can you hear Him?
