11 September 2005
Nahum 1:1-7 (KJV)
Romans 10:13-15 (KJV)
U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris
CP Walker Multicultural Gospel Service
Taegue, South Korea
BIG IDEA: God is good and He knows those who seek shelter in Him.
REFERENCES: Nahum 1:1-7 (MSG); Nahum 1:7-8 (The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble, and knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies); Nahum 2:6 - The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved; Genesis 6:5-13 (KJV) – Evil increases on the earth; and Noah family and the ship; Isaiah 37:36 (Hezekiah ask God for help and that night the death angel slew 185,000 soldiers); Jonah 3:1-10 (God’s Command; Jonah’s Obedience; Ninevah’s Prayer; God’s Answer); Romans 10:13-15: (For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!); Joel 2:32a (And it shall come to pass, that whosover shall call on the name of LORD shall be delivered …);Isaiah 52:7a – How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publishedth salvation …);
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: Nahum 1:1-7 (MSG); Romans 10:13-15 (KJV)
II. READ THE PERICOPE: Nahum 1:1-7 (MSG); Romans 10:13-15 (KJV)
III. READ THE TEXT: The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him (Nahum 1:7 – KJV).
IV. PURPOSE: To motivate the hearers to affirm to OTHERS THAT GOD IS GOOD AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO SEEK SHELTER IN HIM.
V. SERMONIC THEME: “KATRINA”
INTRODUCTION:
My brothers and sisters, I request your continuous prayers for our brothers and sisters, friends, relatives, and US neighbors in New Orleans. The devil is a liar! God is good, and He knows those who seek shelter in Him.
Please also join me in a moment of Silence for the Victims of KATRINA, and those that valiantly loss their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan …. as we once again commemorate the many lives that were taken and sacrificed on 9-11, when the terrorist planes of al Qaeda rammed into the American Structures which best symbolizes our FREEDOM: The Twin Towers of New York, and The Pentagon. (PAUSE).
***************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 1: Now, my brothers and sisters, if you were to allow your imaginations to work with me; … this scene is real:
a. It’s a young woman dressed in a dingy yellow blouse, with her baby girl gripped in her scarred right arm.
b. And she has a towel, in her left hand, filled with tears.
c. You can almost smell the cesspool aroma in her 5 day old clothes.
d. But, then it’s only a picture of a young woman crying at the convention center in New Orleans in one of many emotional pictures – with thousands of homeless people in the background.
e. All of which, is just one of many emotional pictures that can be seen daily in New Orleans, and Houston Texas.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS**************
MOVE 2: Next, is an article on CNN.com., out of New Orleans, Louisiana by Henry Schuster which reads: “We have now seen this year’s al Qaeda September surprise …
a. a video statement from a man purporting to be London bomber Mohammed Siddiq Khan who, with Osama bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, warned of more attacks.
b. But with hundreds of thousands displaced by Hurricane Katrina and a death toll that could run into the thousands, the questions are: Do we care right now? And do we believe them?”
c. “No one is talking about terrorism in New Orleans.
d. Entire communities are homeless.
e. And we still have no idea how many people died. But there is no fear in this country that the emergency response – whether appropriate in speed or focus – will in any way spawn homegrown terrorism.
f. America is united to help the displaced! Tragedies bring us closer together; and crises draws folk to Christ.
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MOVE 3: Still, out of curiosity, was there a warning – from man or from nature - of the possibility of something like KATRINA happening?
a. Doesn’t God always send warning? What about the righteous in New Orleans?
b. Did any of them die? What is the spiritual make-up and atmosphere of New Orleans?
c. Is there any spiritual significance to hurricane KATRINA? And if there is, where is God in all of this?
d. Well, in our Scripture Reading this afternoon (in Romans 10:1) the Bible declares that the Apostle Paul’s heart desire was for Israel and the righteous to be save.
e. As you may recall, The Apostle Paul had a passion for his people to receive God’s Salvation.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 4: For you see, my brothers and my sisters, Paul understood the goodness of God; and the fact that God is l-o-n-g-s-u-f-f-e-r-r-e-r-i-n-g.
a. But, Paul also knew that the term longsuffering doesn’t mean that God doesn’t get angry.
b. It simply implies that GOD DOESN’T ANGER quickly. In other words, it takes a while for God to anger.
c. My wife Dedra and I are opposites. I have a propensity to settle my anger with my children immediately; whereas Dedra allows her anger to slowly mount up and then suddenly she explodes. And when she does the boys will tell you ... it’s ugly for them.
d. Likewise, I wouldn’t play with God if I were you.
e. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say again: A God that can not anger; can not love.
f. And we know that the Bible says that God is Love.
g. Therefore, regardless of what happens in our society; regardless of LIFE’S STORMS and HURRICANES;
h. regardless of LIFE’S terror stricken wars and battles – as Children of God – we must rely on the truth of God’s Word.
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MOVE 5: The fact that He will never leave us or forsake us. And even though, our natural mothers and fathers may forsake us (they may leave us willingly or unwillingly through death) – God will not LEAVE US.
a. For GOD IS GOOD AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO SEEK SHELTER IN HIM!
b. And IF WE SINCERELY SEEK SHELTER IN HIM, although to the viewers at first glance it may not look like it.
c. Because we may die physically but in the PROCESS of dieing FIND SPIRITUAL SHELTER IN GOD.
d. NOW, I BELIEVE THAT THERE WERE MANY THAT DIE IN NEW ORLEANS BUT BEFORE THEY TOOK THEIR LAST BREATH …
e. GOD GAVE THEM ANOTHER CHANCE TO ACCEPT HIM AS LORD AND SAVIOUR.
f. TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY … THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME. FOR GOD HAS A BETTER PLACE FOR ME.
g. Turn to SOMEONE ELSE AND repeat after me: God is good and He knows those who seek shelter in Him.
h. My brothers and sisters, we can’t bank on the FACT THAT GOD IS MERCIFUL AND LONGSUFFERING AND ASSUME THAT HE WILL NOT ANGER. BECAUSE JUDGEMENT WILL COME.
i. For the Bible declares (in Hebrews 10:31) that it’s a fearful thing to fall into THE HANDS OF A LIVING GOD.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS*************
MOVE 6: For who can ever forget the Biblical account of Jonah?
a. The story of a fish swallowing a man and the man living sounds impossible, and since some biblical scholars, according to Dr. Hampton Keathley IV, deny the possibility of the supernatural, they reject the book of Jonah as anything but a fairy tale.
b. But the facts are self-evident.
c. The Book of Jonah stands unique in the prophetical canon, in that it does not contain any predictions, but simply relates the story of its hero (Jonah).
d. For don’t you remember … the story about the disobedient Man of God AND THE OBEDIENT NATION in which he prophesied unto.
e. The servant who was commanded by God to prophesy against Nineveh – the House or Place of Fish – the Capitol of Assyria.
f. Instead, hoping to escape from the Call of God to minister Salvation through Repentance to his oppressive enemies (the Assyrians), Jonah flees to another country.
g. He goes DOWN to Joppa to take ship Down to Tarshish, and ends up DOWN in the belly of a whale.
h. For you see, when we’re running from doing God’s Will – the ONLY PLACE UP IS DOWN.
h. Because, as a result of Jonah’s disobedience, God sends a terrible storm, and even though these professional fishermen/seamen were trying to fight through the STORM – they couldn’t.
i. So, after all of their efforts and prayers to their gods TO STOP THE STORM had proven useless, ….
j. … they threw dice to find out why this terrible storm had come upon them; and the dice pointed toward the passenger on the deck DOWN below - Jonah.
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MOVE 7: Eventually, Jonah would confessed to them that he was a Hebrew, and the reason why this terrible STORM had come upon them.
a. The Mariners then prayed to Jonah’s God and complied with Jonah request to be thrown overboard and threw him into the sea.
b. Jonah found himself in a Whale of Trouble for 3 days and 3 nights.
c. After having praise God in the belly of the fish, Jonah was thrown-up - by the fish - upon dry land.
d. For who can ever forget the fact that Jonah, in spite of his disobedient was given a SECOND CHANCE?
e. The Bible tells us that Jonah goes to Nineveh, and announces to the city that it shall be destroyed within 40 days.
f. And to Jonah surprise, all of the dwellers in Nineveh following the example of their King and governmental leaders repented to God of their sins.
g. The Bible says even the animals went on a FAST and refused to eat.
h. As a result, God was moved on their behalf because they took HEED to The Man of God (Jonah) WARNING that the CITY would be destroyed in 40 DAYS - and GOD PERMITTED THE NIENEVITES TO GO FREE Jonah 3).
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MOVE 8: Now, most of us have concluded that Jonah Chapters 1-3 is the SUM TOTAL of the Ninevites and their spiritual encounter with God and his servants.
a. But that’s NOT HOW THE STORY of NINEVEH ENDS. A closer gleam of the scriptures, ….
b. … pushes us to The Book of Nahum – Chapter 1:7-8 which reads:
c. The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble, and knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies;
d. and Chapter 2, verse 6: The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the place shall be dissolved.
e. In other words, my brothers and my sisters, nearly one hundred fifty years after the prophecy of Jonah comes Nahum and the destruction of Ninevah.
f. For you see, the Book of Nahum, like Jonah, is one of the Minor Prophetical works of the Bible.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 9: But that’s where the similarity ends – in contrast to Jonah, …
a. … Nahum is about an OBEDIENT MAN OF GOD prophesying to A DISOBEDIENT NATION/CITY which was ultimately destroyed by a STORM.
b. For don’t you remember, the entire city had backslid to the very behavior that God had delivered them out of during Jonah’s day.
c. The city had worsen. Sin was rapport.
d. Ninevah had developed into a Rebellious Nation/City striving on the destruction of its neighbors.
e. In fact, Ninevah had returned to oppressing Israel and Judah and God was not pleased.
f. The Blood of God’s people was everywhere, and Ninevah refused to hear God’s Servant Nahum.
g. So, God allowed the Khosr River – which ran through the city of Ninevahto FLOOD; …
h. … which also broke floodgates and part of the wall which allowed their enemies to come in.
i. The city was destroyed so completely by the flood and its enemies that it wasn’t until 1850 that Nineveh was discovered by Archaeologist.
*****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 10: Similar, Michael Brown, the creator of the immensely popular SpiritDaily.com website has said that Katrina was definitely a purification for New Orleans.
a. Brown points out that the name Katrina itself means ‘pure’.” It comes from the Greek adjective – Kath-ar-os – …
b. … which ethically means free from corrupt desire from sin and guilt – pure, clean, and clear.
c. Brown also has been quoted as saying, God has everything in His control and … everything is interwoven.”
d. LifeSiteNews.com contacted Brown due to his startingly accurate prediction of the events in New Orleans in 2001,…
e. … when he issued what is now being seen as a warning to New Orleans.
f. In 2001 Brown wrote a piece about what he felt was upcoming disaster for New Orleans. He said:
g. “There are few cities with so many good as New Orleans and also few cities where there is such a stark coexistence with the bad.
h. It is this city, the BIG EASY, that is home to kind and generous Christian people … and yet also it is this city that has allowed evil to flourish in a way that has become truly dangerous.
i. When you invoke dark spirits, you get a storm.
j. The very word hurricane comes from the Indian hurukan for evil spirit.”
k. Brown went on to say …” when he visited the National Hurricane Center, they told him that there was no city that gave them the meterological willies like his city of New Orleans.”
**************TAKE 5 BEATS*****************
MOVE 11: Then, last year – in September 2004 – brought on another WARNING due to Hurricane Ivan, which elevated PUBLIC AWARENESS about the possible sinking of New Orleans.
a. However, Ivan – is a Russian name which means God is gracious.
b. Therefore, Hurricane Ivan obeyed the voice of God and obligingly …
c. … curved to the east as it came ashore, barely grazing a grateful city.
d. Today, we stand in the aftermath of one of Histories most destructive hurricanes; and although the death count isn’t in yet …
e. … Lets us not forget the WORDS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL which says .
f. … WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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CELBERATION:
FOR … “THE LORD IS GOOD, A STRONG HOLD…
IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE, AND KNOWETH
THEM THAT TRUST IN HIM …
WE MUST FIND SHELTER IN GOD BEFORE THE KATRINA IN OUR LIVES DEVASTATE US ...
LET US NOT WAIT UNTIL KATRINA HITS TO ACKNOWLEDGE GOD ... LET US ACKNOWLEDGED HIM NOW ...!
