Lessons from Katrina
Matthew 16:1-4
Introduction: Many people feel that the devastating hurricane which struck the South was a punishment from God leveling charges against those impacted by the storm. We must never be quick to judge in these situations. However, there are several lessons we can learn from Katrina that apply to man and his response to God working in his life.
I. The Signs of the Coming Storm
A. On Wednesday August 24, meteorologists began warning that the eleventh named tropical storm of the season, Katrina had passed over the Bahamas and was headed for the United States. At that time scientists discerned that the storm had the potential of being devastating.
B. On Saturday August 27,the National Hurricane center advised the following: “KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO BE AN INTENSE AND DANGEROUS HURRICANE HEADING TOWARD THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF COAST...AND THIS HAS TO BE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.”
C. Discern the skies.
D. Luke 12:54-56: "Then He also said to the multitudes, ’Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ’A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ’There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?"
E. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent, both testaments are filled with references to the Scond Cming of Christ. One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s Second Coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ; an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are eight which look forward to His second! – Today in the Word
F. The signs are there; the Lord is Coming and when He comes He brings judgment with Him.
G. Jude 14-15: "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ’Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him"
II. The Call to Prepare for the Coming Storm
A. On Wednesday, August 24, the American Red Cross urged Area residents to start planning now in case any evacuations are issued, and begin preparing for an emergency.
B. On Sunday the National Hurricane Center stated: A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF COAST FROM MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA EASTWARD TO THE ALABAMA/FLORIDA BORDER...INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
C. The following warnings were issued on Monday August 29th:
· GEORGE W BUSH: "We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials."
· National Correspondent LEIGH SALES: "Hurricane Katrina is a Category Five storm, the worst on the scale that measures these things. That means it has winds of more than 250 kilometres an hour and will cause massive flooding and damage. Only three Category Five hurricanes have hit the US since records began. The last one to strike the Louisiana region was Hurricane Camille in 1969. Two hundred and fifty people died and authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat this time."
· New Orleans Mayor RAY NAGIN: "We are encouraging all of our citizens to leave the city of New Orleans. This storm is enormous, it’s coming up in a direction that most people have dreaded, 175 miles per hour winds, with storm surges of over 20 feet."
D. Matthew 24:44- "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
E. Luke 21:31- "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near..."
III. The Response to the Call to Prepare for the Coming Storm
A. Some believed the reports of Katrina’s magnitude and potential devastation. Some chose to ignore it saying they been through hurricanes before and it was no big deal. Some were aware of the threat but chose not to leave because they were attached to possessions or pets. Some said they would wait, and if things got to bad then they’d leave. In fact as many as 30% of the residents of New Orleans chose not to leave.
B. People Didn’t Believe the Barometer - On September 21, 1938, a hurricane of monstrous proportions struck the East Coast of the United States. William Manchester, writing about it his book "The Glory and the Dream," says, “The great wall of brine struck the beach between Babylon and Patchogue (Long Island, New York) at 2:30 p.m. So mighty was the power of that first storm wave that its impact registered on a seismograph in Sitka, Alaska, while the spray, carried northward at well over a hundred miles an hour, whitened windows in Montpelier, Vermont. As the torrential 40-foot wave approached, some Long Islanders jumped into cars and raced inland. No one knows precisely how many lost that race for their lives, but the survivors later estimated that they had to keep the speedometer over 50 mph all the way.” For some reason the meteorologists—who should have known what was coming and should have warned the public—seemed strangely blind to the impending disaster. They either ignored their instruments or simply could not believe them. And, of course, if the forecasters were blind, the public was too. “Among the striking stories which later came to light,” says Manchester, “was the experience of a Long Islander who had bought a barometer a few days earlier in a New York store. It arrived in the morning post September 21, and to his annoyance, the needle pointed below 29, where the dial read, ‘Hurricanes and Tornadoes.’ He shook it and banged it against the wall; the needle would not budge. Indignant, he repacked it, drove to the post office, and mailed it back. While he was gone, his house blew away.” That is the way we are. If we cannot cope with the forecast, we blame the barometer. Or ignore it. Or throw it away! - Source unknown
C. In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a “hurricane party” in the face of a storm named Camille. Were they ignorant of the dangers? Could they have been overconfident? Did they let their egos and pride influence their decision? We’ll never know. What we do know is that the wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark. Facing the Beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger. A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved. Peralta yelled up, “You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm’s getting worse.” But as other joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave. “This is my land,” one of them yelled back. “If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me.” Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving. It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille’s wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high. News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day (Christian Values Qs Quarterly, Spring/Summer, 1994, p. 10).
D. 2Peter 3:3-4 “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ’Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
E. Acts 17:32 “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ’We will hear you again on this matter.”
IV. The Results of Individual Decisions Related to the Coming Storm
A. Those who heeded the warnings are safe and secure. Those who disregarded the warnings are paying a heavy price. At least 273,000 people made homeless by the storm are put being up in a variety of shelters in 16 US states. The death toll in Louisiana may top 10,000.
B. Ezekiel 33:1-5 “Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ’Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ’When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.”
C. "Do any of you remember the loss of the vessel called the "Central America"? She was in a bad state, had sprung a leak, and was going down. She therefore hoisted a signal of distress. A ship came close to her, and its captain asked, through the trumpet, ’What is wrong?’
’We are in bad repair and are going down. Wait till morning,’ was the answer. But the captain on board the rescue ship said, ’Let me take your passengers on board now.’
’Wait until morning,’ was the message that came back. Once again the captain cried, "You had better let me take your passengers on board now."
’Wait until morning,’ was the reply that sounded through the trumpet. About an hour and a half later, the lights were gone, and though no sound was heard, the ship and all on board had gone down to the fathomless abyss.
"Unconverted friends, for God’s sake, do not say, ’wait until morning.’ Today, hear God’s voice" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990).
D. Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him?”
