When Towers Come Crashing Down!

Scripture: II Timothy 1:1-12

343 NYC Firefighters

23 NYC Police Officers

37 Port Authority Officers

3000 innocent civilians

There were no parting words; there was no time for goodbyes; and there were no bodies to bury. Ashes that once were husbands and fathers and brothers and sons...ashes that once were wives and mothers and sisters and daughters...ashes that once were friends and co-workers...ashes that will forever cover memories and bury futures.

All of us remember exactly what we were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was a beautiful, sunny day in New York City--that is until the towers feel and ashes clouded the sky.

I was doing the laundry when I turned on the television. I sat down to fold some towels, when I noticed that on the screen that one of two tall buildings was on fire. I thought, there shouldn't be a movie on CBS at this time of the day. I then began to watch and listen and soon I realized what was happening. Then I saw the second plane hit the second tower, minutes later the towers came crashing down. In an instant, thousands of lives went up in smoke--thousands of lives were reduced to ashes.

The question I want to ask you today is this, "What happens when the towers in your life come crashing down?"

After United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked, Todd Beamer communicated with people on the ground and learned that the World Trade Center had been attacked by using hijacked airplanes. Beamer tried to place a call through a phone located on the back of the plane seat and was routed to a telephone supervisor. Her name was Lisa Jefferson.

Beamer reported that one passenger had been killed and that a flight attendant had told him the pilot and co-pilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. He was still on the phone when the plane made its turn in a southeast direction, a move that had him briefly panicking.

Later, he told the operator that some of the plane's passengers were planning to "jump on" the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers' mission could be accomplished. Beamer asked Lisa to recite the Lord's Prayer with him. According to Lisa, after Beamer finished reciting the prayer, he then said, "Are you guys ready? Let's roll!" ((from Wikipedia)

Let's look at verse 7 in today's scripture. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

When the towers in life begin to fall, trust in the power of God.

Folks, we can't trust in our government, we can't trust in our economy, and we can't trust in our jobs. We can only trust in the sovereign God of the universe. When the towers of death, sickness, divorce, aging parents, disobedient children and unemployment come crashing down, we need to rely on the power of the Spirit to get us through and we need to trust in the power of God.

We can have strength when we continue to trust God, even when we don't understand. We can have strength when we trust that God has everything under control, even when things seem out of control. We need to continue to trust God and trust that His ways are not our ways and that His thoughts are not our thoughts. Todd Beamer trusted in the power of God.

On the worst, the most difficult day of your life, you need to trust God. Remember, your heart may be broken, but your spirit doesn't have to be crushed. Folks, when the towers in your life come crashing down--trust in the power of God...to get you through...to sustain you...and to protect you.

Let's look at verse 10 in today's scripture. But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Second, when the towers in your life come crashing down, trust in the Gospel of Christ.

Jesus is the one who has destroyed death. Jesus has the power to overcome death. Jesus is the one who saves us, calls us, gives us grace (vs. 9), and Jesus has given us life and immortality (vs. 10)--even in the midst of crashing towers. And Jesus has given us a spirit of power and love (vs. 7).

Scripture has never said life would be easy, in fact it says quite the opposite. However, scripture does tell us that we will overcome the world. For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (I John 5:4-5).