MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2016)
(PowerPoint slides used in this sermon are available at no charge. Just e-mail me at mnewland@sstelco.com with your request - #242.)
TEXT: Psalms 91:1-7; Lamentations 3:22-26
A. Again & again this past week we were reminded that 15 years ago today our nation experienced a terrible tragedy that significantly altered our sense of security & the very way in which we live.
On that day nearly 3,000 died in 4 separate terrorist attacks, & as a nation, we will never be quite the same again.
ILL. In one of Elie Wiesel’s books, there is a troubling story of a man who lived in Europe during World War 2. He is a Jew living in a community invaded by the Nazis. He’s very devoted to God, but he’s also a bit on the crazy side.
The day the Germans invade, this man goes into hiding. When he feels it is safe to do so, he comes out, runs to the synagogue, looks up at the ceiling & shouts – “You see, God, we’re still here!”
Then the Nazis begin a series of oppressive actions against the Jews. Occasionally, a number of the Jews are rounded up & put on trains, never to be seen again.
And each time this happens, this crazy little Jew goes into hiding. And when he feels it is safe to do so, he comes out, runs to the synagogue, looks up at the ceiling & shouts – “You see, God, we’re still here!”
But eventually this crazy little man finds himself alone – the last Jew in town. As was his custom, after he felt it was safe, he came out of hiding. He went into the synagogue, looked up at the ceiling, & whispered, “You see, God, I’m still here.”
After a moment’s pause, he adds, “But you, God – where are you?”
(Adapted from W. Maynard Pittendreigh on SC)
In the light of the terror attacks all around the world & in our own country since 9/11 we have heard some asking that same question. “Where is God when we need Him? Doesn’t He care?”
B. The sad thing is that God is present with everyone, but not everyone realizes & experiences that presence. Listen to this “9-11 Letter from God.”
ILL. You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I.
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say, "Good-bye.” I held his fingers steady as he dialed, & I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I’m not going to make it, but it is okay ... I’m ready to go."
I was with his wife, who was serving breakfast to their children, when he called. I held her up as she tried to understand his words & then when she realized he would never be coming home again.
I was in the stairwell when a woman cried out to me for help. And I was with the rescue workers who heard her cries.
I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all of them knew Me. Some sought Me with their last breath. Others chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But I was there.
I was in all 4 of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was in the hearts of the believers there, comforting & strengthening them.
I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?
September 11, 2001 was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end, & I will be there for you, as well. So seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you will know that you are "ready to go." Remember... I love you. (Adapted from Jeff Armbrester on SC)
The irony of all this is that we’re all in the presence of God, but we don’t all let ourselves experience His comforting presence.
ILL. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. Its mouth is 90 miles across. So much water comes from the Amazon that they can still detect its powerful currents 200 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, far away from any sight of land.
The story is told that in ancient times, sailing ships often became becalmed in the almost windless waters of the South Atlantic. Drifting along without any wind, sailors sometimes died for lack of water. Helpless, dying of thirst, sailors in such a condition would see another ship & beg for their help. “We’re out of water, & we’re dying,” they would say. “Can you spare us any water?”
To their amazement, the other ship would simply tell them to drop their buckets, because the water they were in was not salty, but still fresh water from the mighty Amazon River. (Adapted from James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988 p. 242.)
Like ancient sailors dying of thirst, when all the time there is plenty of fresh water available, some suffer alone without reason. God is here in our midst, & many never realize it. And they never experience the comfort that God so freely offers to them.
C. Tragedy often happens when we least expect it. We get up every morning expecting the day to be like the one before it. We go through our morning routines. We drive to work, school, or wherever we are going assuming that we’ll return later that day. We never know when tragedy will strike.
How do we deal with our mortality & the mortality of those we love? We can’t live worrying about something over which we have no control. We can’t be afraid to let our spouses & children out of sight for fear something may happen to them.
So, how do we live our lives in a nation that is at war with terrorism? What do the scriptures teach about living in times of tragedy & uncertainty?
There are many Scriptures that tell stories of how God’s people endured times of persecution, war, illness, & famine. Today we will focus on 3 passages that teach us 3 principles to remember.
I. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS OUR SHELTER
The first principle is, “Remember that God is our shelter.” Psalm 91:1-2 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge & my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
We don’t know who wrote this particular psalm. It might have been David, who wrote many of the Psalms. If so, it comes close to echoing the message & the grandeur of David’s Psalm 23.
Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”
Again, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (vs. 4)
And again, “Surely goodness & love will follow me all the days of my life, & I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
The writer of Psalm 91 is absolutely confident that God watches over & cares for those who trust in Him. And even though David went through some terrible times in his own life, he never lost that confidence. And we shouldn’t either.
ILL. The story is told that during the Civil War a Confederate soldier who was placed far out at the edge of the woods as a sentry suddenly felt a strange fear come over him. The moon was shining dimly in the woods.
And while it seemed unwise, he felt a compelling urge to sing softly the old song, "Jesus, Lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly," & the stanza, "Other refuge have I none." This he did, & immediately felt free of his fear.
A few years later, after the war, he was at a church meeting & sang that same song. Following the service a stranger came up to him & said, "I’ve never met you, but I’ve heard your voice before." And he asked him if he had sung that same song one night when he was a sentry during the war.
Then the stranger told him that he & his men, Union soldiers, had been there hidden among the trees & had their guns aimed at him. “We were ready to fire, but," he said, "as we heard that song, 'Jesus, Lover of my soul,’ & 'Other refuge have I none,’ I said to my men, ‘Don’t shoot that man,’ & we slipped away. But I have never forgotten the voice I heard that night." (Adapted - Norman Lawrence on SC)
ILL. One person who experienced God’s comfort & peace through Psalm 91 was the famous 19th-century British preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
In 1854, shortly after he had been called to minister to a London church, the city experienced a major cholera epidemic. "Family after family summoned me to the bedside of the smitten," he later wrote.
The death rate was so high that Spurgeon was conducting funerals daily. The long hours trying to comfort the grieving, & personal discouragement over the scope of the epidemic left him feeling weak, vulnerable, & frightened.
He felt it was only a matter of time before he too, would come down with cholera because of his contact with so many of the dying.
He later wrote, "I became weary in body & sick at heart. My friends seemed to be falling one by one, & I felt that I was sickening like those around me.” But as Spurgeon was returning from conducting yet another funeral service, a poster in a shoemaker’s shop window got his attention.
The poster contained sections of Psalm 91, including these words: "You will not fear the terror of night … nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you" (Psalm 91:5-7).
The impact upon Spurgeon was dramatic. He wrote: "The effect upon my heart was immediate. I felt secure, refreshed, girt with immortality. I went on with my visitation of the dying in a calm & peaceful spirit; I felt no fear of evil & I suffered no harm.
"The providence which moved the tradesman to place those verses in his window I gratefully acknowledge, & in the remembrance of its marvelous power, I adore the Lord, my God." (From Jeff Armbrester on SC)
II. REMEMBER GOD'S GREAT LOVE
2ndly, Remember God's great love. In Lamentations 3:22 Jeremiah is writing about the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning…”
Jeremiah is saying that it is only because of God’s tremendous love for his people that the residents of Jerusalem were not completely wiped out. There was great destruction – but God kept the destruction from being complete.
And this past week, as we recalled the tragedies of 9-11, we could not help but be reminded of the evidence of God’s compassion. At the World Trade Center, over 47,000 of the 50,000 people who worked there got out in time.
At the Pentagon, which also employs thousands, less than 200 died. And who knows how many lives were saved by the dedication & sacrifice of those on United Airlines Flight 93, who gave themselves that others might live?
We all know God didn’t bring about these tragedies. Instead, we need always to remember the words of Jeremiah, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”
Are you confident that God loves you? If not, I want you to know that you can be.
ILL. Max Lucado wrote:
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring & a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, & He chose your heart.
III. REMEMBER THAT HE IS THE GOD OF SALVATION
Thirdly, remember that He is the God of salvation. Jeremiah wrote, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)
ILL. On the first anniversary of 9/11, TIME magazine had a article about 31-year old Genelle Guzman. She was the last person caught in the debris of the Twin Towers to be found alive.
After the planes hit, Genelle was descending a staircase from the 64th floor of the North Tower when it all came crashing down around her. Her right leg was pinned under heavy concrete. Her head was caught between stacks of wreckage. But there was an air-pocket around her, & for 27 hours she lay there, trapped & seriously injured.
Genelle had recently started attending church, & had been wanting to get her life turned around. So while she was stuck in the rubble, she started to pray. She would pray for awhile, & then lose consciousness. Over & over again she would wake up & start praying, then trail off, & then wake up & pray some more.
Shortly after noon on Sept. 12th, she heard voices. So she screamed as loud as she could, “I’m here! Hey, I’m right here!” A rescue worker responded, "Where are you? Do you see our lights?" She didn’t.
So with her free arm she took a piece of concrete & banged it against the broken stairway. The searchers followed the noise to a cracked & broken wall, & began to shine their lights through it.
It was at this point that Genelle wedged her hand through one of the cracks & someone grabbed it. She heard a voice say, "Genelle, I’ve got you. You're going to be all right. My name is Paul. I won't let go of your hand until they get you out."
Genelle responded, "'Oh, thank God! Finally, someone has found me. Thank you God!' I tried to see who it was but my eyes were so encrusted that I couldn't make out a face, though I could feel his hand holding mine."
"As soon as he grabbed my hand, I felt complete calmness throughout my body. Paul kept telling me I would be all right, & I believed him. I kept his name in my head because I wanted to meet him when I got out of there, to thank him."
"I could hear men moving steel & concrete above me, trying to get to me. Finally, two men took hold of my shoulders & Paul let go of my hand." And Genelle Guzman, the last person rescued alive, cried out, "Oh God, thank you!”
On Nov. 7, after spending weeks in the hospital, undergoing 4 surgeries & hours of physical therapy, she kept two promises she had made while trapped under the rubble. She & Roger were married, & that evening she was baptized into Jesus Christ.
Genelle recalls, "After I got out of the hospital, a reporter interviewed me along with some of the men who rescued me. When I asked them about Paul, who held my hand & calmed me when I thought I couldn't go on, they were puzzled.
They told me, "There was no one named Paul on our team." But I insisted, "Someone was holding my hand for at least 20 minutes when you were digging me out. He told me his name was Paul. I kept reminding myself of his name because I wanted to thank him."
With a puzzled expression on his face, the leader of the rescue team said, "I'm sorry, but there was nobody holding your hand when we were removing the rubble." (TIME Magazine, 9/11/02, p. 38) ("Breakthrough Prayer" by Jim Cymbala, Zondervan, p 74)
I don't know quite how to explain it, but the story of Genelle's rescue has been told many times on television & radio programs & in magazine & newspaper articles, & no one named Paul has ever stepped forward to take credit for what happened that day.
But Genelle maintains that whoever or whatever Paul was, "I know that 'Paul' was God's answer to my prayer for a miracle, a messenger of His love in the midst of my pain."
INVITATION:
