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September 10, 2006
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" 9-11" Anniversary
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Pastor Brian Shimer
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"9-11 Five years later"
Revelation 6
- Some of you have already begun your study of the book "Christian Disciplines" and were expecting me to offer the first message on it today kicking off the study.
But it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to me to instead look at 9-11 today as we near its fifth anniversary." So, in the weeks that follow, my messages will come after each of your weekly studies.
I encourage everyone to get one of these books and join us in the study of Christian Disciplines over the next weeks." If we are out of the book today already, you can purchase one of these at the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Hillsboro or at Christian Supply in Beaverton." Each week you focus on a single passage of Scripture and have about 12 questions to answer about it, giving you an opportunity to dig into the Word." I encourage you to do the study and be involved in a small group as well.
All of us have yearly birthdays as testimony to the fact we are getting older but we only grow in maturity by effort." We will not accidentally grow up into maturity in Christ." We have to put forth the effort." Just as if you want to get in shape physically you need to plan an eating and exercise regimen, so if you want to grow into maturity in Jesus there are things you need to be eating and doing in order for that to happen - and that is what our study is all about." An opportunity to eat of His Word and follow His will." So I encourage you to get involved.
- That said, let us now look back to September 11th five years ago and then ask one question, how do we respond to this event and the current global situation as Christian believers?
As far as history is concerned - you and I were both there in the surreal experience of the original attacks." I want to briefly rehearse the history, for today there are many distortions floating about so it is important to rehearse "true history" even such recent history so that when distortions and lies beset us we are prepared and not led astray
So what happened?
Five years ago on the 11th of this month some young radical Islamic extremists, with funding from international terrorist sources, planned and executed an attack against this nation." They commandeered four passenger airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and one, United 93, because of the courageous efforts of the passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane, crashed in a field.
Perhaps you too can still remember the horror, the anger, the dismay you felt that day." We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted this harm on our country -- an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden, declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day -- I quote -- "an unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in humankind before…" http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060905-4.html
While this was not the begging of terrorist attacks against this nation and the West (recall 1993 World Trade Center bombing), because of this attack our nation launched into an offensive effort to protect our nation and bring the perpetrators to justice." This war on terror still continues today." The enemy has been thwarted multiple times but is not yet defeated." As more and more of the statements of these extremists are published, it is clear their purpose remains to see this nation defeated so that their form of radical Islamic terrorism can spread across the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
In this week's presidential address, the President called this battle: "… the great ideological struggle of the 21st century -- and … the calling of our generation." He compared the struggle to the 20th century fight against Nazism and Communism, and there are similarities except this time the enemy is less defined by geography and more defined by an extremist theology." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060905-4.html
- So, with this ideological struggle that is costing lives and literally billions of dollars, how does a Christian believer respond? Is war the great evil? Does Jesus call all Christians to be pacifists? How are you and I to respond?
To look around us the answers to such questions seem elusive and result in confusion." There are strong opinions on all sides.
In general our main stream media sources tend to be biased against our own government and slant much of what is covered to support an anti-war, anti-American viewpoint." There appears to be a concerted effort to position the "messaging" of current events to sway public opinion even at the expense of the truth.
If you listen to or watch the media presentations you will have heard there is a huge push to "bring all our troops home" with comparisons of this current situation in Iraq to Vietnam.
Then there is the continuation of hate America rhetoric voiced by the satanic leaders of Hezbollah whose rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, use of human shields, doctored photographs, and view of human tragedy as a publicity opportunity, is well known." Perhaps you too have read and seen the reports by those who saw people lying on stretchers apparently injured, who then get up and walk away laughing after the camera was turned off." (World Magazine, 2006) This is not at all to say there have not been deaths or tragedies, but only that the information has been skewed.
This rhetoric is supported by many in the United States who place blame upon our government and our president for masterminding the 9-11 attacks as an excuse for war." This idea is promoted by a recently published book written, I am sorry to say, by a United Methodist Seminary professor from Claremont School of Theology called Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9-11." In it the author, David Ray Griffin, presents his so called "facts" that the US masterminded 9-11 even to the point of absurdity, saying the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings was done by planted demolitions.
Any demolition expert will tell you they could not have possibly been using those buildings if preparations had been made to implode them." But this author ignores facts in favor of lies." He obviously did not read Sydney Civil Engineer Tim Wilkinson's account with his diagrammed theory of just why those towers fell."
(http://www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.shtml) .
- Again you look around and listen to the many voices and all you can be left with is confusion, but the author of confusion is not the Lord God Almighty." So, go with me to Scripture." Let's keep in mind this initial question "how should we respond?" as we ask about God's view of war and its place in the world today."
First, turn to Revelation 6, which is what Dana Gale read for us.
The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, meaning, John saw visions and they are not necessarily chronologically expressed." It seems the organization of the book centers around the three kinds of judgments to pour forth upon the earth, and it seems these are shown in the context of all creation and people from every nation worshiping the greatness of God around the throne.
This book makes it clear if nothing else that God is in control of world events, that God will have the final word." Indeed Jesus may have come as the Lamb of God the first time around, but when He returns, as Revelation chapter 19 describes he will come as a mighty warrior, a conquering King." Hear this from verse 11 in that chapter: "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True." With justice he judges and makes war." This is Jesus and when He comes again there will be justice." God Himself will make war.
So, the book begins with the first chapter introducing the book, chapters 2 and 3 bring an address of correction and encouragement by Jesus to 7 churches in Asia Minor and then the opening scene of worship in chapters 4 and 5, that then unfolds the beginning of a kind of judgment as Jesus the Lamb breaks the seals on a scroll." Each seal allows the unrolling of that scroll a bit more." With each seal something is released upon the earth.
Whereas some of the events described in this book certainly have not yet happened, the events described with the first four seals are ongoing and have been since the fall." The first horse represents the conquest of kings through diplomacy." Notice he rides a white horse and carries a crown and a bow (but no arrows) and is bent on conquest.
The second seal brings forth the call for the fiery red horse." Its rider is given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other." He carries a large sword.
The third horse is black and brings forth famine upon the earth and perhaps starvation.
The final horse releases death and Hades with power over a quarter of the earth to kill by sword and famine and plague and the wild beasts of the earth.
Notice, war seems to be expressed in the second and fourth horses' missions as something poured forth from heaven." Or is war on earth a mirror of heavenly conflict?
In chapter 12 it appears so as Satan battles in heaven, loses, and is cast down to earth where he "makes war" against the saints." How will Satan achieve this? It would have to be made manifest in two ways, first spiritual attack through demons against people, but more typically the use of evil people who submit to his lead and are used against those belonging to Jesus."
- In Daniel chapters 7 to 10 he has visions of spiritually real forces which will be physically enacted on earth." In Ezekiel 27 and 28 we read about the King of Tyre and his destruction, but then read behind the scene to the demonic prince behind him, widely recognized as Satan." In Isaiah 14 we find the physical mirroring the spiritual reality again." In 2 Chronicles 20 King Jehoshaphat is led by God how to approach the battle lines and the earthly victory is based upon his obedience." In 2 Kings 6 it is the spiritual around the physical battlefield that wins the day."
And how would you interpret God's command to David in 2 Samuel 5:24? David is instructed: "Wait to attack the Philistines until you hear the sound like marching feet in the tops of the Balsam trees." He does so and we read that this sound is "the Lord moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistines." I interpret this and other passages to say that war, as awful as it can be, has been a tool of God's in history for punishment and to exact justice, and to say as well, the spiritual realm overflows into our experience upon the earth.
In Ezekiel chapter 38 the spiritual prince named Gog over a geographic area in the Middle East is addressed by God." It is clear this prince has exalted himself and plans to destroy Israel." We are told that Gog says: "Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence…"
I find it amazing that the sentiment expressed in Ezekiel was echoed by Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah about Israel when he said: "When the people of this temporary country lose their confidence in their legendary army, the end of this entity will begin."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDBhMzg5Mzk4NjQ5MjM5OTJhZjRjMWQ4OWMzNDhmMzk=
God says this spiritual prince will be brought down along with the nations through whom he acts." God says in Ezekiel 38:16: "I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you." Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord." Indeed it is not too early to say that God will show the nations that He alone is the Lord.
When you ask the question, "what did Jesus think of war?" you cannot camp completely under the verse that calls us to be peacemakers - although in our personal relationships I believe that is our calling." And yes, we must love our enemies." But what did Jesus think of war or of soldiers?
I was surprised to see that not once does Jesus tell a centurion: "leave the military so that you can stop sinning"." Or "I cannot heal your child until you leave your military work." But rather commends the Centurion for his great faith (Matthew 8:1ff)." Now Jesus told lots of people to stop sinning including the religious leaders of his day, but not soldiers." It seems that for Jesus war had a place." He was the one who told us that "wars and rumors of wars" would be with us until the end as part of the birth pangs of this realm awaiting His return.
The Old Testament also shows when governments use war in sinful ways." In Ezekiel 25 and Jeremiah 50 you have examples of God's punishment upon nations who went beyond God's desired justice against Israel.
In Romans 13 the Apostle Paul writes that God has given the sword to the government, placing war in the province of nations for the protection of its citizens." For a nation then to go to war to protect its people is not an act of wickedness but an act of necessity." God gave the nation the sword.
This is not to say that our government is wholly righteous in all that it does and all others wrong and sinful." But in this fight, in the specific battle against Islamic Terrorism, I do not see that our government had any alternatives." For us to allow genocide to be carried out by another government against its people without taking action when that government is also harboring terrorist cells whose activities we are seeking to halt, that would be a greater evil." When some German people closed their ears and eyes to the horrors of the SS in their own villages, it was a crime.
Our government decided not to stand by as the kind of wickedness used by Hitler in Germany was being deployed against the citizens of Iraq and the Kurds, especially when to do so would be a dereliction of the duty to protect its own citizens." When we arrived in Iraq these people applauded our arrival and asked our troops: "what took you so long to get here?" (Returning chaplain: Iraq 'white unto harvest' By Joni B." Hannigan Managing Editor Published June 12, 2003)
- So, how do we respond to this world situation, now that we have seen that war itself is a fact, a reality, and something that God is still sovereign over and can and often does use to bring about His purposes; war which is often a physical reality which reflects a spiritual reality." How do we, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to respond?
First as those disciples, to whom Paul said to obey Jesus as we would obey our commanding officer, we respond with Prayer (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
Prayer is our call into spiritual warfare, to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6), to be walking in prayer." His Word tells us to pray for our leaders, to pray for our nation, to pray for those in the military, to pray for our troops." We are to pray lifting up holy hands without wrath and without doubting (1 Timothy 2:1-8)." And we pray for our enemies: that they come to Christ, turn from wickedness, and awaken to the truth (Matthew 5:38-42).
That is one way we are to respond to this world situation to be a people of prayer, not a people known by our complaints, our angry responses, our adoption of hate rhetoric of the media, but be a people who obey Jesus by praying.
Then, we are to be a people who walk in hope." This ought not to be a surprise to you, but God, Sovereign over nations, is bigger than conflict." I have heard people say that we are leaving our children a terrible world because of this conflict! What? My hope for my children's lives is not based upon the presence or absence of warfare." My hope is not based upon whether the day has sunshine or rain." It cannot be based on any physical circumstance for their only hope and mine is in the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever." My hope for them does not rest on visible realities." But hope is rock solid because Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead and the Jesus I know they can know." Hope is not conditioned by life but it conditions life." I know my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren have hope because it is based upon the surety of the God who promises the reality of his presence and eternal salvation by faith in Christ's work on the cross (Hebrews 6, Romans 15:13).
As you pray and have hope, remember, there is a battle going on in the spiritual realms that is much worse than is being lived out in the Middle East and that battle is all around us for the souls of men and women with whom we live or work or see in our community." As people perish in war so people are perishing without the hope of the Gospel all around us." This is the real battle." So as you pray for the physical war, for our nation and its leaders, remember our true struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Now is the time to draw near to your God.
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