Three
Lessons from Disasters (Haiti) Kelly Durant 1-25-10
How
many of you have ever heard the joke about the man that died and went to heaven
and he was complaining to God, why did you, God, not save me? I trusted in You!
He was
in a flood and a truck came by with the water 1’ deep and they asked him if he
wanted to leave his house and he said, “No, I am fine, I trust in God”, Then
when the waters were up to the first floor a boat came by and asked him if he
would like to go since the water was rising and he said, “No, I am fine, I
trust in God.” Then a helicopter came by when he was on his roof and they
shouted do you want to come and be rescued he said, “No, I am fine, I trust in
God.” Well, then he drown and he
complained to God in heaven, why didn’t you save me! But do you know God’s
answer, He said, I tried to save you 3 times but you were the one that didn’t
trust I was sending you somebody!
2
Cor 1:3-4
3 Blessed be God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of
all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us
in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any
trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
The
first concept we will look at today compassion:
and human suffering, in particular in a
crisis, should provoke a response of compassion from us as Christians to help!
In the
joke, it was the compassion of others that were out there in the dangerous
situation in the boat and helicopter trying to save a life.
Open
to … 1 John 3:17-18
17 But
whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up
his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My
little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in
truth.
Matt
25:34-40
34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For
I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me.
37
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred,
and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or
when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And
the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me.
Why do
you think that we, the Salvation Army has such as massive capacity to provide
aid in disasters? It is because of our doctrine of holiness that is one of
Christlikeness, we take action when there are people suffering!
In a
crisis, usually all our church programs stop and all our priority shifts to
help those in need. You can be proud you belong to a church that has made world
fame for 150 years of serving others a priority because that is not just
Christianity in words, that is true proof we love others.
The
Salvation Army attained nationwide fame in 1906 for disaster work because they
helped in the earthquake of San Francisco of 1906. All of the Bay City was
flattened with 3,000 deaths and 225,000 injured.
Do all
of you know that Regina Regina
and I went to volunteer and to serve people who had been affected by a flood in
Albany , GA
It was
there Capt. Michael Chang told us all about the Salvation Army. He was serving
food from the canteen truck and told us all about how we could serve the
Lord. And we were amazed there was a
church that did everything how we felt it should be done. And we are here today!
During
these times when people donate their time opportunities open to win souls to
Christ and we get a chance to get others on board who want to serve the Lord
full time! This is a time when people want to hear about the goodness of the
Lord and the goodness of people serving God reflecting His love which gives
help and hope. Tell them of His good!
The
second concept that we will see today is that when God works in the nations he warns his servants, his Christian
people, before He acts and then it is our responsibility to react.
Prov
22:3
3 A
prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and
are punished. All disasters, even with
the worldwide flood when Noah & his family were saved, came with a warning
and a time for repentance.
Amos
3:7
7
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his
servants the prophets. Since the
beginning, God through his servants, and even God through science warns us of
impending danger.
Ezek
3:18-19
18
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not
warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life;
the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at
thine hand.
19 Yet
if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his
wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Many
times God allows centuries to pass before he brings destruction.
Have
you read testimonies of many people who heeded warnings the day of the 911
event? The NY towers had an earlier attack from a bomb in the basement parking
lot, do you remember that in 1992? One janitor kept warning another attack
would come after that. How many of you
read articles about people that felt a strong need to get away that day of 911?
Or to not even go to work? Or even had a flat tire that day? Instead of there
being 30,000 dead there were only 3,000! When you feel God speaking, listen!
Many people listened that day!
Don’t
get mad at God when you have breakdowns, a flat, or lose a job. Maybe God is
preventing you from a personal disaster!
There are many cases where God’s servants got warning ahead of time.
Katrina also taught us that if you listen to God’s spirit, He will warn you to
leave or stay somewhere safe. We need to pray all the time to act on where God
is leading and do it fast!
Thousands
of Hondurans died in Katrina because they stayed in the city thinking they
would get their weekend paycheck (and the news media never told you that! (The
Consul of Guatemala, our friend in Atlanta knew) If God pulls on your heart,
like a bad feeling, in a similar situation in the future of a disaster threat,
then just obey get out or do what He tells you! God always supply! Money comes
and goes but family and lives come first!
Ps 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God
is angry with the wicked every day.
As God’s people we know the whole world is
wicked and corrupt, and God’s wrath could fall on just about any city or nation
in today’s world, But never be ignorant, never just look at corruption and
think it is normal, that was Lot’s wife mistake! We can often forget that God
is angry with the wicked, the perverse and oppressors, the Satan worshippers,
the human traffickers and the sin of corruption and depravity.
It is
our part as good Christian Soldiers to make war on sin and decry and denounce
injustices, exploitations, abuses, and spiritual dark forces! There will be a
final judgment in the end for all of man’s evil deeds. What some people think
are judgments now, is nothing compared to an eternal punishment in the end!
Even in man’s laws natural disasters are classified as “acts of God”.
As
Christians we speak against prostitution, gambling, drugs, black magic, and crime.
The dilemma is always as to why it seems that sometimes a few innocent ones die
in the mix. But if God chose to take them home with Him, we are not the ones to
judge. God is always just! God has a prevailing plan of love and justice that
is beyond our comprehension. One day with Him he will answer all our questions
about the “whys”!
The
third concept that these moments of disaster and crisis should provoke in us is that we must learn to be closer to God, to honor (fear) Him and get our
comfort from Him. He is the one who does all things and He is the one who
provides and protects during fearful times. The Lord is our source for comfort
and we must comfort ourselves and others with His Word during a time of crisis
or fear!
Ps
25:14
14 The
secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He
will show them His covenant.
Ps
33:18-19
18
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On
those who hope in His mercy,
19 To
deliver their soul from death,
And to
keep them alive in famine.
Ps
34:7
7 The
angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And
delivers them.
Ps
34:9-10
9 Oh,
fear the LORD, you His saints!
There
is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The
young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But
those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Read
all of Psalm 91 when you need comfort to know God is with you through all the
hellish suffering of the world!
I have
felt sad these past days and think all true compassionate Christians have too.
As a Christian it is hard to go on business as usual when you know of these
horrible conditions are happening and you are powerless to help.
We are
not n control! When natural powers destroy, we are intimated to remember we are
just powerless, frail humans, and we are not God! His power to allow harm or
protect from it should provoke our fear! He deserves our lives and worship!
Three
things we have learned from disasters:
God expects us to have compassion and serve
the suffering
God warns us of destruction beforehand
God wants
us to get close to Him
If you
want to be close to God, start today! If you want to help to serve the
suffering, start today!
No comments:
Post a Comment