Quote from Forum Archives on September 11, 2006, 3:56 pm

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

WHERE IS GOD?

September 10, 2006

TEXT: Isaiah 55:1-13

While reading the editorial page of the Kokomo Tribune on Thursday, I noticed an interesting contradiction evident in our culture. One article highlights an upcoming rebroadcast presentation of a PBS “Frontline” television show that was originally shown on September 11^th, 2002. The program title is “Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero.” The article in the paper tells us that the “program asks, where was God Sept.11?”

On the same page, the editorial staff of the Kokomo Tribune took up the issue of the ruling issued by Federal Judge David Hamilton prohibiting specific prayers at the opening of the daily sessions of the Indiana House of Representatives. My immediate take upon seeing these two articles together - one asking where God was on September 11^th and the other addressing the prohibition of specific prayer at the opening of the Indiana House of Representatives - was that the answer is obvious. Where was God on September 11^th? Maybe He wasn’t here that day because He keeps being told that He is not welcome in this nation.

I hope you recognize that the answer I gave myself is more facetious than accurate. God does not suddenly disappear from His people, because He promises to be with us always. The Gospel of Matthew ends with one such promise made by the resurrected Jesus: “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Not only does God promise to not abandon us, there remain many Americans who are faithful servants of Jesus Christ and hope to see the return of expressions of Christianity once again acceptable in the public places that they have been removed. To their credit, the editorial board of the Kokomo Tribune openly express their support for House Speaker Brian Bosma and other House leaders to challenge Judge Hamilton’s ruling.

In Isaiah 55:6, we are challenged by the prophet’s warnings. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Does this mean that God can, and does, make Himself disappear from us? Does it mean that He withdraws His promises of mercy and grace? Was God, perhaps, really missing on that September 11^th? The answer to such questions is “no.” If God does not abandon us, then, what is the meaning of Isaiah’s warning?

First, it has to do with the condition of the human heart and the human mind. Every man, woman, and child who walks the face of this earth, and has ever walked the face of this earth, are in one of two conditions: we are either moving closer to God, or we are moving farther away from God. Certainly, every Christian believer should be in that first category - moving closer to God. That is almost by definition. Show me in the New Testament the testimony of any believer that did not indicate growing closer to God, or at least harboring a deep desire to move closer to God. Christians, by definition, are to be moving closer to God.

But what about those who have not believed? Those who have not confessed their sins and received salvation? They are either moving closer to God or farther away from Him. They are either wrestling with the convictions of the Holy Spirit, or they are rejecting them. Isaiah 55:6 is telling us that there will come a point of decision. If that decision is rejection of the Spirit’s conviction and the Lord’s salvation, then it becomes more and more difficult to “find God.”

The Bible makes use of the terms “hard-hearted” and “stiff necked.” Speaking with God, Moses said, “Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.” (Exodus 34:9) In Psalm 95, God’s people were reminded, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tried and tested me, though they had seen what I did.” (Psalm 95:7b-9) Even those Israelites who witnessed first hand the mighty acts of God were called “stiff-necked” and “hard-hearted.”

What the Bible means is that they were stubborn and became more stubborn. They refused to give up their own selfish tendencies and to submit humbly to God. As they moved farther away from God, they eventually reached the point where nothing could break through their stubbornness. They eventually reached the point where they could no longer “find God.” In reality, God was always there. He did not abandon them. We read in Isaiah 55:7 this promise, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

God will not turn anyone away from His love and unimaginable mercy. There is no sin that God cannot and will not forgive. He loves us and calls us ever to Him. But there comes that time when the decision is made to reject God’s compassion, and not even God can break through it.

Those who are not saved always run the risk of reaching that point of no return each and every time they reject God’s invitation. Even though there are often testimonies of seekers coming to the Lord as a result of tragedy, there are those for whom a tragedy forms the final point of stiff-necked, hard-hearted stubbornness. The newspaper article reads at one point, “One man admits that he cursed God after the attacks. ’I look at him now as a barbarian,’ he says, ’and it’s a sad situation.’” (“Program asks, where was God Sept. 11?” Kokomo Tribune, Thursday, September 7, 2006, p. A7) Yes, even though a tragedy can become the basis of turning toward God - this was the pattern for the Hebrew people many times throughout their history - would it not be much better to already be a child of God prior to any tragedy so that we can lean upon Him at all times? The obvious answer is yes. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

Second, Isaiah 55:6 has to do with the condition of the soul. We know how many lives were lost on September 11, 2001. Each life lost is a tragedy. What we do not know are how many souls were lost on 9/11/2001. Each soul lost is an even greater tragedy of eternal proportions. When Jesus returned to Bethany following the death of his friend Lazarus, he told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25) Before his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus likewise told his disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. >From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6)

It is God’s plan and God’s will that his created human beings have the opportunity to believe and receive His gift of salvation for us in this life. Afterwards, that opportunity is gone. Our physical death here marks the moment of final judgment for us. We are either in the Lamb’s book of life, or we are not. This is not something I comprehend with my human logic. I freely admit that I do not understand God’s ways here. I believe, but I do not understand the why’s and how’s. That’s OK. I don’t need to. Isaiah, writing God’s words, puts it in perspective: “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Maybe one or a few of those thousands of fellow citizens going about their normal day on 9/11 were facing a known terminal illness, but I doubt that any of them set about their day thinking that they would not see the sunset that evening. There may have been someone who was on the verge of praying with a family member, a work associate, or a friend for the forgiveness of their sin. There may have been someone who read or heard an inspirational message that morning who was on the verge of going to the Lord for the first time. There may have been someone who had determined to walk down the aisle to the altar in their church that next Sunday. Each one of them had time.

Except for them, time ran out. What makes anyone else any different than them? Because we are more aware of these particular dangers and potential attacks? I had a moment of personal celebration when it was announced that the British authorities uncovered the plot to blow up commercial flights enroute to America. I am joyful about the innocent lives that were spared. But that does not stop the recognition that thousands of normal people doing normal activities on a normal day were in mortal danger. One moment they would be remembering the wonderful visit they just finished in Europe, and the next moment their lives would vaporize.

This is a difficult message to hear, and an even more difficult message to deliver. But it is inevitable. Regardless of how it happens, we all will cease to live on this present earth. Isaiah, like all of the prophets and kings and disciples in both the Old and New Testaments, had a concern about living in the present. Through them, we are told rather clearly how we are supposed to live now. But Isaiah, like all of the others, also had an eye on what the future held, and salvation was a primary concern for everyone of them. Even before knowing about what God planned to bring about through His very Son, those in Isaiah’s day and ever after knew that God’s will and purpose was to redeem. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

It is clearly evident throughout the Bible that God punishes the wicked. Sometimes that punishment is seen without doubt in this life. Other times, that punishment is reserved for eternal life. But even more clearly evident than God’s ability to punish is His desire not to punish. His greater desire is always to redeem. Whether addressing His people as a nation through kings and prophets or addressing His people individually through His Son, God makes clear that His intent is to restore, redeem, and save. “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7)

Praise God for his mercy! Praise God that most people here this morning testify to their belief in Jesus Christ as their Savior. We celebrate our salvation with praises to God for His pardon. But if anyone here is hearing God’s message as if for the first time, then recognize that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now. His conviction and invitation are upon you right now. You are either going to move closer to God or farther away from God right now. Neither you nor I know whether this is your last decision opportunity or not. But what we do know is that claiming God’s promise right now will last forever. Where is God? Where is God on normal days? Where is God on days of unspeakable tragedy? He is here. He is always nearer than we can ever imagine. Accept His loving salvation today and live for Him in all the days that remain. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

 

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

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