The LORD's Day September 9, 2007

Remembering 9-11-01

What is the LORD saying?

Psalm 144.1-4;-146, 27

There was a false alarm the night of Sept. 11, 2001, when President Bush and his wife, Laura, were in bed in the White House after the day's traumatic events. A Secret Service agent came to the bedroom and told them to get to the bunker. They're coming, the agent said. We're under attack. The couple hurried to the bunker, the president carrying a dog under one arm and a cat under the other, with his wife slipping on a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, feeling blind without her contact lenses. The source of the alarm - a plane in closed airspace over the Potomac River - turned out to be an authorized flight. Things like that up to hours before that morning were unthought or were looked as fiction of by most Americans and even this week as I read this account I found it incredible.

New York and Washington and Pennsylvania changed forever on that day 6 years ago. Our whole country changed and we are now in what many have called a Post 9-11 World.

We all remember just where we were and what we were doing on that day when United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, on that September morning 6 years ago... I was trying to use the dial up on my computer...

Was this part of our secular history or was it something more than as act of war against the United States of America? Is all history as one of my college profs used to love to say “His- Story”.

John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, admonished the Pilgrims, “The eyes of all people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

The next day (September 12, 2001) we met at the church here for prayer together.

Ann Lotz Graham two days after the attack (9-13-01) on CBS’s Early Show...
Jane Clayson: I've heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God less this happen? To that, you say?
Anne Graham Lotz: I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we're sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it.


So this week we look back on a skyline that has been severely altered, large numbers of families without loved ones... here this morning my aunt whose nephew, a NY City Fireman, died in the collapse of Tower One. He was 30 years old, left a wife and two children, one just two weeks old. Edie’s nephew, Frank Vignoli, worked on the 80th floor for Cantor-Fitzgerald. He died. I have a friend whom I attended High School with, a now retired Lieutenant in the NYFD, living here in Islip Terrace. He knew 70 men who died. Today America is fighting an insurgency in Iraq and we have so many connections from our little fellowship here...
David Louis and Tom Hindelang both have done multiple tours of Iraq and have returned safely. Thank the LORD. Jake Morgan, my aunt’s grandson came back, but not before he watched his best buddy in the army die in his arms. We pray for a number still there Julia’s grandson now here in the states, Kenny Brown a boyhood friend whose son Ken Jr. is there and our neighbor’s son Billy Knapp Jr. there now.

1. We are at War.

9-11 originated in the Middle East, a place that has been a source of conflict and war since Genesis 3, when sin came into the world. The first killing was done by Cain and it has gone on for thousands of years.

A different war than we have ever fought before, there are frustrations and we are finding out that terror is not an easy thing to deal with. Just take Bin Laden’s ability to survive for starters.

Psalm 27 is a psalm for times of war. We read it together back 6 years ago on the day after here in this very spot.

David told how the LORD helped him fight battles and actually trained his hands for war.

But there is different kind of war David mentions in Psalm 144.5-9. He is calling on the armies of heaven. They are mentioned in II Kings 6 and in Revelation 19.11-16: 11I 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. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. [a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

There are spiritual battles going on in the heavens today as we sit here. Ephesians 6.12 Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We are fighting the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. For we who are believers we can plainly see that there is a war going on today for the heart and the soul of America, for the hearts of Americans.

2. To win this war our hope must be in the LORD Psalm 146.3

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
It is not reforming a government it to win this war it is God’s kingdom coming to the hearts of Americans. It is not looking for a leader it is looking to the Messiah, the King of kings. Our hope is in the LORD, the God of Jacob.

Psalm 27.5 For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

The LORD is faithful forever. He is with us in the battle. Pray Pray Pray Keep trusting in Him. He brings us victory.

3. These are the times that try men’s souls but that is not all bad 27.13

Thomas Payne, one of our nations founding fathers wrote this about the American Revolution. But it is biblical truth, expressed often in the hymns of the church. This past week we told of the story of that beautiful song which those of us who lived in the 50's remember being sung, No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus- Charles Weigle- also wrote Living for Jesus. Henry Gariepy (who wrote of Weigle in his book Songs In the Night, “The words, born out of heartbreak and despair, present a thumbnail biography of its author. From the heart that had been broken by sorrow, but healed by God’s Grace, there vibrated the chords for this song of assurance:

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, Since I found in Him a Friend so strong and true, I would tell you how He changed my life completely He did something that no other Friend could do...

No one ever cared for me Like Jesus. There’s no other Friend so kind as He.
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. Oh how much He cared for me

All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me, All my heart was full of misery and woe.
Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me, and He led me in the way I ought to go.

Every day He comes to me with new assurance, More and more I understand His words of Love;
But I’ll never know just why He came to save me, Till some day I see His blessed face above.

Tests are never pleasant. But they do bring about good things. I realized how rich I am with all the neighbors the LORD blessed me when we had to find Moe last week. I had to make phone calls and write notes thanking people for helping and I even got a phone call. Out of that episode came a deeper appreciation for people I have around me where I live. When we get sick and then get better we are thankful for our health. People talk about a pre 9-11 World as well. Those days are gone. What is the LORD saying 6 years after that tragic day?

4. What are we as believers and followers of Jesus to do?

*Pray for our leaders I Timothy.1-4 1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. We need to pray for our President and congress.
*Pray for ourselves Psalm 139.23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Whenever people are going through times of national distress, opportunity is being given to them to let it be a time of sifting and soul searching in their own hearts. Perhaps this is part of what is meant in James 5.13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. We often pray O LORD get me out of this Deliver me How about praying when we are in trouble- LORD search my heart- see if there is anything in me that is displeasing to you. During this time of trouble and upset- show me where I need to grow. Sometimes it is obvious Other times it isn’t.

*Look to the LORD. Pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122.6 )

*Listen to what He is continuing to say through His Word

I went down there and did some witnessing a few days after, as close as to the wreckage as they would allow us to go.

Charlotte, from England-

The couple from Dallas- Insurance Adjusters for disasters- All over the world earthquakes, floods, fires, etc. “Never have we felt the sense of evil and the sense of God’s presence in the same place like we have sensed at Ground Zero this week.” The Spiritual Battle...

9-11 6 years later... the LORD is telling us through His Word that we are at war, to win we must trust and hope in Him. He is saying that these are trying times but that good can come out of them. Pray to Him for our leaders and ourselves. Look to Him. Listen to what He continues to say.

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The LORD’s Day
September 9, 2007

We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
Remembering 911- What is the LORD Saying? Psalm 144.1-3, Psalm 27

*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for coffee and bagels downstairs if you are visiting today.

This Week
Bible Reading Psalm 147-150

Monday Men’s Prayer Meeting 6:30am in the church basement
Wednesday Bible Study -7:30pm at the parsonage
Thursday Bible Study 10:30am in the church basement
Next Lord’s Day
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children)
Spanish Service- 4pm

In Your Prayers For All of God’s People

Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son on his third tour of Iraq- He will be there until next month. Please pray for the whole family. Billy Knapp, Jr. in Iraq with the Marines (neighbor of the church and Pastor- Billy’s sister graduated from Good Shepherd). He is due home at Thanksgiving. Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton. Pastor’s nephews’ and niece’s cousin Kim’s husband, Jay, in Iraq. Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan and Tom Hindelang safe during their times in Iraq. Christine Frankland, Katharina’s daughter undergoing treatment for leukemia There has been little change with the treatments. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for fibromyalgia. Thank God for answers to prayer for her. Pray for Eloise Brooks in Sunrise Manor undergoing rehab and hopefully coming home soon. Remember Jean Louis as both he and Eloise are on dialysis. Grace Martin, Edie Raevis’ daughter, recovering from surgery on her back. Edie’s daughter’s mother-in-law, Millie Espisito has a severe infection and is in grave condition. Reginald Mooney, friend of Terri and John Garry, with a tumor in his kidney. Please remember Pastor’s friend Kim Richardson’s daughter, Kelly , the MRI last week showed improvement. Kelly had a chemo treatment this pastThursday. Please remember this whole family in prayer.. Jeannie Rocarro recovering from surgery. Pastor Jerry Bonfiglio’s family who has been through so much grief this summer... Leah May’s cousin, Joan, respiratory problems, now in rehab. Lucy Mancini under Orthopedic Specialist’s care and physical therapy for pain and injuries resulting from the accident. Mary Butler, Pastor’s family’s former neighbor from Bellmore and dear family friend, recovering from surgery removing a tumor in the colon as well as removal of gall bladder and appendix. Stephen Huges, brother of a Good Shepherd Nursery School Mom, their parents home in Hewlett was destroyed in a fire. Judy Mucci is in the hospital. The cancer has spread to her spinal fluid. She has been placed in Hospice and has been given two to six months to live. Please remember her and Dr. And Mrs. Mucci this week in your prayers as well as Judy’s daughter Tatum. Alice Gordon’s brother, Everette, in Illinois, two blood infections along with another serious medical condition.
Good Shepherd Nursery School opened this week -let’s remember the staff and students in prayer as well as the children of our fellowship as they began school this week.