MESSAGES FROM KATRINA

MESSAGES FROM KATRINA Psalm 104:1-4, 107:23-32 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; “Hurricane Katrina Inflicts Severe Damage to Gulf Coast”, Wired Word for September 4, 2005 Message preached at MECF September 04, 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Monday night and on into Tuesday of this week, a category-5 hurricane, dubbed Katrina, tore into the Gulf Coast, with winds in excess of 150 mph and a devastating storm surge, inflicting catastrophic damage in the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including the cities of New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Gulfport and surrounding communities. In New Orleans, the levees protecting the city were breached and as much as 80 percent of the city was in standing water, up to 20 feet deep in many places. Although many people had evacuated the region, many did not or could not, and tens of thousands were in a matter of hours stranded without food, clean water, electricity, medical supplies or communication. On a televised news conference Wednesday, President Bush declared the situation "One of the worst natural disasters in our nation's history" and added that "This recovery will take years." Roughly 100,000 people found refuge in storm shelters fashioned out of school gyms, municipal buildings and stadiums. At least that many were stranded on rooftops and patches of high ground. And thousands of bodies floated face down and lifeless in the sea water that covered their neighborhoods. These flood waters have become a toxic soup of chemicals, decaying bodies, sewage and other debris. There are grave concerns about the potential for cholera, typhoid and dehydrating diseases that could come as a result of the stagnant water and lack of supplies. Looting is rampant. Hospitals in the flooded zones are operating without electricity and running water. Ruthless and desperate individuals are shooting atolice and rescue personnel with stolen weapons. Recovery from Katrina's damage is predicted to be an ongoing effort for years to come. This is an unprecedented time in our history. Because of the enormity of the consequences of this hurricane and the many important questions that are spinning off the event I decided Friday that the teaching I had planned to bring this morning could wait on the shelf. Instead I felt compelled to bring a word from THE Word that might speak to troubled hearts and help us in our need of divine perspective. What Messages from Katrina? Nearly 200 years ago these words were penned as a hymn of praise to God. O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise. O tell of His might, O sing of His grace, Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space, His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form, And dark is His path on the wings of the storm. This great hymn of praise was written under the inspiration of Psalm 104, where the psalmist writes of the majesty and incomprehensible greatness of God. Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers flames of fire his servants. In this poetic description we are led to see God in a way that we often too easily forget. But these verses remind us that God is powerful and awesome, Master of the universe, in charge of everything, including all of nature, which He created. Verse five reminds us He set the earth on its foundations… There is a particularly important truth tucked away in verse four where we are told, He makes the winds his messengers. I wonder this morning what message the winds of Katrina is bringing us? Please turn with me to Psalm 107 and read with me, beginning at verse 23. These verses fall in the context of God’s judgment and mercy toward different groups of people. When they sinned and God sent them punishment, some wandered off in the desert wastelands (vs. 4), others stewed in depression (vs. 10), still others reacted by starving themselves (vs.17). But one group went out to sea. Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep [ocean]. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders. If God is in charge of the storms that stir up His created elements into destructive forces, what does that say to us about Him? Is the God of love not quite as loving as we thought? Was this an act of judgment on mankind? Or particularly an act of judgment on the outrageously sinful center of concupiscent sexual behavior, gambling, pornographic Mardi Gras excesses, and the witchcraft and sorcery of voodooism? If so, why did so many innocent people die? And what about all the other cities that are every bit as wicked at New Orleans but remained dry? Or is it, as some are saying, only a natural occurrence, an unusually violent upheaval in the natural system, and ought we not expect such things to happen every once in awhile? After all, there have always been earthquakes, volcanoes, twisters and hurricanes, and they seem to be random, not particularly aimed at the most wicked people or cities in the world, and many really nice people die. But we shouldn’t blame God, should we? After all, it is our sin and the sin of Adam that locked us out of paradise and set the natural order on edge, right? But if God can calm the sea (and He certainly can), and if God can intervene and protect the innocent (and He can), but He didn’t, we can’t be wrong in seeing His hand in such catastrophes, can we? When Job was devastated by death in his family, financial ruin and chronic boils, he knew exactly where this had all come from—it came from God! The Lord gave and the Lord took away. Of course it was Satan who brought it all to him, but it was God who told Satan he had the green light to afflict His servant Job, with the only proviso that he not kill him. To whom should we bring accusation and complaint? Satan? Mother Nature? Ourselves, because of our sin? Or God? We are faced with the unavoidable truth that God in fact, did allow Katrina to form, to grow to category five proportions, to slam into the gulf shore region of our country and turn cities back into bayous and homes into kindling, and it was He who allowed this monstrous howling demon to take lives by the hundreds. Again, what messages might there be for us, arriving on the winds of Katrina? What is God telling us about Himself? About us? And about our culture? Let me suggest a couple of messages we ought to receive. 1. God is the Lord of all, including nature. He made it all and He governs it all. It is His prerogative to do as He wills. We would all love to run the universe for God, wouldn’t we? You know, do away with all the things that bother us and don’t seem right to us. But our wisdom is limited by our finite natures. Our sinful natures distort our understanding and disqualify us for management positions in the affairs of the cosmos. But God, majestic Maker, who reigns in righteousness, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is by definition the Ruler of all. If nothing else, we have been served a reminder from almighty God that He is still in charge. He is telling us that He is stronger than we, wiser than we, and just because most of humanity is ignoring Him, that is not a sign that He has died or gone on vacation. At their minimum, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, twisters and tsunamis, thunderstorms and droughts are useful to us as wake-up calls. We creatures tend to be lulled into a belief that we’re the most important thing in the universe and we have no one to whom we are accountable. We also have a tendency to think we’re okay, and every once in awhile we are reminded of our sinfulness and our dependence on God’s mercy and grace by a war, a demented dictator or a pirated jumbo jet deliberately plowing into a high rise that all is not well with humanity. And that last thing that would be appropriate for humanity would be to raise our fists toward heaven and declare that God was out of order. But even when we do, God’s loving mercy is patient with us—to a point. The terrible truth of the matter is that we sinful humans need dramatic reminders that we are not God and we don’t direct the universe. We seem to never tire of promoting ourselves to lofty places where we don’t belong. Adam and Eve did it a long time ago, insisting they should have the forbidden fruit and be as wise as God. We’re still eating from the same tree. It's said that when President Roosevelt entertained diplomatic guests at the White House he would take them out to the back lawn at the end of the day. He would stand there gazing at the night sky and all eyes would eventually be cast heavenward, as his were, staring at the vast array of stars, undimmed in those days by city lights. The magnificent display of God's brilliant creation would overcome the group and they would stand in silent awe. After a long moment, Mr. Roosevelt would say, "Gentlemen, I believe we are small enough now. Let's go to bed." 1. He is the Lord of all, including nature. 2. He uses natural disasters as a reminder of coming judgment. Our tendency is to point at the wickedness of New Orleans and declare, “See, God is raining down judgment on the sinners!” That would be a nice, nifty explanation, wouldn’t it? Whenever some people get out of hand, God zaps them, and, by the same reasoning, we know whenever God is zapping anyone, they clearly have gotten out of hand. The only thing wrong with that point of view is…it’s wrong! In Luke 13, some people came to Jesus and said, “Did you hear about those Galileans who were offering sacrifices to God? The Roman Prefect, Pilate, has them killed and mixed their blood in with the blood of the animals they were sacrificing!” What these individuals were hinting around at was the idea, quite popular in that day, that those who are so violently treated somehow deserved it because of how bad they were. Jesus’ answer is instructive: Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. (Luke 13:2-3) He pointed them away from their “sin and get zapped” mentality, to a simple straightforward reminder that there are only two things important: the final judgment, and how you will fare then. He went on and made the same point again. (Luke 13:4-5) Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Jesus makes it clear – while it is true that all of nature is out of kilter because of the sin of humanity and bad things do happen as a result, it is wrong to think that disaster victims are more deserving of trouble than others. His real point, though, wasn’t just to challenge their theological approach, but to make a point. And the point is this: Don’t worry about trying to assess others’ relative guilt or innocence (and especially on such faulty evidence as their beings victims of disaster). Here’s what you need to worry about. There is coming one day the final judgment, and you’re going to stand before God, and He is going to judge you, irrespective of anyone else. You will not have the right to compare yourself to them and say you were better than they or they were worse than you. What message should we listen for in the winds of natural disasters? A clear and direct reminder that there is coming a judgment, which will be overseen by God Himself and at that time there will be no more confusion about what is right and what is wrong. Until then, do not jump to conclusions. You cannot know the heart of another person. Only yours. The apostle Paul responded to some spurious teachers who were passing personal judgment on him. He wrote in 1 Cor. 4:3-5… I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. Here’s another biblical lesson we must learn as we reflect on the Katrina catastrophe: incidents of weather or accident are not routinely or predictably used by God for reward or punishment in this earthly existence. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that God causes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). One good practical suggestion might be to not judge the residents of New Orleans or Gulfport, but to examine our own hearts, to see if we are right before God. 1. He is the Lord of all, including nature. 2. He uses natural disasters as a reminder of coming judgment 3. 53:3, the prophet spoke the word of the Lord to His people, He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering... This passage describes the suffering servant of God. The church, looking back on this passage, has understood it as a description of the Messiah and as a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus (see Acts 8:26-35). The view of Jesus as a suffering savior also gives us a helpful image of God as one who suffers along with his created ones. Time and again we read in scripture that our sinning grieves the heart of God. That doesn’t mean that God is just really mad at us because we aren’t playing by His rules (though that is certainly true). God grieves because He knows that we are not going to be participating in the blessings He intended for us. When we think of our fallen world and the consequence of sin on the created order, we know that it is because of the sin of mankind that suffering and death are even part of this existence. And it was precisely for these sins that Jesus died. He suffered for our sin and sorrow and thereby became our substitutionary atonement. Our sins not only robbed us of Eden but they made us enemies of God. When Jesus suffered and died, God placed on Him all our guilt. When He willingly died in our place, He purchased our salvation and permitted us to be friends again with God. Thus, no matter what questions we have about God's control of weather, we also have a God who suffers with us. Which of us actually enjoys it when we must punish our children? If you do, there is something terribly wrong with you and your discipline. No, we hurt with them, don’t we? We don’t like the fact that they endure the pain of discipline, whether it is a spanking, withholding a privilege or grounding. We hurt with them. We want so much more for them. Even though justice and good parenting demand that we serve up the punishment. God does not delight in the suffering of natural disasters in our world. Neither does He always withhold them. But we have the assurance that, if we are His children by faith, He is walking through the suffering with us. Get online and read the blogs and the news reports. The good ones include dozens of testimonies of how God is working miracles and assuring people of His presence with them. He said, I will never leave you or forsake you. <webmasters note: Joshua 1:5> Somewhere in the unfathomable depths of His divine wisdom, He is working His justice and His mercy, His righteousness and His love, His wisdom and His care for us. His wake up call includes a reminder that He loves and cares for us. And because this is true, there is one more message we should receive as we consider Hurricane Katrina. 1. He is the Lord of all, including nature. 2. He uses natural disasters as a reminder of coming judgment 3. Brethren, now is the time for generosity and grace and giving and sacrifice. This is a golden hour of ministry and outreach for the church. Let us consider carefully and prayerfully how we may serve those whom God gives us in His divine providence. Our first opportunity is upon us. TORRENCE & LA QUANA WIPED OUT BY KATRINA & CHICAGO-BOUND. We also will be receiving free will offerings for the relief work in the gulf area through the month of September. We will channel these funds through a Christian relief agency—which one we haven’t determined yet, but it will be a reputable organization that will use every dime in the direction of helping people AND bringing the gospel to them simultaneously. Yes I know we just finished a special offering last month to help Tony Jenkins in Bible College (and you did a marvelous and generous work there!). Yes, I know that our own budget is tight right now, but we are submitted to the New Testament that teaches us, as we have opportunity let us do good to all people (Gal. 6:10). Yes, I know when we have special offerings we run the risk of some taking their regular church offerings and redirecting them away from our needs here to the special project, but that’s a risk we will have to take. This one thing I know, if we are selfish and stingy and tight, the Lord will withhold the blessings He would have given us, if we are faithful and faith-filled, generous and sacrificial in our ministry to others in His name, He will be glorified and He will meet our every need. We know that people who are facing life-changing problems are the demographic group most open to the gospel. Imagine with me. A very conservative estimate of one million people will be helped by Christian relief work in the coming months through the most trying circumstances ever faced by anyone. Conservatively, 50% of them are not yet Christians. Conservatively, of those 50%, 75% of them will hear the gospel, maybe for the first time. Conservatively, if only ten percent of those respond to the gospel, giving their lives to Christ.. . . Well, let me put it this way, I want my giving & efforts to be a part of winning 37,500 people to Christ! And forget about the numbers for now. What a splendid chance for the church to shine for the Lord by serving people in very practical and generous ways. Think of it this way—what if you and your family were wiped out, completely—everything GONE in 24 hours. What would it mean to you, even as a pagan, to have the church of Jesus Christ standing at your side, praying for you, sharing what they have with you, supporting and encouraging you, in addition to whatever their tax money might provide through government subsistence? I want to be part of that, big time. And I want you to be part of that. God has opened up for His people a glorious opportunity to rise to the occasion and show people what the church really is all about. Let’s disprove through sacrifice and loving service the misrepresentation of who Christians are by the Hollywood hooligans and the misinformed media. Let us not keep a bushel basket over our light, but let it shine brightly to the glory of God the Father. Let us do as Colossians 4:5 teaches us Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. And I remind us this morning of our calling from Philippians 2:14-16 – Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like start in the universe, as you hold out the word of life… [Back to Top]