What's Next For America

I'd like you to join me in thanking all these folks who weren't even prepared as of Tuesday to come and share with us today. Thank you everybody. I just put out the call on Tuesday afternoon and said we've got to go in this direction. And all these folks in the choir and orchestra and all the folks who just stepped up and said we want to be part of this. I'm going to invite you to take the outline that's in your notes. And if you're a guest today, we take very seriously the time in God's word only because it's the truth. And so it's worth taking seriously. And these outlines have helped people just to process what they hear a little more carefully. So I want to encourage you to do that today. And by the way, when you're looking in there for your outline, you might see this green insert that says looking to make an impact. This was scheduled months ago by Pennsylvania Family Institute. That will be this Saturday. If you'd like to know how you can get involved in helping to keep the values that we hold dear in the public square, there's a seminar this Saturday. We're hosting it. It's conducted by the Pennsylvania Family Institute. Michael Geer leads that organization. Former North Way member, by the way. On the back of that sheet, I've listed most of the federal representatives and congresspeople and so on and senators that you can contact with your messages of support and prayer. So it's just a way to help you communicate, which we all should do in these days. Well, on Tuesday, September 11th at 8.45 a.m., how we live in the United States of America was changed forever. On that, I believe we will all agree. The impossible happened. And as a result, today, nothing seems impossible. For the first time in our history as a nation, outside forces proved that they could infiltrate our security systems and inflict unspeakable horror on innocent, unsuspecting citizens. These actions were so horrific that most Americans are just now sensing the emotional impact of the blows that were struck five days ago. My dear friend, Dr. Kevin Lehman, told me on Friday that he spent most of the morning weeping. It hadn't affected him until then. One woman that I know stopped me yesterday outside in a place of business and said, her husband, she wanted to know if this was normal. She said, her husband has been sobbing and he can't seem to stop. I assured her that it is normal and it's good to get to talk to someone if it continued on. At a personal level, my initial shock as I watched with our staff huddled around my small TV set in the office as the second airliner hurtled into the South Tower, that shock was jolted by the reality that my youngest son's agency is but ten blocks from the World Trade Center and Pastor Scott's daughter is a student a similar distance away. We both got on our phones and tried to contact our children. It took a couple of hours to get through. Both of them were fine. But thousands of others will awaken this morning and every morning for the rest of their lives without that assurance. Thousands are going to awaken with a hole in their heart. Their lives will never be the same. People that they love just as much as I love my son and Scott loves his daughter have been taken from them. As a nation, the gravity of this situation is difficult to overstay. And I want to say to our young people, I want to say to our high school, our middle school, and our college students that are here, and there's a lot of you in this service, never in my lifetime have I been more aware of the vulnerability that we have as a nation. And you need to know this is very serious stuff. I don't believe we're going to go back in a few weeks to our old way of life. You need to take your readings from the fact that the most important economic symbol of this nation, really the center of trade, has been destroyed. Not since World War I have the financial markets in our nation been closed for this length of time. All forms of athletic competition have been cancelled. And I want to commend the people in those positions of authority for recognizing that we need to focus on what's happened. No football or baseball or golf or auto racing, even the TV Emmys were postponed, as if it really matters. Words are very important at this time, young people. Our president has declared this the first war of the 21st century. A different kind of war to be sure, but one that's going to involve all of us in some way. He's declared a national emergency, and he's warned us of a continued threat of attack. And for the first time in my life, I think I know a little bit about what my mom and dad would often speak about in hushed tones of how they felt on December 7th, 1941, when they got the news about Pearl Harbor. An evil that most of us have only read about or seen on TV, an evil that always was perceived as being over there somewhere across the ocean, in Africa or China or Israel. A terrible evil has now come here, in our own shores. And we must now respond with the courage and dignity and faith appropriate to a people who believe in their God. For surely adversity will show us our true selves in the days ahead. One more thing I want to say. I am deeply aware that a number of you came to this week with profound personal issues already at play. Personal loss, personal heartache. And you need to know that God has not removed those from his concern. And we've not either as a church. And the four principles I'm going to share with you now will be helpful to you in personal times of crisis as well as times of national crisis. So let's consider these carefully. First, how do we respond to such a tragedy? I invite you to write these and fill in these blanks, please. First of all, remember. Remember the compassion of God. Loved one, the character of God is all-important in a time like this. The very first thing we need to remind ourselves is that God is in control. We've sung it, we've read it, we need to affirm it. Our God is on the throne. And he will not be shaken. No disaster, no terrorist, no plague, no violence, nothing will ever change that. And that is an assurance that we bring this morning. But that same God has not revealed himself as a distant deity who's just sort of watching this dispassionately. That God has revealed himself as one who's entered into the heartache, into the grieving, into the sorrow. The prophet Isaiah declared this would be so of Jesus when he wrote, look in your outline, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. That is the heart of Jesus who revealed Father God to us. I was so stirred by a number of stories, but one in particular, the New York Times, that I read of a man who, on the 90th floor or so of the Trade Tower, stayed alongside a paraplegic who could not get down the steps because of his wheelchair, hoping beyond hope that an elevator would come back up and rescue him. Both of those men perished. But when people say, where was God? I want you to know, that was the Spirit of God right there, coming alongside someone at the cost of their own life. The Lord does not keep you at a distance in these moments. In fact, he weeps with you. The Bible says that God weeps. I believe right now God is weeping with America. The most powerful little verse, two words, John 11, 32, in this moment, is that when Jesus looked at Lazarus, who had just died, and he saw the grief and the sorrow of the people over one person, the Bible says that Jesus wept. Jesus is weeping with America this week and those who have lost loved ones. As the Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. And look at the next verse. Have you not found this to be true? The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. You see, it was never God's intention that man should experience this pain and ugliness and suffering and violence and death. That wasn't what God had in mind when he created the world. But sin entered the world and with it evil. And that evil causes heartache and pain. And loved ones, if it wasn't for the cross of Christ, that sin and evil would prevail on all of our lives, even unto our eternal destruction. Thank God that the cross of Christ doesn't just free us from the personal penalty of sin, it breaks the power of sin over all of creation. That's the power of the cross. And in that, the Bible says God draws near to those who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. When you've seen someone hurting, when you've seen someone who's experienced a loss or a tragedy or someone who's just gone through pain, don't you feel yourself just kind of inclined a little bit to help in some way? Well, that's God's spirit. A thousand times over, he rushes in to provide comfort and compassion to those who are brokenhearted. Second, we need to receive the peace of God. All of us have had some thoughts that have been unsettling this past week. Times when fear would come into our minds. If you're honest, you had to have had those. What if I'd been on one of those airplanes? What if the plane that was headed back toward Washington, D.C. and crashed in Somerset would have ended up in downtown Pittsburgh at some location there? All of us are thinking, even today, what's going to happen tomorrow? Will the terrorism continue? And what will happen with the economy? When the markets kick back in, people begin to express how they're really feeling. What about our family and friends in harm's way? Our military personnel? I can tell you right now, having been in the military, I can tell you right now that those men and women are dealing with fear. Oh yeah, there's boldness and there's bravado, but there's also fear. What about our missionaries overseas who right now are wondering, will they be safe? You see, that's when we need to reach out and receive the peace that comes from God. Look what the Bible says, You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast. Another translation says, who stayed on thee, because he trusts in you. You see, that's why we sing these songs. That's why we read these scriptures, to keep our mind focused on the person of God. And I want to encourage you, in the midst of watching the news from time to time, put God's word in your mind. Put the truth of God in your mind. Watch programs that pray and hold up the name of God, because you need to focus, have your mind stayed on him. You know, clearly every honest American, particularly business-related people, have been jolted to the core. The symbolism of this attack cannot be missed. Striking at the very heart of our financial and economic center, it is a powerful message to us, and indeed our military capability as well. What was once declared to be a monument to the achievement of men by its own architect, the World Trade Center, has now been leveled. Some have drawn parallels to Revelation 18. It's now time for us to establish a new rulership, to renew what the center of our being really is, a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Look at the next verse. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom, say it with me, that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and still worship God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. You see, no matter what happens around us, no matter what happens in the days and weeks ahead, I trust that you know that you are, above all else, a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, and that citizenship can never be shaken. I know as I watched those images, and I didn't know what was going to happen next, and we all wondered, how far was this going to go? Were there other kinds of devices that were going to pollute our environment or atmosphere or whatever? Deep in my heart of hearts, I knew that I was secure, as a human being, in my relationship with God. I trust you know that at a personal level. Jesus, in prophesying of his own death, stated it this way to his disciples when they were struggling with fear. Look what he says, I've told you these things. What things? The things of his life and his death and resurrection, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. You might just want to just underline it. You're going to have trouble. I'm going to have it. You're going to have it. But take heart. I have overcome the world. Underline that. The Lord Jesus declares his rulership over all things in our lives. Receive the peace of God. Third, we need to rethink what we believe about God. The question of why innocent people suffer has plagued the minds of thinking people throughout the centuries. I'm pretty confident I don't need to somehow convince most people here today that God did not do this. Most of us know that a loving God would not send this. In fact, the Bible makes it very clear that God does not delight in the death of his people. Ezekiel 18. We have a scripture that says this. Ezekiel 18, 32. I take no pleasure in the death of anyone. You see that? Declares the Lord. Repent and live. But perhaps a more difficult question, then why didn't God stop it? He could have prevented it, couldn't he? Of course he could have. Let me share the following. I offer this to you. I believe that more than we'll ever really fully realize until heaven replays our life tapes, that God does intervene on our behalf. Have you ever had an experience where something could have happened and you made a decision that went another way and it didn't happen? Or were you almost in a very bad accident and something happened that you were spared? How many of you have had something like that happen? I remember a year ago one of our members, her daughter was in a terrible accident. The car was crumpled and she was relatively unscathed. He came to me and said, it's like a miracle that she wasn't hurt. And I said, no, it was a miracle. It was the intervention of God. The simplest explanation for evil that I can give, and I know this is not totally satisfying, but it is this. When sin entered the world because of the choice of men, and listen, if God was to create free moral agents, people who could decide for themselves whether or not they would follow God, he had to allow the option of not choosing to follow him. And so when Adam chose to sin, to disregard God's warning not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve sinned, they chose evil, they chose sin, and those consequences that followed have permeated all of human history. Now, don't just point the finger at Adam and Eve. You would have made the same choice. You know it and I know it. Likewise, God says, but I want you to choose my way. I want you to choose life, and if you choose life, then good is going to follow and blessing will follow. And so that choice is the reason why those forces are both at work in our society. If there is no freedom, there would be no sin and no evil. But who wants to be a puppet? And clearly, we are at times affected by the choices of others. This was very powerfully described by C.S. Lewis in his writing, Peralandra, when he said this. In this story, the man Ransom is fighting with demonic enemies who are trying to seduce the new world that's just been created. And he seems to be losing the battle. And Ransom cries out to the Lord, God, why don't you do something? And the Lord simply answers back, Ransom, you are what I'm doing. And I want to say, in the midst of evil today, when God seems to not be involved, you are what he is doing. He's working his character, his grace, his life, in and through you. And let me offer one more insight to this. For many years, our nation has enjoyed blessing and prosperity. Would you agree with that? We've been under the amazing favor of God, militarily, socially, and particularly economically. We've had a downturn these last number of months, but overall, our lifestyle. Kings would have dreamed to live like this, but a few centuries ago. But it seems that the more blessing we've enjoyed, the more we've seemed to push God away. We've removed him from our schools. We've taken his commandments from our public square. We've legalized the ending of unborn life. And we've been told that we were to push God within the confines of our church walls, and no longer have his name whispered out in public. And it's not been lost on me that many who are raising the flag and saying, God bless America, were a week ago using the name of God to curse others. The Bible says that blessing and cursing cannot flow from the same tree. Could it be that God in his mercy has kept a veil of protection over this nation because of the remnant of the church that's been faithful? But if we do not rise up at this time, he's lifted the curtain just a bit to see what could happen. To a nation that deemed itself invincible, God has lifted up the curtain just a bit to show us what could happen if he would lift it all the way. But, loved ones, we need to hear this call. Unless you think I'm just extrapolating this, read the Old Testament over and over and over again. The people of God, when they obeyed God, they enjoyed his favor. But when they pushed him away, and when they said, we don't want to do this, and complained about that, God said, well, you know, eventually... In fact, Romans 1 even uses it. The Lord turned them over to their desires. That's what we need to hear today. The greatest mistake an American can make is to believe that he or she is great because of themselves. America is not great because of ourselves, it's great because of the grace of God. Look at Jeremiah. Jeremiah, let's put that scripture up, please, 9. This is what the Lord says, Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches. That's American, by the way. But let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth. For in these I delight, declares the Lord. That's Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. If we want to know God's grace and blessing and protection in the years ahead, we dare not think that this will happen if we continue to push him away. So what can we do? What action steps can we take? I've been so stirred, I know you have as well, by the outpouring of support for those in New York and Washington, D.C. It's been just wonderful. In fact, I've invited the Wexford Volunteer Fire Department over here. If you'd like to make a donation for the fallen firefighters, they're going to send up a donation in the name of the Wexford Fire Department, and you're welcome to do that on the way out today. But let me share with you what I think we need to do to respond to this tragedy. Number four, renewing our commitment to the purposes of God. And loved ones, I want to say this very clearly. Just write this alongside of that blank right there. Put this in parentheses. Put long-term. If this just shakes us up for one weekend, then God help us. This has got to have a lasting impact. So these things I offer to you, I offer as a long-term strategy for restoring the Church. This has to happen on two levels, both corporately as the Church of Jesus and personally as individual believers and followers of Him. Do you believe in wake-up calls? Dennis Riley is one of our elders and has been a dear friend for 18 years. Dennis and Veronica and their family have been members here. Earlier this year, Dennis, he's a normal, hard-working business executive, and he was feeling, you know, kind of average, he said to me. But he went in for a stress test, and it revealed that he had severe blockage in a couple of his major heart arteries. And the doctors were very concerned and said, you know, you're going to need to have surgery. And so Dennis went through the very painful surgery, you know, of having the chest bone broken and all that stuff. His recovery was painful, and as you can imagine, he went through a lot of changes. But after he was better and released from the hospital and began to recover, he didn't stop at KFC and load up on fried chicken and stop and get, you know, five Brewster's milkshakes. Rather, he entered into a diet and an exercise regimen, and he began to balance his life and to bring himself into order. And he said to me the other day over dinner, he said, this is the best I've felt in 20 years. You see, that's what God wants to say to us. We've experienced a wake-up call, but we need to respond by changing our lifestyle as a church. The church in America, listen, can we be honest and just say, we've become very good at playing church. Now, I mean in no condemnation to those of you who are very sincere and devoted. I know a number of you here are that way. But many of us, loved ones, many of us find ourselves in and out, doing the minimum, getting by, even saying the right things. But down in our hearts, not really believing them or living them out. God is saying the time for that kind of Christianity has come to an end. If there's one unified prayer that I'm hearing across America, as I try to listen, it's this, that the church would once again become the community of the called-out ones that we were meant to be. Those who would distinguish themselves from the world in the way we conduct ourselves. And we'd leave half-heartedness and indifference towards sin away where it needs to be. And that we lean into God with all of our heart. Look at 2 Chronicles 7.14. Would you read it with me, please? If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Do you see the linkage? When my people, when they do what they're supposed to do, then I will heal their land. Now, this verse is familiar to those of you who've walked with the Lord for a while, but has it ever been more relevant? It's time for the church to take the lead in restoring our nation. It was so inspiring, wasn't it, to see thousands of churches answering the call for prayer this week, the candlelight vigil. I mean, I was so stirred on Friday when just a couple of the ladies from one of our cell groups said, could we have the candlelight prayer service? And we were meeting for prayer service, but do you want to do candlelight? And 300 people showed up. And we lined the sidewalks and held candles and prayed together and came in and had a prayer service. These kinds of things are just stirring and moving. You know, when you see congressmen and senators joining hands and singing God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol, I mean, that moves me. And I'm wondering, where's the ACLU? Where's Barry Lynn? Where are these people? You can't do that. You can't say God in America. You see, in times of crisis, we know, don't we? We know instinctively. But, loved ones, it's time that we no longer be silenced by those who do not want God in our culture. It's time that we no longer accept being pushed back into our church, but rather to step out and establish who we are in the nation. And may the Lord forgive me and each of us for the ways that we have allowed our light to be hit under a bushel. Repentance, next blank. Repentance is what we need to engage in as a church and as individuals. By the way, the word repentance, I need to just re-express this to you, it's not talking about an emotional reaction. Repentance, metanoia, is a two-fold Greek word. Meta means a change of, and noia is our mind. It's a change of your mind. It's a change of how you think. I need to think differently about life. It's time to repent. Personally, then, what can we do? And I just will share these things briefly, but again, think of them in terms of the long view. We need to re-establish our commitment to prayer. Are you praying regularly for the church, for leaders of our government and of the world, for the lost around you, for your family members? I believe with all my heart that the next weeks will be very critical as the balance of power is held into heavenly places. It's very clear, the Bible makes it very clear, that up in the heavenlies these days there's battle going on for the heart and souls of people around the world. And what we do, if we engage in that warfare, we can tip the balance of power toward the things of God. But if we become passive, or we just pass through a little simple prayer and we think that's not going to do it, we need to be focused and engaged. And to that end, we've tried to equip you in the short time that we've had, but inside your notes there's a little thing about the prayer platoons. Some years ago this was a very effective mechanism when people, particularly people who would go into the workplace, join with folks who maybe weren't part of the church, and say, hey, I'm going to be praying for America at lunchtime. Would you want to join with me? And you'll be amazed how many people will say, yeah, sure. I want to do something. I'll pray with you. So consider this, won't you? And just fill this out and we'll equip you. In fact, there's a handout there in the info center that already has this week's scriptures and directions for how to pray. We're going to be praying every night at 7 p.m. Our elders are going to be leading us in that prayer. And the chapel up above there, if you've never been up in the prayer chapel, up above there, if you've never been up there, that says something. Join us. We're going to be praying every night for at least an hour. Let's pray together. We've even equipped you with a little devotional, a little beige devotional. You can use that day by day to lead you through a time of prayer. Second, you can respond personally by looking at your life and seeing if you've balanced the input with the output. Are you now at the place where you're giving something of yourself? And again, some of you are wonderful servants and you are exemplary in laying down your life and sacrificing. I don't know about you, but I don't know that I've been ever more moved, at least in recent time, than watching those firemen. Watching what they're doing. I had a man come up to me after the first service who, in somewhat choking terms, holding back the tears, had been up to New York City. He's a local fireman. And, you know, telling me, I mean, just the brotherhood that's there, the commitment that's there. Those people, they've captured something that I think the church should exemplify. I just want to say, this isn't a recruiting thing. I'm just saying to you, look at your life. Are you expressing something of your giftedness, something of your care? You know, we have hundreds of children that are waiting for someone just to come back and show them some love and direction. Students are coming to us by the scores, and they need people to come and care for them and, you know, just help them to learn God's ways. We need greeters, and we need people. When you try to leave here today, you're going to realize we need help in the parking lot. I mean, we have all these things here at the church, let alone where you are. So be a part of the answer. Become a person who serves. And finally, take a look at the priorities of your resources. You know, for quite a number of us, your area of greatest struggle, you simply just can't trust the Lord yet with your finances. You can't imagine how letting go of some of your resources won't reduce your way of life. And I just want you to know, take the plunge. Now's the time to learn to trust God with what He's blessed you with. If you're a Christ follower, not giving a regular, listen to this, regular, generous, proportionate amount of your income. The Bible teaches a tithe, 10%. If you're not doing that, you are missing out on the covenant promise of God to bless your finances. It's one of the most freeing acts of faith you can know. And by the way, Jesus said it clearly, you can't serve both God and money. And if nothing else, the images of those towers falling should be an image to you that the money that we all hold so dearly can just pass away like that. God made it clear. I mean, He told some of the people in the New Testament, Jesus looking at rich young rulers, Zacchaeus, He said, you've got to deal with this one. That's the one you've got to come. And I want to say to some of you in this service today, you need to deal with this one. At whatever age you are, give God a portion of your income regularly. And may I just add to that, in this season in our church life, we have never needed your support more. We've never seen more ministry. We've never had more opportunity. We had 100 middle schoolers last night. We're expecting over 100 high schoolers tonight. We are opening more and more ministries to people who are in all kinds of need. But those ministries need your support. And I just want to encourage you. Now is the time to step up. If you're part of this church family, become part of the giving core of this church if you want to make a difference. Step alongside of us. Join arms with us. And we together will make an enormous difference. You know, commitment is an amazing thing, isn't it? I almost didn't want to say this, but think of the 19 hijackers that they've identified so far. In their utter deception, these highly educated, trained men, you know, you don't pilot a 757 if you're an imbecile, folks, okay? These were relatively intelligent people, but they were radically committed to what they believed in, albeit deceived. And I just asked myself the other day, what would happen if we in this church, just every one of us, upped our commitment level one notch just one notch. Maybe for you it's taking a step into a small group. Maybe for you it's getting involved in your spiritual growth journey for another it's serving. 80% of you have told us you don't feel comfortable in sharing your faith. Well, Pastor Scott's going to be offering a seminar this Saturday that will equip you to do that. Take a step. Be committed. Charles Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship, said this, and I close with this. The nation is facing one of its darkest hours. But I want to say that in the darkness that's before us, I see a flicker of light. And that light is the hope that I have that Jesus, one more time, is calling us back to Himself. That we can avoid the destruction that has been, in just a small part, rent upon this nation. If we look at the light of the hope of the Gospel, if we see that the cross of Christ is still the only hope, that the church symbolizes the hope of the world, if we take that seriously and we, by our example, lead our nation back to God, we can look back and see that God used this tragedy for good and for His glory because a nation was redeemed and a world was won for Jesus Christ. Let's stand together. Lord, our eyes are on the cross. We see Jesus there, high and lifted up. And Lord, we know today that as we come to the cross, we find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. Thank you for the cross today. Loved ones, the ushers are preparing to service communion. It's going to take a while today. The church is full. And I want to invite you all to come. Our communion table at this church is open to anyone who will come. But the Bible says this one thing. There's one qualification. If you come, examine your heart and make sure you're right with God. Don't take it as a ritual. It makes no difference. If you just take the elements, they don't do anything for you. It's your faith in God's grace as delivered through those elements that will change you. So as you hold the bread and hold the cup, if you don't personally know that you have a relationship with Christ, I want you to just whisper a prayer and say, God, in this communion today, I surrender myself to you. I receive your life in me. The ushers are going to service. I'm going to ask you to stand. Hold your portions while all are served. Lord, thank you that you knew that we were human enough to need something to touch, something to remind us of the reality that you gave your life. So we hold this bread. We thank you that you blessed it and broke it and said, this is my body which is broken for you. And you said, do this now in remembrance of me. So we now share together your sacrifice for our sin, your answer to our need, the body of Christ. Would you please be seated? The ushers are going to now come and serve you the cup. I want to encourage you to hold the cup just for a quiet moment or two and pray for yourself, pray for your family and your loved ones and thank God that the blood of Jesus has not lost its power, its power to heal