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SEPTEMBER 11, WHOSE FAULT WAS IT ANYWAY? by FELIX SNIPES All of us have been horrified by the events that have shaken America to its very heart and soul these last few weeks. There have been more words written and spoken in the Media and the Pulpit analyzing these tragic acts of war against our beloved homeland than any other single event I can recall. I would like to think with you about some aspects of this that we seldom hear in the media. These attacks were not perpetrated by ignorant, uneducated mad-men. They were skillfully planned and prepared over many months and years. They were carried out with military precision by individuals who knew exactly what they were doing and were so committed to their goals that they were willing to die for their beliefs. This type of fanatical, all-consuming passion is not limited to Islam and the followers of Osama Bin Laden but we have also recently seen it among the Jews in the person of Yigal Amir who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin … AND even “Christian” terrorists who have targeted and killed abortion Doctors. The common note in all of this is that each of these is convinced he is right and they consistently say that GOD LED THEM TO DO IT. My Friend, it was ACTUALLY THE DEVIL, working in the minds of those poor deluded people, who led them to kill! It was NOT God! God gets blamed for many things that He did NOT orchestrate. Satan’s plan since the Garden of Eden has been to blame God. ALSO, Satan is very clever at disguising himself as God. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” (II Corinthians 11:14-15) This world is under the power of Satan. The Bible describes him as “the god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4), “the prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), “prince of this world” (John 14:30) and “the father of lies and a murderer” (John 8:44). He is powerful enough to cause gullible men to even kill good people. Remember when Cain’s offering was not accepted by God and Abel’s was? Satan led Cain to kill (the good) Abel who had pleased God with his blood offering. (Genesis 4:1-15) Many good people died in the hijacked airliners, the World Trade Towers (WTC) and the Pentagon, by the direction of Satan. There are many things you or I can never understand about the “omnipotence” (all powerful-ness) of God and the limited freedom with which He permits Satan to move in this world. How could we, as mere mortals, understand the intent and ultimate plan of our Great God? I do know this, in spite of the fact that Satan has tremendous power over many men’s mind, God is still more powerful and in complete control. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4) Satan can only act as far as the Lord gives him permission to do so. (See Job chapters 1 & 2) However, the Lord WAS doing some unique things in the midst of Satan’s attack on September 11. For example, there would normally be about 50,000 people in the twin towers of the WTC yet all were spared except about 6,000. Now those 6,000 are VERY important both to us and to the Lord … but think of how much worse Satan could have made it were it not for the merciful hand of God. Those four airliners could seat about 1,000 people but only 266 were on board. I think that God was involved in saving many lives that day! You see, IT IS ONLY THE LOVING HAND OF GOD that EVER protects us from the god of this world, Satan! AND … as a result of what Satan did, right now more people are openly talking about God and prayer than I ever recall! God moved to “trump” Satan! Now, WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? First and foremost, Satan wanted it. However, the real source of Satan’s plan goes way back to Abram and Sarai, in Genesis 12-22. God had promised Abram seed that could not be numbered. Sarai, not being able to have children, decided to “help God out” and gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to an 86 year old Abram to have children by. You know then of the duplicity that was involved with the jealously between Sarai and Hagar over her son Ishmael. THAT was the origin of the problem. It began with one couple not trusting God to keep His promise … in His timing … and give them the children He had promised, spread to two women arguing, along with the father, Abram NOT taking his place of responsibility and doing what was right no matter what his wife said! Ishmael became the father of the Arabs and Abraham’s promised son (by Sarah, born some 13 years later) … Isaac became the father of the Jews. “Hate” … even hate within a family keeps bearing hateful fruit beyond our wildest imagination! That enmity and hate is STILL going on in the middle-east. Because America has officially supported Israel, that enmity has now been brought to our own shores. On top of this, Satan does NOT like a “Christian” nation like the USA has historically been. WHAT NOW? Our Founding Fathers were totally dependent on God for protection in establishing this country. We have gradually put more and more faith in the US Government to protect us and have become less and less dependent on God. We have legally and practically shut the Lord out of our lives. IN 90 MINUTES GOD LET US KNOW THAT WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM! Dr. Jerry Drace pointed out that this attack was on September 11, or 9-11 (the numbers to dial for emergencies.) This SHOULD be our 911 call upon the Lord for emergency help! Beloved Friend, The LORD is our only hope! With the biological and chemical warfare capabilities that these secret “shadow” terrorists have world-wide, there is NO WAY ANY HUMAN GOVERNMENT CAN PROTECT US! Historically, God has always dealt with His people on the basis of the dedication of HIS PEOPLE to HIM … not on the basis of how the un-Godly people act. One of Christianity’s most vocal and highly visible spokesmen recently said on TV that this happened because of “…the pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way.” (He later was forced to apologize.) It is NOT the un-Godly that caused this, it is when GOD’S PEOPLE BECOME UN-GODLY that the Lord withdraws his hand of protection to let Satan have his way with us. God promised that if GOD’S PEOPLE would humble themselves, pray and seek Him, then He WOULD hear, heal the country and forgive our sin! ( II Chronicles 7:14 ) It all comes down to “us” … NOT “them.” WE as Christians MUST pay the price prescribed by God in order for HIM to deliver our beloved country. I, for one, am going to pay that price! Please join me! Felix Snipes has been a Southern Baptist pastor and evangelist for over 30 years. He is a member of First Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA |
Copyright ©2001 Felix Snipes. All rights reserved.