No. 70 - IN KATRINA’S WAKE By: John J. Blanchard Saturday, September 03, 2005 It has been a very sobering week for the United States. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there are many lessons that the United States will learn, but there are also lessons that we in the Church can learn. This is going to be considered for a long time a low point in the history of the United States. It is a low point for us all because we feel helpless. We feel like a third world country. We feel like the people we often see on the news at night around the world who suffer in despair waiting for someone to come and help. These sorts of things are not supposed to happen in the great United States of America. Why did this occur? Is there a message for us all behind this disaster? It is important when we look at an event like this, that we not read too much into it and that we not read into it what’s not even there. New Orleans and the gulf states now have something in common with Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Niger and other places such as that. Human suffering after natural disaster is the same no matter where you are or what your nationality is. But why do we have to see such suffering at all, and why does God allow it? Could these people somehow deserve what they got? Are the people of New Orleans or Banda Aceh or Niger worse than the rest of us? Are their collective sins and their collective guilt worthy of such destruction, and the rest of us do not have to worry about it? Are they worse sinners than the people of Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York, Toronto, Paris, Moscow or Shanghai? Brethren, this is no time to judge and accuse. You need not turn there, but we all realize that Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death.” In Romans 3:23 it tells us, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is a time for mercy and compassion. The family of man is hurting. This time it is within our own country, but the family of man is suffering. A HUMBLED NATION In every disaster it seems that the weak and the helpless suffer the most. I want to digress from this sermon for just a couple of minutes and say a few things about that. We understand that after every disaster usually some greater good will come of it, that is if we look for the lessons within the disaster itself. It will have its roots really in our shame. It is a good thing to be ashamed right now, because this could have been handled better. We all need to ask ourselves serious questions. Why were the poor left behind while the better off got away? Why did it take so long for the poor to receive food and water in a country such as ours? Why were the levees built to withstand category three hurricanes when our government knows that that area of the country can experience category four and five hurricanes? People around the world are asking why did the United States allow such a situation? It is not like we discovered this in the last twelve months and did not have time to fix it. This has been known for over a century! So we had time, brethren. This was an accident waiting to happen. It was a disaster waiting in the wings that could have been dealt with. A government that was really looking out for its people (especially the poor people that they knew could not escape) could have fixed it. It is a lot cheaper to take care of the problem in advance than afterwards. It is cheaper to do a repair beforehand than it is after the disaster strikes. We all feel ashamed, and that is a good thing because that’s what is going to resolve these problems. That is what’s going to make sure the next time there is any sort of disaster that the poor, the diabetics, the aged, the widows and orphans are not going to be left in harm’s way. There is no reason why a nation such as ours full of as many caring people as we have should have left the helpless in that situation. Our collective shame will bring results. The greatest nation on earth is being humbled, and that is a good thing. Humility itself is a good thing. It is humbling to receive assistance from around the world. These are the very nations that we have helped time after time. But it shows that mankind’s blood is red everywhere, and suffering is suffering. The people around the world are extending a helping hand. That is not only humbling but it is gratifying, because the world really does care. We often times think of ourselves here in the United States as people who take care of others, but nobody cares about us. That is a self-righteousness attitude, and it is not true. The list of countries offering aid is getting to be longer by the minute practically, and that is a good thing. It pulls the world together in a desperate circumstance. LOVE COVERS SINS As we turn back to the sermon, some of the things that we do not need now are the sorts of recriminations that will be harmful. We do not need self-righteous judging and accusing. We are all guilty of sin. Let us turn now, if you would, to I Peter 4 to find out what we really do need. I Peter 4, verse 7: “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Brethren, the end of all things as we know them, as the world is getting ready to go into the Millennium, is desperately close! It is really at hand! If we want to see a generous God look at us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” we must extend as much love, mercy and compassion as we can, for it is love, mercy and compassion that will cover a multitude of sins. Our national conscience is stung right now by the fact that we have some national sins that are out of the closet because we did not take care of the least among us the way we should have. But an outpouring of love and concern from fellow Americans and from citizens of the earth will make up for this deficiency. Love will abound because of what has happened. That is a good thing. If we could offer advice to one another here, let us say this: let us be willing to sacrifice for our nation. Do not hoard things, but send aid instead. Encourage our stricken and grieving nation. Do not accuse them and point the finger. Pray for our nation. Do not tell the New Orleanians they deserve this! Because they are no worse than the rest of us. Do not also preach false signs because that is not helpful at a time like this. Let us turn to Matthew chapter 24. This is a commonly read prophecy that we apply to the last days, but many times it is applied incorrectly. FALSE SIGNS Matthew 24, verse 3: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.’” What will these deceptions be? He goes on to say. Matthew 24, verse 6: “‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are NOT TROUBLED; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’” Brethren, it is very important that we not be troubled by these things. We have the hope of the world within us. We should not be troubled. It is also incredibly important not to trouble others. It is not helpful at a time like this to use the images that we see on television and the reports that we are hearing to make people even more frantic and even more scared. Do not make people feel even more helpless by saying God has turned His back on them and left them out there to suffer and die! That is not useful, and it is also patently wrong and false. The term here “troubled” comes from the Greek word throeo which means to wail or to clamor, that is by implication to frighten. So the warning Christ is saying here is do not clamor when you see these things; you will have these things. They are the beginning of sorrows which means birth pangs. They existed back then two thousand years ago, and they exist to this very day. The earth has been suffering birth pangs waiting for the birth of the kingdom of God. The images of this disaster coupled with strident words and anxiety-building rhetoric is unconscionable. If they are done in God’s name, it is reprehensible! We must not do that to the poor victims of this disaster. We must extend a helping hand, love, mercy and compassion. Such a harmful message of stridency, pointing the finger and judging is a message that not only hurts the world and scares them, but it hurts the Church. The Church is encouraged then to become hard, to become cruel, to become cold. We also end up driving the world away from the truth! Who wants anything to do with a God that will kill innocent women, children, elderly and sick people. We have to remember that the Church is to represent God and all that He stands for that is good. False signs are a horrible deception with many bad consequences. As we read here in Matthew 24 (which we will continue to read) Christ warns that these are deceptions that are very dangerous and can even lead God’s people off in the wrong direction. Matthew 24, verse 23: “‘Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There!” do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.’” Christ told us two thousand years ago people would claim to have Christ working within their group saying this is the body of Christ. We are going to show you the signs and the wonders. And the signs and the wonders that they point to are wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilence, disease and hurricanes. This term “signs” is the Greek word semeion which means a mark to indicate or to signify. And “wonders” comes from the Greek word teras which means prodigy or omen. When putting them together, they are when people show us markers along the way to signify Christ’s return as an evil omen of what bad things are about to come from God. Hurricane Katrina is not a bad omen regarding Christ’s return. Hurricane Katrina is no worse than hundreds and may be thousands of disasters that have befallen mankind in the last six thousand years. We have always had wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilence and hurricanes. Some of them have been far worse than Katrina. Just think for a moment in our own history as a nation. The United States has had a civil war in which more Americans died than in all of our wars and disasters put together. We have had World War I and World War II in the last century. In 1906 one of our major cities (San Francisco) was leveled in an earthquake. In the 1800’s we had the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood which literally wiped out a town killing thousands of people in the mountains of Pennsylvania. More recently we have had Hurricane Camille, Hurricane Andrew. Around the world we have seen calamities of all sorts in the last twenty or thirty years. Because of television, it brings them right into our living room like never before. But Christ’s return is not going to hinge on natural disasters, and that is what He said! He said do not look for these as signs of My return. Look for the gospel to be preached to the world as a witness, and then the end shall come. It was the only physical sign that God gave! When we turn people’s attention to physical events going out as markers and omens of what is to come and say these portray Christ’s return, that is false. That scares people and it is very upsetting. Furthermore, Christ’s return will not hinge on the price of oil, the price of gas, what interest rates are, what level the stock market is, where there are famines or where there is bad weather. None of those things are indicators of Christ’s return. He said that two thousand years ago and He said, “See, I have told you beforehand.” Look for the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom as a sign (as a witness), and that has occurred, brethren! Now we are into spiritual signs that you cannot see physically but that we can see in the body of Christ. Those are the signs we should be looking to and not to natural disasters. But these natural disasters are definitely birth pangs that the earth has been going through for six thousand years as it waits for the kingdom of God. These are the birth pangs as it waits to be released from the oppression of the tyranny of Satan the devil and his cohorts, which do cause the suffering that we see on this planet. We need to look toward God’s kingdom. We need to look for the spiritual signs that are everywhere that are starting to pop out that God’s kingdom is very close at hand. Do not be discouraged. Do not give up. Do not run into a bunker. Do not worry about a physical place of safety. Be encouraged that the gospel of the kingdom has gone out, the Church is starting to wake up, and the kingdom of God is going to be here very soon and bring an end to all of this suffering. GOOD NEWS Turn, if you would, to Isaiah 52 because if there is ever such an opportunity as this to bring good news we have it right now before us. Let us be among those who bring good news to the world and who comfort the world in this terrible time. Isaiah 52, verse 7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings GOOD NEWS, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation…” This is the news we need to bring the world. We need to bring the news that the kingdom of God is coming very soon and that suffering will end, poverty will end, and disasters will end. Pain and suffering is almost a thing of the past! Back up to Isaiah chapter 11 where we have a description of the Millennium. Speaking of the Millennium that lies just ahead it says in Isaiah 11, verse 6: “‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’” There will be no hurting in the kingdom of God when His mountain and His kingdom is here ruling in majesty over this earth. We are told in Revelation that He will wipe every tear away from the eyes of the innumerable multitude of people who have had enough of suffering and who had enough of oppression, disease and pain. This is the good news. Instead of pointing the finger and judging, we need to comfort and tell people it is almost over! Satan is currently the god of this world, and God has set limits on what he can do. But he still has power, brethren, and he is exhibiting it from time to time in the affairs of mankind. Turn, if you would, to II Corinthians chapter 4. Verse 1: “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” Temporarily the gospel of the kingdom was for the people of God while God got His first fruit harvest together. That is almost done. Then that gospel of the kingdom will be for the whole world to understand, and they are waiting anxiously for it. We must not use the scriptures deceitfully, scaring them and keeping them away from the truth at the very hour and minute that God wants the truth to go to the whole world! The gospel has been veiled by Satan the devil, the god of this world. One of the things he is doing is causing wars, rumors of wars, disasters and getting people to think God the Father and Jesus Christ are behind it. They are not. They are going to relieve us from this god of the world, Satan the devil. They are going to relieve us of his oppression and free us. LIMITS ON SATAN There are limits to which Satan can work. You notice there are never any category ten hurricanes. There are certain limits that Satan has to stay within. If you would, turn please to Job chapter 38. We will read a little bit about this. It is actually worthy of a whole sermon some day. Job chapter 38 explains that Satan can do just so much. Job 38:8, speaking to Job, Christ said through the word: “‘Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, “This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!”’” There is a two-fold meaning here. The waves of the sea are not just the physical sea we see with our eyes. By his winds of influence it is Satan that drives the sea of mankind, as well. He is behind the disasters that afflict man and the warfare that afflicts man, but his proud waves can only go so far. That is manifested on the earth too. Regardless of what Hollywood has produced of movies showing huge waves swamping continents, this is not going to happen. God is not going to allow it. And we must not get people more worried and anxious than they already are. The truth takes away anxiety, brethren. When we work up anxiety in people, we are not telling them the truth! Continue in Job 38:16. “‘Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.’” God says tell Him if we understand how Satan is confined. Tell Him if we understand the limits of his power. Tell Him how He even controls those limits and sets those bounds. We cannot, but we know that the all-powerful God indeed does have limits on Satan. There is only so much that Satan can do as the accuser of the brethren and as the accuser of the world. It is a temporary state, and some day we are going to understand why it had to be this way. But I know it had to do with getting the government of God ready to replace Satan’s government. This is why Satan is so angry right now, because his time is running out. A RAINBOW AS A SIGN It is Satan who wants to destroy the world, and not God. Yesterday early in the morning when the sun was coming up there were beautiful rainbows to the west of my house. They were just gorgeous and very vivid. It made me think of God’s promise. After such a storm as Katrina, there are rainbows that we can hang our hats on, and we can count on God to keep a promise by. Those rainbows are His promise that He will never destroy the earth, and there will always be seedtime and harvest right up until His return. Turn, if you would, to Genesis 8 and we will read about that. Genesis 8:20 where it talks about the time after the Flood. “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.’” That is a promise from God. It shall not cease. When God makes a promise, brethren, He is not going to break it. So we can count on this to be fulfilled. What does a rainbow mean? This was the sign He put in the sky to show us that there was such a promise made. A rainbow is made from all the spectrum of light. All the segments of light that comes from the sun are broken up into the spectrum that you see in a rainbow. We know that light represents the truth of God. We are going to be freed from Satan by the light of Jesus Christ and the truth. We will dispel ignorance, we will dispel hatred, and we will make love abound on the earth so that there are no more harmful things done on the earth. That is what we look for in the kingdom of God. So let’s not attribute Satan’s qualities to God. DON’T DEAL WITH SATAN Satan’s very name means destroyer, oppressor and accuser. He only has a short time left to do his work. God in a contrasting way is a builder and a forgiver. He loves mankind whom He created in His image and His likeness. Let’s also not cut deals with Satan. When we see disaster and we foretell disaster for the world, we want to be spared. It is a natural human inclination. Many people believe in some sort of place of physical safety. They cut such a deal with Satan that they are somehow worthy to escape the trials and the tribulations that are befalling the earth. Brethren, there is no overall place of physical safety. Of course, God can provide safety to an individual, but the place of safety is a spiritual place where we are free from the harmful doctrines, the untruths and the lies. It is where we have God’s truth within us and the light that helps us bear fruit for Him. We need that kind of place of safety and not a selfish thought where the whole world can get destroyed as long as I am okay. As long as my little group is okay and we are safe, who cares about the rest of the world! That selfish attitude leads to the hard heart that will keep us out of the kingdom of God if we are not careful. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 28 where we are warned not to cut such a deal with the devil. Isaiah 28, verse 9: “‘Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.’” Who will God give the truth to in order to give it to the world? Verse 11: “For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said , ‘This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest…’” The world is very weary, brethren, and that rest is the Millennium. We need to teach them that it is about ready to come. Continuing in the last half of verse 12: “…and, ‘This is the refreshing’; yet they would not hear.” There are many people in the branches of the Churches of God and other churches who are just so anxious for the world to suffer and die and get on with it, as long as they are safe! That is a horrible doctrine, brethren. We need to bring refreshing to the whole world. Continue in Isaiah 28, verse 13: “But the word of the Lord was to them, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little,’ that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.” Falling backward is signified as falling into Satan’s clutches. Continue in verse 14: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem…” Here now today we are speaking of spiritual Jerusalem. Verse 15: “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.’” Brethren, if we are selfish enough to think that we can cut a deal with Satan and get away with it, we are badly mistaken. We have been horribly deceived. The purpose of the Church is to lay down its life for our fellow man just like Jesus Christ did for all of us. Continuing in Isaiah 28:16. “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet; the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it goes out it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass over, and by day and by night; it will be a terror just to understand the report.” Brethren, preaching false signs and wonders while at the same time expecting miraculous protection by God from the disasters we are prophesying is very, very dangerous to our spiritual health! God says some day it will be a terror to understand how we have been deceived. Let’s not let that happen! We do not have to let that happen. We need to be loving our fellow man and covering a multitude of sins. We need to be showing compassion and showing God to be the kind of God He really is, especially at a time like this. All of this will go a long way to showing Him that we love our fellow man and that we are willing to lay down our lives for our fellow man. It will show Him that we can be trusted to help in the Millennium to rule this earth. We cannot be harsh judges toward our fellow human beings, or we are in deep trouble. Let us look at a couple of spiritual examples to give us pause. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter 9. We have to be very careful what we say in the name of God. We need to be sure we are in agreement with Him and understand the scriptures. Luke 9, beginning in verse 51: “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.” That was quite a rebuke. The disciples had to learn the lesson of love and compassion for their fellow man. Christ was very straight forward with them. That lesson is still needing to be learned in this generation of the Church! REBUKING SATAN Matthew chapter 8 please. God does not want to destroy the earth. He wants to have a beautiful Millennium. That is what He was trying to say. We are to preserve the earth. Matthew chapter 8 relays an interesting story of rebuke once again, but rebuke towards whom? Matthew 8, verse 23: “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” That could have been Katrina on the Sea of Galilee, just as an analogy. Who was Christ rebuking? Was He rebuking the physical water? Some say that Christ and God the Father are behind the weather and control the weather. Was Christ rebuking the Father? Was Christ rebuking Himself? No. Christ was rebuking the god of this world who can control the weather. Rebuke here comes from the Greek word epitimao. That means to censure and admonish, by implication to forbid. It is a compound of two other words: epi which means to superimpose, which is what He was doing, (He was superimposing His will over the will of the destroyer.) and timao which means a value or money paid, by analogy esteem or dignity as a penalty. So Christ superimposed His will over Satan causing him to lose face. It cost Satan. He was using his power to scare the disciples. He wanted to scare them in a rough sea. Jesus Christ said, “Oh, you of little faith.” We have power over who controls this, and He rebuked Satan. Satan slunk away like a little worm. He lost his dignity and lost face. He paid a price. We can learn from this lesson that with a little bit of faith we can calm the storms in our lives, and we can calm the sea. We were praying before that hurricane. I am sure all of you were praying to mitigate the suffering. I read an interesting article a couple of days ago that an unexplained puff of wind came from the northwest at the last possible minute! It was a puff of wind just enough to make that storm veer off and give the citizens of New Orleans another day to get away and cut down the destruction by many magnitudes. If that force five had landed straight on New Orleans, there would not have been anything left to rescue! So there was some impact there, and I believe it was prayer. But Satan’s power is just so much because we are still of little faith. With a little more faith, what could we have done and what light could we have shown the world? Brethren, we need to show that light right now. We need to pray that the people of that area will not get discouraged and that they will see a good side of God. We need to pray that their ministers, wherever they are, will teach them that God is merciful and kind. They need to teach He is not cruel. They do not understand necessarily what we know, but they are certainly trying to comfort their people. They do not need anybody else who knows better to wag a finger in their face and tell them that they deserve this calamity. God made Satan lose face at that incident, but it should teach us that there is power in prayer and in faith. There is an evil power which wreaks havoc in the weather and with disease epidemics, with wars and with rumors of wars. It is a power who wants to scare people and get them to believe that God is doing this to them, when actually we are under this power on earth. It is the god of this world, but his time is almost up. There will be a time when there will be no more hurricanes. There will be no more earthquakes. There will be no more death and destruction by war. That time is just ahead, and Satan knows it. God’s Millennium is almost here. We can bring this good news to people and help them calm down, realizing their situation is no different than mankind has faced for the last six thousand years. These things have gone on long enough, brethren, and it is about to end. WHO CONTROLS THE WEATHER? Our Great God will soon deliver the world from oppression. It will be delivered from a Satanic being and his cohorts that think nothing of human suffering. So who controls the weather, earthquakes and famines? In the short term it is the god of this world, but there are limits. Those limits will protect us and preserve the earth so that we will have a Millennium. God is going to deliver us from this mess. The world will not have much longer to wait. GROANING FOR OUR FELLOW MAN Turn to Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 18. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” This past week certainly has us groaning. It should have us groaning for our fellow man and not groaning and yearning for a place of safety. We should be groaning for a world in pain, suffering birth pangs waiting for the birth of the kingdom of God. They are waiting for us to be revealed, and soon we will be if we have learned mercy, love and compassion. Turn to Matthew chapter 5. After Christ concluded His discussion of The Beatitudes and the way we should live, He said some interesting things. I believe these things are a test for us at this very time. Matthew 5, verse 13: “‘You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor…’” The King James Version says savor. “‘….how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.’” Let men see our love, our compassion and our good works and glorify God. Don’t let them see an accusing spirit (a spirit of condemnation). Don’t let them see a spirit of self-preservation and self-righteousness. Let them see the salt that preserves, because, brethren, salt is a preservative. This term to lose flavor or savor of the salt is the Greek word moraino, which means to become insipid and figuratively to make as a simpleton and become foolish. So the spiritual side of the meaning of that word is to become simple and foolish. It comes from the word moros which means silliness, absurdity and foolishness. This silly talk about signs and wonders, scaring the people and showing them the wrong side of God is horrible. It is putting Satan’s attributes on God, and it is horrible, brethren. It is up to you and me whether to be wise or foolish in these trying times. As Christ’s return draws close, I tell you choose wisdom. How we react in the wake of Hurricane Katrina may reveal which way our tendencies lean. Are we wise or are we foolish? Do we have a lamp for the world to follow, or are we scaring them away? It is a choice that we can make at this very time that may very well have eternal consequences!