Holy Truth About Horrific Tragedies, Part 1

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for tonight and all that you do. Truly, you are a great God and you are worthy to be praised. You are good and you do good and we thank you for the goodness that you've bestowed upon us through sending your son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Tonight, Father, may we understand you more. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 13.

Luke chapter 13. We have been out of Luke for several weeks now and so I thought that as a transition through Luke 13, 1 to 5 into verses 6 and following, we would look at our topic this evening.

That is the holy truth about horrific tragedies because that's the question posed to our Lord in Luke 13, 1 to 5. There will be countless numbers of churches around the world that will deal with a 9-11 situation come this Sunday because it is the 10th anniversary of those terrorist attacks where some 3,000 people were killed there, including the Pentagon, the Trade Center towers in New York City, as well as in the fields of Pennsylvania. And so there will be many churches that will address that topic.

We will not address that on Sunday morning because of the direction we're going, but because of where we are on Wednesday night in the text of Luke 13, 1 to 5 and the question posed to our Lord, it is fitting that we address it tonight. And the question was, what do you do about calamity, disaster, tragedies, catastrophes? What is going on? And so when Jesus is preaching this sermon in Luke 13, someone asked the question and the question simply was on the same occasion, verse 1, there were some present who reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

They wanted to know why. Why is it these people who are going to worship the Lord, presumably that's what they were doing, why is it Pilate would come and cut them up into pieces along with their sacrifices? That's just an horrific way to die. I can think of a number of ways to die. That's not one of the ways I would like to die, but it's a tragedy. And they asked the question and Jesus' response simply was, do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this fate?

Because the Jewish mindset was, well, they must have been greater sinners for God to allow that to happen to them because God doesn't do that to his people. And we tend to think along those lines as well, to some degree. So the Lord says, do you really actually think that they were worse sinners than anybody else because they suffered a horrific death experience? He says, I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?

I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Do you think that the tower that fell over and there were 18 people who just happened to be walking by that day and the tower collapses and kills them, that somehow they were worse sinners, worse people than any other Jew in Jerusalem as to why they were killed and you were not? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish. In the light of the 9-11 tragedy, and I was reminded of this just the other night as we were watching this, there was a, there was a, an episode about a young man who had gone in to save many people before he died.

And so the video clip of the airplanes flying into the towers was on television and we were eating dinner and AJ sat down next to me and was watching this. And he looks at it and says, how do those planes not miss those towers? Well, see AJ's 10. He was just a baby. He was born in January of that year. He has no recollection of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. So to him, it's an historical event. To us it is too, but for those of us who were coherent and alive and awake at that time in the morning and were able to watch what took place on that day, it's very real to us, more so to those who experienced the tragedy, the families of those who lost family members.

But to AJ, who's 10, he had no idea. So I began to explain to him what had taken place 10 years ago, that he might come to understand what was happening because like him, all of us need to understand the biblical perspective on horrific tragedies. Because for the most part, we don't have an understanding of what the Bible says about those things.

And so it's imperative that we understand what the truth of the Bible is. So we are able to help people through a process when they go through tragedies, calamities, catastrophes. 43 hockey players were killed today in Russia because they took off on a plane going to their first game of the year, and it crashed.

45 people total. The other two were in critical condition, but 43 of them died. I believe it's five of them are a part of our National Hockey League here in the States. They were killed. Why? How? How do you explain that to people? How are you able to get people to come to grips with the reality of what the Bible says when the tragedy is so horrific?

Whether it's a hurricane, whether it's a tornado, when you look at what happened in Tuscaloosa this year in Alabama, and the 267 people that were killed by a tornado, or in Joplin, Missouri, or just the most recent hurricane on the East Coast, where almost 30 people were killed because of the effects of that hurricane.

You know, they happen all the time. Natural disasters, calamities, tragedies, accidents, airplane crashes, plane crashes, train crashes. They happen all the time. Happen all the time. And the questions come as to why, and how, and where is God, and all this. And so it's imperative that we understand what the Bible says.

Let me begin with a verse, because this verse should mark your life as a believer. It's found in the book of Psalms. Psalm 112, verse number seven, talks about the man who fears the Lord. Verse one, praise the Lord, how blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. How do you know you fear the Lord, and how do you know you delight in his commandments? It goes on to talk about this man's family, and the effect he has on his family. We'll talk a little bit about that over the next several weeks on Sunday mornings.

But notice what it says in verse seven. He will fear, he will not fear evil tidings. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. How do you know you fear the Lord, and you delight in his commandments? You don't fear the evil tidings. You trust in the Lord. Charles Spurgeon, in his commentary, or his devotional commentary on morning and evening, said on his September 15th issue, these words about Psalm 112, verse number seven. He says, Christian, you ought not to dread the arrival of evil tidings, because if you are distressed by them, what do you more than other men?

Other men have not your God to fly to. They have never proved his faithfulness as you have done, and it is no wonder if they are bowed down with alarm and cowered with fear. But you profess to be of another spirit. You have been begotten again into a lively hope, and your heart lives in heaven and not on earthly things. Now, if you are seen to be distracted as other men, what is the value of that grace which you profess to have received? Where is the dignity of that new nature which you claim to possess?

Again, if you should be filled with alarm as others are, you would doubtless be led into the sins so common to others under trying circumstances. The ungodly, when they are overtaken by evil tidings, rebel against God. They murmur and think that God deals hardly with them. Will you fall into the same sin? Will you provoke the Lord as they do? Moreover, unconverted men often run to wrong means in order to escape from difficulties, and you will be sure to do the same if your mind yields to the present pressure.

Trust in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Your wisest course is to do as Moses did at the Red Sea. Stand still and see the salvation of God, for if you give way to fear when you hear of evil tidings, you will be unable to meet the trouble with that calm composure which nerves for duty and sustains under adversity. How can you glorify God if you play the coward? Saints have often sung God's high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and responding as if you had none to help you magnify the Most High?

Then take courage and rely and ensure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Are you one who fears God and delights in his commandments? Then you don't fear the evil tidings, because you trust in the Lord. You believe in the Lord God. You understand his workings in your life. And so we need to come to grips with what the holy truth says about horrific tragedies. There are 10 principles I'm going to give you. Hopefully I'll finish them tonight.

If not, we'll finish them next week if the Lord tarries. If not, you'll get to heaven and know everything anyway, right? So let me give you some principles that will help you.

Because amidst all the television programs that will be on concerning 9-11, some have already happened, others are yet to come. And all the newspaper articles and all the magazine articles, you're going to read about this event countless times over again and see it countless times over again over the next several days, because it is the 10th anniversary of that terrorist attack. And so we need to know what the Bible says so that we can answer those who ask the question, why, how, what is God doing?

Principle number one, when horrific tragedies come, when, whether by natural disaster, whether by evil tidings, such as, as in Luke 13, where Pilate would go in and slaughter these people and kill them and mingle their, their blood with their sacrifices, no matter how horrific the tragedy is, the very first principle you need to understand is that it portrays the uncertainty of our realm.

It portrays the uncertainty of our realm. That is, you have no idea how long you're going to live. You don't know. Those 43 men who boarded that plane in Russia had no idea their plane was going to go down as soon as it took off. They had no idea. They thought they would be playing in a game, their first game.

Instead they entered into eternity. You have no idea that once our service is over and you get in your car, that you are going to make it home this evening. You have no idea. You hope you make it home, but you don't know whether or not you are going to make it home, do you? When these things happen, when those people went to work in New York City 10 years ago, they had no idea. They could not even fathom in the inner recesses of their mind that something of that nature would take place in those twin towers.

And the people who boarded those planes to go see friends, family, relatives, go on vacation, had no idea that that would be their last plane trip, that that plane would be overtaken by terrorists and it would be flown into the World Trade Center, or that it would be flown to the Pentagon, or go down in the fields of Pennsylvania. They had no idea. Because you have no guarantee of tomorrow. You have no guarantee of an hour from now.

And so it portrays to us the uncertainty of our realm, the realm in which we live. That's why, that's why James says it so well. Come now you who say, James 4, 13, today or tomorrow we shall go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.

But as it is, you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil. You know, we don't think in the realm of eternity. We think in the realm of the temporal. And we make plans as if we're going to live forever. And I'm all for making plans. I'm all for being organized. I'm all for being disciplined. I'm all for that kind of stuff. I make plans. I mean, I plan out my preaching schedule. I plan out all kinds of things for my children, for my family. But if the Lord wills, we'll do this, so we'll do that.

But ever notice that we make plans and we leave out the God factor? We make plans for college. We make plans for marriage. We make plans for business. We make plans for trips. And God's not even taken into account. It just demonstrates our arrogance because you just don't know. That's why Job said, Job chapter seven, verse six, my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. My life is but a breath. He would go on to say in Job 95, my days are swifter than a runner. Psalm 103 15 says that man's days are like grass.

It sprouts, withers, and it's gone. You see the tragedy of catastrophes, whether we call them natural disasters, whether we call them an act of God, whatever terminology you may use. The tragedy about them is not that people die. It's that people die and enter into a Christless eternity. That's the tragedy. We have forgotten the eternal value of a soul. And that's the biggest tragedy of all. Why? Because we're all going to die. It might be in a plane crash or a car crash. It might be a heart attack.

It might be someone mugs you and kills you. I don't know. We're all going to die. It's appointed a man who wants to die. After that, the judgment, the wages of sin is death. That's what the Bible says.

The soul that sins, it shall die. It's a guaranteed fact you will die. I don't mean to be negative. That's just the truth. That's the reality of living. You're going to die unless the Lord, of course, takes us home to be with him before that day occurs. But for all practical purposes, every one of us is going to die. We would like to die quick and pain-free, right? But that doesn't always happen that way. And so the uncertainty of our lives, you don't know about tomorrow. We have plans for tomorrow.

We have plans for Friday, for Saturday, for Sunday, but you have no guarantee that those plans will ever come to fruition because God might have something else in store for you. So when these things happen, the very first thing to remember, it portrays to us the uncertainty of our realm.

We don't know how long we're going to live. We don't know how well we're going to live. We don't know if we're going to die. We don't know. That's why the one who fears the Lord, he does not fear the evil tidings that come his way because his whole life is about trusting God, believing God, obeying God, serving God. My life's about God, right? So if my life is truly about God, then everything I want to do and everything I, or every place I want to go is centered around the will of God for my life.

He's in charge. I am not. Which teaches the principle number two. Not only does it portray the uncertainty of our realm, but it prompts the perplexity of the righteous and unrighteous alike. It prompts the perplexity of the righteous and unrighteous alike. Does it not? Why? How? We're perplexed. How can this happen? They were here today. I kissed them. Goodbye. I held them in my arms. I said, I'll see you tonight. And they never made it home. I did not know that that was going to be the last time I saw them.

I did not know that would be the last opportunity I had to touch them, to kiss them, to speak to them. I did not know. And so it prompts the perplexity of the righteous and the unrighteous alike. Every one of us asked the question, how, why, when, what is happening? No matter what the tragedy, no matter how severe the tragedy or the catastrophe, the young man, the young football player for, uh, uh, the university of Alabama, who, when that tornado came in Tuscaloosa, went to the closet of his house and held his girlfriend in his arms and embraced her and held her as tight as he possibly could.

And the winds of that tornado were so ferocious that they, they threw him from his closet, a hundred feet away from his home, knocked him unconscious. They never saw his fiancee girlfriend again. She died. He lived. She died. He was thrown out of the house. She died in the rubble of the house. He did not know as you and I did not know. So whether you're righteous or unrighteous, it's perplexing. Is it not? Why does God do these things? That's why the people came with Jesus and he's preaching a sermon.

They interrupt them to Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, these guys, these people, these, these Galileans were worshiping God and pilot comes in. He cuts them up. He slices and dices them and mingles their blood with their sacrifices. How, why it doesn't make any sense. I mean, after all, you would think that if you're going to worship God, he'd preserve you through your worship, right? And so the questions come to me. Turn me to the book of Ecclesiastes just for a moment. Ecclesiastes chapter seven says this in verse number 13, consider the work of God for who was able to straighten what he has bent.

If God makes something crooked, twisted, do you actually think that you can straighten it back again? If God decides to twist your family, to twist your business, to bend things in your sphere of influence, do you actually think that you can put it back straight again by yourself? Consider the work of the Lord. In the day of prosperity, be happy. That's pretty easy, right? You win the lottery, you're happy, right? In the day of prosperity, be happy. But in the day of adversity, consider really God has made the one as well as the other.

Hmm. Why? So that man may not discover anything that will be after him. In the day of prosperity, be happy. In the day of adversity, you better consider what God's doing. God made them both. God's in charge. He made them both. And consider the work of God because he wants you to understand that you are not in control. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. You have no guarantee of your future. You can't map out your life as you want to map it out. Even though you try very hard to do so, you're not in charge.

God is in charge. And we are perplexed when things go haywire because somehow my plans didn't work. My goals were not achieved. My objectives were not met. Got other plans. Plan to get married and have a family. And so you get married, you have kids and your spouse dies. To grow old together, to have a family together. That was your plan. Job's plan was to have a family that would live and honor the Lord. He was the most righteous man on the face of the earth. It wasn't the fact that Job was a sinful man who lived in sin and cheated on his wife and beat his kids and was worthless in his business affairs.

No, he was the most righteous man on the face of the earth and God allowed Satan to take everything from him. Everything. And he realized more and more that he never truly understood his God. That's why he said at the end, my ears have heard of thee, but now my eyes have seen thee. How did Job see God? Amidst horrific tragedy. And he was the most righteous man on the face of the earth by God's own testimony. So it's not like his wife was saying, my husband, he says, that's a righteous man. Because I mean, her perspective would be colored to some degree, would she not?

It's God himself who says, this is the most righteous man on the face of the earth. And yet he had not truly seen God for who he is until horrific tragedy hit his family. Now he could see God. There's too many people in the church who have heard of God and yet have not seen God. So he can't see God. The Bible says you can't see him and live.

You don't see him with the physical eye, you see him with the spiritual eye. The pure in heart shall what? See God. They'll see him. They'll understand him. They'll come to grips with him. So amidst the perplexity that's prompted because of horrific tragedies, both in the righteous and unrighteous alike, there are things that God wants us to see. So Ecclesiastes chapter three, trim back just a couple of pages. Verse 12, I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime.

Moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor. It is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will remain forever. This is Solomon speaking. In other words, it's concrete. It remains forever. God does something. It will not change. There is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. God's plan is not only concrete, God's plan is complete, right? It's complete. You can't add to God's plan to make it better. You can't take away from God's plan to make it better.

Say, well, yes, I can, because if I didn't suffer this horrific tragedy, things would be a lot better in my life today. Then really you can't take away or add to God's plan to make it any better than it already is. Then listen to this. For God has so worked that men should fear him. Asking the question, why horrific tragedies? What is the holy truth? The truth is this. God has made the day of prosperity. God has made the day of adversity so that man would learn to fear God. Psalm 14 says, the fool says in his heart, no, God, no, God.

No, I don't want you. I don't want you interfering. So in the midst of the tragedy of 9-11, amidst all the rubble that was cleared away, there was left by the divine plan of God, a cross that would stand because of what had been broken around it and burned around. There was a 20 foot cross that had stood there where the twin towers stood, made up of two of the major beams in one of the towers. It became a place of prayer for many of the firemen and the policemen as they would huddle around that cross during the day.

It's almost as if God wanted them to understand that everything is about the cross, that the one who hung on that cross spread his arms to embrace the world, to encompass all those who would repent of their sins and ask for forgiveness, that they might receive the grace of almighty God. And it's that reminder that God wants us to fear him. That's why blessed is a man who fears the Lord and delights in his commandments because he will not be afraid of evil tidings because he trusted the Lord. Amidst all the perplexity, amidst all the uncertainty of horrific tragedies, know this, God does what he does, so man will learn to fear him.

Because to fear God is to be saved by God. The unbeliever has no fear of God before his eyes, right? Romans 3, 18. The unbeliever doesn't fear God, but the believer does. And no matter what happens on this earth, everything that happens here is done for the sake of eternity. It's not done for the sake of right here. It's done for the sake of eternity. There is a bigger plan than what happens during the breath of your life or the grass that grows and is withered again tomorrow of your life. It's here today, gone tomorrow.

It's about eternity. And so amidst the perplexity, God says, I need you to fear me. I need you to fear me. Another reason people are perplexed and the answer to their perplexity is simply the fact that God not only wants you to fear him, but God simply wants you to understand that he's going to warn you of impending judgment. That's what Luke 13, 1 to 5 is about. That's the key text whenever there's a tragedy. Luke 13, 1 to 5 is the key text. 10 years ago when I preached on terrorism, tragedies, and the truth, Luke 13, 1 to 5 was the key text because those are tragedies that happen for virtually no apparent reason.

They just happen to people. And he asked the question, why, how, when, what? And the text is Luke 13 and Christ says, you know, these people are not worse sinners than you.

These people are not worse off than you. They're just like you. But unless you repent, you will likewise perish. Not that you will perish the same way. You'll be cut up into pieces when you're worshiping God or that a tower will fall over on you and kill you when you're walking by. But the fact that you're going to die. So you better repent. So these things come as warning signs that judgment is coming. The judgment of God upon man is coming. So make sure you're ready to meet your maker. Make sure you're ready to understand that your future is with God if you repent, without God if you don't.

Unless you repent, you will perish. You will experience an eternity without the living God. You will experience eternity away from God. If you think it's a tragedy that planes would fly into a tower and some 3,000 people would perish in that rubble, you are sadly mistaken. The tragedy is that those who didn't know the Lord would spend eternity away from him. That's the tragedy. That's the perspective we need to have. Because what happens in eternity is the most real thing there is. That's more real than what you're doing tonight.

It's forever. And people need to understand that. So these tragedies come to warn us of impending judgment. They come because God wants us to fear him. He'll do anything to get people's attention. So they're without excuse. Another reason these things happen. John 9. As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who's this man or his parents? They should be born blind. Because that was their take on it. I mean, you might not think that blindness is an horrific tragedy unless, of course, you're blind.

Right? You read the story, okay, so he's blind. He can still eat. He can still walk. He can still feel. He can still smell. Okay. But unless you're the guy, it's not a tragedy for you. For him, it's a tragedy. And so the question is, Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind? Somebody had to sin. Nobody sinned. It's not about sin. It's about the works of God. He says, it was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.

In other words, I'm going to manifest my nature and my character through this man and his blindness. Through his tragedy, I'm going to make known my name. God does what he does so that his glory is put on display. You can't miss the glory of God, right? Do you actually think that things happen that God doesn't know about? That God doesn't understand why it took place? You think God was caught off guard when two planes flew into the World Trade Center and thought, what am I going to do now? How am I going to explain this to the world?

Oh, no. For the day of adversity and the day of prosperity are both the work of God. See, people have a hard time grasping that. But the fact of the matter is God wants you to fear him. God wants you to be warned of the impending judgment that will come your way unless you fear him, unless you repent. He wants you to understand that his glory is put on display even in the midst of horrific tragedies and catastrophes so that he might display his person. And then over in Psalm 107, 28, it says these words, when they cry to the Lord in the day of trouble, he delivered them from all their distress.

God does what he does so that man will realize how helpless he is before God. He's so helpless, so utterly helpless. So in the day of their distress, they would cry out to God and God would deliver them. See that? See, we need to come to grips. Folks, listen.

God has a plan, which would lead me to point number three here, that will not ever be altered. In the midst of horrific tragedy, here's the holy truth. Number one, it portrays the uncertainty of the realm in which we live.

Number two, it prompts the perplexity of the righteous and unrighteous alike. Number three, it pinpoints the sovereignty of the ruler of the universe.

It pinpoints the sovereignty of the ruler of the universe. Listen to these verses. Psalm 135, verse number six, whatever the Lord pleases, he does in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in the deep. God does whatever he wants. We can't do that, but God can. Psalm 99.1, the Lord reigns, let the people tremble. Here's the declaration. God reigns. Here's our duty to tremble before him. God's in charge. Psalm 103, verse number 19, the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all.

Psalm 115, verse number three, our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases. Paul would say in Acts 15, verse number 18, known to God from eternity are all of his works. Jeremiah 51, 29 says every purpose of the Lord shall be performed. So Isaiah would say these words in Isaiah 45, verse number five, I am the Lord and there is no other besides me. There is no God. I will gird you though you have not known me that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides me.

I'm the Lord and there is no other. That's what God says. How do you know he's the only God there is? He's the one forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity. And that's a hard verse for those who have lost loved ones amidst the calamity. That God is the author of calamity. He creates it. That's what it says. I am the Lord who does all these. The sovereignty of God, the rule of God is the most essential doctrine for man to come to grips with. Spurgeon would say it this way.

There is no doctrine more hated by the world, no truth of which they have made such a football as the great stupendous, yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion the world and make the stars. They will allow him to sustain heaven and earth and bear up the pillars thereof. They will even let him light the lamps of heaven and rule the waves of the ever moving ocean.

But when God ascends to his throne, his creatures gnash their teeth. And when we proclaim and enthrone God as preachers and his right to do as he wills with his own, to dispose of creatures as he thinks well without consulting them in the matter, then it is that we are hissed and x created. Then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us for God on his throne is not the God that the men of the world want to love. He is so right. They just gnash their teeth. Sovereign God saves who he wants because he's in charge.

Sovereign God forms the light, creates the darkness, creates calamity. He can do whatever he wants because he wants men to fear him. He wants men to be warned of the impending judgment that will soon come upon him unless he repents. Everything is about eternity. It's not about now.

It's about eternity. When God came to save man, he came to save him from his sin so that throughout all eternity, he would worship and glorify the name of God. It's all about eternity. It's the eternal nature of the saving grace of God that matters the most. And men who do not want him on a throne will not hear preachers who say, God is the author of calamity. That which you have made straight, he has bent in a day of adversity. Consider God had made that day as well as the day of prosperity. God is in charge.

You are not. And sinful man will not accept that. Believing men will. Those who fear God will. That's why we fear God. He is sovereign. He rules over all. The unbeliever says, I'm not, no God. Psalm 14 one. No God. You can't sit on your throne. You can't rule my life. You can't determine where I'm going to go and what I'm going to do. You can't do that. I won't let you do that. No matter what he says, God's going to do it anyway, because God's in charge. Unbelieving man will not accept that doctrine.

Believing man will accept that doctrine. Mark that down. The unbeliever will not accept that. The believer will. He will embrace it. He might not fully comprehend it. He might not fully understand it. He might not fully come to grips with all the intricate details of it, because it's so way beyond him, because God's ways are higher than his ways. God's thoughts are not his thoughts, but he trusts in his God. He believes in his God, embraces his God, runs to his God, falls on his knees before God and says, God, you are good.

Thou art good and do us good. See, can you say that? Thou art good and do us good. I mean, I haven't experienced very many tragedies in my life at all. I mean, my wife, my first wife died of cancer and that was a hard thing at the time, but I still believe that God was good and did good in giving her to me and then taking her from me, because she was given to me as a gift from the Lord and God decided to take her.

He's in charge. He can do those things. It doesn't mean that I wasn't sad. I was sad. It doesn't mean that I didn't have feelings of emotion. I did have feelings of emotion, but I knew in the depths of my soul that God was in charge and God can do whatever he wants. If he wants to heal her, he can heal her. If he chooses to take her, he takes her, but God can do whatever he chooses because he's sovereign. He is enthroned above. He rules over all. And so God would say to the pen of Isaiah, these words, woe to the one who quarrels with his maker.

The word woe means curse. Cursed is the one who sits back and wants to argue with God about who's in charge. He says, you're cursed. You want to sit here and argue with me? An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth, who the clay say to the potter, what are you doing? Or the thing you are making say, he has no hands. Woe to him who says to a father, what are you begetting? Or to a woman, to what are you giving birth? You see, it's God who gives us children when he wants to give them to us. And he always gives them to us in the condition he wants us to have them in.

You might say, well, I don't want a child that's going to be paralyzed. I don't want a child that's going to be this way or that way. God gives us them the way he wants us to raise them. You can't say to him that your plan is no good. You made a mistake. You blew it, God. You messed up my whole life. Really? Really? And so we come back to the fact that when horrific tragedies come, it pinpoints the sovereignty of the ruler of the universe. He's in charge. He doesn't make mistakes. God has never made a mistake.

He never created a day that the events of that day were not already known to him. Not because somehow he looked into the future and said, oh, there's going to be a hurricane on this day. Okay, I got it. No, because he controls the waves of the sea. If there's a hurricane, if there's a tsunami, the one who controls the waves of the sea is the creator of calamity. And even though people's souls will go off into a crisis eternity, there is an impending judgment that is resounding around the world that says, you better repent or the same thing might happen to you.

And that's what Jesus has in Luke 13. It's not like he's saying, yeah, I am so sorry that happened. It's interesting that Jesus never said that. I am so sorry. Let's pray. So he says, let's have a prayer vigil. Let's go and visit the families of the Galileans who were slain and somehow gather around them in love on them. Doesn't do that either, does he? He just simply says, you know what? Better watch out. Same thing might happen to you. You know, by the way, that tower that fell on those 18 souls, those, those little kids and parents who were walking by, they were crushed under the rubble.

He didn't say anything except you better be careful. You better watch out. Unless you repent, you will suffer the most horrific tragedy known to man, a crisis eternity. And that's why it's so imperative that the holy truth of God be spread when horrific tragedy takes place. Because people need to know that God has never caught off guard. God is not wondering what he's going to do next. God is a creative calamity, the one forming light and creating darkness. And woe to that man who wants to stand up and argue with God.

How dare you take my child? How dare you God take my spouse? How dare you God take my family? Really? God is good and do us good. The psalmist would say, in faithfulness, thou hast afflicted me. In faithfulness, thou hast afflicted me. Before I was afflicted, I did whatever I wanted to do, but now I keep your word. Those are the lessons that God wants us to learn. And because of our arrogance, we argue with God. Because of our arrogance, we say, no God. Because of our arrogance, we plan our future without God.

And God says, you know what? You can't go through life without remembering me. I won't let you. I will not let you. You must remember me. Me. Many more to cover. We'll do that next week. Let's pray. Father, we thank you Lord for your word. Sometimes it's, it's, it's, it's difficult to, to comprehend. And yet we, we fear you. And therefore we don't fear the evil tidings that may come our way. It doesn't mean that we're not sad. It doesn't mean that we're not heartbroken. It doesn't mean any of those things.

It just means that Lord, in the midst of all those things that take place, we trust in you. Well, our prayer is that of those 43 men who died today in that plane crash in Russia, their families would come to a place of repentance and come to grips with the reality of eternity. For the most part, people don't think about eternity. I think about the next afternoon, the next luncheon, the next date, the next marriage, the next shopping spree, the next whatever. But they don't think about eternity. And everything is about eternity.

The worship and praise of almighty God. Oh Lord, you make no mistakes. And therefore we are grateful that we can trust in the one who knows all, who is all, who is in control of all, because we are not. And therefore we believe in you and follow you. Help us to do that all the more, we pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen.