A Call to Repentance

Take your Bibles this morning and open them to not 1 Peter, but Luke chapter 13.

I'm going to deviate from 1 Peter for this Sunday because of what this Sunday is. 1 Peter chapter, excuse me, Luke chapter 13.

And go ahead and find verse 1 and I'm going to read the first five verses here in just a moment. But I want to give a bit of an introduction. What I'm going to preach this morning is a sermon that I preached 10 years ago.

Not on this day. Well, it was on Sunday, but it was a few days after 9-11-2001. That occurred on Tuesday. And then on the Sunday, I preached the message that you're going to hear this morning.

But that's okay because you weren't there where I preached it. So it'll be new to you. If to no one else. And my wife probably doesn't even remember it. She probably has notes in her Bible.

She writes notes there. And I get most of my sermons from her anyway. So, no. Amen. Did I hear an amen? Amen. In many ways.

And I know there's at least one other man in the building here this morning who knows this to be true. In many ways, a pastor's job is an impossible task. For many reasons.

But for this one, at least, a pastor is usually expected to say something when no one else has any idea what to say about a thing.

Or about something that may have happened. Whether it is at the bedside or the graveside or maybe in the home with parents who've just lost a child.

Or during a national tragedy. Like the one that we're remembering here today. One that really pretty much all of us here experienced ten years ago today.

So, a pastor is supposed to know what to say. When it, you know, nothing seems quite right to say.

Or maybe right is not the word. Maybe adequate would be a better word. And yet a pastor is supposed to get up behind his pulpit and to speak to the people. And tell them something that's going to help them.

Now, I was there ten years ago with that same dilemma. And the events of 9-11-2001 were still fresh on my mind.

In fact, some of it was still unfolding by that Sunday after that day. And so here, there I was, standing behind the pulpit, trying to say something to the congregation.

And oddly enough, I find myself still there. Being able to speak to an event that really was such a horrendous thing.

A difficult thing for a nation. Find myself there right now. And I think probably most preachers today all around the country, if they were preaching then, experience that then.

And they are still today having that same kind of experience. And they're standing in their pulpits like I'm standing right here in my pulpit.

And they are speaking to their congregations like I'm speaking to my congregation. And speaking some words to their congregations that would help.

Maybe answer questions. Words that would be timely. And such. And even as I speak this morning, and yet it's ten years later, I still, probably like you, still have the images of that day.

As, you know, most of us watched them live on the news channels and such. And we still have those images in our minds of the events of that day.

And they're kind of going over. We're kind of going over them and over them. And they're being replayed over and over again. And I remember reading something that one man said just a few days after 9-11.

And he said this. And I really identified with it. And I think you do too. He said, we were watching the unbelievable transformed into the undeniable.

The unbelievable into the undeniable. And you think about it. Jet airliners filled with passengers flying through a clear, beautiful, clear sky.

And yet flying right into two of the tallest buildings in the world. Some of the tallest buildings in the world. Unbelievable. Right?

And yet undeniable. As I said a moment ago in my prayer or before my prayer, you know, it was like watching a Hollywood movie. And, you know, today we're able to do, you know, this kind of thing digitally and with computers and make things look so real.

We could duplicate that, you know, today. And do duplicate things like this, you know, for Hollywood movie viewers. And yet this was real.

Surreal. As many have said. And then, of course, you know, we all watched as the Pentagon burned. Though we didn't see the plane fly into it.

We watched as it burned and the horror of that. As one of those jets was rammed into it. And then we heard of the reports of still another plane going down somewhere in the countryside of Pennsylvania.

And then horror of horrors. And as if you were able, as I was able on that day, to watch live as those two towers, one by one, came crashing down.

And ending up one big pile of rubble there. Just incredible. We watched those two buildings. 110 story buildings fall to the ground.

Some of you may have seen the video clips of people jumping from windows. And the symbolism, of course. Let's not forget this.

It's unavoidable, really. When we think back on those days and what happened that day. And the symbolism, I mean, in the sense of what, obviously, the terrorists intended.

I mean, the two towers of the World Trade Center representing, clearly, the economic and financial might of America. And then the Pentagon, of course.

Certainly, clearly, representing the military might of America. And then, of course, that plane that went down in the countryside there, thanks to some brave passengers, clearly, certainly, was intended, we think, for the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., clearly representing what?

The political might. The government of America. And that's what the terrorists intended, of course. You know, the media tends to exaggerate when they report on tragic events that take place.

But on 9-11-2001, it was impossible to exaggerate it. Still today, there are no words adequate to convey the horror of that day.

Do you remember? You remember it, don't you? One man said, he said, we were glued to our televisions and computer screens, afraid to miss what may come next.

We were a nation watching pornography of death and destruction. And it hardly seemed right to watch. And yet, it hardly seemed right not to watch.

But let's understand something this morning, something we should have understood 10 years ago and since.

We need to understand it today if we have not yet. And that is what happened 10 years ago here in our nation was a crucial test for the Christian church in America. I'm not sure we passed it.

But it was a test for us. Because then we were called, like few events have called us, to think biblically about these times.

We were called to do that. And we must always seek the right perspective on these things. And then we're to speak correctly. And also to respond resolutely in behalf of not our government, not even our church per se, but in behalf of the God of the Bible.

We're to respond. And it certainly was a great evil that we witnessed. There's no way you could call it otherwise. It was a day of infamy, to borrow a term from Roosevelt.

Now, how are we to respond to that evil? That's the question that still burns today. How are we to respond to that evil?

And how are we to understand it? And I think, from an interesting text, I think Jesus gives us the answer. So look at your Bibles.

Luke chapter 13 and verse 1. And you're going to think, after I'm done reading it, you're going to think, I don't see it. But maybe you do. Verse 1 says, It says, All right, so there it is.

Now, in this passage that I just read a moment ago, and you read in your Bibles as I read it, Jesus mentions two events that took place there.

Not sure in proximity to time, chronologically, when they took place. Sometime prior to Jesus speaking here. Two events.

Two events. The first one, Pontius Pilate had evidently had some innocent Galileans killed inside the temple area. And their blood was mixed with the blood of their sacrifices.

And I think if you know anything about the Orthodox Jew, then you would know that this would be a heinous crime against them. Not only murder, but murder mixed with desecration of the temple.

And in the second event, Jesus mentions this tower that had fallen in Siloam and it killed 18 men. All right, those two events. Now, the question that was evidently posed to Jesus, because He certainly answers the question, even though we don't have the question there for us, but the question must have been, were these people, that is the Galileans who were killed or murdered in the temple, and the 18 men who were killed by this falling tower, were these people sinners?

And is that why they died? That's the question. We understand that from Jesus' response. Some are still asking the same question about 9-11 today, aren't they?

They certainly were then, 10 years ago. That is, people in the religious community were asking this. They were asking, was God judging sinners here?

When He allowed this to happen. Was God judging, maybe more accurately, the question was, was God judging America? Because of this event.

And Jesus answers that question, I think, in this text. And the answer is no. I'm serious. I think the answer is no. He says, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

There is Jesus' answer to the question. Did these people die in the temple because they were sinners? And that's why they died. Did these men die because of the falling, when the tower fell?

Because they were sinners? And God was judging them as sinners? And Jesus says, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And so Jesus is taking these two tragic events, tragic to the people of that day, of His day.

He's using these events to teach a lesson. Teach truth. A truth about evil in the world. I think it's a good text to go to.

Help us understand about evil. Evil things. Evil things that happen in the world. And Jesus is teaching that truth here. And He is taking the opportunity to extend a call. Also, isn't He?

A call. A call to individuals. A call to a nation. And what is the call? A call to repentance.

Repentance. Now, considering this text, let's learn some important truths about evil. Number one, the reality of it.

And it hardly needs to be mentioned. Because none of us live in a box somewhere or live under a shell somewhere. We're not isolated and so remote that we somehow do not know that there's evil in the world.

There's evil. Evil things happen. There are evil people. Evil events. Evil circumstances. Tragic things happen. There's evil in the world. And sometimes, not only do we know that there's evil in the world, but sometimes that evil crosses our paths.

And comes into our lives. And we experience these things in our lives personally. And it's common. Common to all people, isn't it? In the world.

And it happens to each of us. It touches our lives. Now, the hardest question asked of me, quite often, the hardest question is, why?

Why evil? Or more specifically, the question is, why this evil? This evil? The question in the minds of the people of Jesus' day, why did that tower fall and kill those 18 people?

Why did God allow these Galileans there in the temple who were sacrificing unto Him, worshipping Him? Why did He allow them to be killed and their blood to be mixed with their sacrifices?

Why this evil, Jesus? Why? Why? Why? And then for us, of course, today, as we remember 9-11, 2001, why that evil? And evils have taken place since then.

Maybe not on the scale of 9-11, but evil nonetheless. And why? Well, I'm frank to confess, I don't always have a good answer.

Not in every case. But in this passage, I think Jesus explains to us that evil falls into two categories.

There is moral evil and natural evil. Really, evil falls into those two categories.

Moral evil and natural evil. And both are illustrated here in the passage. The killing of these innocent Galileans there in the temple. And their blood being mixed with the blood of their sacrifices.

That would come under the category of moral evil. Wouldn't it? At the hands of the perpetrator Pontius Pilate.

And some Roman guards, no doubt. A moral evil. Like the terror acts in New York and in Washington ten years ago.

The death of these men, killed by a falling tower, though, on the other hand, was not a moral evil, but a natural evil. The tower fell and they died as a result.

The tower falls, there's death. An earthquake shakes the earth and sometimes people die. A tornado destroys most of Joplin, Missouri and many people die.

A hurricane ravages the coastline and people die as a result. And poisonous snakes, they bite and sometimes people die.

A disease comes into the body of a person and many times that person dies. These are natural evil.

And we experience them every day. We know that they're true. And the earth is filled with unusual wonders. You know, like for example, gravity. Gravity. Gravity can save us.

Gravity can kill us. If you are fool enough to jump out of a tall building. Airplanes can fly through the air.

That's a natural wonder, isn't it? And yet an airplane can fly through the air and bring you to your desired destination. Or that airplane can be turned into a missile and flown into a plane, into a building and kill thousands of people.

See? When a tower falls, it kills. And the two towers there, the World Trade Center, those things were not evil.

Not sinful things. But they fell. And thousands of people died. Now, none of that really answers the question.

Not fully. The question on most people's minds, that is when they ask the question, why evil? Or why this evil? Well, really, the underlying question is, how could a good God, you know, a benevolent God, a God of love, a God of grace, how could a good God allow evil to happen to innocent people?

And then have innocent people die? How could a God of love, that's how most people view God, a God of love, and He is a God of love, how could a God of love then allow some terrorists to terrorize and to kill people?

How could He do that? Anybody ask you a question similar to that? Have you entertained a question like that? Can anybody really answer that question?

I think so. Let me try. Let's start, first of all, with number one. And this helps us in understanding that question. And it's this.

God is sovereign. You say, I don't know if that helps me answer the question. In fact, maybe that causes more questions than it does answer questions. God is sovereign.

And listen, dear people, let's just admit this, that a whole lot of what happens in life, we have to just leave right there. God is sovereign.

We don't have an answer for it. God rules His creation. He's sovereign. The Bible says not even a sparrow falls to the ground that He does not acknowledge, does not know about.

He even knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows all of those things. And He rules and He reigns governments and nations and kings and presidents and rulers.

He rules over them. Not one atomic or subatomic particle in this universe is somehow outside the bounds of His sovereign control.

He's sovereign God. Even a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, said this about God in Daniel 4.35.

He said, He, speaking of God, does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, What have you done?

He's sovereign and answerable to no one. Now that helps us begin to answer the question about why this evil?

God is sovereign. Second though, this also helps us understand or answer the question, God is not the author of evil. God is not the author of evil.

God is absolute righteousness, love, goodness, holiness, justice. And the problem we have is we try to impose our own definition of good upon God.

We start with our own definition and then try to impose that on God Himself. For example, in the classic example, is all things work together for good.

And we're fine with that, so long as the all things working are good by our definition. See? Sometimes they're not good by our definition.

And every one of us in this building have experienced what I'm talking about. All things work together for good. Well, this is not good. But we're defining good ourselves rather than trusting God and His definition of good.

Because good does not so much define God. God defines good. And I want to be careful here, though.

I do not want to be accused of calling evil good and good evil. I'm not doing that. Because the events of that Tuesday, September 11, 2001, were unspeakably evil.

They were. Evil. And God is not the author of it. And so if not God, who? Actually, the question is what?

What then is at the heart of this? And the answer to that is sin. Sin. The existence of sin in this creation.

And that leads really to the third and ultimate answer to this why question. Why evil things happen in this world. And sometimes to good people.

And sometimes, many times, to innocent people. And here it is. Number three. We live in a world sick with sin.

Sick with sin. In fact, all of creation is infected by sin.

All of it. Therefore, affected by sin. And the men who hijacked those planes on that Tuesday ten years ago.

And those men that brutally murdered some of the pilots. Maybe all the pilots. And some of the flight attendants. And those men who turned those airliners into missiles.

And killed thousands of innocent people. Those men did so motivated by a hate-filled, sinful heart.

There's no other explanation for that. And they were also the product of a world of humanity that is diseased and infected with sin.

As we all are. A product of that humanity. And, I don't know, you know, the enormity of this heinous crime upon our nation that happened ten years ago.

It may have made you think that we have now moved into a new era of evil. But really, we haven't. Ask the Jews who lived during the Holocaust if 9-11 was somehow a worse evil.

Many more Jews died during the Holocaust. Or maybe ask the families of the Oklahoma City bombing some years ago.

See, the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all else. And desperately wicked. Who can know it? And, of course, the only cure is in Christ.

It's in Christ. Now, let's think about something else here. There is the reality of evil. And at the heart of that is sin. Second, there is the reaction to evil that we should consider.

A reaction to evil. And I really believe the blood of those airline passengers and the people in those twin towers of the World Trade Center and the firefighters and policemen and other government officials who died that day and the military and civilian people who died in the Pentagon.

I believe their blood cries out for justice. I believe that. I believe that then. And still, I don't know that full justice has been served, even though we got the big one, you know, bin Laden.

And it's somewhat, I think, maybe more than somewhat a comfort to know that the final judgment belongs to God.

And no one will escape it. No one. Not even bin Laden. Or others. The masterminds of that terrible attack upon our nation.

They're not going to escape His judgment. They will not escape it. But, you know, we also need to consider that God has delegated, at least the initial portion of His justice, He's delegated that to earthly rulers and governments.

Romans 13, verses 3 and 4 tell us that very clearly. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. But do you want to be unafraid of the authority?

Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For He is, that is the authority, is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid.

For He does not bear the sword in vain. For He is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on Him who produces evil, or practices evil.

And so, you know, our government not only has the right or the duty, but the God-given responsibility to make sure that murderers are found and punished.

We have that right and that duty. And any nation that would allow evildoers to go unpunished is an affront to God's justice, God's glory, God's dignity.

Now, I'm talking here, rather, about justice. All right, let's add this in here because this is important.

Talking about justice, not talking about revenge. There's a big difference between those two. And I have heard, and you've heard some people say, especially initially after 9-11 took place, and even still today, I've heard people say that our military ought to get some nukes and go over there and just wipe off the face of the earth.

Countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran, they ought to just get rid of them. But that's revenge, and that's sin. I tell you, if a man kills another man's wife, justice does not allow the second man to kill the first man's wife in an act of revenge.

It does not allow that. Justice is to be directed toward those who bear the moral responsibility, not the other innocent people.

And I've also heard, and you've heard, about Americans lashing out against Muslims since 9-11, 2001. Lashing out against them solely because they are Muslims, not because of anything else.

But all Muslims are not murderous terrorists. They're not. Not any more than all white American males are Oklahoma City bombers.

Let's see. So we need to be careful about that and understand what justice is, as opposed to revenge and lashing out in anger. And so there's the reality of evil, and that's sin.

A sin-sick creation in which we live. And the only remedy is Christ. The only ultimate remedy will be His coming.

We'll make all things right. And then the reaction to evil, and that's justice. According to Scripture. And then one more.

The reason for evil. And I think this is the most important point of the message. The reason for this evil. Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just do away with evil?

I mean, He is sovereign. All-powerful. Anything He wants to do, He can do. Why doesn't God just simply do away with it?

Do away with evil? God is not the author of evil. Adam, of course, got it all started back there in the Garden of Eden. And we've been keeping it up since. Willingly.

But why doesn't God just simply eradicate all evil? Well, I believe there is a reason. Of course there's a reason.

And it's a divine reason. Why God allows evil things to happen. And I think Jesus tells us right here in this text. And it's in the context of a tragedy.

A national tragedy. And He gives us the answer. And the answer is simply this. Evil is a call to repentance.

That's what 9-11 should be all about. Without speculating about whether God is judging America or judging people.

Or what the message is there. And the people who died. The answer, the lesson is from that event is this is a call to repentance.

And it's not been the only one we've had in our nation. And there is, of course, issued from Scripture. And supposed to be through the mouths of God's people here.

There is a constant ongoing call to repent. To turn to God. That's the reason for evil.

It's this. That life is not really possible. Apart from God. The falling of that tower in Siloam killed 18 men.

Kind of pales in significance to the falling of the World Trade Center. Which, of course, killed thousands. And think about that day. These people who got up out of their beds.

Just like they did every morning. And it's Tuesday morning. They get out of their beds. And they eat their breakfast. And they drink their coffee. And they read their paper. And they do other things.

Maybe work out. Hopefully some of them have a little time with the Lord. It's been a good day to have that. And then they kissed their husbands or their wives goodbye.

And then they went to work that day. Just like every day. And showed up in their offices. In their place of employment. In the buildings. And they died. That day. Died.

In our nation's greatest tragedy. Were they expecting to die that day? No. Certainly not. Some of them had a little advance warning.

When things started to transpire. But none of them went to work that day. Expecting to die. Were they ready to die? Some of them perhaps were.

We don't know. Does it really matter? For them? No.

Not now. They're dead. They're dead. Nothing can be done for them.

Now. Now. I believe that. Is Jesus' point. The point is not whether or not. These dead people were sinners.

And that they died because of their sin. The focus. Is not on the dead. The focus is on the living.

The living. And Jesus seems to be saying. All. All. All these. Tragic events. Such tragic events. Are signs. Of man's need for repentance.

That's what they are. No matter what the event. Is. We could look back over. And think back over. The last several years. And. We could identify.

Some tragic. Events. That have taken place. In our country. Some of them even close to us. And all of those are saying.

Repent. Turn to God. Man. Must turn. From his sin. And turn.

To God. And his son. Jesus Christ. That's how Jesus answered their question. And it's the same question. Today.

And it's the same answer. Focus is not on the dead. But on the living. Unless you repent.

He said. You will. All. Likewise. Perish. I remember. Listening. And. Watching. An interview.

Of a certain woman. Whose office. I believe. Was in. One of the towers. And she. Was. Fortunate. To be able. To escape. Before the building. Came crashing down. And she said.

In tears. She said. All of that. Work. On my desk. Suddenly. Became irrelevant. I think. We would all. Feel the same way. Now.

I don't know. What. It was. That suddenly. Became. Relevant. For her. That day. But. I do know. What. Should have. Become. Relevant. That day. Eternity.

Eternity. What. Comes. Next. Eternity. Should have. Been. The most. Relevant. Thing. On her. Mind. At that. Very. Moment. And. Whether. Or.

Not. She. Was. Ready. To. Enter. Into. It. To. Step. Out. Into. It. Just. Like. Many. Of. Her. Co-workers. Did. That. Very. Day. That. That's.

What. Should. Have. Become. Relevant. To. Her. And. How. Does. One. Become. Ready. Through.

Repentance. Turning. From. Sin. From. Self. And.

Turning. To. God. And. His. Provision. Of. Salvation. Through. His. Son. Jesus. Christ. Repentance.

And. Faith. And. Think. Think. Back. To. Those. Days. Ten. Years. Ago. And. I know. You. Can. And. Consider. How. Many. Times. You. Heard. The. Statement. America. Will. Never. Be. The. Same. How.

Many. Times. Did. You. Hear. That. And. I. Remember. Thinking. And. Saying. I. Hope. Not. I. Hope. Not. I. Remember. Don't you.

The. Many. Wonderful. Things. That. Happened. Immediately. Following. September. 11. 2001. The. Unity. In. Our. Nation. We. Were. All. Americans. You.

Remember. The. Generosity. That. Was. Flowing. Out. From. People. All. Around. Our. Nation. Toward. The. The. Families.

Of. The. Victims. And. And. And. Such. You. Remember. That. The. Generosity. The. Unity. The. Love. The. The. Sacrifice. And. How. About. The. Focus. On. God. In.

Those. Days. Wasn't. It. Amazing. I. Can. Still. See. All. Those. Congressmen. And. Women. Praying. Together. And.

All. Singing. Together. God. Bless. America. Do. Remember. That. But. Did we see. What.

America. Needs. The. Most. Did we see that. And.

I'm talking about. What America needed. Before 9-11. And. I believe. Still needs. Today. And. That's. Revival. Spiritual.

Awakening. Kind. That our nation. Experienced. Back. In the days. Of. Edwards. And. Moody. And. Others. Kind.

Of. Revival. And. Spiritual. Awakening. That. None. Of. Us. Have. Ever. Seen. In. This. Nation. Because. It. Happened. Before. We. Were. Born. We've.

Gone. More. Than. A. Century. Without. Seeing. This. That's. What. We. Needed. Before. 9-11. 2001. And. We. Still. Need.

It. Today. I. Remember. On. That. Friday. After. 9-11. I. Watched. And. Perhaps. You. Watched. Listen. To. Billy. Graham.

Speak. Remember. That. It was. Amazing. And. He. Spoke. To. The. Nation. As. Part. Of. The. The. Very. First. Memorial. Service.

Held. There. At. Washington's. National. Cathedral. I. Remember. He. Said. I. Remember. Tears. Coming. To. My. Eyes.

And. Thought. To. Myself. Then. Could. This. Be. The. Beginning. Of. A. Mighty. Moving. Of. God. In.

Our. Nation. Could. This. Be. The. Beginning. Of. It. Did. You. Think. That. Feel. That. Way. Could. We. Be.

Seeing. I. Thought. To. Myself. Could. Be. Seeing. The. Beginning. Of. A. Nationwide. Spiritual. Awakening. A. Turning. Back.

To. The. God. Of. The. Bible. Could. We. Be. Seeing. I.

Guess. Not. Ten. Years. Later. The. Nine. Eleven. Ceremony. To. Be. Held. Tonight. Washington's. National. Cathedral.

Will. Include. A. Hindu. Priest. A. Buddhist. Nun. And. A. Muslim. Imam. And. Not.

One. Representative. Of. Evangelical. Christianity. Not. One. In.

New York. City's. Mayor. Bloomberg. Of course. You know. As. Barred. Participation. By. Faith. Leaders. In. The. City's. Tenth. Anniversary. Unthinkable.

Unthinkable. Especially. When you consider. That. Three quarters. Of. The. American. Population. Claim. To. Be. Christians. And. A. Full. Third. Of.

Them. Identify. Themselves. Unashamedly. As. Evangelical. Christians. That's. Pretty. Huge. Representative. Of. A. Population. And.

Yet. Not. One. Will. Officially. Take. Part. Over. And. Over. I. Heard. People. Say. This. Is. A. Wake. Up. Call.

For. America. Did. You. Hear. That. But. I. Want. To. Ask. What. Is. It. We. Need. To. Wake. Up. To. You. And. I. Think. Jesus. Tells. Us. Plainly.

He. Said. When. You. See. These. Things. Happen. You. Experience. These. Things. It. Is. I. Telling. You. I.

Telling. You. Repent. Repent. Turn. To. God. I.

Also. Remember. Watching. A. Special. Service. Of. Prayer. And. Remembrance. And. Watched. As. People. Of. Different. Religions. Prayed. To. Their. Gods. You.

Remember. That. Muslims. Other. World. Religions. Christians. Jews. All. Praying.

To. Their. God. And. You. Know. It. Reminded. Me. Of. The. Story. Of. Jonah. In. The. Bible. Remember. Jonah. And. All. Those. Who. Were. With.

Him. In. The. Boat. And. They. Were. In. The. Midst. Of. A. Tremendous. Storm. All. Expecting. To. Die. And. The. Bible. Says. This. Is. Very. Poignant. Says.

Every. Man. Prayed. To. His. Own. God. Well. Fine. Wonderful. I'm. Not. Against. People.

Praying. And. I'm. Glad. To. Have. The. Freedom. And. Hope. We. Continue. To. Have. It. In. This. Nation. To. Pray. Whether. You're. Christian.

Whatever. You are. And. Yet. We. Must. Say. That. America's. Salvation. Indeed.

Your. Salvation. If. You've. Not. Experienced. It. In. Christ. Will. Come. As. It. Came. For. Those.

On. The. Boat. With. Jonah. Will. Come. Through. Trusting. One. True. God. And. His. Son. Jesus.

Christ. Thank you.