These were my thoughts at the time of 9/11 and still today!
I arrived in NYC on Monday September 10, 2001 safe and sound but not after several attempts to land at Newark airport. The flight that should have lasted only three hours took five in all but Praise God I made my trip on Monday instead of the next day that has brought us many tears. On my way to NYC the pilot came on the loud speaker and said that we would not be able to land in Newark because of some air traffic control problems. I began to pray and I saw a vision of fire, flames in a perfect circle lapping up into the sky. I thought this was a sign from God that I will be in a fire?, I should see a fire?, I should warn people about the fires of Hell?, I was in danger of Hell????….. and about 10 minutes later the pilot announced that we could not land because of a fire at the airport. Again I prayed and to be honest was in a small amount of shock that I would have seen flames in a vision and it was right, as I prayed again I saw in a vision a large airplane hitting the side of the WTC. Of course I rebuked it and I took it that satan was trying to make me fearful of the rest of the flight. How could I have ever dreamed that this was a vision that would come to pass. I had no idea of the flight patterns of the plane that I was on, I had never been to Newark airport and I didn’t know where it was in relation to anywhere that I was going or the WTC. This was only my second time to be in NYC and I had gone to a different airport the first time. It was unthinkable that a large plane would hit the side of the WTC. I could see how maybe a small private plane in the fog might hit it but that would be only to bad for that plane, not the entire state of NYC much less the world.
I did not tell anyone about this because I thought that it was just a foolish notion from satan, and I can tell you that I have been bothered a great deal about what I saw in my vision and why I saw it. As I spent time in prayer on the matter God directed me to Daniel 4:26 and when I read it I was very surprised at what God was beginning to do in my life and I began to understand that my life was about to change forever not just because of the happenings on September 11, 2001 but because of the visions that God was giving to me and the call to a higher responsibility that I must now learn to accept.
On 9/11/01 God gave me
Dan 4:26 “The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge
that Heaven rules.”
and as I read chapter 4 of Daniel this is what I believe God is showing me. (One local newscaster in New York City keep saying that all was left was a stump.) I don’t claim to say that Daniel 4 is in any way related to the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001 but I do think that we can take some clues from the words of a King who was humbled from his own thoughts of greatness and then became a man who honored and feared God. At a later time I want you to read the entire Chapter of Daniel 4 yourselves but for now I want you to think about what has happened and how NYC and America could be seen in these verses and ask God to speak to you about any revelation that He would have for His people at this time. To be honest I was overwhelmed when I read it and I know that God wants to speak many things to us through these scriptures but for now let’s just look at a few verses.
Vs. 4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.” Like Nebuchadnezzar we (America) have been to long relaxing in our homes, flourishing in our own greatness, proud that no one can touch us.
Vs. 5 – 9 “I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.”
Time and time again God has spoken to this nation is all forms, dreams, prophets, the Bible, history. We have taken these signs from God and became fearful maybe at first but the longer we ignored them the more distant we became from the truth of what God was saying to us. As a result we turned inward to rely on our own strengths and then we began to seek out what the something that the something was trying to say to us. What I mean is this, because God has put in each of us a desire to know Him and because we have gotten so far away from Him that we don’t recognize Him, (We, I am speaking of America as a nation), we seek out palm readers and psychics and other things along these lines including words from self proclaimed prophets of God. It is amazing to me that so many would go to such great links to hear a word from God when He has given us the written Word to direct us if only we would take the time to fast and pray and seek Him out. It is time to move into a spiritual maturity that God has been calling us to for many many years. I believe that we as Americans are responsible for what has happened in that God is trying to get out attention. He seems to be calling us one last time see what we are willing to do as a nation and as individuals to seek Him with all of our might.
You see, God is not a God that would kill for a hobby or for pass time, He cares!
As a sinner I deserve nothing from God, not even a single breath of air do I deserve from God, it is only for His Glory that He created me in the first place and in that He knew me in my mother’s womb and gave me the choice to fall under that Mercy Seat and take up the Grace which He offered to me through the shedding of the blood of Jesus to be saved. He loves you enough to allow you to come to His throne of Mercy and take up the Grace that He speared for you to be saved you from Hell.
We don’t talk about Hell enough. Hell is a place that is real and it is waiting for those who will not heed the call of God to come and take up His Grace. Even Hell was created for God’s Glory. What would be so glorious about everyone being saved from nothing? If it were not for Hell then there would be nothing for us to be saved from other than ourselves. Think about Hell, when is the last time you have heard a good sermon on the depths of Hell and the effects that it will have on you if you so choose to spend eternity there? For me I cannot think of the last time that I heard about the terrors of Hell from the pulpit. I see that it is time to wake up and stop thinking and focusing on things that sound happy and make us feel comfortable because it is in that comfort that we forget and have forgotten that God is a Glory seeking God and that He only wants us to be with Him.
In order to be with Him though we must know what we are escaping so that our rejoicing came be of value. If you are told not to touch the hot stove because it will burn, then you can go for awhile and not touch the hot stove. This is no reason for you to be happy that you did not touch the hot stove, you can be thankful that you were told, but you cannot fully appreciate it unless you have touched the hot stove and felt the reason why you should not touch it. Also this brings us to the point that in touching the hot stove yourself you can testify to others the truth about the hot stove, in not touching the hot stove but only being told about it does nothing toward your motivation to tell others. I hope you hear what I am saying. You can truly be satisfied that you have helped someone by telling them of the dangers of the hot stove from your own personal experience.
This is what I am saying, for too long we have been ridding on the experience of others, from times past in the early 1900’s when our parents and grandparents were taught about the dangers of the fires of hell and since then we have been relying on what they have told us they have heard. Some of the tales of hell have become just that, tales, folklore, fairytales, all of these type of things suggest that what is being said is not real, fake, just pie in the sky. I am here to tell you that it is real, hell is real and it is real hot and if you don’t shape up, get in line and do what is right you are going to find out for yourself and have your very own, up close, personal experience with Hell from Hell itself the only thing is that while you are experiencing this personal time it will be to late for you to change your mind. Once you get there, there is no turning back, you are there to stay forever and not only that, you will know that and you will know that. There will not be anything, no pleading and begging, no more time for praying, no more time to seek out the scriptures to see if you got it right, no nothing for you but just an eternity of unmanageable torment of fire and thirst and pain and anguish that will last forever and ever and ever. I am not just trying to scare you, I hope to make you think about this for a long while. I’m telling you time is short and you better turn to Jesus now and get it right. It is very simple thing to do, just ask Him to save you. Now is the time, it is now, don’t wait, do it now. If there is any doubt in anyone’s mind right now that you are not saved or that you are unsure if you are still saved than let’s stop right now and take a few moments to pray this prayer: Lord Jesus, I want you to come into my heart and save me from me sin. I don’t want to go to Hell. Lord Jesus, help me know you better and even though I might not understand everything that you did for me on the cross I do know that You are God and that you came to earth to wash away my sins so that I will not have to go to Hell. Lord Jesus, I ask you now to come and begin to be the Lord of my heart and my life and teach me Your ways so that I may walk in them and that I might live as the righteous person that You created me to be. In Jesus name I pray amen.
Now let’s talk about the Glory of God. How can we bring Glory to God in our own personal lives? God gives us Himself for our own enjoyment. God is the best gift He can give us so we must do all for His Glory to give the people of the nations the gift of God Himself. We can touch the nations if we do it for the Glory of God. Glorifying God does not mean to make Him more glorious. To Glorify God and to magnify God is to do the Glory of God. You don’t take big God and make Him smaller, you take the little light (yourself) and make God big by doing all to God’s glory. When you do this then there is something inside of you that is satisfied because that is how God created us. To Glorify Him, and when we do this then we are fulfilled in our calling. John Piper says “God is most Glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him” This causes me to worship Him which is Glory to God. Do you understand what I am saying? The time that God is most Glorified is when I am most satisfied in Him.
Let’s take this to a personal level. In order to Glorify God in your life then you must be satisfied in knowing that He is your all in all. He is the reason that you move and breath and live. What does that mean? That means that the only reason that you move and breath and live, is not because He causes that to happen for you, because He is a kind God but that you move and breath and live only to bring Him Glory because if the things that you are doing are not bringing Glory to God then there is no reason for you to go on breathing and moving and living, it is pointless to be here on earth and not be doing things to Glorify God.
Again, God is most Glorify in me when I am most satisfied in Him. If we are not happy, satisfied in knowing who God is and why He chose us and how much He loves us then we are not satisfied and therefore we will not be seeking to bring Glory to God. This of course brings us to a place of repentance or at least it should.
This subject of bringing Glory to God was very hard for me to understand at first and it took me awhile to grasp it, but finally I was able to let it penetrate through my hard skull and I think that I am beginning to understand a little of what Glorifying God is all about. John Piper’s book Future Grace for God’s Glory is an excellent book to read on this topic. It is a heavy book to read, there are lots of things that will tickle your brain in that book but I highly recommend it
You may not have prayed that pray that we stopped and prayed earlier because you already know your future but maybe you realize that you are not satisfied in God and that you are not doing your all to bring Him Glory. You see if you are reading the Word everyday and you think that you are feeding on God enough that you are satisfied then something is wrong. The more that you read the Word and the more that you know the ways of God then the more hungry you become. If you think that you are full of God then check again because more then likely you are only full of yourself and you can come to Him right now and renew that hunger that you once had for Him.
