THE CALL TO REPENTANCE EMPHASIZED BY DISASTERS
Luke 13: 4, 5
Sermon by:
Rev. H.A. Bergsma
PUBLISHED BY
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.
(September 2005)
LITURGY:
Votum
Psalter 10
Law of God
Scripture Reading: Luke 13: 1 – 17
Text: Luke 13: 4, 5
Psalter 83
Congregational Prayer
Offerings
Psalter 76
Sermon
Psalter 7
Thanksgiving Prayer
Psalter 87
Doxology: Psalter 287: 2
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Congregation of the Lord,
The disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina is fresh in our mind.
On August 29 a category-5 hurricane, packed with above 250 Km/h winds, smacked into the
Gulf Coast region of the U.S.A., devastating particularly the area of New Orleans and the area
surrounding it.
The death toll has escalated from the hundreds into the thousands.
We have all seen film-footage or pictures of the devastation caused by the wind, and the even
more profound and long lasting devastation caused by water, particularly the flooding.
Although, in the language of insurance companies, this will be declared as an “Act of God” there
are human factors to be considered as well.
Human stubbornness and human error are certainly part of the problem.
But human depravity is also part of the picture.
When people were told to evacuate, there were those stubborn enough not to, although there
were many that simply could not.
Human error cannot be overlooked … what were people thinking when building such a huge city
as New Orleans in an area so far below sea level without adequate protection and provisions
against flooding?
Human depravity has also risen to the surface as some people have found it an opportune time to
engage in large-scale looting.
But most importantly, and what must not be overlooked is, that also this disaster is an act of God
that has some specific things to say to us.
By theme and division, hear what God wants us to hear …
THE CALL TO REPENTANCE EMPHASIZED BY DISASTERS
1. Disasters Reveal The Uncontrollable Power Of God
2. Disasters Reveal The Immeasurable Depth Of Sin
3. Disasters Reveal The Indispensable Need For Repentance
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Congregation,
The disaster that hit the Gulf Coast of the U.S.A. reveals the uncontrollable power of God.
It is an undeniable fact that when wind and waves extend beyond their normal behaviour, man is
helpless to do anything to control them.
We can track a hurricane; we can analyze it; we can measure the power and speed of the winds;
we can estimate what effect a hurricane can have on water … but when it mounts in vehemence,
such as we have seen it in Katrina, we are helpless to exercise any sort of control.
We have also seen this with the tsunami in Asia a number of months ago.
The wisest course of action is to escape if possible or to go into hiding, if possible.
We are told something about the actions of God in Daniel 4:35, where it says that “all the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he (God) doeth according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto
him, What doest thou?”
We cannot hold back or control His hand; we cannot ask God what He is doing, or why He is
doing it, but in Job 37:13 we are told why God allows wind and rain to come … “He causeth it
to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.”
In the case of Hurricane Katrina, we must say that He caused it to come for our correction
particularly.
And I hope to say something about this shortly.
The vehemence of wind and waves has done tremendous damage and taken many lives,
especially in its aftermath.
What shall we say of this event?
You cannot tell me that it has left you untouched.
We here, locally, have been spared much, if not all the ravages of Katrina.
Yes, we have been touched already economically, as there has been a spiking rise at the gas
pumps.
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But have we not also been touched by the sheer uncontrollable power that was at work?
We are told that hurricanes are spawned when the temperature of the ocean-water rises, and as
such, there are people who are blaming President Bush for Katrina’s power, because President
Bush, so they say has been unwilling to do anything about climate control.
But it was not President Bush, but our God who had His hand in this hurricane.
Then there are those in the Muslim world who have another opinion about this hurricane and its
destructive powers, and are, so I am told, actually jubilant about it, and have personified Katrina,
and consider her a “holy fighter against the infidel America.”
In other words, there are those in the Muslim world who have received the news of Katrina with
joy and celebration, because their god – Allah – is finally getting his revenge on America.
But I don’t believe there is a god taking revenge on America, even as there is no god taking
revenge on Asia and the Middle East when that tsunami hit predominantly Muslim countries.
No, our God, the God of the Bible, is in control of all things, also of hurricanes and tsunamies.
He Himself testifies to this truth in Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make
peace, and create evil (calamities and disasters): I the LORD do all these things.”
The God of the Bible, the God and Creator of heaven and earth controls whatever happens in this
world.
And some of the things that happen in this world, like hurricanes, or typhoons or earthquakes are
beyond the control of man, but reveal the uncontrollable power of God.
And our response to them should not be to put the blame on someone, or to broadcast that the
gods are taking revenge on certain people.
This would be a most un-Biblical attitude.
In our text Jesus addresses such an un-Biblical attitude.
A calamity occurred in Judea.
We do not know much about it, but a tower collapsed in the village of Siloam.
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As a result eighteen people tragically lost their lives.
Did Jesus put the blame on someone for this tragedy? No!
Did Jesus speak of a divine show of revenge here? No!
He asked an hypothetical question to which we already know the answer … (Luke 13:4)
“… those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were
sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?”
The obvious answer of course is “No!”
The deadly casualties of Katrina and its aftermath of flooding … many of them were women and
children, or elderly, or handicapped … were they greater sinners than us here?
Again, I trust the obvious answer is “No!”
Katrina was not about God having His revenge on some sinners, because if this was the case, we
should all meet with some tragedy in quick order.
Rather, God has displayed His uncontrollable power in this Hurricane Katrina, to tell us that this
whole world still lies under the curse of sin, and that this whole world is still speeding on
towards its end – its necessary end – when it will be cleansed and purified by fire, and be
renewed so that it will be habitable for the citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Every calamity, hurricane, typhoon, earthquake, and for that matter wars and famines, epidemics
and other disasters, are divine proclamations that the end of this world’s history is coming close,
and that we should be prepared.
My friend! Every calamity that happens in this world, whether it is close by or far away, is a
signal of God, and an urgent reminder to you, by God, to be ready to meet Him.
If I may say it this way … with every calamity God is knocking on your door for a positive
response.
It reminds me of the Lord’s word of Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me.”
Also with this disaster called “Katrina” there has been powerful knocking done on our door.
The question is … are you hearing those knocks, and are you responding to it?
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But now secondly, I would like to show how Disasters Reveal The Immeasurable Depth Of Sin.
You have no doubt heard about the grand-scale looting going on, particularly in New Orleans.
Some people are doing it just to get food and water, but others are doing it to get what they can
get, clothes, electrical components, drugs, and luxury items, even guns.
Gangs of thugs are going through the city, threatening and getting what they want.
The National Guard, which has come in to rescue people from their dire straights due to
flooding, must divert their attention from their rescue mission to deal with the threat of looting
gangs.
Now, natural disasters have brought out the good in many people.
Relief donations are coming in strong; there are volunteers coming in who just give their all to
help those who are in need.
There are young people who have mustered all their youthful energies together to rescue who
and whatever can be rescued.
These people are to be commended and prayed for … and if you and I can be of any assistance to
them and to their rescue efforts, let us do what we can.
(Pay particular attention to announcements from Word and Deed)
But alas, natural disasters also reveal the immeasurable depth of sin, as we see people taking
advantage of a disastrous situation, looting and destroying property.
It seems that when there is no control in place, and that, when those who are to enforce law and
order are not in place … that the depths of man’s sin rises to the surface.
Man, in his fallen state, will just naturally revert to looking after self, no matter what.
This was the case with Cain already, the murderer of his brother Abel, and that trend has
continued to this very day.
Dear people! If this trend of looking after self “no matter what”, is strong with you, examine
yourself whether you are in the faith.
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If you are a believer, and notice this tendency in you, to always want to look after yourself first,
resist such tendency with might and main, because it is a remnant of that immeasurable depth of
sin that fallen man has plunged himself.
If this is the indwelling sin that you struggle with, then there is good advice to be found in
Philippians 2:4, where the apostle Paul says “Look not every man on his own things, but every
man also on the things of others.”
In other words, resist the sin of looking after self first, and begin to care more for others.
When people would learn this, by faith in Christ, they would not be looting, as many have been
doing in New Orleans in these last days.
But again, disasters reveal the immeasurable depth of sin.
Disasters have revealed the good that is in many people, and we may thank the grace of God for
this … but disasters have also revealed how sin is still deeply ingrained in many people, and a
crisis such as we see developing in the south just underlines it.
My friend! How deeply is sin still ingrained with you?
You might be a model church-going person and a model citizen when everything goes smoothly.
But how is it when you get into a crisis situation?
Do you lose it then?
Does sin then overtake you, in terms of you then becoming angry, or violent, or compulsively
selfish?
When a crisis overtakes you, do you then adopt a worldly approach to it, by blaming everything
and everyone but yourself … or do you take a Biblical approach to it, and seek the Lord’s help
and the Lord’s honor in it?
Such a difference may be the indication of being born again or not.
I was quite touched by an elderly black lady who was interviewed by a reporter while waiting to
get into the Superdome for refuge.
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She was not at all shy to inform the reporter that she trusted that the Lord would take care of her,
and that she was praying that His Spirit would keep her at peace with His ways.
It reminded me of what Job could say though a great calamity and disaster had overtaken him …
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15)
Job was able to commit himself, for safekeeping, in the hands of the Lord.
May such a similar approach also be our approach in the face of a disaster, and you can be sure
that the Lord will get the honor.
But now I also want to say something in the third place how Disasters Reveal The Indispensable
Need For Repentance.
Here, I believe, is the answer to the question as to why God allows disasters and calamities to
come upon the earth: so that repentance may be stimulated in the hearts of people.
I find it quite striking that the Bible, time and again, speaks either directly or indirectly, about
repentance in connection with a disaster or calamity.
Prior to the greatest flood the world has ever witnessed, there was a man by the name of Noah, a
preacher of righteousness, as we are told in 2 Peter 2, and who called the people of his to
repentance … this is implied in being a preacher of righteousness.
Prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, there was talk between God and Abraham of
how many people might be righteous, implying how many people might be repentant.
The prophet Jonah discovered to his dismay that the inhabitants of Nineveh were keen on
repentance, when he declared that in forty days Nineveh would be overthrown.
John the Baptist preached the necessity for repentance because, so he said, “the axe is laid unto
the root of the trees” (Matthew 3:10), whatever impending disaster or calamity that might refer
to.
In our text chapter Jesus speaks of repentance in connection with a frightening event …
apparently, some Galilaeans were slain by Pilate, while they were busy sacrificing.
Their blood was actually “mingled” with the blood of the sacrifice.
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Then Jesus said to the people, “Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the
Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-3)
Again we have it in our text.
A calamity struck Siloam; a tower collapsed and eighteen people were killed … and then listen
to what Jesus says in direct connection with this calamity … “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)
Dear people! I cannot help but see a direct connection between disasters, and the indispensable
need for repentance.
And who should be repenting? … Only those who are directly struck by a disaster?
No! All of us!
The news of the disaster strikes all of us, and it strikes us for the purpose of repentance.
And what is repentance?
The word that our Lord uses here in our text is a special word.
It certainly means genuine sorrow for sin and an earnest resolution to break with the evil past.
But it has also been translated in various version as “be converted” which, including of what has
been said already, also means to be renewed in your heart and in your mind and in your will,
which in turn leads to a complete turnabout in your life.
Repentance, here in our text, means to turn to God with your sins, confessing all of them, big and
small, and resolving by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to live as He would want us to live.
Each disaster that hits the world, whether it is far away or nearby, is a reminder by God that the
world is heading towards its final destruction because the sin of man has corrupted it beyond
repair. Each disaster is a reminder by God that the sin of man has to be dealt with radically.
And God did deal radically with sin when He had His Son nailed on the cross, who died as a
consequence, not so much because of the nails through His hands and feet, but because of the
burden of God’s wrath against sin that was put on Him.
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So radically did God deal with sin that He sacrificed His only begotten and highly beloved Son,
so that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
If you are troubled at all about your sin, and realize the need for repentance, you are urged this
hour to turn with it to Him so that it can be dealt with definitively through the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ … otherwise it will be dealt with eventually in the final destruction of the world, which
will be far more catastrophic than any calamity or disaster that the world has seen so far.
My friend! By this disaster called Katrina, God is calling you and me to repent.
As the storm winds and the roar of waters have subdued, the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ can
be heard rising in power and emphasis, “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Let us not judge these people along the Gulf Coast … they were not worse sinners than we are.
No doubt, among the thousands of bodies that will be found, there will also be those of believers.
They have been taken to be with the Lord forever, to be safe and secure and comforted.
But the word of our text, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, is for those who have escaped this
present disaster, and for those who have been eyewitnesses to this disaster from near and from
afar.
The word of our text, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, is for us … for you and for me …“except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Dear people! There is no more dramatic a call to repentance than one accompanied by a disaster!
The Lord means every word of it.
This world has an indispensable need for repentance … of turning away from sin and of turning
to Him in faith.
But such need is to be felt personally by every single one of us.
You cannot shrug off this call to repentance by saying, “Well the world has to repent!” or “Let
America repent!” or “Let New Orleans repent!”
No doubts, large-scale repentance is of utmost necessity, because the sin in our nation is on the
increase, and such sin does call for God’s judgment.
But more so yet, you and I need to repent, personally and individually!
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Perhaps you are still a sinner without faith in Christ.
Then you are to repent of your stubborn refusal to obey Him.
You are to repent of ignoring those knocks on your door.
You are to repent of your good opinion about yourself, because God’s judgments can come
swiftly and powerfully.
Perhaps you are a believer in Jesus Christ … blessed are you!
And may such blessedness be evident in your life as you show concern for those who have been
devastated by disaster.
But do not think that because you are a believer, you have no need for repentance.
You do, … and greatly so!
Each day, each hour, you and I do things, say things, and think things, that are not pleasing to
God.
They are called “Indwelling sins” or “Sins that cleave to us”, and they too need to be repented of,
and confessed, and fought against, and slain, and departed from.
Therefore, let also this tragedy of Katrina be a divine call for the Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and for each believer in Jesus Christ, not to think themselves better than anyone else, but
to seek renewal, revival, and a re-committing to the Lord of Glory, who gave Himself as a
sacrifice, and poured forth His precious blood, so that those who have learned to put their trust in
Him will have a refuge in time when the greatest disaster will strike the earth.
I refer of course to the great Day of Judgment.
At that time the believers will suffer no harm, because Jesus Christ will take them up to be with
Him, and they shall ever be with the Lord.
May the reason for Katrina be understood.
May judgment of those who perished be left with God.
May the survivors of this disaster receive the help and care and comfort they need.
And may you and I have heard the clear call to repentance.
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AMEN.
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