God's Sovereignty
On the 15th anniversary of September 11th, Tom Shrader draws on Romans 8:28-39 to argue that biblical truth is not only essential in national crises but in every personal moment of loss, illness, or uncertainty. He unfolds three anchoring convictions: God is sovereign over all events, every hardship is temporary, and God works all things together for good for those who love Him. Tom closes by pressing on the exclusivity of salvation through Christ alone, warning that moral heroism or tragic death does not grant entrance to heaven apart from faith in Jesus.
“God causes all things to work together for good — this is a verse about God, not about you, and because it is about God and His sovereignty and His love for you, it becomes a very important verse to you.”
— Tom Shrader
Recorded: 2016 at Redemption Arcadia
Duration: 38 min
Themes: sovereignty of God, suffering, hope, grief, salvation, security, tragedy, fear, grieving a loss, facing illness, feeling uncertain, questioning God, survivor of trauma, new believer, struggling with fear, dealing with national tragedy
Scripture: Romans 8:28-39, Romans 8:28, Daniel 4, Psalm 139, James 1:13-15, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 14:6, Acts 4:12
Theological Themes: divine providence, predestination, justification, eternal security, Romans 8, exclusivity of Christ, soteriology, perseverance of the saints
Full Transcript
Scripture Reading
Today's reading is from Romans, chapter 8, verses 28 through 39.
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called, and those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God? Who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Introduction
Good morning. I want to give you the history of how I came to be here, and I want to be true to it. I am excited to be here, though I'm not sure I can fully capture that excitement and clarity in the message. It's one of those things where something inside seems so clear, and then you get it out and realize it's not quite as clear as you thought.
About two months ago, at home, I got a call from the editor of the East Valley Tribune. He said he would love to do an interview with me, specifically about September 11th. He told me he was in my church the Sunday after September 11th and that he remembered exactly what I said — which was striking, because I didn't remember it at all. He wanted to come out, bring a photographer, and do the whole thing, so I agreed.
I went to the file cabinet and pulled the message I had preached the Sunday following September 11th. I went through the notes, thought it was solid, and we did the interview. Afterward, I was going back and forth with Frank about something else and texted him to say that the Sunday of September 11th, 2016 falls on the 15th anniversary of the Twin Towers, and that I thought I had a message that would fit well for his church. He said he'd check on it, and eventually came back and said yes. So that is how I ended up here.
The Big Takeaway
Now, Frank was quick to remind me that many of you are younger — that on September 11th, 2001 you were in second or third grade — so for some of you this is a history moment. But I am going to give you essentially the same lesson I taught 15 years ago. Here is what I learned about the aftermath of September 11th, and this is the big takeaway for today: we have our—
This Too Shall Pass
We each have our own individual September 11th all the time, and the truths that were principles for that collective moment are true for individual moments as well. So when you say, "My divorce was final three years ago," or "He died, she died eight years ago," or "I've been cancer free five years," those are all a kind of September 11th moment.
I want to go through the very same big idea and provide, hopefully, some comfort. You may be thinking right now, "I could have stayed home — first day of NFL, everything's going great, I don't need any September 11th message." Or you may be at rock bottom saying, "Skip the introduction, get to the meat, I need to hear this." To both groups, let me offer this insight — the same thing to both of you: this too shall pass. Those of you doing really great, fasten your seatbelt. Those of you in real trouble, it will get better. And those aren't just idle phrases.
Tom's September 11th Story
Here is the big point — but before I get to that, let me give you my September 11th story. I was scheduled to speak on September 12th to a group of two dozen senior executives from MasterCard at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, West Virginia. It's a magnificent place, and I take any occasion like that to turn it into a trip. So I was in Washington for the week before September 11th, got in around the sixth or so, and had a magnificent time — walked the Mall, visited the Smithsonian museums, went down to Ford's Theatre, and even had a connection that got us into the White House after it had closed. We had to wait for the president to get out of the Oval Office, and we were up on the West Wing. For me, it was just a great trip.
On the way to the Homestead is the Appomattox Courthouse — the place where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. So while driving to the Homestead, I stopped at Appomattox and was in a little gift shop. There was a lady sitting on a stool with a radio, and I walked in and heard some kind of bulletin going on. I said to her, "What is it?" And she said, "A plane just flew into one of the Twin Towers." Now, if you hear that today, you immediately think: terrorists. But fifteen years ago, all we could think was, how bad is this pilot? Literally, that was the thought — it must be a Cessna, some guy doing his first solo flight or something. We had no idea.
I walked down to just outside, from about where the door is, to the very place where Grant received Lee's surrender. A park ranger came running up and said, "You're going to have to vacate the park. The country's under attack." I said, "Buddy, here's the thing — I'm from Phoenix, I'm never going to get here again, this site is right there, I've been reading about it for twenty years, and we may be under attack, but we've got to be about the one millionth target. Nobody's going to attack a vacated battlefield." He said, "Sir, get out of the park." Well, I've heard that before, so away I went.
So I drove back and got to the Homestead, where there was an envelope from MasterCard. It said, "We've all driven back to New York. Stay as long as you want. Charge everything you want to MasterCard." I thought, well, I wouldn't have it any other way — I'm on my way to the gift shop to do some Christmas shopping right now. We had no idea of the magnitude of what had happened until I turned on the TV. And that began a journey of trying to get home.
The Drive Home
I had a plane ticket out of Dulles for the 13th, but that wasn't going to happen. You couldn't even get through to Amtrak. I had a little Kia — one of the first Kias ever made, about the size of this music stand. So I called Budget and said, "I've got a Kia and I need to get to Phoenix. Can I come in and trade out a car?" They said, "We don't have a lot of cars, but why don't you bring that in?" That didn't sound like a good idea to me.
I got up the next morning, drove a little ways, stopped at the equivalent of a Circle K, and asked the guy, "Do you have a map?" He said, "Where are you going?" I said, "Phoenix." He said, "Go right down here three miles to Interstate 40, make a right, and when you get to Flagstaff, make a left, and you'll be in Phoenix." Exactly what he said. He told me I didn't need a map and to save my money. So I spent four days driving back, stopped in Henrietta, Oklahoma, at a place called the Pig Out Palace — I love those kinds of places — and then drove home.
Biblical Truth in Uncertain Times
I got up that following Sunday and delivered this message. That week had been an interesting time, because people were calling us and asking us to open the church so they could come in and pray. That Sunday — I don't know if you'll remember this — was like a Christmas Eve. We had chairs down all the aisles, students sitting on the floor. It was a Sunday when the churches were filled and the stadiums were empty. It was a very unusual time. And I had four days to think, and I had a point I wanted to make.
Here is the grand big point: doctrine is essential in uncertain times. Now, some of us run into problems with the word "doctrine," so let me put it this way — biblical truth is essential in uncertain times. Those uncertain times remind us that the Bible is true. There is a saying that fatigue makes cowards of us all. Here is what I have observed: suffering and hardship tends to make biblical liberals of us all. We start to bend the truth. A lot of the words you sang in the songs this morning — when hardship comes, when suffering comes, when difficulty comes, you start to wonder, is that really true?
God Is Sovereign
Here is the sub-point: God is sovereign. Webster defines that word as "above or superior to all others — supreme in power, rank, and authority." God is in control. If you get in a little time capsule and go back to September 11th, 2001, one of the big questions was: where was God? Where was God on September 11th? Here is the answer: the same place He was on September 10th and September 12th, and the same place He is today. I have to be reminded of this.
Let me drill deep now for those of you who are contemplating your own personal 9-11. I have to remember that God is sovereign. God is in control — even when He doesn't necessarily feel like it.
Nebuchadnezzar's Testimony
This comes from Daniel chapter 4. There was a man named Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of the world. Just prior to this passage, on one evening, he is walking around the wall that surrounds the city. I'm doing this from memory, so I know the dimensions are off, but the wall is something like 60 feet high and so wide that they used to have chariot races around it. He has this moment — our equivalent would be that he's got a cigar and a little brandy, walking around, surveying all of it, and humming his favorite song. Remember his favorite song? "How Great I Art." He's humming that and he's impressed, and then all of a sudden — bam — God strikes him, and he spends years wandering around naked, eating grass.
At the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar shares his testimony: "At the end of this period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raise my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom endures forever." God is in control. I am not.
The Illusion of Control
I was talking to a friend the other day about a mutual friend — not in a gossipy way, just asking whether he had seen him — and he said, "He is a control freak." I don't know one person who doesn't want to be in control. Some people hide it better than others, but I want to be in control. I want to think that what I do today affects tomorrow, that I can determine it, that if I can conceive it and believe it, I can achieve it — all that stuff you pay a lot of money to hear.
Now, I'm not saying don't think positive. I'm just saying there is stuff outside of your control. You can eat right and exercise, and you should, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to get sick. I am 66 years old. I went 62 years and was never sick. Then over the past four years I've had open-heart surgery, I got lupus — which is a disease that strikes primarily women 18 to 35, with 90% of cases occurring in women in that age range. When I heard that, I said, "I cannot wait for my first support group meeting." I've also had a half-dozen kidney stones and prostate cancer surgery four months ago. I've got all sorts of things going on, and I can't necessarily stop it. He is in control.
That doesn't mean I just give up. I work really hard. But He is the One who reigns. His dominion lasts forever. Psalm 139 tells us He goes before you and behind you, and He knows what you are going to say before you say it. He is in control. And that is not meant to be a scary thing — it is meant to be a comforting thing.
Things Are Temporary
The sub-point of all of this is that things are temporary. There is always an event, a 9-11 type of event. There will be one this year. I'm a big football fan — more college football than NFL. But there is always a moment in the season when a player or a coach experiences a tragedy. The Nebraska football team had a punter who was killed this summer. There is always some event like that. And people will say, "This puts everything into perspective." That is what those 9-11 moments do — they give you perspective.
Sandy, my wife, is very different from me about many things. I don't think I'm a hoarder — I'm a saver — and I'm not entirely sure what the difference is. But she found a picture the other day and said, "I found a picture of yours. You'll want to see it. You really look tall and thin." I said, "Really? Where is this picture?" Sure enough, in the picture I looked very tall. It was a picture of me with the 8- and 9-year-olds I was coaching in Little League, and I was taller than almost all of them. And from 1971, I looked pretty thin too. But in perspective — not so tall and thin. Those 9-11 moments give us perspective.
Life Is a Vapor
Here is what James writes in James 1: "Come now, you say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, engage in business, make a profit. You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor."
This occurred to me this week, so this is a last-minute addition. When we hear the word "vapor," we tend to think of someone who passes away in an unexpected way — a young man, a young woman. I can't tell you how many times I've been to a memorial service where someone said, "Weren't you surprised that Bob died?" Not really. He didn't seem to me to be the only person who was ever going to beat death. I was surprised by the timing. But what James is saying is bigger than that immediate thought. He is saying all of life is a vapor.
I am in physical rehab right now, and I thought I was going to graduate last Friday, but I've regressed, so I have another week. The next step is to move into a group setting. They showed me the group, and I said, "I can't go in there — they are way too old." The therapist said, "Tom, they are all doing more than you're doing." I said, "That may be true, but how old is that guy?" Ninety-four. And he had just leg-pressed his own age — which, by the way, you cannot do. So if you are here and you are 94, your life is a vapor too. What James is saying is that all of this is temporary. Our instinct is to pretend it isn't.
God's Sovereignty Over Suffering
No matter how bad it gets, it can only last a lifetime. No matter how bad things get, they can only last as long as that vapor. God is sovereign, and things are temporary.
God Causes All Things to Work Together for Good
Here is the third point: God works all things together for good. Romans 8:28 — and what you have on the screen is the English Standard Version. Let me read you the New American Standard: "And we know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."
A lot of times at retreats or seminars, when I am talking about this, I will ask if anyone can quote Romans 8:28. There is always someone who thinks they are a Bible quiz champion, and they will say, "All things work together for good." That is a part of the verse — in fact, President Bush quoted that part of the verse right after 9/11. But the verse is far bigger than that. If I say "all things work together for good," I make that verse about me.
Here is what it actually says, sticking to the New American Standard: "And we know God causes all things to work together for good." This is a verse about God. It is not a verse about you. But because it is a verse about God and His sovereignty and His care and His love for you, it becomes a very important verse to you.
Oprah and the Question of Reasons
Last Monday was Ellen's 2,000th show. I love Ellen, and I am secure enough in my manhood and my Christianity to say that. And here is what I knew: if Ellen is doing a 2,000th show, Oprah is going to show up. So I taped it.
Here is why this matters for you to know. Your friends who think you are out of your mind for being here on Sunday believe this when Oprah says it: Oprah says everything happens for a reason. Well, if that is true, then there must be someone — some power, something — that is in control. If everything happens for a reason, whose reasons? Whose intellect? Whose power?
What the Bible tells us is that God causes all things to work together for good. It tells us God must be all-powerful and all-knowing. He knows everything about you. He knew what you were going to say before you said it. He knows everything you have ever said, everything you ever will say, and everything you have ever done. And after all of that, He loves you anyway. That is remarkable.
I am with people all the time whose marriages have fallen apart, and one of the two will say, "If I had known that about you, I would have never married you." God is never going to say to you, "If I had known that about you, I would have never chosen you. I would have never saved you." He knows everything there is to know about you.
Applying Sovereignty to the Present Moment
In this 9/11 moment — collectively and individually — it is so important for us to remember that God is sovereign, that this is temporary. Saying it is temporary is not saying it is unimportant; it is very important. But it is passing away. God is working all things together for good — your sin, your mistakes, your sickness, this election.
I wish the election were tomorrow, just to get it over with. Every day now, every day, I find myself saying: He — meaning God — He is in charge of who is in charge. He is in charge of the election. He is in charge of that deal you are going to propose tomorrow that you really need to make. He is in charge of that marriage. He is in charge.
Did God Cause or Allow 9/11?
Now I want to make sure I do not miss these remaining points. The first is this: God either caused or allowed 9/11. When I am among people who do not embrace the theology of the Bible and I say that, there is always a long line of people who want to argue. They say, "If God could not have stopped 9/11, then He is not God." Now, did He cause it or did He allow it? I do not know. It is an interesting reality that we spend all of our time trusting Him, and somehow we will understand Him later — if that even turns out to be important.
What Was the Destination of Those Who Died?
The second question that arose right after the attacks was this: what was the destination of those who died during the attack? There were some cartoons in the newspaper shortly afterward. In one, a figure clearly meant to represent Satan says to the hijackers, "You've reached your final destination." In the next, firefighters are pictured at the pearly gates with the caption: "You've reached the top — a fitting reward for those who laid down their lives for a friend." And the last one is a picture drawn by a school-age child in Pennsylvania. It shows the twin towers with smoke rising up, representing the people who were there, and there is Jesus —
The Question of Salvation
There was a popular thought after 9/11 that if you were a hijacker, you went to hell; if you were an occupant or a first responder, you went to heaven. This is really important to address, especially in times of difficulty: there is not one person in heaven because they were a first responder.
Here is what the Bible says in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I was in a setting the other day with the cutest baby I have ever seen in my entire life. She sat right there and just looked at me with these eyes and this smile — about eight months old, never made a peep. I said something really stupid to her mother: "It must be really easy raising her." She said, "Have you ever been around kids?"
Here is what that mother was saying. Right now, somewhere nearby, two kids are going at it over a toy. Their first words were "mine" and "no." Why? Because they have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
My fundamental problem — whether it is in the context of 9/11 or simply in life — is sin. My sin has separated me from God, and the wages of sin is death. Death means separation, and that is everybody's problem. Dying in a heroic act of bravery does not save me. I am in no way trying to diminish those people; I am trying to put things in perspective so that, as you deal with your friends and those in your life, you understand they are not going to heaven because they were a good person.
You may never have met someone's Nana. But let someone tell you what she was like in high school, and that changes things. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." There is salvation in no one else, and there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Things Will Never Be the Same
There was one final point I made fifteen years ago: that things would never be the same. I told you what the Sunday after 9/11 was like — the church was overflowing. The following Sunday, we did not have to put any kids on the floor. It was crowded, but close to normal. Statistics tell us that within four or five months after 9/11, church attendance was actually five percent less than it had been before.
That is remarkable. It means people came into churches because they were hurting, they heard our answers, and those answers either did not register, or they did not like them, or we did not answer them adequately. I am not entirely sure which. What I do want to warn you about is this: you can have a life-changing experience that lasts only six or eight months.
9/11 was the great collective version of that. But there is also your personal 9/11 — the crisis that is uniquely yours. God uses those things in your life to draw you closer to Him, to put your arms around Him, and to assure you that it will be okay. That does not mean things are going to end the way you want them to in the short term. People you love are going to die. Deals you need to make are not going to come through.
In the midst of all of that, He says, "That is okay. That is part of My plan." And when we respond by saying, "I don't get it — that wouldn't be my plan," the good news is: you are not God. God says, "I will use that." All He asks of us is to follow Him and obey.
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Father, thank You for this awesome and amazing truth. Help us not lose heart. Help us understand that You are in control. God, thank You for Your Son, Jesus — the life we find in Him, and in Him alone. It is in His name that we pray. Amen.