Remembering 911

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together. It's reasoned relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio.

And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. 9-11, 2001. Do you remember what you were doing? Do you remember what you thought when you saw the news reports?

Maybe you watched live as the first or second plane ran into the World Trade Towers, and then the Pentagon, and of course, United Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field, and no doubt the U.S. Capitol was spared because of the heroic actions of the people on Flight 93. We're going to talk about that, and one individual American hero in particular. But I welcome you to the program today.

My name is Alex McFarland. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation, our ministry on the radio. And I want to read a scripture from Psalm 34, and then we're going to talk about some very personal remembrances of September 11.

What's different about our nation now rather than then? What's different about the world, and what might be some of the takeaways and some of the conclusions that we would rightfully draw in thinking about 9-11? From Psalm 34, the Word of God says, �The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.� You know, our hearts were broken after 9-11, and to this day people mourn and grieve the nearly 3,000 people that died in the Trade Towers, and this was the greatest terror attack in terms of lives lost in world history.

9-11 was a wake-up call to America, and in many ways I think we turned over and hit the snooze button. But Psalm 34 first, it says, �I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast, and the Lord, the humble, shall hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together,� verse 3, which is wonderful.

�Let us praise God together. I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.� In other words, the people were radiant who turned to God, and they were not disappointed, they were not ashamed. The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. Now listen to verse 7 and how we need this personally, we need this in our families, our churches, our children, we need this nationally. Psalm 34, 7, �The angel of the Lord encampeth around them that fear him, and delivers them.� The angel of the Lord camps around the righteous, those that fear God, and the angel of the Lord is our protection. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusts in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him, or no lack. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

Come, ye children, hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? In other words, do you love life?

Do you want to live a long time? Do you desire many days and you want blessing and goodness? Well, the pathway to those things is the fear of the Lord. Here's a prayer, Psalm 34, 13, �Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.� How many times have we ever prayed, �Lord, keep my tongue from evil.

Keep my mouth and my vocabulary from speaking evil things.� We should pray that. And the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. You know, I think about the Greensboro News and Record in my own hometown in North Carolina, the headline after 9-11, Today Our Nation Saw Evil.

Do you know what's interesting? I was on an NPR radio show a couple of years ago, and we were talking about Islamic terrorism. And here on 9-11, 2019, the New York Times was very much under fire for tweeting that 18 years ago today, the airplanes pointed themselves to the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. And instantly the Twitter verse erupted because the quote-unquote airplanes didn't do it. And as Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted out and said, look, it was Islamic terrorists. The New York Times had to backpedal, and they almost grudgingly, once their arm was twisted, they said, well, terrorists did it.

But they didn't dare say Islamic terrorists did it. Now Psalm 34 verse 16 says, �The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.� It's interesting in Genesis 16 when it's talking about the children of Ishmael that would be the enemies of the children of Abraham and Isaac. And it says that they would, quote, �set their face against all men.� It says Ishmael and his descendants would be a wild man. In other words, they would be at war and strife and enmity with all other men. It's interesting, Samuel Huntington wrote a book called The Clash of Civilizations.

A Harvard University professor, he was a member of the Carter administration, and Jimmy Carter himself was quoted in the book extensively. But Jimmy Carter said that the Islamic world was torn by strife and famously said, Islam's innards are bloody. Islam's borders are bloody. And throughout the history of Islam, since Muhammad was born in the late 570s and Islam around 620, and so we've had, you know, roughly in world history, about 1400-1500 years of Islam.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, talked about it. Luther, Calvin, historians and even courageous politicians of the modern era have talked about Islam's history of violence and bloodshed. Well, the Word of God says that the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry on the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. Now, when we come back, we're going to continue talking about 9-11 and a biblical Christian response, some information you probably have never heard before and likely won't hear anywhere else about 9-11 and our appropriate American Christian response to it when the program returns.

Don't go away. Most believe he was taken from his homeland and died as a martyr while living as an exile in Egypt. Many believe that as Jeremiah lived in exile, he founded a synagogue in Egypt near Alexandria. Not much is known about how he accomplished that, but we know that about 600 years later, a young man living in Egypt learned about God, the law and the prophets. Later, that man, Apollos, traveled and met the Apostle Paul, who showed him how the Old Testament points to Christ. Apollos became a believer and an evangelist, partly because centuries earlier, Jeremiah was faithful to God's call in his life. So faithfully follow the Lord's leading in your life.

You never know how your work will impact others. Be bold. Be faithful.

Be a watchman. IAmAWatchman.com 1 Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have. We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come. 864-977-2008 and always be ready. The TNG Unashamed Conference is coming to Richmond, Virginia, October 11th and 12th. Experience core truths that make for an unshakable faith with Tina Marie Griffin, Todd Starnes, Kamal Shalim, Miki Addison, Chuck Chrismeyer, and William Federer.

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That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. Or visit the TNG website at truthforanewgeneration.com. The TNG Unashamed Conference, Richmond, Virginia, October 11th and 12th. Dive deeper into your faith. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland, and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit alexmcfarland.com. The Lord is near unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. We're in Psalm 34.

This is Truth for a New Generation with Alex McFarland. Verse 19 says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked. Isn't that interesting? Psalm 34, verse 21, The wicked do evil, and yet evil itself is what will slay the wicked. And they that hate the righteous shall be desolate, desolate or forsaken. The Lord redeems the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

It's very interesting. The people that reject Christ, many people, whether they're Islam, atheist, re-definition of marriage, LBT, trans, Q, the gay agenda, the pro-abortion agenda, the socialist agenda, there are a lot of people through ideologies, religions, behaviors, fetishes, there are a lot of people in this world today that have rejected the truth of Christ and have committed themselves to that which the Word of God calls evil. Do you know what evil can't overcome good?

It says evil will slay the wicked. And they that hate the righteous will be desolate. In 2 Timothy 3, it's talking about in the last days in those perilous times, there are those who don't have natural affections, they have unnatural affections.

And it's interesting in 2 Timothy 3, it says those who have those unnatural affections despise those who are good. Now let me say as a born-again Christian and as a minister, you know, we Christians, we're not victims, we're victors, we're blessed. We don't need to go around being like martyrs, you know, poor me. But it is true that we live in a time here in the 21st century when those who believe in God, we believe in the Word of God, we believe in objective morality, that right and wrong is not some personal preference, but it is really, factually, absolutely, objectively true, and morality and God's righteousness and the good news of Jesus are applicable to all people. God commends that people everywhere repent. If we speak the truth, even if we speak it in love, and with the utmost of gentility and compassion and empathy, we tell people, hey, I'm not trying to be personal, not attacking anybody, but all people need Christ, we're all sinners, and that we need to repent and turn to Jesus. Nowadays, if you want to get yourself in hot water, just even remotely take a stand for that which is good and true and right.

I think about Drew Brees, who did a very innocuous little innocent video for Focus on the Family. Kids, bring your Bible to school. The Equal Access Act of 1984, you can take your Bibles to school. So young people, God bless you, take your Bible to school. And of course, Hollywood, the media, the Twitterverse just came down the wrath and fury, because why?

Focus on the family is pro-marriage, pro-family. How dare you take a stand for that which is good and right and true. Well, we live in a time when, as Psalm 34 says, 2 Timothy 3 says, there are the evil that hate the righteous, verse 21.

But they're going to be desolate, they're going to be broken. God sets his face against those that work evil and hate the righteous. Well, back to 9-11. Part of the reason 9-11 happened is because America is viewed by Muslims as the great infidel. Now, lest you disagree, folks, I have been to Al Jazeera World Headquarters in New York City, the news service of the Islamic world, Al Jazeera. I was interviewed for one hour a couple of years back. I've dialogued with Imams, I've interviewed Muslims and been on panels.

They interviewed me, I've interviewed many of them. And did a graduate degree in world religions. I knew that Islam had a history of violence against Jews and Christians. In fact, I've got a world religions book from the 1920s by a man named Samuel Braden, B-R-A-D-E-N, The World's Great Religions. And, you know, this is 99 years ago, and it was certainly before the era of political correctness. And it talks about how Muhammad was raised, at least part of his life, in a Roman Catholic orphanage, and later on felt a vendetta against how he felt like he had been treated.

And a hundred years ago, religious historians said that Islam was the only religion in world history that was started merely to be in conscious opposition to Christianity. So when I have academics say that 9-11 was America's fault because of this, that, or the other, or because of our friendship with Israel, and Islam is really a religion of peace, not violence, they either are ignorant of history, past and present, or they simply are willfully misleading and distorting the facts. Now, I will tell you this, 20 hours after 9-11, I was in New York City. I well remember the morning of 9-11 when my mother, who was a public school teacher for 28 years, she was brilliant and she was quite the politico, I'll tell you that. My mom, very famously, at least in these parts, and we had her on the radio a number of times, but my mom accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1960. From 1960 until she died in 2014, she had accurately guessed the outcome of every presidential election.

She was a very political person. She called me frantic on the morning of 9-11 and said, turn on the television. She said, we're at war, this is an act of war. And I remember so well watching the television and I said, well, I don't know, maybe it's some horrible accident. And while I was on the phone with my mother and on television watching, the second plane hit. And I said, oh, okay, yeah, you're right, this is an act of war. And of course, President George W. Bush, who I believe President Bush masterfully retained his composure and finished with the school children and then immediately went into the mode of a president in wartime and he led wonderfully, and many of you will remember how on the night of 9-11, 2001, he was on TV and he began his remarks to the American people who were stunned, blindsided, shell-shocked, and he began by reading the 23rd Psalm. Many of you remember that. We need that shepherd as our Lord again, the Lord our shepherd, who is with us through the pastures by the still waters in the times of danger and trouble and evil. We need to turn back to God again.

Now, when we come back, I'm going to give some thoughts about 9-11 that you probably haven't heard and maybe won't hear anywhere else after this. At Liberty University, you'll earn more than a degree. You'll earn the satisfaction of seeing what you can accomplish and what God can accomplish through you. Choose from more than 600 degree options from an associate to a Ph.D. and study 100% online more affordably than you think. Discover God's truth through every degree at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more.

Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. There's been some confusion between the title of Engage Magazine and the term engaged. Alyssa, would you marry me? Oh, Todd. See, now that's what I mean. Engage Magazine is a ministry to millennials, while getting engaged is... Oh, Todd. Oh, Alyssa. Right. The thing is, we want you to be engaged. Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.

That's sweet. But Engage Magazine is about being engaged with your faith in the culture. Visit engagemagazine.net. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide, and video series, you'll find it at afastore.net.

That's afastore.net. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio. We're back on Truth for a New Generation.

Alex McFarland here. You know, we'll continue our conversation about 9-11, but I want to remind you we have a couple of exciting, exciting Truth for a New Generation conferences coming up. October 11 and 12, Richmond, Virginia. I want to see you there.

And November 15, 16, Cincinnati, Ohio. Speakers like Todd Starnes, Josh McDowell, Erwin Lutzer from Moody Church in Chicago, Kamal Saleem, former Muslim. And we're going to teach you how to share the Gospel with Muslims, how to defend your faith, how to make sure that your kids don't walk away from Christianity after high school. Folks, be at the next Truth for a New Generation conference.

You know, I give God the glory. We see roughly 3,000 people a year come to Christ, and that costs our budget about $100 per person reached for Christ. We have a budget of around $300,000 a year, and by faith we pray that God provides so that we can preach the Gospel and equip people of all ages, but especially young people. And so when Truth for a New Generation comes to your town, come out. If, like myself, you care about the Gospel in America, if you believe America needs a move of God's Holy Spirit and can have an awakening, then come when Truth for a New Generation is in your town.

Sign up, folks. Here's what you're going to get. You're going to get answers to the tough questions. You're going to learn how Scripture applies to today's issues. You're going to have truth you can build your life upon.

And Jesus Christ with you every minute, do you want the answers? How do you know God is real? How do you know the Bible is true?

How do we know Christ really did rise from the grave? What about marriage and the gay agenda? What about our country? Was America founded on Christian beliefs? So if you care about the answers for the tough questions, come to Truth for a New Generation, the next one being Richmond, Virginia, October 11-12, Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

You can learn everything about these things at the website truthforanewgeneration.com or alexmcfarland.com. But let me share this. I'm holding in my hands right now the New York Times that came out right after 9-11, the Sunday edition of the New York Times, and it's a newspaper I cherish because there were dozens of full-page ads. I'm holding right here from Greece.

Matthew 16-18, I will build my church on this rock. And here is an ad, a full-page ad from the nation of Greece and the Greek Orthodox community in America. America, we are with you.

And Germany, here is a full-page ad that was in the Sunday edition of the New York Times right after 9-11. The people of Berlin stand by you in memory of September 11, 2001. Our hearts are with the victims and their families. We fill solidarity with all Americans this dark hour. We in Berlin will never forget what you have done for us. You were there when we needed you, and now we will be there for you when you need us. And it's signed by dozens of people.

France, the Bahamas, Britain. Here's a full-page ad that was in the New York Times, the Sunday edition right after 9-11. The city of Miami, to our friends, family, and colleagues in New York, during this difficult time we share in your grief and your effort to recover. We share in our vision for a better tomorrow.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you. You know, it's amazing how in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, nations were willing to put full-page ads in the Sunday edition of the New York Times to say, America, whatever this is, this attack, we're with you. Because, you know what, people forget, and kids today who have not been taught patriotism, when this brazen act that was like Pearl Harbor all over again was perpetrated, 9-11, the whole wide world almost said, why would anybody do this to America? We've been the seat of benevolence and the nation that fed the hungry.

And we took up the cause of the huddled masses. And yet it was done because it was pure evil. It was hatred for America. It was hatred because of our friendship with Israel. And it was terrorism.

It was not anything politically legitimate or justified. And so I've got to say this. As I walked, I remember I was with dozens and dozens of firemen, policemen, first responders there in New York ministering for 11 days after 9-11 with the Billy Graham ministry. And I remember going to the National Guard armory, which is right down there.

You saw on the news all of these endless sidewalks of flowers and mementos. I was there. I remember there was a little pink bicycle. I've got a photograph of it. And a weeping mother and dad because their daughter had been in one of the daycare areas of the trade towers.

Pictures. You know, the toddler was, I'm going to say three or four. And they were weeping, pleading, please help us find our daughter. I remember a little girl running up and down the street crying out, please help me find my daddy. And she had a picture.

Can you imagine a five or six year old clutching a wrinkled picture, have you seen my daddy? And of course we knew, you know, that the daddies weren't going to be found. The children in the daycare did not survive. And 3,000 people in the trade towers, 265 airplane passengers. All of these American lives lost. And including people from about 80 or 90 countries that had been in the trade towers. And they all died because of the hands of 19 terrorists. Now, they weren't Christian terrorists because that's an oxymoron.

They were of the ideology of Islam. And we've got to remember, while we want all people to come to Christ, and we don't hate anybody, we're not phobic, we don't fear anybody. We're not hateful or afraid. But we do have to be honest.

Something that American academia, American journalism, and American politicians to a large degree have lost the ability to do, which is to speak truth. And so the Bible says, again in Psalm 34 16, the face of the Lord is against those that do evil. The wicked will be cut off and forgotten. Do you know Hollywood, with all of its immorality, is going to be forgotten? Do you know Islam, with all of its false teaching and violence and conversion by coercion and bloodshed is going to be forgotten.

But the Bible says, the Lord redeems the soul of his servants. None of them that trust in him will be left destitute or forsaken. So on this weekend remembrance of 9-11, let me encourage you to pray for our nation. And pray that we would have the courage and the obedience to forsake sin, repent of evil, and turn back to our only hope, which is the true and living God. The God that our founders knew, the God that for two and a half centuries has been proclaimed. The God that we, to a degree right now, have forgotten. But the one sanctuary of forgiveness and salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. May 9-11 be a reminder to pray for our nation and turn back to Christ. at 877-YES-GOD-1.

That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com. While you're there, listen to Program Archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event, or contact Alex with a question or comment. AlexMcFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG Radio.