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Terrorism and Volunteerism.

--Sermon by Dr. Bob Benchoff May 8, 2003

You have blessed this ICCDBB peaceful Christian effort through your decision to visit; Thank YOU!

When you read or speak respectfully of Jesus Christ, you do honor Jesus Christ. Working together is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Terrorists on 9/11 were able to work together, so there is more to it than sharing common interests and goals.

It's been said hindsight is easy, so let's look at this current event to see why the 9/11/2001 happened, and how it set into motion the revealing of supporters of terror. Two unusual and important issues come to the surface:

A. World Trade Towers the Pentagon were hit representing money and power, and

B. Some people of Muslim belief in the Arab region celebrated.

The haves vs. the have nots is part of it. Charity and prayer are important, yet these are often overlooked, as if insignificant. Think of charity as a flow from you, then think of prayer as prioritization and directional guidance, giving power to your flow. Far more significant than monetary leverage is enlightenment: prayer.

The wealthiest people are on the Internet. Yet there is much more to it. Those seeking enlightenment are on the Internet.

Of the many Arab nations, their combined economic wealth equals that of Spain. Yet it's easy to blame someone else for your problems. Half the Arab women can't read.

Muslims say they have faith in God, yet if they don't encourage their people to be educated and read the word of God, then that dishonors God (speaking from a selfish [human] perspective; speaking from a perspective of wisdom [Godly] they dishonor themselves).

To accumulate knowledge is wisdom; to accumulate ignorance is stupidity. Behavioral traits associated with dishonor and stupidity tend to include: violence, a suspicious nature, an inclination to fight education, and so on.

Behavioral traits associated with honor and wisdom include righteous prayer (not just for show), charity, seeking enlightenment and to be known openly.

While the more responsible worldly governments are making progress to secure the world from terror, worldly governments can only do so much. They are limited to the amount of control they can place on people, lest the people not be free and the government not be responsible for their governed.

Personal individual initiatives to help others is key to survival. Sometimes these decisions become complex, as when many individuals approached me to let me know that goods shipped to those in need were not reaching those in need, and were being intercepted by applicable Muslims, kings, and/or dictators in power.

Although decision making can be complex, a plant can be known by it's fruit, a person can be known by their gifts, good fruit comes from good plants, not from weeds.

As new developments arise we sometimes have to change, adapting Christ's principles to the new situations. A person choosing to dwell in ignorance (or otherwise a goodly person choosing to speak plainly for the given occassion) might say don't try to help those people controlled by Muslims, since those efforts are worthless to the needy and support terrorists. Yet a Christian volunteer should seek not only the truth, but also the greater Spirit of Christ and would likely say let us improve our efforts to help in new and better ways.

We can each do our part. We have each been given value and valuable talent of Christ. You have much to give. You can share your talent with others.

In dealing with others, your perceptions and evaluations will change, and instead of reverting to disregard, you can choose to overcome and conquer. If you have been giving to a cause and discover that your help was diverted or the cause has changed, you can choose to learn from it and improve.

The following is a case having similarities to the above terrorism [depriving the innocent].

I used to sponsor children in the mid-east, through World Vision (no affiliation unless otherwise stated). A missionary would write of their progress, and the young children of separate families grew of age and started school.

Then much later I received a letter that they had dropped out of school to work on their parents' farms. Imagine my surprise, I was helping them, yet by their choice they dropped out. A high school dropout is bad enough, but a first grade dropout was too much. They wouldn't even be able to write to me if they had a special concern, such as if they move.

I could no longer justify supporting their carelessness, and then found out this was typical. People would support them until they found-out that the parents would put the small children to work. The parents knew the score long before I did.

Lack of education, child labor, hope for the future of their children,...none of these things mattered to the parents. The children do not have Internet, they only have what their local community tells them.

It had been extremely difficult for me to send money to help them, but those parents didn't care about my problems or opinions. As far as I know, those parents weren't thankful for my help, I guess they expected me to pay.

So I tried other things to help people of that region, such as starting Quality Club International now headed by Sidelil Gizachew of Ethiopia's capitol Addis Abbada (the name has changed with rigime change). In quality technical and in quality life areas we gained many industrial and non-industrial supporters, such as hands-on volunteers, club magazine subscribers, and such as the lady that donated $1 and said it better go for a good purpose: it reminded me of the Bible story of a lady putting two cents into the church offering. People were voluntarily doing what they could to help.

I tried using the Internet to interact with people of various applicable continents, but the Internet was too new to be of much value and there were many false leads and dead ends.

Sidelil and I planned building multi-purpose structures to serve as churches, hospitals, and schools. Construction, including road construction, was to start in Ethiopia. These were greatly needed in Ethiopia and in those similar regions, and while the Baptist Church (in Ethiopia) and the Ethiopian government were anxious for success of our project, things didn't work because of the different laws for those nations that worked against the help they sought.

For instance, Sidelil and I would sometimes ship each other parcels, such as seeds and educational materials, and such as for fundraising Sidelil shipped me craftwork woven of horse hair. The nation's art treasures were closely monitored, as was money. So our parcels would arrive shredded.

It was as if our time, money, and effort was being cast into the ocean. Sidelil coordinated volunteers who gained perhaps ten thousand Ethiopian signers of a petition to correct the problem, but government (and private enterprise) ignored it.

All that work to help people by so many Ethiopian volunteers, USA volunteers, and by so many volunteers on other continents; volunteers from virtually all vocations; and then to see terrorism in USA and around the world, certainly including people who had been volunteers of various groups, being sentenced as innocent victims and put to death without trial, and then to see Muslim / Arabian people celebrate, does not speak of desparate people. It speaks of choice.

It is the choice of those people who have sufficient power and ability to selfishly cause others harm. The 9/11 terrorists did not do it to help those in need. They did it to glorify themselves in the cause of corrupt Muslims, kings, and dictators. The terrorists chose death, not life, and those yet living need to choose to change from the ignorance that is their grand delusion.

How hardly could I today ask a missionary to put their life on the line to help Muslims today? Yet Jesus Christ provides solutions. Jesus Christ calls us to be conquerors. If they don't accept Christ in the name of Christianity, let them accept Christ according to the good and logical works of judgement, and if repentant, grace.

Absolute power can be abused unless we rely on Christ for guidance. Whether an authority is someone's kingship, or whether an authority is a neighbor, abuse must be thwarted through reliance on Christ.

As Christ showed us, neighbors must work to not offend other neighbors, for Christ worked not against neighbors, but against corrupt powers of authorities.

You might find yourself subject to someone you find offensive, such as a local official, a fellow prisoner, a guard, or perhaps a Priest of an opinion different than yours. You might find a person bringing great danger to your family and possessions. You might find an illegal, immoral trick to use against them: don't use it.

Claim your miracle. A year ago I built a shed according to the rules of the Home Owners Association. They constantly harrassed me over petty things and kept writing official letters to tear it down, and were never right (according to their own rules) on any point they made. Their threats were growing, such as their considering of imposing a large daily fine.

I could have toilet papered their houses, I could have let air out of their tires, I could have taken it to the newspaper, I could have investigated their personal lives for flaws, I could have some of my high political friends to have a word with them, and I could have taken them to court.

But instead I chose to do none of that type of thing to gain what I believed was my rightful power over them, or at least to gain swift and worldly justice. I did not wrongly bow down to them in cowardice as one that would follow a leader of terrorists. Instead I chose to ignore worldly principles and to stick to my principles found in Luke 6.36.

Then I waited for my miracle. It was an uneasy time that followed, week after week, then month after month; the whole time wondering what forces and/or lawsuit they would use against me.

But they did nothing. As time passed I came to realize it was over, God had already given me His miracle: I had won.

Many years ago there was a lady that heard she was being sued. She became very unhappy, full of anxiety and pressure. She didn't have much, so when she heard the lawsuit was for a million dollars she praised the Lord! It was out of her hands and in the Lord's hands. She fared OK.

Terrorism can start anywhere if we let it. Preach the Word of God in ways useful to the listener, with love. Preach of Christ to all people, in all places. Respect their rights to peace and privacy. And also respect the Word of God more.

Seek souls for Christ, and ye shall find. Talk to them when THEY are willing to listen about Christ. Convert them when they are willing to convert to Christianity.

Do this for them, and you will be doing it for Christ.

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