The Tribune

By Pastor Dr Wilfred T

Adderley, Sr

THE Psalmist said: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Ps. 136:1).

The Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

How do you begin to give thanks in tragedy like the fatal jet crash this past Sunday which claimed the lives of Dr Myles Munroe and his wife Ruth, Dr Richard Pinder, Pastor Lavard (Manifest) Parks and his wife Radel and their son Johannan, the pilots Thurston and Cooper and a visitor from the US. Many questioned asking: “Why did God allow this to happen to them, His servants who were on His assignment? Where was God?”

It is of such situations that David and Paul are speaking of; from their experiences in a world of sin, with Satan, the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). He is as a roaring lion roaming about seeking to devour whomever he can (1 Peter 5:8). This spiritual foe and the reports of bad weather for air travel combined, I believe, caused this crash.

Therefore, human miscalculations and also poor visibility, notwithstanding that the adversary Satan with some power over the elements of nature (Job 1:19) took advantage of the situation. In God’s permissive will, He allowed it for more eternal reasons that we are hesitant to accept; a tragic death, but in Christ.

The truth is these nine precious souls have sealed their eternal destiny on mission for Christ. Therefore, they are in a better position than any person who is alive because we who are alive can die in our sins or on Satan’s ground. According to Matthew 24:44, Jesus told us: “Be ye also ready.”

Revelation 14:13 says: Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write! Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works follow them.”

I believe they are all resting peacefully in the loving arms of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our soon coming King. Let us listen to Jesus in His prayer for His 12 Apostles and for His people today.

He said: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (St. John 17:15). He prayed further: “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9). Then Jesus ended His prayer on the matter of God protecting His people in these words: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”(John 17:16). In these statements it is clear that dying in Christ is better than living a life in sin and worldliness, or fulfilling the pleasures of the flesh.

I know of persons who had premonitions or dreams about this fatal tragedy before it happened.

One young lady dreamt of a pretty bouquet of flowers in her room and while questioning how they got there, she was drawn to her bedroom window and saw beautiful flowers outside swaying in the wind. On the ground before the flower plants was the wreckage of a crashed jet with mutilated bodies lying on the ground. The other young lady said an angel told her to gather the people of the Bahamas and pray because calamities are going to strike the nation; she saw fire come from the sky and after this a heavy downpour of rain. The angel told her that people must be praying and must be ready. Both dreams were seen about seven days before November 9, 2014.

About 5.07pm that Sunday I had the premonition of seeing a light moving across an overcast sky and colliding with a high pole sticking up in the air. I jumped out of my sleep, saw the time and said: “Oh, I must get to the square.” Then I heard like a voice whisper “Dr Myles Munroe”. As I lay for a while contemplating if Dr Munroe would be available to lead a prayer for our special prayer service in the square for parents, children, youth and the family, the voice said: “If he is not available, fill in someone else, ask Pastor Francis”. Then I said to myself, I could ask my schoolmate Pastor Richard Pinder, not knowing that this was not to be.

I believe the Lord sent these dream experiences to confirm this tragedy, but also to give a wake-up call to all Bahamians that the nation needs a national revival. Every day, for 187 days since May 12, we have been praying in the square for the healing of our people and our nation, the Bahamas. Therefore, in memory of Dr. Munroe, who I knew as Peter, my junior school friend Dr Richard Pinder and his wife, my senior schoolmate Pastor Lavard, Radel and Johannan Parks, my friends of music and the other persons who have passed on and now to my entire Bahamas Faith Ministry family, who mourn, I do extend heart-felt condolences on behalf of my wife and family, the Bahamas Public Prayer Ministry and the Redemption SDA Church family.

“Trust in the Lord always and lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6)

“Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, for He shall strengthen you, wait I say on the Lord”. (Ps. 27:14).

Jesus and His angel said: “Keep on praying”, as “weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.” (Ps. 30:5)

May you find comfort in these words and may their souls rest in peace.