It may turn out to be one of the deadliest, most damaging storms we've ever had - Hurricane Helene. You've seen it all over the news, and it really has hit me in the heart because of friends along that 500-mile path of destruction, especially in western North Carolina. I've watched the heartbreaking news on two different levels. First, obviously the layers of physical tragedy. But my heart also sees a picture that vividly clarifies the most important spiritual issues of our times.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Helene, Heroes and Heaven."

Here's what my heart has seen…

First, their world is suddenly very broken.

Bridges, roads and towns are gone, rivers have been rerouted, power has been out, and communication is limited if at all. People have been unable to find out how locals are doing, and locals can't ask for help. That's also a picture of our lives and world today. Simply look at the news - a world on fire with brutally divided politics dividing relationships, churches and families. There's an epidemic of mental health issues. It seems like so much is broken - and hope is hard to find. Even our roads are broken, where we can't get to an answer.

Second, for many people, their only hope is a rescue from above. Choppers have been flying all over western North Carolina because there are people who can only be accessed, rescued, and helped, with help from above.

The Bible would say that's a picture of our spiritual condition. We're lost, and spiritually endangered. We have a life without lasting love or meaning, and we're facing an unthinkable eternity - because we're away from our God. We've run our lives instead of Him running them. But hope has a name - His name is Jesus and He's a rescuer.

Our Word for today from the Word of God is from Galatians 1:4 - "The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins to rescue us." Rescue us. You say, what about my religion? Religion is like the roads that are broken - they can't get us out of our spiritual predicament. Only the Rescuer from above can. And if He's come for you, grab Him while you can.

Thirdly, people are dropping everything because other people's lives are at stake. You see it all over western North Carolina and other areas that have been hit. People know that when lives are at stake, you drop everything else you've been working on, it's not that important right now.

Proverbs 24 commands us to "Rescue those who are being led away to death." That's every person we know who doesn't know our Jesus. It's all hands on deck. Nothing else really matters when people are dying. Only rescue matters. In our broken world, surrounded by broken lives, more than all our other agendas and distractions, it's rescue that matters!

Finally, people who've never thought of themselves as rescuers are saving lives.

I heard through a friend about a builder and his crew, who went to western North Carolina to try to help people. In the process they came across a house that had collapsed, totally buried in mud. They dug through the mud and pulled six people out who probably would have died otherwise. This guy's a builder, and didn't go there to rescue, but where there are dying people, you know what you have to do. You can't wait for the pros to get there. Every believer knows some lost person who needs rescuing. If you're there, you're responsible.

My friend, it's time to move past our fear, excuses, and distractions, waiting for someone else to do it. There's a spiritual disaster happening right in front of us. And the rescue mission is for all of us.