Overcoming Life's Storms

Pretty short couple of weeks for my wife and I, largely due to her mother's death. I know also it's been a pretty tough couple of weeks for those people up in the northeast with Hurricane Sandy and all that it's, all the havoc that is wreaked up there. It's also been a little tough in the church because of a recent situation with our, our, the chairman of the council. So at times I think life is just tough, you know, it's tough and it's something that, that we have to face. Now this Hurricane Sandy, I know, caused loss of life and great destruction and devastation all the way from the Caribbean to the northeastern United States. I'm sure you stayed in touch with what was happening throughout the days. It will be remembered as a raging freak of nature. They referred to it as a raging freak of nature that became one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. Now in today's sermon, I'd like to start out with going through a timeline from Sandy's birth deep in the Caribbean Sea to its dissipation over Pennsylvania nine days later. And I'd like to point out that oftentimes we don't see what's going to be happening down the road very easily. We don't know what's going to happen in the future. We don't know what's going to happen a week or two weeks out. And the most important thing that we do need to understand is that there will be life storms and we have to know how to survive them.

Life storms will continue and we have to know how to survive them. So today I'm going to talk about surviving life storms. But let's start out with going through a kind of a diary of what happened beginning on October 22nd.

On October 22nd, a tropical depression formed in the southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Nicaragua. The depression strengthened and became known as tropical storm Sandy. It had maximum winds at that time of just 40 miles an hour. It seemed like the wind was about 40 miles an hour on the way here today. My car was going like this.

So I'm sure that people in New York City weren't all that impressed by some tropical depression out in the southern Caribbean Sea back on October 22nd. It really didn't mean a whole lot to them, even if they'd heard about it.

On October 24th, a couple days later, Sandy had become a Category 1 hurricane. We're starting to hear more about it now. It was moving northward across the Caribbean Sea and it crossed Jamaica with winds of about 80 miles an hour. Although Sandy's eye did not cross the Dominican Republic and Haiti to its east, the storm did dump more than 20 inches of rain on Hispaniola. So more than 50 people died in flooding and mudslides in Haiti. So some people were certainly paying attention to this hurricane, a Category 1 at the time. But again, up in New York and New England states, I seriously doubt whether too many people were very concerned. On October 26th, two days later, Sandy strengthened as it moved from Jamaica to Cuba and it struck the historic city of Santiago de Cuba with winds of about 110 miles an hour. Only one mile per hour below the status of a major Category 3 hurricane. So it was still considered a Category 2, but nearly a Category 3.

Everything is destroyed. Santiago resident Alexis Mandalay told Reuters by telephone, Hurricane Sandy causes more destruction as it crosses the Bahamas and makes a slight turn to the north and northwest. Then the next day on October 27th, and by the way, this is from a blog entitled, Dry Goods, D-R-Y-E, because it was Willie Dry who wrote the blog. Dry Goods, and it's, it was, he actually writes about hurricanes and other topics for National Geographic News. He's been doing that since 2003. So that's where this came from. So on October 27th, Sandy moves away from the Bahamas and makes a turn to the northeast off the coast of Florida.

New services estimate the death toll in the Caribbean at 70 at this point. The storm briefly weakens to a tropical depression, but quickly re-intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane once again. Then on October 28th, Sandy continues moving northeast on a track that takes it parallel to the coast of Georgia, South Carolina, and also North Carolina. But the storm center stayed well offshore, so the people were breathing a sigh of relief in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. But some up in New York were probably beginning to get a little nervous, as some were talking about the possibility of it tracking up to the northeast.

Now, it did cause problems in North Carolina as it washed out North Carolina Highway 12 in places, but it's still a Category 1 hurricane with peak winds of about 80 miles an hour. But then an unusual configuration of weather factors is beginning to happen. So this is the perfect storm that's beginning to develop.

Factors are converging. Meteorologists are now warning that the storm will likely morph into a powerful hybrid superstorm as it turns northward. A high-pressure cold front to Sandy's north will force the storm to start turning to the northwest toward major cities such as Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia, as well as New York. So now, people are starting to pay a lot more attention up there. The full moon also is going to make Sandy's storm surge larger. It was just one month after the feast began.

It was at that time that this was happening. So they expected about an 11 to 12 feet surge in some places, and perhaps a little higher as it made landfall. Sandy had now expanded into a huge storm with winds covering about 1,000 miles. So it was a very large storm. Keith Blackwell, a meteorologist at the University of Southern Alabama's Coastal Weather Research Center in Mobile, told the National Geographic News, You just don't see this kind of stuff.

This was rare. What was happening with Sandy was a rare storm. It's so strong and so large, normally protected areas like New York Harbor and Long Island are seeing the worst-case scenario. Then, on October 29, things are really starting to get bad. Around 12.30 pm, Sandy had made its expected sharp turn toward the northwest on a path for the coast of New Jersey.

The storm also had started interacting with other weather systems, gaining energy in the process. The storm will dump heavy snow in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Sandy will have a run of about 300 miles over open water as it heads for landfall, giving it time to build up a huge storm surge that will be a little bigger because of the influence again of the full moon.

Meanwhile, there's a replica of the HMS Bounty en route from New London, Connecticut to St. Petersburg, Florida. There are 16 people on board. You may have heard about this ship that actually sunk. There were 16 people on board. It was caught in Sandy's raging seas in the infamous graveyard of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks. A CNN reported that the ship's captain, Robin Walbridge, tried to steer his ship away from the worst of Sandy's wrath, but the ship's pumps fail and it begins rapidly flooding and begins to sink.

So the passengers and the crew, along with the captain, finally abandon the ship, but only 14 of the 16 people on board make it to the relative safety of the lifeboats. Then a rescue crew from the U.S. Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City in North Carolina pulls their survivors to safety aboard helicopters. They recover the body of one missing crewman, I think it was a woman that was about 45 years old, who had drowned.

But Walbridge, the captain, is missing and they never do find the captain's body. I think four days later they stopped to search for four days and then they finally just gave up. As far as I know, the body was never recovered. It's interesting, but in a short video about Captain Walbridge that was posted on the Bounties Facebook page the week before, he described being captain of the bounty as probably one of the greatest jobs in the world.

It was a great job until he ended up dying because of it, but you never know what's going to happen. That's what we all need to realize. We can't take life for granted because we don't know what's going to happen. Now, normally that boat would have been able to travel down there to Florida. It had done it, I guess, every year for a number of years, always successfully, always safely, but it just didn't happen this time.

Now, during that same afternoon, Sandy brings high winds and drenching rains from Washington, D.C. northward, toppling trees and power lines and cutting off electrical power for millions of people. The storm eventually will affect more than 50 million people on the eastern shore. At 8 p.m. that evening, Sandy's center comes ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The storm is no longer considered a hurricane, but is classified as a post-tropical northeastern and a powerful one. The storm's unusual path from the southeast makes its storm surge a lot worse for New Jersey and for New York.

So, it was just a combination of things that made this hurricane so destructive in this northeastern. The surge was worsened because the full moon had added about a foot to the surge, and also it was at high tide when Sandy came in. So, it was the worst possible scenario. It was almost 14 feet high in New York Harbor, a new record for a storm surge. The previous record had only been about 10 feet, so this was 4 feet higher. The 10 feet record was set back in 1960, over 50 years ago. So, this really was a rare storm. The surge topped the seawall at the Battery in lower Manhattan and flooded parts of the city's subway system. The surge also flooded the Eukary Tunnel, which links lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The storm's huge size means that its winds, rains, and flooding will pound New Jersey and New York throughout the night, that night, and then through three cycles of high tides and low tides. So, this was really a devastating storm. Staten Island was hit very hard by the storm. Manhattan was hit. Almost every place around there was hit hard.

Now, on October 30th, things are beginning to subside. Sandy has started to move away from New York. The backside of the huge storm is still inflicting some punishment in the Northeast, but getting less and less as it moves toward Pennsylvania. Then, on October 31st, this was almost 10 days later, 9 days later, the storm that began as Hurricane Sandy, or actually it was just a tropical depression in the very beginning, had dissipated over western Pennsylvania.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its final advisory on the storm on that day, saying, "...multiple centers of circulation in association with the remnants of Sandy can be found across the lower Great Lakes." So, it was even affecting the Great Lakes. NOAA reported that Sandy killed more than 70 people in the Caribbean, at least 50 in the United States. And their estimate was at least 20 billion in damages. Now, others have suggested much greater damages. Moody's Analytics said the loss from the storm would approach 30 billion, and about 30 billion...

I'm sorry, I see. 30 billion... no, 50 billion. 50 billion dollars. About 30 in property damage, and the rest in lost economic activity, like meals and canceled flights and that sort of thing.

The death toll in New York City alone was almost 40 people, or maybe it ended up over 40. As rescuers continued to discover bodies as they were combing through the wreckage a few days later, you might have heard about the two boys, ages 2 and 4, who had been torn from their mother by raging floodwaters on Staten Island. Just a 2 year old and a 4 year old were swept out of their mother's hands and both drowned.

You might have heard about... there were two women that were walking in the storm, and a tree fell and killed both of them. So, it just again underscores that we really don't know what's happening out there. Something could be brewing in your life. You may not be aware of it at all. Or something could be brewing in your life that you might be aware of, you hope doesn't develop, doesn't get worse, doesn't cause a problem. It could be a health issue. It could be a number of things. The point is, there aren't too many guarantees when it comes to physical things and storms.

Life storms. They're going to happen. There will be life storms. We're missing one of our faithful members here. That we love and continue to love, Mrs. Warrell. So, it's going to happen. There's going to be storms in our lives. The most important thing is to realize that we're all vulnerable. Whether it be in our own individual lives, whether it be as members of the Church of God or the United Church of God.

Whether it be on Tornado Alley, where we happen to live, in Oklahoma. You just really don't know what's going to happen next. Since we know there are life storms, then it behooves us to be able to survive these storms as best we can. I would call this, hopefully, a teachable moment. We refer to teachable moments at camp. That's usually when something happens. Maybe somebody does something stupid. There are consequences.

That's a teachable moment. Let's learn, or something unexpected happens. This should be a teachable moment. This storm was devastating up in the Northeast. No, it didn't hit us. Frankly, I wasn't all that concerned about it myself. Personally, I heard about it as it was developing. I hoped it wouldn't come into New York like it did. Where there are so many people living up there. That whole Northeastern seaboard is just loaded with people. If you're never driven up in that area, you really haven't driven yet. It's awful up there. You drive from Washington DC to Boston and around there.

It's just, wow, lots of cars. Lots of traffic. This is a teachable moment, so let's learn from some of the events of the last few weeks. What are we to learn? Sometimes it takes a national disaster in order to learn some things. In order to be sobered about life in general, it is easy to take life for granted. We have a tendency to do that as human beings. Sometimes a trial in the Church can also help us place our focus where it needs to be.

We are being affected by events in the Church here locally, also nationally or internationally. The nation is still in line with gas up in the Northeast. There are still problems with gas rationing. Some of our family may have been affected by that. I heard of someone that had eight feet of water in their house. I know one of Barb's friends or relatives talked about their family basically had to walk away from everything. They lost everything. I didn't have a chance to find out if they had good insurance.

But there's probably somebody out there that didn't have insurance and lost just about everything. Let's ask ourselves what are some keys to surviving life's storm? Are you ready for what's going to come next? Can you be ready? Or at least can you try to be ready? Again, things do come up in our lives, our church, our country.

We have a new president now, but it happens to be the old president. We don't know what's going to happen in the next four years. If Mitt Romney had been president, we still wouldn't know what was going to happen in the next four years.

No matter who's president, there's still going to be plenty of storms that happen. So again, let's ask ourselves, what can we do about it? Is there a different strategy for enduring life storms each time a new one comes along? Well, I think there may be ways to approach different trials, of course, but I think there are certain things, certain keys that will apply in any storm, any of life's storms. So what I'd like to do today is go through three principles, three keys, three strategies for surviving life's storm.

And the first one is, be sure that you have built your house upon the rock. Of course, we're talking about a spiritual house here, primarily. Be sure you've built your house upon the rock. Let's go to Matthew 7. Matthew 7. I had an experiment going. I told a few of you that I have one contact in and one out. But the problem is, this Bible is too far away and the print's too small. So I've got to wear my glasses anyway. Now I've got one contact in, one out.

Alright, let's look at Matthew 7. Let's see if we could just make this lectern about a foot higher than I'd be in good shape. It would be close enough then. Okay, Matthew 7, verse 24. Therefore, Christ says, therefore, this is, of course, the Sermon on the Mount, therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. He's saying that if you are listening to what I have to say here in the Sermon on the Mount, you're going to be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and they beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Who is the rock? Now we know that Christ is truly the rock. Christ is our rock. He's the one that we really need to build upon. And no doubt, this is what Christ is primarily saying. Christ is the Savior of the world. Christ is our rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, the rock, and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat on that house and it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. So we should certainly listen to the words of Jesus Christ and make sure that we're building our house on the rock.

What did Christ tell us to do? Christ told us many things. And that's the house that we need to have. One that's built on his sayings, on what Christ tells us to do. And we know that Christ was actually the God of the Old Testament. And Christ is the Word of God, isn't he? This is the Word of God. So every word that's in here, the Bible says we're to live by every word of God. So this is also what we need to use to build our house.

God's Word. If we're not studying it, if we're not faithful in studying the Word of God, and in reading it on a regular basis, then how are you going to build your house on the rock? You've got to read it. You've got to study it. You've got to put it in your heart and in your mind. God says we're to write his laws in our hearts, in our minds.

This book is full of God's laws and God's principles. They need to be written in our hearts and in our minds. So we need to take the time to study the Word of God. Study the Bible. Build our house on the rock. Build our house on these principles. Because the Bible is an unbelievable book. It's unlike any other book. It can be used in every circumstance. No matter what happens, you can go to the Bible and find principles that will help you through whatever it is. It doesn't matter what it is. The Bible will encourage you. It will comfort you.

It will inspire you. It will lift you up when you're discouraged. The Bible will help you. So you need to build your house on the rock. Study the Word of God. Find some time every day to get your nose in the Bible. Read it. Study it. Contemplate. Meditate on it. Meditate on the principles of God. Build your house on the rock. Build your house on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Don't build your house upon the sand. So we need to be careful that we don't look to any men, because men will let us down. In Psalm 146, verse 3, David says, Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a Son of Man. My margin says, a human being. Don't put your trust in a human being, in whom there is no help. Again, the word for help here in the margin is salvation. There is no salvation in any man. So if we put our hearts and minds on a certain man, we're going to be disappointed eventually, one way or the other, to some degree.

It's not that a lot of times men aren't faithful, because they are. There are good examples, but eventually they let you down somewhere. Somehow, if you get to know them really well, you're going to be disappointed, because we're not perfect. None of us are. We all have our frailties, so we all let each other down. It is important that we're forgiving, and that we realize that eventually everyone's going to let somebody down.

So let's build our house on the rock, because Christ never lets you down. Christ is perfect. Christ never sinned. Christ was tempted as we are, yet without sin. So he's the perfect example, and he's the one that we have to look to. We have to look beyond men. We have to look to Christ. We have to build our house on the rock. Perhaps all tests of our faith go back to this, have you built your house on the rock?

Your faith is being tested. Have you built your house on the rock? If you have, then you can go through all these trials. You can go through life's storms, because your house is built on the rock, and nothing can deter you from hanging in there, from doing the right thing. So again, where do we plant our foundation? Do we plant it upon the example of certain men and putting them on a pedestal?

I think that's happened in the church in many cases, where people have looked to men, and they've looked to men way more than they should, and eventually those men have let them down. And it's discouraging. It's disappointing. That's a reality of life. So we need to be careful that we don't put too much trust in men. Now, the Bible does say, follow me as I follow Christ.

Paul does say that, and that's a good principle. As long as a person is following Christ, then it's okay to follow a man. In fact, it's a good thing. If they're leading you in the right path, and they're doing the right thing, then by all means, get behind them, because we can do a whole lot more when we work together.

But when a man lets us down, then why continue to hold him on a pedestal? It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't mean you don't still love them. It doesn't mean you don't forgive them for perhaps what they've done. It doesn't mean that you're not still their friend. But you just have to look at the big picture.

You realize that Christ is the one that we look to. He's the one that won't let us down. He's the one we can count on. He knows everything. He knows what's going on, and he is the head of the church. So you have to just put it in his hands and trust that he will guide things eventually.

Sometimes men mess things up. We know that. They get in the way. But eventually it all works out. Because the Scripture says all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. So if we just hang in there trusting Christ and putting our faith in him, he will take care of things. He may not do it exactly when we think he should, but he'll do it when it needs to be done.

So the first point again is to build your house upon the rock. Don't put your faith in men. Follow men as they follow Christ, but always build on the rock on Christ. Let's go to Ephesians 2, verse 19. Ephesians 2, verse 19. Let's consider what the Apostle Paul tells us regarding Jesus Christ and the foundation that we need to build upon. Ephesians 2, verse 19.

Notice who's chief? Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So the Church of God is built, first of all, upon Christ. Christ is the leader of the Church. He's the head of the Church. He's the chief cornerstone. He's the foundation. He does call some to be apostles and some prophets and some teachers and so forth. He does use men. But again, we always need to look past the men to Christ and make sure that they are following Christ. Verse 21. In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. You also are being built together. We're all a family. We're all a house that's being built upon the rock. And we'll be a very strong house if we will just humble ourselves and allow ourselves to be molded into what Christ wants. Christ is the head of the Church. So we follow Him. So, brethren, again, there will be storms, and we need to make sure that our faith is firmly anchored in Christ. Because then we will make it through the storms. We won't fall. We will be there when it really counts if we're firmly anchored in Christ. So again, there will be storms. God allows storms. God allows these things to happen in our lives. And again, there are such things as man-made storms. You've probably made some storms in your own life, haven't you? I know I have. We've all made storms in our own life by some of the choices we've made. If we make bad choices, be sure your sins will find you out. If you choose to sin, then be sure your sin will find you out. One way or the other, it's going to find you out. Now, God is merciful, and oftentimes it doesn't go public. And we're all very grateful for that, aren't we? But in some cases, it's more public than at other times. And that's just the nature of things. God is merciful, God is loving, God can take care of each and every one of us. We're all sinners. There's no doubt of that. We've all fallen short. That's not the question here. We're all sinners. We've all fallen short of the grace of God. But we do reap what we sow. We do pay consequences for choices that we make. And sometimes those choices are very difficult. They're very hard. But God allows these things, and they do perfect us. If we do respond to life's storms, and we learn to make the best of those storms, and don't continue to make further mistakes or further sins in our lives, then we'll be a better person for it. So remember that all things do work together for good. Even though it doesn't mean things would have necessarily had to go that way if other decisions had been made. But once decisions are made, then we have to pay the consequences of those decisions. And sometimes God's very, very merciful. And at other times He allows certain consequences to take place that affect all of us, and they're difficult. But again, we know that storms are going to happen, so we should be circumspect. We should consider our lives, what we've done. I mean, we shouldn't be too surprised if we've made a storm in our life, and it comes back to cause us problems.

We've got to batten down the hatches at times. We need to realize our foundation is solid. We will ride out the storm, but we might get blown away around a little bit, but we won't get blown away. So again, there are times when people let us down, and it's disappointing, it's discouraging, it's unfortunate. Again, we've all let people down. We've all sinned. We've all had our problems. We all need to repent, and we also need to be willing to take the consequences for our actions. Those are all godly principles. Let's consider Luke 13. Christ talked about all of us being sinners.

Let's go to Luke 13. Luke 13. There were present at that season some who told him, told Christ, about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. So Pilate killed these Galileans, and he mingled their blood with sacrifices that evidently they had been making. And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? Christ says, I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. We all have to repent. Are those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them?

Or the two ladies that were walking and a tree just got blown down upon them? Are they worse sinners than you and me? Not necessarily. They might be better examples in a lot of ways than any of us.

But it fell and killed them, and this tower fell on these eighteen people. They all died. Do you think that they were worse sinners than all the other men who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, that's the lesson. Unless you repent, you will also likewise perish. Let's read the parable here of the barren fig tree because it also applies. He spoke this parable, A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Look, for three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none.

Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? Why is it pulling nutrients out of the ground because it's not producing anything? Let's plant something else that will produce fruit. But the man answered and said to him, the caregiver answered, the keeper of the vineyard answered, and said, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. See, he didn't feel like he had done all that he could do. He felt like, you know, maybe I haven't paid enough attention to this issue.

Maybe I need to get in here, dig around it, fertilize it, do the very best I can do, and then if it doesn't grow, then we'll cut it down. But I need to do my part. So I think that was, you know, rather than just say, okay, boss, it's coming down. He basically admitted to his boss, well, maybe I could have done better. You know, maybe I could have done something here that would help that tree grow. I'll fertilize it, I'll take care of it, and, you know, if it doesn't grow then, then we'll cut it down.

You know, God is merciful. God gives us opportunity to change. He gives us opportunity to repent, but there is a time when time runs out. Time runs out, you know, on all human beings. So we shouldn't take things for granted, should we? You know, if you haven't been fertilizing, if you haven't been digging around yourself, then now's the time to start doing it. If you haven't been producing fruit, now's the time to start producing fruit. If you've been producing just a little bit of fruit, but could do a lot better, you know, now's the time to start.

You know, let's not put it off until another storm hits, until a storm comes right here to Cape Springs and blows this little building away. Now, let's not wait for that. Let's start making changes in our lives now. In Luke 5, verse 32, Christ said He came to call the sinners to repentance, and that we're all sinners, and He came not to call the righteous to repentance, but the sinners. And, frankly, we're all sinners, aren't we? So He came to call all of us to repentance. We're all sinners who need the grace and the forgiveness of God in Luke 5, verse 32. Now, let's turn to Hebrews 12 and read a couple verses here.

And again, it's important that we take this message individually and personally here today, because I believe this is a teachable moment for all of us. We should all learn from some of the things that have happened. Perhaps if some of the people in New York had paid better attention to what was developing out in the Caribbean almost two weeks prior to this, 10 days before the storm hit, maybe they would have battened down the hatches better. Or even two days before, maybe some of them probably scoffed and thought, oh, it's not going to bother me. It's not going to be a problem.

I mean, it makes you wonder why was a woman out there with her two children? I mean, why? Was there something she could have done to keep from being? I don't know. Maybe not. Because sometimes things happen. Flash floods happen and you have no idea. You have no clue what's going to happen. So I really, frankly, don't know. But perhaps if she'd been better equipped and better informed, she might not have been there. I don't know.

But I do know this. We can all make some changes in our lives that will make our lives better. But we have to do it. God isn't going to do it for us. We have to do it. In Hebrews 12, verse 1, The promises they died, knowing that they would be resurrected, they would be among the elect, those who would come up in the first resurrection. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight.

And the sin was so easily ensnares us. Isn't that true? I don't know about you, but sin has easily ensnared me at times. Sometimes I look back and shake my head and wonder how I could have been so stupid, so weak, so frail, that I allowed sin to so easily ensnare me.

I should know better. We should know better. But it does easily ensnares us. It's deceitful. And there are certain lusts of the flesh and the pride of life. It's powerful. Covetousness, jealousy, envy. These things are tremendous temptations for us. And it easily ensnares us. And when we see someone who has been a minister for years and years and years, and yet makes huge mistakes, should that not tell us that if we're not careful, it could be us next?

It could be us. We could be the ones that are facing a similar problem in the future. So we have to be careful. And again, let's go back to Hebrews 12 here. There is a sin that easily ensnares us, but we should instead run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Run this race with endurance, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Christ is our Savior. He's our Advocate. He's at the right hand of God. He loves us. He died for us. He gave His life for us.

He's the best friend we could ever have. He knows that we are all sinners. And He pleads our case, and God grants us repentance. And just because we've made a problem, or just because we've sinned and caused great problems for ourselves and others, again, it doesn't mean God's through with us. It doesn't mean God's finished with us. God may still have great things in store for us if we will humble ourselves and yield ourselves and set a right example. Sometimes when we do make mistakes and we respond well, then we set a very good example for others, and others learn from that. But again, it's humility that is so needed when we've sinned. We have to be humble.

So be sure that you look to Christ because He is the author and also the finisher of your faith. No one else can do that for you. He perfects us. He originated us of our faith, and He's also the perfecter of our faith. Again, too many people in the modern-day Church have seemed to look to men instead of to God, and that's not a good thing. God wants us to learn this lesson, so build your house upon the rock. That's point number one. That's key to surviving life storms. Another key, another principle to surviving life storms is to be sure that you're laying up treasure in heaven, not on the earth. Make sure that you are laying up treasures in heaven, not here on the earth. In Matthew 6, Christ instructed us not to lay up treasures on earth. Let's go to Matthew 6. Again, this is part of the Sermon on the Mount. We're to build our house on Christ's words. In Matthew 6, 19, Christ says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and dust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. So let's talk about that a moment. Treasures on earth. What are some treasures here on earth? Well, perhaps, how do you feel about a new car? When you get a brand new car, is that not treasured? It is, isn't it? Don't we love the smell of a new car? I haven't had the opportunity to smell many new cars in my life, but we like that idea. That's a treasure. We treasure cars. We treasure new homes, don't we? We move into homes. We're all happy. Let's give them a tour. Let's take them around and show them the place.

What about a new bass boat? Is that not a treasure? It could be for some of us. What are your treasures? Let's put a quotation around treasures. What are your treasures? Think about it now and then. What do you treasure most in life?

It's not wrong to like good things or to enjoy good things, to have good things. I think Mr. Jackson mentioned that in the sermonette to some degree. You know, there's nothing wrong with that, but we have to be careful that we don't treasure things here on earth that aren't going to last. Your car isn't going to last. Your house isn't going to last. Your bass boat isn't going to last. You know, the clothes that you have on, they're not going to last. They're going to wear out. So, what do you treasure? Sometimes we treasure things we shouldn't, too much. Remember Moses and how wise he was when he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the very temporary pleasures of sin for a season. He was a part of Pharaoh's household. He could have had great power in Egypt. He could have been exalted in Egypt. Perhaps he could have even become Pharaoh.

However, he treasured God's way more than that. When God began to call him and draw him, he treasured God and his truth a lot more. Those are the treasures that we need to be building. Those are the things that we need to do. That's where we need to place our faith and our trust, and that's where we need to put our time.

What are some treasures in heaven? I think God treasures our prayers, doesn't he? Doesn't the Bible say something about our prayers are a sweet-smelling savor unto God? Is that not a treasure that we offer up? So, if you're not praying very much, you don't treasure prayer very much, do you? That's not important to you, because you don't do it. If you don't study the Word of God very much, you don't treasure the Bible. You don't treasure God's Word, because you don't have time for it. There are too many other things that are more important to you, so you don't treasure it. If you don't fast, except once a year, then you don't treasure fasting. You don't see the value in it. Are you not willing to do what it takes to fast? You don't treasure it. God says, lay up your treasures in heaven. I think God sees a fast, and he is pleased when people fast. He's pleased when you humble yourself, and you give him 24 hours of your week. If you fast once in a week's time, then you've just given him 24 hours. You sleep part of that. Hopefully, if you're fasting properly, your mind and your heart are on God, and it's drawing close to God. You're praying more, you're studying the Bible more. I know for sure that you're sinning less when you're fasting. Think about it. If we would take a day of fasting, and we would say, okay, this many sins were committed on this day of fasting, and then if we took everyone in the whole church, and they fasted on a day, and we totaled up the sins that were committed on that day, and totaled up the sins that were committed on another day, I venture to say that probably fewer sins are committed on the days we fast, because we're more dedicated.

I don't get in much trouble on the days I'm fasting. Those are days that I'm behaving myself. My mind's not wandering too far. I'm not thinking about things I shouldn't. I'm not saying things I shouldn't. I'm not doing things I shouldn't.

Those are treasures. Prayer, meditation, fasting, reading the Bible, those are all treasures. When God sees what you do with your time, He knows what you treasure. If you spend way too much time on the TV, it's time to repent of that, and wean yourself of that. There are certain shows that we shouldn't watch, period. Yet, those are the shows that we often want to watch. Those are the shows that are a little more stimulating, enticing. Life is full of choices, and we decide what we treasure by the choices that we make.

So what do you treasure? Lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. Follow Moses' example, and be willing to afflict yourself at times. I find that it's harder for me to study the Bible than it is to watch a movie. I find it's harder for me to do that. It's a lot easier for me to watch a movie than to sit down for an hour and study the Bible. Although, the more I do it, the better it gets. The more you study the Bible, you get into it. A lot of times it's that inertia that's getting started that is the problem. If you just get started, if you'll just plan it and start it, then you might be surprised how quickly the time goes. You've just devoted an hour to studying your Bible. But if you sit down in front of the TV, you might be there one hour, two hours, three hours, and the whole evening is gone. Then you look back and you want to kick yourself. Has that ever happened to you? You knew you watched TV too long, spent too much time, and really didn't use your time wisely.

One thing about God's elect is oftentimes our hearts are good. We want to be close to God, but we're not real good in the follow-through. So again, it is important to plan your day. If you aren't fasting, it's probably because you don't plan to fast. If you plan to fast, then you're probably fasting some. But if you never plan it, I doubt whether you just wake up some morning and say, Oh, I think I'll fast today. It usually doesn't happen that way. You've got to put some thought into it. Plan it. Lay up treasures in heaven, not here on the earth. If you're serving people, you're laying up treasures in heaven. If you're doing things for others, if you're serving the needs of others, that's another way to lay up treasures in heaven. Don't be so selfishly oriented, but be outwardly oriented toward helping others. That is a treasure in heaven. What's pure religion? Visiting the fatherless, visiting the widows, going out of your way to help others. God's elect are good neighbors to each other. They love humanity. They seek peace. They pursue it diligently. We all have stories about how God's been merciful to us and how He's saved us in our health struggles at times, saved us in job situations at times, saved us perhaps from a car accident, something that never even happened because God was there to protect us. We have a lot to be thankful for. So again, what do you treasure? Are you thankful for God's blessings? Are you thankful for the things that God does for you? Or are you like one of the lepers who got healed and forgot to go say thank you? There were ten lepers, right? One of them, they were all healed? One came back and said, thank you, God. I sure appreciate it. That changed his life. The others were just back in the living. They didn't stop and lay up a treasure in heaven by saying thanks.

Let's go on to our third point. Our second point again was laying up treasures in heaven, not here on earth. Again, the things here on earth will rust. Someone might steal them. They're not going to last forever. They're just temporary. Treasures in heaven last forever. God never forgets those things. Those last forever. We get to take those with us.

When God changes us into spirit. Those things, that's why we get changed. Because we lay up some treasure in heaven. The third principle, last one, is to take refuge in God. Take refuge in God when the storm hits. The first two are to help you prepare for the storm. The third one is to help you make it through the storm when it hits. The first two will help you avoid a lot of storms, frankly. If you build your house on the rock and if you lay up treasure in heaven, you're going to miss a lot of storms.

They're not going to befall you. They're not going to come your way. But there will always be storms of your own making, or storms that God allows, because He wants to test you and perfect you. But when they happen, take refuge in God. Humble yourself and look to God for deliverance. Because remember, God is the God who delivers. God is there. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. Take refuge in Him. Let's go to 1 Samuel 20, where David speaks a profound statement here, and we all need to take it to heart.

Remember David when he was being chased by King Saul for years? Saul chased him for years. Stop and think about it. Saul was the most powerful man, yet he couldn't get him killed. That's because God didn't want him killed. And it's because David took refuge in God. David took refuge in God. Remember, David could have killed Saul. He could have taken him out. And yet, the man was smart enough, wise enough, converted enough, to say, I can't raise my hand against God's anointed.

So he was patient, and he took refuge in God. God told him he was going to be king. So he really had nothing to worry about. Saul couldn't kill him. If Saul killed him, then God would resurrect him. Because God doesn't lie. Just like Isaac and Abraham. Abraham knew that God was going to work through Isaac. God had promised that. So he was willing to take the knife to his own son, because he had faith in God. He looked to the rock. He took refuge in God.

God delivered him. Here's what David says. Let's look at 1 Samuel 20. These are words of wisdom. We all need to consider these words from time to time. In verse 1 of chapter 20, David fled from Neoth and Rama, and went and said to Jonathan, What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life? So Jonathan said to him, and remember, Jonathan was Saul's son. But he was a very, very good friend of David.

And Jonathan, what a wonderful example he sat. Because if anyone should have wanted David dead, it should have been him. If you just look at it humanly, because who would be king next? If David wasn't, likely he would follow that Saul's son would be king.

So Jonathan said to him, By no means you shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing, either great or small, without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. Then David took an oath again and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes.

And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. In other words, your dad's not going to tell you that he's about to kill me, because he knows you like me. You're a friend of mine, and you know, you'll grieve. Not only that, you might tell me. So he said, But truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.

That's the profound phrase. There is but a step between me and death. He realized that all it took was one step. If Saul took the right step and got to him, he would be dead. Or it was only one step, really. When a person has a heart attack, sometimes it's their last step, isn't it? It's their very last step. You know, their heart seizes, they go down, it's their very last step. And frankly, all of us are just one step away from death. And if we understand that and live our lives, realizing that will be far better off.

There is a step between me and death. Now David had to place his faith and trust in God to protect him from Saul. Again, a king had great power to pursue and to destroy. But David was protected by God. There were numerous times when Saul could have killed him. So there was just a step between David and death at King Saul's hands.

If you stop and think about it, there's just a step between having a real beautiful home out on the beach and then Hurricane Sandy coming along and wiping it out. And all you've got now are two by fours out in the ocean rather than a beautiful home. You can't take refuge in material things. They won't save you, but God will save you if you take refuge in him. The only way we will survive such life storms, whether they're physical trials or spiritual ones, are again by taking refuge in God who knows the breadth and the depth of all human experience. Christ came as a human being. He knows what we have to go through. And he can guide us through the rough and the choppy waters that will rise and surge against us. You know, Christ was tempted as we are. Sin could have easily ensnared him if he was prone to go that direction. Obviously, he resisted sin and never sinned, but Satan was certainly out to get him. Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 3.

And let's consider what the Apostle Peter says about suffering for righteousness' sake. We're all going to have to suffer, so let us suffer for righteousness' sake rather than for our sins. I mean, there will be times when you'll suffer for your sins, but it isn't a lot better to suffer for righteousness' sake.

1 Peter chapter 3 verse 18.

That's not what I wanted. I wanted verse 8. Let's go back to verse 8.

Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

Again, God allows us to pay the consequences for doing evil.

Again, take refuge in God, whether you're suffering for doing good or whether you're suffering for doing evil. The great God holds this fragile world in his powerful hands. We are Christ's brothers and sisters. He, again, died for us, and he wants to protect us. He wants to take care of us. He's promised to never leave us. God could have stopped Hurricane Sandy. God had the power to do it. There's no question of that, but he didn't. Sandy can also... I'm sorry. The God who controls storms like Hurricane Sandy can also send the calm, and also send the serenity to deal with any turmoil in our lives.

Perhaps some will seek God more in their lives as a result of some of the recent events, some of the things that have happened. Perhaps it has sobered us. Perhaps we'll take to heart some of the things that might happen, that could happen, in our own lives.

Hurricane Sandy is but one storm among many storms presently shaping our world. We live in a precarious world. The Middle East continues to be a tremendous source of problem for the whole world. The world economy is being shaken. The stock market has plummeted. I don't know if it went up yesterday or not. I know it went down a couple hundred points, and then 300 more. I think, I don't know.

I don't pay that much attention to it, because I don't have any money there anyway, so it doesn't bother me that much. If you've got a lot of money in there, you tend to pay a lot more attention.

But I know it hasn't gone well. It's hard to find lasting solutions in this world.

We have a do-nothing Congress, and they're deadlocked or gridlocked, or whatever you call it now. We've got a Senate that's Democratic, we've got a House of Representatives that's Republican, we've got a President, and none of them seem to be able to work together. So, are we going to be able to solve our problems here, or are we going down the cliff? God is mankind's only real safe place. God is our refuge. There are at least 60 different times where the Bible talks about God being our refuge. There are cities of refuge, and God is our refuge. There are many times in the Bible, if you want to look them all up, go for it. I won't go through them all today. Let's go to just one last scripture in Romans 15. Romans 15. God is a God of hope, and God does want us to be joyful. In Romans 15, verse 13, Paul says, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. We're all believers here today, so let God fill you with joy and peace. Let's not let the turmoil that are going on in our own lives and in the Church bring us down. Let's rise above that. Let's look to Christ. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. There is great hope for the future for all of us. If we've made mistakes and if we sinned, there's still hope for us. God will forgive us. God will raise us up. God will help us. God will deliver us. We should take our refuge in God. So let the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So let's yield to God's Spirit. Let's continue to pray for those who go through trials and storms. We went through quite a few in the prayer requests today. Some of you here are having some severe health issues. Let's pray for them. Let's pray for each other. Others in other churches here in Oklahoma. Some very severe health issues. Let's pray for each other. Let's pray for one another. Again, let's be sure that we are anchored to Christ. Christ is our anchor. He's our rock. And let us hold firmly to that crown of eternal life that God has in store for all of us. Satan wants to take our crown. Revelation 3 talks about that crown of life that's stored up for those who are faithful. Satan wants to pry that crown away from you. Don't let him. Don't allow it. The Bible says, resist Satan. He will flee from you. So again, brethren, in order to survive the storms of life that are going to come in the future, let's be sure that we build our house upon the rock. And if we haven't, start building it. It's not too late. You can still build on the rock. Secondly, lay up your treasures in heaven, not here on the earth.

Remember, your treasures are how you spend your time and how you spend your money and other such things. Those are the treasures that you have. And thirdly, when storms hit, take refuge in God.