Surviving Life's Storms

Well, it's been a couple of hard weeks since I last saw all of you. Perhaps you've had some difficult weeks in certain ways yourselves. As a country, we had a horrible storm up in the Northeast that took place since I was last here.

As a family of brethren, we have a new chairman of the council now. We've had some issues there as far as the church. And it's been hard in our own personal life with the death of my wife's mother. So, you know, at times it just seems that life in general is just plain tough. You know, it's tough for all of us.

It's hard all over, tough all over as the saying goes. And I think that all of us experience a number of trials as we go through life. Certainly Hurricane Sandy caused a great deal of turmoil. It caused loss of life and great destruction and devastation all the way from the Caribbean to the Northeastern United States.

I think it was actually starting to brew around the time I was last here. It was beginning to become a problem at that time. But we didn't know how it would all turn out at that time. Hurricane Sandy will be remembered as a raging freak of nature. That's what it was referred to by one writer. A raging freak of nature that became one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. Now what I'd like to do today is start out by talking a bit about that storm.

But the purpose is to talk about how we need to survive life storms. You know, there are many storms that happen in our lives of different persuasions, different things that go on in our lives. But certainly life can be tumultuous for all of us. There are many storms that will come our way. So ultimately we're going to talk about how to survive the storms of life. But I wanted to start out by discussing this storm and how it began. I'd like to share with you from a blog that was written by a man named Willie Dry.

He has a blog entitled Dry Goods. He also writes for the National Geographic News and also writes a lot about hurricanes and other such topics. He's been doing that since 2003. So he gives a timeline regarding Sandy's birth deep in the Caribbean Sea to when it finally dissipated in Pennsylvania nine days later. So on October 22, if you'll just think back about a month, there was a tropical depression that was forming in the southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Nicaragua.

The depression strengthened and became known as Tropical Storm Sandy with maximum winds of about 40 miles an hour. When we were in our little kayak, it seemed like the winds were right around 40 miles an hour on Thanksgiving Day. I don't think they were quite that high. They were probably 20, though, or 20, something like that. Anyway, this was a storm that was maximum winds of 40 miles per hour. Not much to worry about at that stage.

I doubt that anyone in New York City was really concerned about that little depression happening out in the Caribbean. Two days later, on October 24, Sandy had become a Category 1 hurricane as it moved northward across the Caribbean and as it crossed Jamaica with winds of 80 miles per hour. Now, we've had straight winds of 80 miles per hour at times here in Oklahoma.

I mean, that's high winds, but again, I don't think anyone in New York was sweating it at that point. Although Sandy's eye does not cross the Dominican Republic and Haiti to its east, the storm still dumps more than 20 inches of rain on that particular area on Hispaniola. More than 50 people die in flooding and mudslides in Haiti.

Two days after that, on October 26, Sandy had now 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, so only about a mile per hour below the status of a major Category 3 hurricane. So it was a Category 2, but almost a Category 3 at that point. Everything is destroyed, Santiago resident Alexis Mandelay told Reuters by telephone, Sandy causes more devastation as it crosses the Bahamas and makes a slight turn to the north and northwest.

Again, I doubt that too many people in New York were all that concerned at this point, because it seemed many hundreds of miles away, not necessarily heading in that direction at that point, and not too many storms hit that area with the kind of fury that Sandy ended up hitting New England states with. On October 27, Sandy moved away from the Bahamas and it made a turn to the northeast off the coast of Florida.

New service estimates the death toll in the Caribbean now at 70, or perhaps a little bit more than that. The storm briefly weakens to a tropical depression but quickly re-intensifies into a Category 1, so it's back to a Category 1. So again, not a lot of concern. On October 28, however, Sandy continued moving northeast on a track that makes it parallel to the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. But the storm's center stays well offshore, so again, not too much to worry about. Even so, the storm was sending powerful waves onto North Carolina's outer banks.

It also washed out North Carolina Highway 12 in a few places. The storm is still a Category 1 hurricane with peak winds of about 80 miles an hour, but an unusual configuration of weather factors is now converging. You've heard the perfect storm.

How many of you have seen the movie The Perfect Storm?

Okay, some of you have. Not everyone has, but there's a movie called The Perfect Storm, and I think Kevin Costner is the star of the show, and he's a captain on a ship, and he's out fishing and going for fish and gets caught in the perfect storm.

I won't give away any more of the story in case you want to watch it, but anyway, this is what's beginning to happen now with Hurricane Sandy.

It says, "...an unusual configuration of weather factors is converging. Meteorologists warn that the storm likely will morph into a powerful hybrid superstorm as it turns northward." So now, ears are starting to perk up a little bit. People are starting to listen a little bit more. "...a high-pressure cold front to Sandy's north will force the storm to start turning to the northwest toward major cities like Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York." And the full moon, see this was just one month after the Feast of Tabernacles began.

The full moon will make Sandy's storm surge, expected to be 11 to 12 feet in some places, a little higher as it makes landfall. Sandy has expanded into a huge storm with winds now covering about 1,000 miles.

You just don't see this kind of stuff, Keith Blackwell, a meteorologist at the University of South Alabama's Coastal Weather Research Center in Mobile, Alabama, tells National Geographic News. It's so strong and so large, normally protected areas like New York Harbor and Long Island are seeing the worst-case scenario. So now everyone's beginning to listen now, up in the northeast.

Now it's October 29th, so this is seven days after it began on October 22nd. 1230 in the afternoon, Sandy has made its expected sharp turn toward the northwest on a path for the coast of New Jersey. The storm also has 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, a replica of the tall ship HMS Bounty en route from New London, Connecticut to St. Petersburg, Florida, with 16 people on board, is caught in Sandy's raging seas in the infamous graveyard of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks. CNN reports that the ship's captain, Robin Wawbridge, tries to steer his ship away from the worst of Sandy's wrath, but the ship's pumps fail and it begins rapidly flooding and it begins to sink. Perhaps you remember hearing about this boat that sunk. Passengers and crew abandon the ship, but only 14 of the 16 people on board make it to the relative safety of the lifeboats. A rescue crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, pulls the survivors to safety aboard helicopters. You've probably seen rescue missions with helicopters and the waves are raging and the wind is blowing like crazy and the rope or the cable is going back and forth and it looks pretty dangerous. That's what was happening with the people that were being rescued. They recover the body of one missing crewman, and I believe that was a 46-year-old woman who had died, one of the crew members, but Wawbridge, the captain, is still missing. After four days of searching, the Coast Guard suspends their search for the captain. I don't think they ever found the captain's body. In a short video of Wawbridge posted on the bounty's Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, just right before his death, he described being captain of the bounty as probably one of the greatest jobs in the world. So he may not have been thinking that when his boat was shipping or sinking, but up until that point it was. I think this underscores that we don't always know what's going to happen next, do we? We don't know when storms are brewing necessarily in our lives. We don't know what's going to happen a month from now or six months from now or a year from now. We really don't know. Something could be going on in your life right now that you're not very aware of, but someday you'll become aware of it for various reasons.

During the afternoon, 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 seaboard. 50 million people and none of them had a clue back on October 22nd.

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 now classified as a post-tropical nor'easter. But the storm's unusual path from the southeast makes its storm surge much worse for New Jersey and New York. The cyclone's strongest winds and highest storm surge are to the front and right of its circulation because the power of the storm's strongest wind is combined with its forward motion. New York Harbor receives this part of Sandy's impact, so they get the brunt of Sandy's impact. The surge is worsened because the full moon has added about to the surge and because Sandy arrives at high tide. So high tide was another factor. Meteorologist Tim Morin of the National Weather Service's Office in New York tells National Geographic News that the surge is now nearly 14 feet. They thought 11 or 12, but it's quite a bit higher. It's a new record for a storm surge in the harbor. The previous record of just over 10 feet, so we're talking almost four feet higher, was set in 1960. So that was over 50 years ago.

They hadn't had a storm like that in over 50 years, and it wasn't near the storm that Sandy was.

It was called Hurricane Donna. It's usually these women in Hurricane Donna. It passed off just offshore.

That reminds me of a we had a mother cat that started coming to our house. I've got three big male cats, tomcats, and this smaller female would run those three males off and eat everything first. So sometimes women can be pretty... You got to be careful now, don't I? Females? No, I'm just kidding.

Now that's not true for human beings, just for cats. Female cats.

All right, let's get back to the story at hand here before I get into worse trouble. Okay, the surge tops the seawall at the Battery in lower Manhattan and floods parts of the city's subway system. The surge also floods the Ew Kerry Tunnel, which links lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The storm's ew size means that its winds, rains, and flooding will pound New Jersey and New York throughout the night and through three cycles of high tides and low tides. So they were really getting hit hard. And we all, you know, we've all paid some attention to the storm and what it did. And I believe there's still people that are out of electricity because of Hurricane Sandy. So on October 30th, it was beginning to subside now. It was moving away from New York City.

The backside of the huge storm was still inflicting punishment in the Northeast, but it's weakening as it moves inland toward Pennsylvania. And then on October 31st, the storm that began as Hurricane Sandy dissipates over western Pennsylvania and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues its final advisory on the storm. NOAA's advisory says multiple centers of circulation in association with the remnants of Sandy can be found across the lower Great Lakes. So it even affected the Great Lakes region. NOAA reports that Sandy killed more than 70 people in the Caribbean and at least 50 in the United States. NOAA estimates that Sandy caused at least $20 billion in damages.

Actually, others have said it was quite a lot more than that.

So many of us watched this storm develop several days in advance. I remember hearing about it, you know, beginning to cause problems. They didn't know if it was going to cause problems in North Carolina or Florida or exactly where in the beginning. Here in Oklahoma, I honestly can say I wasn't worried too much about this particular storm, but as it got further along, I was concerned about those up in the New England area that would have to face it. 90 mile an hour winds last New York City and the New Jersey coastline. There was, it even shut down the world's financial capital.

It hadn't been shut down since 9-11. So there really was a lot that took place. You may remember hearing some of the stories about the deaths of little children. Also the elderly. There was a story about two ladies that were walking along during the storm, and a tree fell and killed both of them. And they were just out taking a walk. You know, the storm didn't seem all that bad where they were, but a tree fell on them and they both died. And these obviously are sad stories when people die from storms like this. It's also humbling as a nation to see one of the world's great cities hit this hard, New York City. Without power, people lined up for two miles waiting for gasoline. And some of the stories that you probably heard about the gas lines and the people that were losing it. In fact, one person's, or one exon station, service station owner, says, I was pumping gas for 36 hours. I pumped 17,000 gallons of gas. People were all lined up wanting to get their cars filled. Said Abishak Sony. You know, a lot of foreigners own these gas stations.

The owner of an exon in Montclair, where disputes on the line Wednesday night had become so heated that Mr. Sony called the police and turned off the pumps for 45 minutes to try to restore calm. My nose, my mouth is bleeding from all the fumes. The fighting just makes it worse.

So there was a lot of incidents that were happening up there that I'm sure we never heard a thing about. Many on the Atlantic coast had their homes totally wiped out in a moment of time.

What took a lifetime for them to build up was gone in just a few hours. Around 100 homes burned in hours in one neighborhood since fire trucks could not reach the area because of high water.

And again, some probably lost everything and didn't have insurance and walked away with nothing. Some have said the losses from the storm will approach $50 billion. This was an early estimate from economists at Moody's Analytics. About $30 billion in property damage, the rest in lost economic activity like meals and canceled flights. At the same time, the death toll in New York City rose to $38 billion, as rescuers continued to discover bodies while combing through the coastal wreckage. Among them were the bodies of two boys, the two men, who had been torn from their mother by raging floodwaters on Staten Island.

This poor mother had no idea what was going to happen to her family. Her two little boys were killed and just devastating to have a hold of them and to have the storm take them away like that.

I think there are certainly spiritual analogies that we can draw from these types of experiences.

Hurricane Katrina was a terrible hurricane. It struck New Orleans a few years back.

Katrina hit the northeast in a similar fashion. I'm sorry, a storm like Katrina has hit the northeast in similar fashion. Some have called it the Katrina of the Burroughs up in New York.

Sandy was truly a devastating storm and it wreaked havoc in many, many people's lives.

Since all of us are human beings, the Church of God is also vulnerable to its own storms, and any of us that have lived very long in the Church know that that's true.

I think everyone in here has been in the Church quite a while. So we've seen a lot of storms happen within God's Church. Whenever there's human beings involved, there will be storms that will have effects on people. So you might say that Hurricane Sandy and some of the recent church events should bring our country and the Church of God to what we would call a teachable moment. That's what I'm hoping as I continue with this sermon. I hope that this can get through to all of us that we really shouldn't take life for granted, because storms always happen.

There's going to be a storm in Lawton here sometime. We maybe haven't had one in a while, but there will be a storm that will come through Lawton, perhaps a tornado, Wichita Falls or somewhere. We just don't know when the next storm is going to hit if we're talking physically or spiritually. We certainly know that both are going to occur in our lives.

So what can we learn from recent events? Sometimes it takes a national disaster in order for us to learn some things, in order for us to be sobered about life in general. If we lived up in the Northeast, I'm sure this would mean more to you than living here and not having to go through it. Sometimes a trial in the Church can also help us place our focus where it needs to be. So again, we're going to talk about life storms. Are you ready for the next storm that comes along? Are you now ready? This is a time to discern the signs of the times. Things aren't happening in the world. Ask yourself, what can and should I learn from these things, and how can I be better prepared for the next storm that comes along? Is there a different strategy for enduring life storms each time a new one comes along? No, I don't think so. I think for the most part, we have one strategy, and that's to live by every word of God. And if we are applying that strategy, then we'll be able to weather life storms. We'll be able to make it through life storms.

But if we're not doing our part, if we're not staying close to God, close to Christ, then life storms will take us by surprise, and they could hurt us.

So today, I'd like to discuss three principles or strategies for surviving life storms. So we're going to talk about three principles, three strategies for surviving life storms. And the first one is to be sure that you build your house upon the rock. Be sure that you build your house upon the rock. Now, let's go to Matthew 7. Again, the first point is to build your house upon the rock. The fact of the matter is that we're all human beings, and we're all frail human beings, and we need to build our house on the rock. Christ tells us that in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, verse 24, 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. Now, all of us have read the Sermon on the Mount a number of times. He says, whoever hears these words and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Now, we all know what the sand is like. If you built sand castles, if you build something on the sand and the rains come and the winds come, what happens to that building? Well, verse 27 tells us, the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat on that house, and it fell. It fell because it was on shifting sand. There was no firm foundation. The sand shifted. The sand moved. The rain came through and just moved that sand underneath the house. It made it fall. 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. Now, Christ was one who did have authority, and the people were astonished at the boldness and the directness of his teaching. He says, if you don't pay attention to what I'm telling you, and if you don't put these things into practice in your life, then you're like the foolish man who built his house on the sand.

So we should listen to Christ's words, and of course we realize that Christ is the rock in our lives. He is the rock. You know, in 1 Corinthians 10, it talks about the rock that followed them in the wilderness, and that rock was Christ. Jesus Christ is our foundation. You know, Christ's words, Christ's teachings, the fact that Christ is the Messiah, that we place our faith and trust in Christ, because without him we are most miserable. We have no salvation except in Jesus Christ. Now, perhaps all tests of our faith go back to this. Where did we plant our foundation? Do you have a solid spiritual foundation? Do you have faith in your faith? Do you have faith that what you believe is true? Have you studied it? Have you really researched it? Have you looked into it? Do you believe that what you believe is true? Do you believe that what you believe is certainly the truth and something that you should adhere to for the rest of your life? You know, back in 1995, a lot of people were tested on whether or not they had faith in their faith. In other words, our faith is what we believe in. It's where we place our trust. And there were certain doctrinal matters that some of us had faith in and others didn't because they quickly gave up those teachings. They gave up those doctrines about the Sabbath, about God's Holy Days. Those are foundational elements, you know, parts of the Ten Commandments and God's statutes and laws that we should observe and know that we believe them. Those are firm foundations. The Ten Commandments are firm, is a firm foundation that we should build our spiritual lives upon. So, have you built your house upon the rock? Do you know what you believe and are you willing to die for what you believe? In Psalm 146 verse 3, it says, do not put your trust in princes nor in a son of man. And in my margin in the Bible, it says human beings. It's talking about human beings. Don't place your trust in human beings in whom there is no help, there is no salvation in human beings. There's no salvation in any minister except the minister, Jesus the Christ, you know, the ultimate shepherd, Jesus Christ. We can't look to men for our salvation. Men are not going to grant salvation to any of us. Now, we should follow men as they follow Christ, but only as they follow Christ. If they're saying a bad example, don't follow the bad example. You know, follow the truth, follow the written word of God, the inspired word of God. Make sure that you follow that example and not the example of a man who may be going astray.

So do not put your trust in princes nor in the son of man. Now, let's go to Ephesians chapter 2, where it talks about our foundation being Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 2, let's start reading in verse 19. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19.

Now therefore you are no longer strangers, Paul's talking to the church here at Ephesus, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, those who are called and sanctified and set apart by God, and members of the household of God. So those members in Ephesus are our spiritual brothers and sisters. We too are sanctified, we are saints in that respect. We are members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. God's holy word reveals who those true apostles were and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, 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. So here again we see that Christ is the chief cornerstone. Christ is that foundation in whom the whole building being fitted together, speaking about the the church of God, the family of God, it 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. God dwells in each and every one of us. If you've been granted the Spirit of God, God lives in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. That sanctifies you and sets you apart. It's a down payment, a guarantee that you will be changed at the return of Christ, changed in the Spirit, no longer subject to the flesh. What a glorious time that will be! So, brethren, there will be storms that will come along. God allows various types of storms. He certainly allows physical storms. Some of you may have been through a tornado. I've never actually been through a tornado. I've been close to tornadoes. I've been down in my closet or in a storm shelter when a tornado was nearby. I've seen the devastation from some of the worst tornadoes ever. You know, in Del City, Midwest City. Several years back, you know, we had a, like, I think it was a five. That went, a four or a five, went through one of the worst ever and devastated entire neighborhoods and entire miles of homes. And it was very ugly what those storms did to certain neighborhoods. So, there will be storms that may come along. Certainly, there'll be spiritual storms. Sometimes we cause our own storms, don't we? You know, but by the wrong conduct that we do in our lives. Now, when we sin, be sure your sins will find you out. You know, one way or the other, they'll find you out. Either you'll feel guilty and that will drag you down a bit, or your sins may be exposed and your reputation may be soiled to some degree. These things happen. And so, we need to be sure that our foundation is in Christ. Because if ever we have those kinds of storms that come along, our foundation will be tested. Is it a solid foundation?

Scripture talks about how we may, you know, in life's storms, a person may lose everything except that foundation. And then you can build on a solid foundation, though. A person can make mistakes in their lives, and they can bring reproach upon themselves, but if they have a firm foundation, they can build back upon that. Even though they've suffered loss, they don't lose their salvation. You know, that's what the Scripture says. So, when people do sin, and all of us are sinners, aren't we? Is there anyone here that's never sinned?

Right. It's comical, isn't it? We chuckle about that because we know we're all sinners.

Some sins are more public than others. Sometimes when you have a higher position of authority or service, you know, when things happen, people know about it, and it causes a problem for a lot of people, frankly. So, we need to be careful that we have a firm foundation. And even if we do suffer loss, hopefully we'll hang in there, and we'll survive the storms that come along. And we should pray for anyone that has a storm like that going on in their life. We should pray that they will humble themselves, be repentant, that God will restore them, that God will bless them, that they will remain faithful, and set as good an example as they can from that point forward.

And there are times when people let you down. People in the ministry have let a number of people down in the past. Maybe a minister has let you down. Maybe I've let you down.

I mean, that's possible because I'm a human being, and I don't always know sometimes how I've affected someone, what I've said, or whatever. I don't mean to let people down, but again, I'm human, and I know that there may be times when I have done that, and I'm always sorry when I find out about those times. But frankly, we're all in this together, aren't we? Whether we're a minister, or a deacon, or a deaconess, or an elder, or a brother, or a sister in Christ, we're all in this together, and we all stand and fall before Christ. We have the same... we're judged by the same basic commandments and rules. Now, sometimes, obviously, if you have a higher calling of authority or responsibility, then sometimes you may pay a higher price for that in certain ways. That's why the Scripture says don't desire some of these things, because there's a greater responsibility and accountability for them. Let's go to Luke 13. Let's consider some verses here about a tower in Siloam. I know you've heard of this before.

There was a tower in Siloam that fell, and people were killed.

And it's easy for people to say, well, something must have been really wrong with those people upon whom that tower fell, because, you know, otherwise, God wouldn't allow that to happen.

But let's look at verse 1 here, chapter 13 of Luke. 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 had killed some of these Galileans and mingled their blood with sacrifices that they were 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? Now, this is a case where they were persecuted.

Some Galileans were persecuted by Pilate. Verse 3, I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. You know, we're all going to have the same fate.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all the other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

And then he also 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 have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I've found none. Cut it down, why does it use up the ground? You know, why should it use up the nutrients in the ground? Let those nutrients go somewhere else. But he answered and said to him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

Evidently, the man felt, maybe he felt kind of badly that he hadn't taken better care of this tree. He says, Give me another year, let me dig around it, let me fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that, you can cut it down.

So I think this should speak to all of us, that we should do what we can to help ourselves grow spiritually. You know, we should study the Bible, we should pray, we should fast. We should do these things that help us grow spiritually. Otherwise, we'll be cut down. And if you have been neglecting it, you still have time, because you're not dead yet. You haven't been cut down yet. See, that's the lesson that we should learn from this little short parable here, that if you're still alive, even though you may have neglected certain things in your life, it's not too late. You know, it's not too late to dig around yourself, fertilize yourself, and hopefully you'll start to grow. Well, you will grow if you start doing those things, like that you should. You know, we need to have faith in that as well. If we do our part, God's going to do His part. You know, God's going to take care of us. So, again, we realize that all of us are sinners, and we don't know what's going to happen next. Time and chance happens to everyone. There really aren't any guarantees in terms of life storms. You know, we don't know when the next storm is going to hit us, you, me. We don't know that.

So, how we weather these storms is very, very important. Again, the first point is to build upon the rock. Christ said in Luke 5, verse 32, that He came to call sinners to repentance.

We're all sinners who need God's grace and forgiveness. God called all of us. We're all sinners. We all need to repent. So, we shouldn't look at ourselves as better than others. If someone is found in sin, does that make you better than them? No, you don't know their whole lives. You don't know well. If you've ever sinned, sin is sin. It may have a greater impact in a person's life at a particular moment in time, but certainly we shouldn't look at them as though we're so much better or more righteous. God judges all of us, and He's the judge. We should not try to be the judge.

We should just try to take care of ourselves and do the best we can do. In Hebrews 12, let's go to Hebrews 12. We need to be careful that we realize that Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith. No man. Christ is the beginning and the end. He's the alpha and the omega. And so, in Hebrews 12 verse 1, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Now, I was talking about what we would have read in Hebrews 11 had we read it. It's about all those men and women of faith who survived many of life's storms, who wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves and so forth, but they hadn't received the promises. But they remained faithful. So we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rahab. Rahab didn't have the most stellar lifestyle for a while, did she? And yet, God is saving her. And she had faith in God and she trusted God and she put her old lifestyle behind her. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.

Are we willing to admit that? That sin easily ensnares us? Or do we think we're so strong that sin has a hard time getting a hold of us? Are you that strong? Or is this true about you that sin easily ensnares you? And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Christ was faithful for us and that's why we need to build our house on Jesus Christ. He's faithful, He's the author and the finisher of our faith, He is the originator and the perfecter of our faith.

So again, brethren, be sure that you have a firm foundation, a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior, as your Messiah. That's the first point. Look to Christ, look to be past men, look to Christ. Secondly, if you want to weather life's storms, then lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. Start doing that right now. If you've been neglecting that, start doing that now in greater ways. Lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. You know, some people want to amass a fortune in this life and they spend their whole lives doing that. People like J. Paul Getty and Rockefellers and Carnegie and some of them. And I'm not saying that all that they did was in vain because it wasn't. Carnegie has all kinds of libraries and things that have been of great benefit. And a lot of these rich men have done a lot of good in the world, but on the other hand, could they have done so much more with what they had?

What could they have done with all the resources that they had?

Lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. Where are your priorities?

Let's go to Matthew 6. We'll go back to the Sermon on the Mount.

And let's realize that sometimes we treasure things we should not.

Have you ever treasured something that perhaps you shouldn't treasure?

I think I know I have. I've treasured certain things that really weren't that important.

Matthew 6, verse 19.

Here's what Christ says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Okay, think about that for a moment. Whatever you lay up here on the earth, in terms of a building, or cars and boats and houses, mansions, those things don't last forever, do they? Even the things that are made of the most durable material don't last forever.

Because something comes along and destroys them. Moth and rust come in and destroy, thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So what are some treasures that we can lay up in heaven?

Okay, what does God look at?

What are some treasures?

One thing that certainly is a treasure to God is your prayer.

When you take time to pray, that's a spiritual act. It's something spiritual that you're doing.

Hopefully you're not just praying about yourself and what you want, and what you want God to give you.

Because if you are, you're missing the whole boat about what prayer is all about. Prayer should be primarily for others. It should also be that we can be strengthened, that we can change our lives, that we can be more pleasing to God.

But it should also be for those who are sick and afflicted.

There are so many things that we can pray about, so many people who are sick and need our prayers.

That's a treasure. God says it's a sweet-smelling savor, the prayers of the righteous. In the book of Revelation, it talks about the incense, that prayer is like an incense that goes up to God.

And God hears your prayers. Now, you may think your prayers don't mean anything. Now, you may think that your prayers are meaningless.

You know, what's the point in praying? You know, it is easy to get into an attitude like that.

I've prayed this so many times before.

I don't know that there's any point in praying. That's not a good attitude to have.

We should pray daily for God's guidance and direction and for one another.

So those are treasures that you can lay up in heaven.

They don't get you a whole lot here on the earth, perhaps.

Although sometimes God hears and answers those prayers, for you or for others here on earth. So they can't even reap a reward here on earth. But it is a treasure that you're laying up in heaven. When you study the Word of God, you're drawing closer to God. You're laying up a treasure in heaven. If you study God's Word and you show where your heart is, because the Bible is important to you, the Word of God is important to you. When you take a day to fast, that is a treasure that you're storing up in heaven.

Because you're taking 24 hours devoting that day to God and to prayer and to prayer. Prayer and Bible study, drawing closer to God and learning more about Him. So fasting is another treasure that you can lay up in heaven. And certainly good works, doing good for others, helping people that are in need. Those are all treasures that you lay up in heaven.

It's when you give of yourself. It's when you become a living sacrifice, when you're willing to help other people. Those are treasures that God treasures.

God treasures those kinds of treasures.

Lay up your treasures in heaven, not here on the earth.

And remember what Moses said. Moses was a wise man when he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the very temporary pleasures of sin for a season. Because that is a treasure that's laid up here on earth.

The pleasures of sin, you know, a brief moment of happiness, of some kind of thrill that a person might get from a sinful act.

That is a temporary pleasure.

It doesn't last. We lay that up here on earth. It doesn't last. It's not a good thing. It's a bad thing.

So we should be careful how we spend our time. We should consider the way we spend our time.

One thing God's elect strive very diligently about is to be careful about these things. We want to keep our hearts close to God. We know that we're not to put our faith in anything on the earth. You know, we understand that. We've heard sermon after sermon after sermon. We've studied the Bible. We've prayed about it.

We know we shouldn't put a lot of stock and things here on the earth that don't last.

As long as we have a place to live, we have some transportation.

We're not too far in debt.

That's the typical church member, I suppose. Most of us aren't real wealthy. We're not completely flush with all kinds of funds.

Some have more than others, but most of us don't have tremendous retirement accounts and savings programs and so forth like that.

We are more interested in putting our treasures in heaven than here on the earth.

But, you know, if someone was blessed with a lot of earthly treasures, what you can do with that is very important. Spend it in good ways to help others, to be of benefit to others, and don't just hoard it, but use it wisely.

God's elect are to be good neighbors to others. We're to love each other, to love humanity, not just church members, but all people. It isn't wrong to give to worthy causes.

It isn't wrong to help the United Way or the Salvation Army if you know that the majority of that money is going in a good place.

And of course, tithes and offerings and preaching the gospel, spreading the good news to the world, you know, that's even more important.

But it's a good thing to store up treasures in heaven. When we give of ourselves, we sacrifice, we help others, that's something that we should all be doing. That's one way to help treasure or to weather life's storms when we're laying up treasures in heaven.

We all have some stories about God's mercy on us and how he protected us or saved us, maybe from a car accident or who knows, a number of dozens of other miracles in our lives.

God is there to protect us and to take care of us. If we place our faith in him, we can trust him. You know, if we learn to give to others, God will give to us. You know, God will take care of us. I think some people, God gives them a lot, but they don't do anything with it.

They just hang on to it. They haven't learned to use it in a proper way. And if they would use it in a proper way, then God would bless them in more ways and they would have more to give.

As it is, they just hoard up what they have and they're not really storing up treasures in heaven.

All right, let's go on to a third and final way to survive life storm, and that is to take refuge in God. You know, storms are going to happen, so when they happen, what do you do? Do you run out in the middle of a storm? Do you run out in the middle of a tornado or a hurricane? Or do you take refuge? You know, if you're wise, you take refuge from life storms.

And God is where we need to take refuge. Also, it's important to realize that storms do blow over, don't they? Storms don't last forever. They will blow over. So if you take refuge in God, God will give you victory over these life storms. They will pass. So if you remain faithful and you take refuge in God, then God will see you through those storms and brighter days will be on the other side. Now, in 1 Samuel 20, David says something pretty profound here that I believe we should all take to heart. He says that there's just a step between me and death, just one step between me and death. Now, David had good reason to say that, because if you remember, somebody was out to get him for years. King Saul was out to kill him for a number of years, and he pursued him. And only because God protected him did he survive. And no doubt, it was because David took refuge in God. David believed that God would protect him, because remember when David had an opportunity to kill Saul? He was right there. He had a hold of his garment, cut a piece of his garment off, and they were basically saying, why didn't you kill him, you idiot? You had a chance to kill him right then. And he said he wouldn't raise up his hand against God's anointed, because God is the one that puts Saul in power. God puts Saul in power. God was the one that should remove him, not David. David knew that he was going to be king, because God had him anointed as king. So David understood that he was going to be king, but he was wise enough not to take matters in his own hands. He could have rationalized that God wanted him to do this. That's how he could become king. But David sets a wonderful example for us to humble ourselves and let God work in our lives and not do something we shouldn't.

Had he rose up and killed Saul, he would have committed murder, for one thing.

At that particular time, Saul didn't have a knife to his throat.

Saul was asleep. I think he was asleep at that particular moment. And David didn't kill him, though. Let's go to 1 Samuel 20. Let's read verse 1. Then David fled from Naoth, in Rama he fled from Saul, and went and said to Jonathan, Jonathan with Saul's son, What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin, before your father, that he seeks my life? David was tired of running from Saul. 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. In other words, Saul didn't tell Jonathan that he was out to kill him.

But David realized something here in verse 3. 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. But truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. David realized that Saul really was out to kill him. And he was trying to get that through to Jonathan. Jonathan was actually the heir to the throne. So Jonathan had a great deal of loyalty to David, even though most people would have said, Yeah, kill him, Dad, because I want to be king next.

I don't want this David to become king. So Jonathan and David had a special relationship, but David understood that there was just a step between me and death. And really, that's the case with all of us, because we don't know what's going to happen next. We don't know what's going to happen when we get in our vehicles or when we go to sleep at night. We don't know what's going to happen. We're only a step away from death. A heartbeat away. David had to place his faith and trust in God to protect him from Saul, a king again who had great power to pursue and to destroy David. God protected David numerous times as Saul was intent to kill him. And again, there was just a step between David and death at the hands of Saul.

In a very real sense, there was just a step between having a beautiful home on the beach up in New England and having nothing but two by fours floating out in the surf.

Okay, that's what happened to some people. They had beautiful homes close to the beach, and after the storm they had nothing. Their house was out in the middle of the ocean.

There's just a step between planning to take a walk in heavy winds, like the two women that I talked about, with their dogs and having a tree fall on them. There was just a step. You know, if they had stepped a different direction, that tree wouldn't have fallen on them.

The only way we will survive such life storms, whether they're physical trials or spiritual ones, is by taking refuge in God, who knows the breadth and the depth of all human experiences. Christ came to live as a human being. He was tempted and tested as we are, yet he was without sin.

And he can guide us through the rough and choppy waters that will rise and surge against us in the future. So there is refuge in God, there is refuge in Christ. In 1 Peter it talks about taking refuge. 1 Peter chapter 3. Let's go there for a moment. 1 Peter chapter 3. Let's begin reading in verse 8. 1 Peter 3 verse 8.

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another.

Love his brothers and be tender-hearted and be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you are called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit, let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the face that is against those who do evil. And we should again turn to God for his direction and his guidance. Verse 13. And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? You can take refuge in God if you will follow what is good. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. And always be aware of the fact that you are good. And always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Have any good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. So if you're going to suffer in the future, let's make sure it's because we're doing good and not evil. If life storms come upon us, let it be that they come because we've done good and not evil. Because there will be persecution on God's people for doing good. And that's the best kind of storm that can come along, is when you didn't bring it about because of your sins, but you brought it upon yourself because of your righteousness. It's a lot easier to weather those kinds of storms. The great God holds this fragile world in His powerful hands. What else does God hold in His hands? He holds the church. He holds all of us. We are all precious in God's sight. We are among the first fruits, those who are first called out. We are Christ's brothers and sisters. He died for His brothers and sisters. He loves all of us. He died for each and every one of us. I know that Christ isn't always happy with things that go on in our lives, in our own individual lives, in certain things that happen within the church, the division that sometimes happens within the church. Christ isn't happy with all that.

But He's still there for all of us. If we will look to Him for His deliverance, He holds us accountable for our mistakes, but only ours. You don't need to suffer for other people, for the most part, although sometimes sins can cause suffering upon a number of people. But ultimately, God only holds us accountable for our own sins. Now, the God who controls storms like Hurricane Sandy also sends the calm and the serenity to deal with that turmoil. Perhaps some will seek God more in their lives because of what happened with Hurricane Sandy. It may have woke up some people that went through that storm, and maybe they're closer to God now as a result. I'm sure it did serve a good purpose in many people's lives. Hurricane Sandy is but one storm among many storms that are presently shaping our world. The Middle East is continuing to roil. It's a problem for many, many millions of people, and it may end up in, according to the Bible, it is going to end up in much worse happenings in the future. The world economy is being shaken and reshaped at the same time. We don't know what's going to happen from month to month economically. Certainly, political leadership is incapable of handling the problems that we face. There's no lasting solutions, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. What's going to happen in the next four years in this country? The next six or eight or ten years. We don't know what's going to happen in the future.

So the point of all this is to realize our limitations and to reach out to God who rides in the storms and controls the outcome of all things. Remember, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. If we stay close to God, then God will help us ride out the storm. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. A couple verses here. 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 3. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 4 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer, or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and your salvation. 5 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the suffering, so also you will be partakers of the consolation. In other words, God is going to console those who have to go through suffering. Remember, Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. He will always be there for us, especially through the storms.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure above strength so that we despaired even of life.

Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. They thought they were dead men, who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us. You know, Paul was delivered oftentimes. He was shipwrecked a number of times, he was beaten and stoned a number of times, left for dead. So he knows what he's talking about here, who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us, in whom we trust that he will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. And then one last verse here, for our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God and more abundantly toward you. So what Paul is saying is that God will comfort us in our suffering, God will deliver us from our suffering, and that we need to turn to God because God is our refuge.

God is mankind's only real safe place.

We know that Satan is our adversary, that Satan is our destroyer.

Let's go to Revelation 3 as we get close to wrapping up the sermon here. Just two more scriptures. Revelation chapter 3.

This is to the faithful church, the Philadelphia church.

Revelation chapter 3 verse 10.

Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which will come upon the whole earth, the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. And then I don't think we need to go any further here, but we need to realize that Satan is going to try to destroy us, so we need to hang tightly to our crown. He'll use any method that he can use by hook or crook to pry that crown away from us.

Satan has no ethics about him. He doesn't tire in his efforts to take us down. And there are so many ways that Satan has done it through the years. Please stop and look at people who once observed the Sabbath and observed God's Holy Days, met here on the Sabbath faithfully for years, and many of them are no longer doing it. You know, they've fallen by the wayside, at least for the time being.

Hopefully they will be repentant and God will restore them. Brother, we need to finish our race with joy. There's a race that we're all running right now, and we need to finish it with joy. Let's go to one last scripture, Romans chapter 15.

Romans chapter 15. You know, when you know a storm's coming, it does help somewhat, doesn't it? It helps us be better prepared. Well, trust me, a storm is coming. A storm is coming in your life. Romans 15 verse 13. Remember this, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, God's Spirit dwells in you to strengthen you. We can finish this race with joy. God wants to, that's one of the fruits of God's Spirit, being a joyful person.

So God is the God of hope. He will fill us with joy and peace if we have faith and if we believe in Him. So whenever people go through big storms like Hurricane Sandy, we should certainly remember to pray for one another and pray for God's protection and blessing on those who are going through those physical trials. If tornadoes are close to Lawton or anywhere around here, we should pray for one another. Pray for our brothers and sisters in the church.

And we should always remember that we are blessed by God to be anchored in Christ, who will never let us go. He'll never leave us or forsake us. He will hold on to us firmly, and He will help us hold on to that crown of eternal life that the Father has given for us to cherish. So again, in order to survive the storms of life, first of all, be sure that you built your house upon the rock. And if you haven't, there's still time. There's still time to seek Christ as your Savior and to build your house upon Him. Secondly, lay up treasures in heaven, not on this earth. If you haven't laid as many treasures in heaven as you ought to, you still have some time. And thirdly, always take refuge in God when there is a storm.

Go to God for help, for deliverance. So again, let us look to God. Let us be sure that we know what it takes to survive life's storms.