Surviving Life's Storms

Well, we've really had Houston on our mind for the last several days with a hurricane that happened. They say it was a one-in-a-thousand-year event. It was a huge storm. Tons of water everywhere.

Some people that thought they could surely ride out the storm found themselves stranded on rooftops waiting on someone to come by and rescue them in a boat. I'm sure they meant well. They thought they would be safe. They could have evacuated, but they didn't think it was necessary. Well, it turned out to be necessary for some. You never know exactly what's going to happen in life, do you? We can think we know what's going to happen in life. We can hope we know what's going to happen in life. But the truth is we can't always know what's going to happen. What storm is going to come on the scene in our lives, whether it's a physical storm like this hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, or whether it's a spiritual storm that may take us by surprise and really test our mettle, test our character, put us in perilous times. You know, when these things happen, I think it's very important to think about the spiritual application of these events that take place that affect us. Some people lost their lives in this storm. They're not alive today because Storm Harvey took them. They died in the storm. Some had children that died in the storm. Some, I guess, had children swept away from them. I mean, just horrible, horrible situations that transpired, things that you wouldn't wish upon anyone, even your worst enemy, you wouldn't want those kinds of things to happen.

But the fact of the matter is, this isn't God's world today. This is Satan as the God of this world. And God allows these kinds of things to take place, these things, these types of things to happen. And we frankly really don't know what's going to happen next and when it's going to happen. So, today, I'd like to talk about surviving life storms, surviving them. No matter what happens, how are we going to survive life storms?

From a spiritual perspective, how are we going to survive?

Today, I'd like to discuss or give you three keys or principles, strategies for surviving life storms.

And when we have these three strategies working in our lives, then we will be able to survive the storms that come along.

We'll be able to see the signs of the times and whatever happens. We'll be able to deal with them. The Bible talks about discerning the signs of the times.

Hopefully, we see that we are living in the last days. Now, we don't know how long the last days are going to last.

But I think it's safe to say we are living in the last days. We've entered a certain phase now that I believe does qualify as the last days.

Again, we don't know how long these days will last. We don't know if we will be alive when Christ returns or not.

But we are drawing ever closer to the return of Jesus Christ.

And it is important that we are preparing ourselves for the things that will be happening in the future.

Hopefully, you've been praying for those who have had to go through the storms in Houston, whether they be members of God's church or not members of God's church. We are part of...we're all part of God's family. We're all God's children in the sense that we're all created in God's image. We're created in His likeness. He loves all of us. Remember, for God so loved the world, not just the church, not just the called out ones, not just the firstfruits, but for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. And Jesus Christ gave His life for everyone. And eventually, everyone will have an opportunity to either embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior or reject Him. Right now, that's not the case. Many people are deceived. God isn't calling everyone right now. He's calling as He chooses, according to His will, in His own order.

But we are among the firstfruits because God has revealed His truth to us. And many of us have been in God's church a long time. We've known about the truth for many, many years.

But we know that the Scripture tells us only He who endures to the end will be saved. None of us are at the end yet. Even if we're 93 years old, we're still not at the end.

As long as we're breathing, it's not our end. Now, it can end in death or it could end in the return of Jesus Christ for us. But we must all endure to the end. And there will be more storms that will come along. I seriously doubt that this storm in Houston is going to be the last one we're going to hear about. In fact, I believe there's a massive storm brewing out in the Atlantic right now. And what kind of havoc will that wreak? And for those of you who saw some comments I made, when I send out the schedule each Friday, or not the Sabbath schedule or the Sabbath bulletin, sometimes I make a few comments. And I did mention that what if a lot of stuff started happening all at the same time? What if the Houston storm hit and then one hit in New Orleans and one hit down in Florida and one hit over by North Carolina? What if it hit all around us? What if tornadoes were happening and earthquakes were happening? That's actually what the Bible talks about. A time when that is going to happen. When that's going to take place. Right now, we see a 1Z here and a 1Z there and a 1Z there. Once in a while, there might be 2Zs going on. A couple of things. But we don't see hundreds of things, of disasters to the degree that we see in Houston happening at the same time. Look, we've had gas shortage just because of this puny storm. I'll call it puny because I think we're going to see worse things in the future when God decides to really pour out His wrath on a sinning world who has not repented of their sins and have continued to reject Him. We're going to see worse things happening, worse disasters. And not only will there be gas shortages, there will be food shortages. There will be shortages of essential things that we need to survive. And that's when it's really going to get ugly. Just think about that for a moment. It even gets ugly at some of the gas pumps when people have to wait in line 30 minutes. You know, if someone cuts in, look out. It can be very problematic. Well, let's go to Luke 19 for a moment. And let's consider what God says here in Luke 19. You know, God, I'm sure, is saddened by these events that take people's lives for God so loves the world.

He is saddened, but He does allow them to happen for a purpose, for a reason. In Luke 19, verse 41, we read, and this is about Christ, and this was right after He entered into Jerusalem prior to... right before His crucifixion. It says, Now, as He drew near toward Jerusalem, He saw the city and He wept over it. He considered the plight of Jerusalem. What was going to be happening in Jerusalem in the days, the weeks, the months, the years ahead? Saying, if you had known even you, especially in this year day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. God has allowed many, many people to be deceived. Satan is a roaring lion. He's seeking whom he may devour. And, frankly, the whole world's been deceived, according to the Scriptures, except for a small number, percentage-wise, that have had their eyes opened at this time, that are being called today, and some throughout history, but a very relatively few that have been called throughout the ages. He says, Now, in 70 A.D., of course, Jerusalem was surrounded. It fell. And the temple was destroyed. And those prophecies came to be fulfilled, and level you and your children within you to the ground. And you will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. And, of course, that's going to happen again. It's a dual prophecy. These things will occur once again before Christ returns.

Then he went into the temple, and he began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. So, God the Father and Jesus Christ do not take these things lightly. They do not take sin and disobedience lightly. There will be a day of reckoning. That day is coming, and we need to be prepared for that day. In Romans 12, let's go there momentarily. We'll read verse 10. Romans 12 verse 10. And this is going to give us an idea of how to help those in need. Right now, a lot of people are in need, and a lot of people have gone out of their way to help those in Houston who are in need. Those who have lost homes, lost loved ones. It's good to see that people are still willing to help out. And a lot of it is because a lot of us still have an awful lot, don't we? We still have a great abundance. So, to help out a little bit here, a little bit there, it really doesn't hurt us all that badly. But when everything is falling apart, then we're really going to see the true character of people. How giving will they be when they don't have a whole lot themselves? And yet, someone is in worse need. Will they be willing to share what they have? Those days, again, are coming. They will test us. Perhaps, we shall see. But here Paul tells us how we ought to treat one another. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. In honor, giving preference to one another. Not lagging in diligence. Fervent in spirit. Serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. When times get hard, when there's tribulation, will we be patient?

Continuing steadfastly in prayer. Distributing to the needs of the saints. And given to hospitality. Helping one another. And rightly so. We should help our brethren, first and foremost. But then, that extends beyond that, once we've been able to help our brothers, our sisters in Christ. We should go out and help those in the world who are in need.

Distributing to the needs of the saints. And given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. So clearly he's saying that we should look out for those who aren't just among us in the church. But we should even, as it says here, bless those who persecute us. Don't curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. And do not set your mind on high things.

Don't let pride rule your life. But associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. And we see that oftentimes that people are wise in their own opinion. They think they know more. They don't really care who they hurt, necessarily, because they believe that they know best and they're doing what's right. And eventually, people like that will kill God's people thinking they're doing God a service.

So repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things on the side of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, then live peaceably with all men. If others will allow it, then take the high road and live peaceably with all men.

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine and I will repay, says the Lord. So we should not seek revenge. We shouldn't seek vengeance. We should pray for those who have hurt us, who are persecuting us. We shouldn't wish them ill. It's better to rise above that and to follow these instructions.

Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Now that doesn't mean that should be your motivation. That's not what that means. It shouldn't be that our motivation is to read coals. Our motivation should be, hopefully these people will repent of their sins. They'll be grateful for the extension of love and service, hospitality that we're giving them. And it will change them. It will make them better people. And then they won't have fire heaped upon them or coals on their head. But if they reject your hospitality, and if they... I mean, it's just an axiomatic thing.

It's not that you want that to happen. It's just that we reap what we sow. And that's how God has put it, has designed it. So if they turn to you and they're grateful and they're thankful and they're rejoicing and thanking God, then that's going to go well with them. On the other hand, if they meet your kindness with anger or with pride, then it isn't going to go so well for them. And they will pay the consequences for that. The point is, you do the right thing. And whatever they do, that's between them and God. You do the right thing. So let's talk about three keys or three strategies now for surviving life's storm. The first one, and I've talked about this some already in Lawton because we're going through the Sermon on the Mount. And the first principle is to build your house upon the rock. If you want to withstand a storm, it's good that you have a firm foundation. If your house is built on a rock, especially if it's high above, then you're probably going to be just fine. If you build it on sand and the winds come and the rains come, what happens when rain hits sand? It starts to dissipate, right? It moves. And that's the problem with having sand as the foundation for your home. When water hits it, when a storm comes along, the sand is going to shift and very likely the house is going to fall. Or it's going to be badly damaged. So build your house on the rock. Let's go back to Matthew 7 and review these verses. I know we're familiar with them, but it is important that we build our house upon the rock. You know, Christ talked a lot about this. It's the essence of the Sermon on the Mount. Verse 24, near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, and he's summing things up, he says, Therefore, after all this teaching that he's given, 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. And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew. They beat on that house and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. So again, if you get your home up high enough, and the rock will be there for sure, and if the home is attached to that rock solidly, then hopefully it's not going to go away.

The rain ascended, the floods came, the winds blew. Beat on that house, 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 builds his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew. They beat on that house. That's what happened in Houston. And in this case it fell, and great was its fall. So it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at what he had said at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority. Christ knows what he's talking about. He does have authority. He is God. He's the Son of God. And so we should build our house upon the rock. And ultimately, the rock is our Savior Jesus Christ, is it not? I mean, that's the ultimate rock. We build our house upon Jesus Christ. He is the firm foundation upon which we need to build our lives. Perhaps all tests of our faith go back to this. Where did we plant our foundation upon? What did we build our lives? Have we built our lives on the truth? Have we built our lives on Jesus Christ as our Savior, accepting Him as our Savior, looking to God the Father for His deliverance, believing in God, trusting and having faith in God? Or do we put our trust in ministers? We should not put our trust in ministers except as they follow Christ, as they follow the rock. Otherwise, we will follow them in error. We have to discern what's right and what's wrong, what's biblical and what isn't. And when any man tells you to do something that goes against Biblical principles, that's when you say, Sorry, I'm not following you. I'm following the Bible. I'm following the Word of God. I'm following the foundation. I'm following the rock, Jesus Christ, who taught us these things. He taught us the principles upon which we should build our lives. So don't put your trust in princes. We don't need to go there, but Psalm 146, verse 3 says, Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, speaking about a human being. We can put our trust in the son of man with the... Christ is referred to as the son of man because he was born of mankind.

He was born of a woman, yet, of course, he was perfect without sin. He's the only son of man that we can put our faith in and our trust in. The rest of us, forget it. Only as we follow Christ. And thankfully, there are a lot of good examples of people who do follow Christ. And as long as they're following Christ, then I would say it would be wise to follow that, to go in that direction. But only as they follow Christ. That's what Paul said. Follow me as I follow Christ.

Now let's go to Ephesians 2.

Again, we're talking about building our spiritual house on a firm foundation. Upon Jesus Christ, Ephesians 2, where it talks about the chief cornerstone, Christ, we know, is the head of God's church. Christ was appointed by the Father to be the head of the church. Ephesians 2, verse 19. Now that doesn't mean that the Father isn't the head, does it? The Father appointed His Son to be the head of the church. So, they work together in tandem. Now they're not at odds with each other. They're very unified. Christ said, I and my Father are one. So, God and Jesus Christ lead this church. It is God's church and Christ, according to the Scriptures, is the head of the church, under the Father.

Okay, let's go to Ephesians 2, verse 19.

Ephesians 2, verse 19. Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and you are members of the household of God, members of the church of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. So, Christ is the rock, the main foundation upon which we build our homes, our spiritual home. But under Christ, we have the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Those in the Scriptures that have proven to be faithful, that the Scriptures show have been faithful, even though not perfect. None of them were perfect. They were human. But the church of God has been built first upon Christ, then upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Again, Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. So, it's fine to follow man as they follow Christ. Apostles and prophets that follow Christ, then those are the men that we ought to follow as they stand up and do the right thing. In whom the whole building, speaking of God's church, 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. And remember, God dwells in you. 1 Corinthians 6, I think verse 19, talks about the Spirit of God dwells in you. You are the temple of God's Holy Spirit. You have been called out and chosen by God. So, you need to always learn to respond to God's Spirit that dwells within you. If you're not baptized, God's Spirit works with you. And you can respond to His Holy Spirit helping you make the right decision. Again, following God and not men. So, brethren, there will be storms. There will be physical storms and there will be spiritual ones that will come along. God allows those things to happen.

Of course, we need to batten down the hatches and be prepared. And the first point, again, is to build our house upon the rock. And if our house is built on Christ and all that Christ stands for, then we shall not fall. Christ is our foundation. Our foundation is solid. And so, we'll be able to ride out any storm if our foundation is in Christ. We'll ride out any storm. We don't have to have fear. We don't have to have doubts. Because we're built upon a firm foundation. And we continue to follow the principles that Christ stands for.

So, again, if people let you down, that's the way it's going to be. People will let you down. But God and Christ will never let you down. Christ has promised to never leave us, to never forsake us. The Father is the same. They don't leave us. They don't forsake us. We can count on them. We can trust in them. But always remember that salvation is not in this life. Salvation is of the Spirit. Salvation is in God's kingdom. It's not right now. It doesn't matter what happens right now to us. If we have a firm foundation, because we will realize that it's not about the flesh. It's not about the material world. It's about the spiritual kingdom of God. And that's the most important thing, because that's what will help see you through any physical trial.

If it's a loss of a child, it's only that that will see you through that and help you be stronger on the other side of it. It's knowing that you'll see that child again. It's having faith that God has not forsaken you. He's still there. He allowed this to happen, but this is a physical thing. And we have to keep our minds and our hearts and our eyes focused on the spiritual, not on the physical.

If we do it on the physical, then we're going to suffer much more than we would need to. Because if we can go... that doesn't mean we won't suffer physically, because any time we go through a physical trial like that, that hurts. You know, that's difficult. If our home swept away, you know, that's... I don't... I'm not saying that's a small thing.

If my house... If I got home and my house was somehow destroyed, I'm laughing. I wouldn't be laughing if it was true. If a tornado swept through there, as long as my wife was safe. And, you know, even if she wasn't, you know, my rock is... My foundation is in Christ. And I can weather whatever happens. And that's... That's kind of... That's the approach that we all... And I'm not saying it would be easy for me. I'm not saying I would do well. I don't know. I mean, we don't know until we go through it. I pray that I'll never have to go through something like that. Because that's very, very difficult. It's very hard. And some of you may have gone through that sort of thing. That same... That type of trial. That difficult.

You know, we need God to help us through those kinds of trials. Because nothing else is going to do it. So I'm not saying that these physical things are so puny. They're only puny in the backdrop of eternity. And spiritual life and living forever as spirit beings. That's the only way they're puny. But you know, you have to kind of have that concept in order to endure those types of trials and to stay faithful and not blame God. This really isn't God's world right now. This is Satan's world. Satan is the God of this world. And that's why there's so much suffering and pain and sorrow going on. God is not to blame for that. Satan is to blame. And also we are to blame because we're not perfect like God. We're not righteous and perfect. And the wages of sin is death. So we all deserve it. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. So let's go to Luke chapter 13. We'll consider a very important principle that Christ laid out in Luke chapter 13. Because it's very easy to look at others who are going through a trial and say that, well, they must have really done something bad. And, you know, I'm glad I didn't do anything that bad because I'm not suffering as badly as they are. Or I'm still alive and they're dead. So they must have done something horrible. In Luke chapter 13, verse 1, there were present at that season some who told him, told Christ, about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Yet Pilate was not a very nice guy.

Jesus answered and said to them, do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? Because that's what some of them were thinking, that they must have been the worst of the worst. I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Sin is sin and we've all sinned, haven't we? So we don't know when someone's going to come along and take our lives. It can happen. Or those 18 on whom this tower in Siloam fell and killed them. Sometimes God allows a tower of Siloam to fall on God's people, to fall on some who are very fine people.

God allows it to happen. Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you repent. See, time and chance happens to all of us. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time when that tower fell. It could have been 18 different people.

And, you know, the point is, you know, we should not assume that others are worse people than we are because they've gone through worse trials. Verse 6, 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 the vineyard, Look, for three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. See, he may have realized that he hadn't done his part. And perhaps he felt a little guilty because he hadn't done his part in taking care of this thing, this tree. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that you can cut it down. You know, after we've tried everything, then you can cut it down. You see, we do reap what we sow, and it does make a difference. And yes, God does bless for obedience, and he does curse for disobedience. But he also is very merciful, and he allows certain things to happen. According to his will, and his will is perfect, and we don't always know exactly what his will is. But we have to trust that God knows best, and we have to be able to deal with whatever it is that comes along, whatever happens.

We have to be able to deal with it, and not let it shake our faith, and not allow it to get us to blame God or to hate God. You know, that's somewhere we cannot go. You know, God is perfect. God is righteous. Christ is perfect. Christ is righteous. We don't blame God. You know, God is not to blame. So we have to have a better perspective, and thankfully, we do understand things far better than most people. And that really bothers a lot of people, because they don't have the big picture. They don't see God for who he is, and life makes no sense. But life does make sense when you understand why people suffer, why God allows suffering.

You know, that this is not God's world right now. Things are going to change. And so we have to prepare ourselves to be ready for the changes that will happen in the future. We have to be able to rule and reign with Christ to help things change. In Luke 5, verse 32, Christ said, He came to call sinners to repentance. He came to call sinners to repentance. We are all sinners. He came to call everyone to repentance, but in their own order, in their own time. You know, sometimes, you know, not everyone is called to repentance right now. God grants repentance. It's a gift from God. He grants repentance. He isn't calling everyone right now. A lot of people aren't repentant. You know, they don't have repentant hearts. They don't have repentant minds. But we in God's church can have a repentant heart and a repentant mind. And then God will grant us repentance. Our sins will be washed away. Our sins will be forgiven. And then we are to walk in newness of life. And we are to continue to fight the battle and fight the good fight, continue to strive to put sin out of our lives, to become unleavened. You know, these... God's Holy Days picture His plan of salvation and how it all works together. I'm not going to take the time to go through all that. But that should be something that's firmly cemented in our minds. Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpet, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, Last Great Day. They all have tremendous meaning.

And they outline God's plan of salvation for all people, for all of mankind.

Now, in Hebrews 12, there's two verses I'd like to read. Hebrews 12, verses 1 and 2, as we finish this first point. Hebrews 12, verse 1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, we just went through Hebrews 11. We didn't, but the Bible does. But we know what it talks about in Hebrews 11. This is the chapter of faith. Men and women of faith that were greatly persecuted and tried and tested. And yet they remain faithful throughout all of it. It says, therefore, we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. All the patriarchs and the prophets, Joseph and Daniel and others that came before us, that were faithful, if they can do it, we can do it with God's help. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Isn't that the truth? There is a great weight, a weight of sin, and it easily ensnares each and every one of us. And until we're able to admit that and see that, we have some major problems. We have to be able to see that sin easily ensnares every one of us. You know, sin goes deep. Even our thoughts can be sinful. Christ made that very clear. If you harbor hatred or resentment, you've committed murder in your heart.

If you've lusted, you've committed adultery in your heart. So, if we don't see that sin easily ensnares us, then we don't get it. You know, we just don't get it. And that should humble us so that we don't allow pride to rule our lives. 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 sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Christ did the right thing. You know, Christ did the right thing. He said, nevertheless, not my will. Because humanly, He was not desiring the crucifixion. None of us would, would we? Who wants to be crucified? Who wants to go through the shame of crucifixion, and the agony and the pain of crucifixion? Christ didn't desire that from a physical standpoint, whatever, but He did desire to do His Father's will. Nevertheless, not my will, but Your will be done. And so He yielded and surrendered and submitted to the crucifixion. And He laid His life down willingly for us. He is our Savior. It says, Christ is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. We sang a song about Christ as the Alpha and the Omega. He's the Author, He's the Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. You know, being willing to go through that shame, because that was the right thing to do. And has sat down now at the right hand of God, because God resurrected Christ, because of His faithfulness, and because of His willingness to do that which is right, because He never sinned, He paid the penalty for our sins. So the first point, again, is build your house upon the rock. If you want to be able to withstand any physical or spiritual storm that comes along, build your house upon the rock. Secondly, lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. These are fundamental basic principles. Christ is our foundation, and lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. Christ instructed us in Matthew 6, we'll go back to the Sermon on the Mount, He instructed us, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth. Matthew 6, verse 19, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy. You know, I didn't take care of my pans, my cast iron skillets, and my Dutch oven. They rusted big time. Thankfully, it didn't eat all the way through, and they're still salvageable. So, it's a good thing I'm camping here again, because the last time I used them was here in the Whittel Mountains about 4 years ago. I set them in the garage, never paid any attention to them. Even though I think when I put them in there, they were probably okay. I mean, I think they were, you know, they were decent. But you can't just go 4 years, totally neglecting them.

Because eventually, that rust will break in, it will destroy. Also, thieves will break in and steal at times. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. You know, if we put our truck, if we are too married, I use that, if we are too wedded to material things, our home, our vehicles, that kind of stuff, that will frustrate us no end. Because someone could steal your car. Somebody could, you know, they could steal whatever you have. You know, they could burn your house down. You know, things like that have happened.

Don't put your faith and trust in material things. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So if you're one that puts a lot of stock in material things, and how wonderful all these material things, and you take pride in material things, then that can come back to bite you.

It can come back to bite you pretty hard at times. So be careful that your primary treasure is laid up in heaven, not here on the earth. I'm not saying you can't have nice things, or cool things, or whatever, material things. But you better have your priorities straight. Because those material, physical things can be taken away from you in an instant.

And if you're not spiritually prepared, that could be a great trial for you.

Anger can set in. You know, you could go seeking revenge on whoever stole it. You know, whatever. It could lead to destruction. You gum up against the wrong people. They decide to shoot you in the head.

Your life's done. Things like that happen. You know, people get... They just put too much stock in material things. They don't allow reason to guide them. And they do stupid stuff.

Put your trust in God and lay up your treasures in heaven, not upon the earth.

Sometimes, again, we treasure things we should not.

Moses was wise when he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the very temporary pleasures of sin.

Moses grew up in the Pharaoh's household. He was basically the Pharaoh's daughter's son. This is talking about the grandson of the Pharaoh.

You know, I'm sure he was greatly favored and had many, many material, physical blessings by being a part of Pharaoh's household. Pharaoh was the richest man on earth. You know, he walked away from that. You know, he chose, again, he chose God's people. God was calling him. God was clearly calling Moses. Moses had a relationship with God. Later on, Moses reasoned with God and said, look, blot me out of the Book of Life if you're going to wipe out all these people.

You know, Moses was really an amazing person, an amazing example of someone who walked away from riches and fame. And, you know, for years he wandered around in the desert. You know, it was years later when he left the burning bush incident that happened many years later. You know, God was testing Moses. He went through many storms, physically, I'm sure, and spiritually. But he sets a wonderful example for us.

So we need to choose God rather than the temporary pleasures of sin. Sin has temporary pleasure, oftentimes. There are temporary things. The reason we sin is because we want to. Isn't that why we sin? We want to. Part of us wants to. Part of us wants to do it. Paul said, the things I don't want to do, I do. He's talking about from a spiritual perspective. From a spiritual perspective, we all do things that we don't want to do. But we also do things that we want to do. You know what I'm saying?

A part of us, the carnal part wants to do evil. The carnal mind is empty against God. It's not subject to God's law. So when we allow the carnal mind, when we yield to the carnal mind in us, that's when we do these things that are fleshly, that are sensual, that are ungodly, that are wrong. But when we yield to God's Spirit, then we walk in the Spirit and we choose the things of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience or long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, self-control, faithfulness.

These are the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we choose those things. When we're walking in the flesh, we choose the other things. So there is a battle continually going on. Sometimes we treasure things we should not. One thing God's elect strive very diligently about is this, to keep our hearts close to God. We know that we have to protect our hearts and our minds. And so we drive sometimes many hours to be at services with God's people.

Because we realize that God has told us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. And God is in these services. On the Sabbath day, when we get together, these are commanded assemblies. They're sanctified. They're holy. And God helps us stay on the right track. Every week, when we faithfully observe God's Sabbath and we meet together, we're strengthened spiritually.

It gives us help. It gives us strength spiritually. So we should strive to protect our heart. Now, most of us have material blessings. You know, I have a home, a nice home. I've got a two-car garage. A lot of people have a three-car garage where I live. Now, am I going to dwell on the fact that people have three-car garages? And I'm stuck with a two-car garage? Now, human nature will try to get you to do that. You drive by the three-car garages and you wish that you had a three-car garage, because you want more room to put all your junk that you should have sorted out and taken care of and didn't.

So, that's human nature. So, even though we have many great blessings, human nature is to want more. Is to want more physical blessings. I suppose Bill Gates wants more. I don't know how he could possibly want more physically.

I don't know. He's got everything he could possibly... I mean, he can get anything of a physical nature. He can have. No, but there are probably some things that, because of the government, there are some things he can have, and those are probably things that he wishes he could have, too.

I don't know what goes on in Bill Gates' mind, but I know human nature. So, something tells me he has his battles, too. Even though he has everything that he could possibly want physically, he'd probably want something he can have.

You know, as God's elect, we should be good neighbors to our neighbors, whoever they are. We should set an example in our neighborhoods. We should be good neighbors. We should love humanity. God loved them, right? So, shouldn't we love them as well? Of course. It's fundamental that we should love people. We should love these people. We shouldn't look at them as, Oh, these are fools and idiots. They're not at church right now. They should be over here. Well, God could call them, and they could be over here someday. But God has chosen not to call them at this point. We should be grateful that we're called out, but we shouldn't look down on people who are not yet called. And we shouldn't think of them as the scum of the earth.

That isn't the way God wants us to look at humanity.

We are to judge righteous judgment, obviously. And sin is sin no matter who's doing it.

And it's wrong. And it's something that we should stand up against.

But we should seek peace. We should pursue it earnestly. We should lay up our treasures in heaven.

Do that which is right and good. Produce the fruit of God's Spirit. Be loving. Be joyful. Be peaceful. Be kind to all people. Be hospitable. Be faithful. Be a good friend. Don't gossip about your neighbors.

No, that's not godly. There's always some gossips in a neighborhood. Well, don't be one of them.

We all have stories about God's mercy upon us. I mean, God has shown mercy to me thousands of times.

I'm sure He's shown mercy to you thousands of times.

He saves us in so many ways. You know, just because He allows something else to happen sometime, should we turn our backs on Him?

I mean, He does bless us every day with our lives. So we should be grateful. We should be thankful. And so much of it is a mindset. What is your mindset? Are you grateful? Are you thankful? Do you praise God even in the storms of life? Do you remember all the times when God blessed you, even when now He's allowing you to go through a trial, whether it's financial, it could be financial, it could be something else. It could be something that you've done to bring about persecution or to bring about curses. You may have done something yourself that you need to repent of. Or God may just be allowing something to happen to test your faith and to test you.

So God has saved us all from health struggles. He saved us from job situations, car accidents, dozens of other miracles, I'm sure, that we might not even be aware of, that God has spared us. But sometimes He allows the storm as well. Down in Houston, that rain fell on the just and the unjust. Some people had to go for higher ground, even though they were in God's church. God didn't just protect their home. It could have been swept away. God may have protected their home. God can do whatever He chooses to do. And there's probably some stories of God's intervention. The water just went around. I can't explain it. I don't know what happened. God may have done that for some people that aren't in the church. God may have chosen to spare someone's home for whatever reasons He might have. So, you know, a storm like Houston shows how precarious life is. Things were going along just fine until storm Harvey showed up. Hurricane Harvey showed up. Things weren't so fine after it showed up. Before that, things were pretty hunky-dory for a lot of people. Now, not so much so. Some people don't have electricity that they took for granted before Harvey. They took it for granted. Now they don't take it for granted so much. They had a shelter. Now they have no shelter. They took that for granted until Harvey showed up. Gasoline. You know, we take gasoline for granted, don't we? We expect there to be gas. When I drive home, I'm hoping there'll be gas. I got here. I was wondering if I thought maybe I couldn't get here. I had half a tank. I didn't rush out. I drove it out to get gas. I saw long lines.

I made a decision. I think there will be gas in Sherman. I know I can get to Sherman. I know I can get to other places. I got a half a tank. I believed that I could get gas. But I went out to get gas anyway, just in case I might not be able to get gas. Almost every gas station was closed except a couple, two in my area, and long, long lines.

This was Thursday night. Long, long lines. Forget it. I'm going to take my chances. I'll drive. If I can't get gas, I'll turn around and go back. That was my thinking because I'm not going to spend an hour waiting in line. Because I really felt I didn't have to. I felt there was probably going to be gas.

Thankfully, there was. I made it. I got gas. Actually, I ended up getting gas in McKinney because they opened up another station. I got it right then, even though I had to pay more. I saw it for 20 cents cheaper on the way. But that's okay. I wanted to get here, so I didn't want to take too many chances. Again, the second point. Before we leave it, let's go to Romans 5 for a moment. Romans 5, verses 1-6. Romans 5, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Can we glory in tribulations because we know they're going to happen, and we know God is going to see us through? So, we don't worry too much about it, and we even thank God for the tribulation that can help us be better people. We have to weather the storm. We come out on the other side, we're better people. We've shown ourselves faithful. We've learned some lessons. We've built some character. We're better people. So, not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character. When we persevere, when we hang in there, we develop godly spiritual character. And character, hope. Because if we have character, we really don't have to worry. It gives us hope that things will be fine. You know, it's when I'm doing things I shouldn't do, it's when I really begin to doubt that things could befall me. Because I know that there are curses for disobedience. I realize that. So, every time we sin, we're at risk. Every time we sin, we're at risk. Because the wages of sin is death, and we reap what we sow, and be sure your sins will find you out. So, we put ourselves at risk every time we decide to sin. And it is a decision. Sinning is a decision that we make. We choose whether to sin or to be obedient. So, anyway, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that was given to us. God's Spirit dwells in us, it guides us, it directs us, it helps us to weather the storms of life, it helps us cope with our own humanity. Like Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of death? It can be very discouraging and depressing to be a human being.

It can be because we're wretched people. Paul says we are. He says he was. Oh, wretched man that I am, who would deliver me from this body of death? This is a body of death. The wages of sin is death. We've all done it. That's what we deserve. And we're going to continue to do it as long as we're in the flesh. We will continue to sin. We will not become perfect in the flesh.

So, we are wretched in that sense. But knowing what we know gives us hope, and it helps us continue to fight the good fight, to persevere, to hang in there. That's what keeps me going because I am a wretched man.

Who's going to deliver me? I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Savior. I will be delivered not by any goodness of my own, but through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the wonderful plan of salvation that He and the Father have devised for us. And that's what will save you, O wretched person, that you are.

So, we learn by our suffering. We learn by our suffering. It even says Christ learned by the things that He suffered, or that He learned obedience. That just means that He was obedient through all of that. He stayed faithful. So, we learn obedience as well as long as we stay faithful.

When hard times hit, we don't curse God and take us like Job's wife did.

That was her human reaction.

We have to be careful that we don't react that way as well.

Alright, let's go on to the third and final point here. Let's take refuge in God. That's the third principle. The second one again was... First one was build your house on the rock. Second one was lay up treasures in heaven. Not on the earth. That means be a good true Christian. Put your trust in the character that you're building, or that God's building in you. And not in any physical things. And number three, truly take refuge in God. Take refuge in God. When a storm comes along, know that God holds our lives in His hand. If a hurricane or tornado comes along, then take refuge in God. Certainly pray about it. Pray for protection. Pray for help. Pray for deliverance. And have faith that God will deliver you in a time of trial like that. Even if a tower of Siloam is falling and you're looking at it with coming down on you, pray instantly. Maybe God will whisk you out of the way. God can do it. God has the power. So don't limit Him. Have faith in Him. Trust in Him. Take refuge in Him. Let's go to 1 Samuel chapter 20 for a moment. David and Jonathan, what a wonderful relationship the two of them had. You know, Jonathan was Saul's son. He was heir to the throne. From a physical standpoint, that's exactly what Saul wanted to do. He wanted to give Jonathan the throne. He didn't want to give David the throne. He tried to kill David repeatedly. But Jonathan, who understood that he was next in line, if it was to go the way of kings, he was next in line to be king. But God had other plans. And Jonathan was okay with those plans. And he didn't grasp for the power. 1 Samuel chapter 20, Then David fled from Naoth and Rhema, 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?

Saul was continually trying to kill David. 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. Because he was intent on killing David, but he knew that Jonathan loved David. So he wasn't being straight forward with his son. He wasn't telling him everything. He was out to kill David. And Jonathan was thinking more highly of his father than he probably should have at this point. And he says, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord... This is what David says, truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. David understood that there was just like one step between him and death. When you got the king pursuing you and the power of the king pursuing you, God has to be your refuge because the king is going to get you otherwise. The king will get you otherwise. And I think David understood that, but he still ran. He knew that he still needed to run as he was trusting God. And he says, There's only a step between me and death. So don't think your daddy is such a fine guy. He's out to kill me. So... But the idea that there is a step between me and death, I mean, that's true for all of us, really. There's just a step between us and death. It could be a heart attack. That might be the step. It could be a fire in our home. That could be the step. You know, there's just a step between us and death. It's just a heartbeat away. You know, depending on what might happen, a car accident, that could be the step. David had to place his faith and trust in God to protect him from Saul. Again, a king with great power to pursue and to destroy David. And there's just a step between having a nice house on the beach. Okay, you might... Maybe you're blessed with a home on the beach. I don't know if anyone... I don't think anyone has a Malibu beach home. And you haven't told me about it. And you're not letting me come and visit. So, I don't think anyone has this Malibu beach home. But, you know, there's just a step between having a nice house close to the beach and having nothing but some 2x4s floating in the surf. Because that home could be wiped out in an instant. That beautiful home in Malibu. You know, I was actually in Alaska recently with a very rich man who was a member of the Living Church of God. And he had like a hundred acres in Malibu.

The guy has money. He didn't invite me to come and visit with him. But maybe someday. We were friends. We went fishing together. Enjoyed each other's company. But the point is... Whatever he has could be taken away from him in an instant. You know, we're a step away from death. We're a step away from disaster. The only way we will survive life's storms, whether they're physical or spiritual ones, is by taking refuge in God and trusting in Him. God who knows the breadth and the depth of human experience and can guide us through the rough and the choppy waters that will rise up and surge against us at times.

You know...

You can just put this in your notes. Psalm 56, verse 2 through Psalm 57, verse 1. It talks about this very thing. You know, God will deliver us from rough and choppy waters. I've taken long enough. I don't want to continue dragging this sermon out. But we should learn to praise God in the storm. We should learn to be thankful to God in the storm. Isaiah 43, you might write that down, verses 1 through 21. Also, very germane to what I'm talking about today.

You know, God is mankind's only really safe place. There are many other scriptures that we can go to. If you want more scriptures, talk to me afterwards. I don't have time to go through it. I've taken long enough today. But the fact is that there are scriptures that talk about how God will calm the storm for us. There are scriptures that will talk about how He will shelter us from the storm.

He tells us that we will find joy. That we should finish our race with joy. Satan is the adversary, but we can finish our race with joy if we put our trust in Him. So, let's continue to pray for those who go through disasters like the one in Houston. Let's pray for our brothers and sisters in the church, who may have to go through physical disasters. Let's try to help them if we can. If we can do anything to possibly ease the pain that people suffer, whether in the church or out of the church, we should try to do that. We should realize that we need to be anchored to Jesus Christ. If we are anchored to Him, if He is our anchor, then we will be able to survive any storm. And it comes along. If Christ is our anchor, there's a song, yes, the anchor holds. You know, you've probably heard that song. The anchor holds. Christ is the anchor. He does hold. He won't leave us. He won't forsake us. He will see us through every trial. So, brethren, in order to survive the storms of life, number one, build your house on the rock. Number two, lay up your treasures in heaven. It's not here on the earth. But number three, be sure that you do take refuge in God because God is the only sure deliverance from life storm. So, praise Him and thank Him in the storm.