Three Principles for Surviving Life’s Storms

Well, I think I mentioned in the last sermon that I gave that my son had said something very profound at age five. He said, Dad, it's hard to be good. Right? You remember that? And I could really identify with him that, you know, it is difficult to be good. We're all flesh. We're all human. We all fall short of God's glory. We're sinners. So I thought that to be quite profound. And, you know, I've also thought a lot about, you know, life is hard, too. You know, it's hard to be good, but life is hard. I don't find life to be that easy. You know, there are a lot of challenges just living day to day, you know, as children and as we grow up, we have to make a living. You know, there's a lot of challenges that God allows us to have to go through. Even driving today in the kind of traffic, isn't that sometimes difficult? You know, there's lots of reasons why life is hard. You know, I really have to give it to people that they hold up as well as they do. You know, I just think life is difficult. You know, there's always something happening no matter where we live. For example, you know, if you lived in a town called Paradise some time ago, you had to fight wildfires. Many people lost their homes. I think quite a few lost their lives. I don't remember all the details, but I know it was difficult. I know we had a shooter in Vegas, I guess it was, at one of the casinos that opened fire on a bunch of innocent people that were, I guess, at a concert of some kind. You know, they didn't deserve to be shot by some guy from a window. You know, so we really don't know what's going to happen from day to day. You know, we really don't. Life is difficult. There's always different storms. You know, the second song that we sang today that Mr. Trone-led talked about basically God as our refuge. I was going to bring that up here and read a few of those lines, but I failed to do that. But I was struck by it just goes so well with what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about surviving life's storms. You know, and I'm not talking just about physical storms, because sometimes physical storms can be a real trial. Trial. In fact, I went through Donner Pass. You know, some time ago, some people up on that mountain, they had some very difficult times, didn't they? You know, blizzards hit. I would imagine people even today get stuck sometimes if they're up there in a blizzard. You know, they don't have their chains on. They may end up in the ditch. You know, you have to be careful. Life's difficult. You know, it can be hard. And you know, I remember back in 2004, a tsunami hit over in Indonesia killed over 230,000 people.

230,000 people killed in that storm. We've had an earthquake that was an earthquake that started that tsunami. It was like a 9.1 earthquake. You know, we don't know when earthquakes are going to happen. My daughter lives in Alaska. She felt that last large earthquake that took place. I even felt some earthquakes in Oklahoma. When I was living there, they started doing more fracking, and there were more earthquakes. They were minor ones. But, you know, we don't know. Alaska got hit with a real bad one back in the 60s, and it did a tremendous amount of damage, and a lot of people died in that.

So we're going to have to deal with storms, physical storms, but also spiritual storms that come our way. So what is the key to surviving life storms? What is the key? Are there a number of keys? Are we ready for whatever comes our way? Are we ready spiritually for what comes next? I'd like to discuss three key principles or strategies of surviving life storms.

No matter what kind of storm comes along, these three points will help you be better prepared in the future. Let's go to Luke 19 first and consider what happened here that is discussed in the book of Luke. Luke chapter 19 will break in at verse 41. Luke chapter 19 verse 41.

Now, as he drew near, he saw the city and he wept over it, saying, if you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. This is Christ addressing the people here. Some of the Pharisees that said in verse nine had called to him from the crowd, telling him, teacher, rebuke your disciples.

He answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. And as he drew near, he saw the city. He wept over it. He says in verse 43, for days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you or around you, surround you and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground.

You know, he talked about a prophecy that was going to take place because you did not know the time of your visitation. I am the son of God. I'm here visiting you now. You don't get it. You don't see it. You know, you're not accepting me, accepting me as who I am, and there will be consequences. Things will happen because of this. Then he 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.

And he was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priest, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy him. You know, it's a sad thing when this type of thing goes on, when people don't realize who Jesus Christ is. And that leads me to the first point, the first key, and that is we must build our house on the rock. You know, we have to have our house built on the rock. If we're going to survive life's storms, our house must be built on the rock. Matthew, chapter seven, in the Sermon on the Mount, let's go there, Matthew, chapter seven. If you want to hear more depth on the Sermon on the Mount, I know a lot of men have given messages on the Sermon on the Mount.

I think I gave like 10 different messages just on those three chapters. There's much that can be learned from the Sermon on the Mount. So in Matthew, chapter seven, verse 24, Christ says, therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine... He's talking about this sermon that he's been discussing, and this could well be a compilation of a number of sermons all put together in one. You know, this is a very powerful message that's being given here. He says, 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. It had a firm foundation. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them, does not obey, does not keep my commandments. And of course, his commandments were the exact same ones that he had delivered as the eternal word, you know, prior to that. A lot of people don't get that, they don't understand that, but there's no variance between God's commandments and Christ's commandments.

They're the same commandments. We're to live by every word of God. Jesus Christ is the word of God. So he says, if they hear it, they don't do it, then they're going to be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Now, maybe he thought, man, this is a great place to build a house. You know, it's gorgeous right here, close to the beach. I don't know exactly, you know, what house we're talking about, but any kind of house built on the sand, I don't care how gorgeous and how beautiful it is, you better build somewhere else.

So the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority, not as the scribes, not as those men who foisted themselves off as experts of the law. No, Jesus Christ was the law. He was the law giver. You know, he's the one that brought the law. And so he spoke with authority. He knew exactly what he was talking about. So don't build your house upon the sand, brethren. Think about that. Of course, we're talking spiritually here. This is mainly what Christ is talking about. Not that it isn't a good principle physically as well. It obviously is.

So we don't look to man, we look to God only. We must all have a solid spiritual foundation upon which to build our spiritual lives. Again, the foundation is not of men, it is of God. Perhaps all tests of our faith go back to this. Where did we plant our foundation?

How solid are we in accepting Christ as our personal Savior, as our Lord, our Master, our High Priest, our soon-coming King? Now, that's what we hear at the baptismal ceremony. Now, how dedicated, committed are we? Have we truly accepted Christ as our Savior? Have we surrendered to Him and also to the Father because I and my Father are one in complete harmony and complete unity?

So perhaps it all goes back to this. Where did we plan our foundation? How firm is our foundation? Have we set our foundation upon men, upon ministers?

Or is our foundation clearly set upon the Word of God? In Psalm 146, verse 3, it clearly tells us to put our trust not in princes nor in a son of man.

In other words, human beings. Don't put your trust in human beings. Not that you can't have some trust as they follow Christ, right? Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. But if I ever lead any of you astray, don't follow me. You know, don't go down the wrong path. You know, you are a free moral agent. You have to live and stand before God. So you have to make those decisions yourself. Don't follow any man unless that man is following Christ. If that man's following God and Christ, then you'll be fine because you built your foundation on the rock. And we've seen that in our history. We've seen people follow men. We've seen whole groups of people follow men. So I hope that we are learning and I hope that we more fully understand the responsibility that we each have to follow biblical principles and not men, not what men tell you.

So again, it goes on to say, in whom there is no help. You know, with men, it's talking about there's no salvation in men. No, they can't give you salvation. You can't find salvation in any man.

You can find salvation only in God, in Christ, and in the Father. That's where the salvation comes.

So put your trust in them. Build your house. Build the rock. We know that Christ is the rock, right? I'm not going to go to a lot of scriptures that there's plenty of scriptures that bear that out, that Jesus Christ is the rock. He is our foundation. But I will go to Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. And I believe it is important to consider this message here. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens, with the saints and the members of the household of God, and this is Paul speaking, having been built on the foundation of the apostles. We know that Christ is the head of the church. It's God's church. It's the church of God. Christ is the head of the church.

And it's all been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself, being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, talking about the whole building, the church of God as a whole, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And isn't it true that Paul says that you are the temple of God's Holy Spirit? God's Spirit lives in every single one of us who have been baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. If God's Spirit dwells in you, you have been sanctified, you've been set apart, you've responded to the call. The Bible says many are called, but few are chosen. The ones who respond to the call are the ones who are chosen.

They're the ones who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them.

And that's going to make all the difference in the world when Christ returns, because those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them and have died, they're going to rise first.

They're going to come out of the graves. They'll rise first, and those who are alive and remain, when Christ returns, they'll be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. But it's God's Spirit that seals us for the resurrection, whether we're dead or alive. It's God's Holy Spirit. So we're built on this wonderful foundation of Jesus Christ. You know, Christ lives in us by the power of His Spirit. We are the temple of God. You know, God's Spirit dwells in us. So individually, we are integral parts of the body of Christ. We need each and every one of you to take your role very responsibly and realize that, you know, we're counting on you. We're looking to you to make God's church stronger.

You've always, you've all heard the frame, we're only as strong as our weakest link.

So it behooves us to take our calling seriously, to know that God's Spirit will give us the power to grow, to overcome, to put sin out of our lives, to change. This is a high and a holy calling. It isn't one that we ought to minimize. You know, it's not one that we should take lightly.

And it's very important, the example that we set for one another, lest we drag each other down by setting a poor example. So God wants us all together to realize that Christ lives in us. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If you have faith and you believe that, then God can perform miracles in your life. You will be able to move spiritual mountains, so to speak. You can help people. You can help them grow and overcome. You know, don't sell yourself short either.

Don't think that you don't have a big impact with the people that live with you, or the children that you have, or the people that you come and rub shoulders with every Sabbath. You know, don't minimize your role. We're all integral to the family of God. So we do need to build on Jesus Christ. It says Christ is the chief cornerstone, but the apostles and the prophets, you know, the Old Testament, the New Testament, it's the entire Word of God. You know, we can learn from Genesis to Revelation how God wants us to live. In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. At one holy temple, all of us doing our part.

In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

I firmly believe the more pleasing we are to God, the more God will pour His blessings out on us. I have no doubt that every single seat could be filled in short order if God determines. If God says, you know, I'm really happy with what I see down here, it's time to open up the floodgates.

God can do that. I believe that. I believe we're going to see better times in the United Church of God in the future. That's my own belief. I have faith. I trust that will happen. I want you to think about it yourself. Perhaps you can learn to trust more, have more faith, go to God more. Ask Him. Ask Him. Ask and you shall receive. Ask Him to open up the floodgates.

Ask Him that we be prepared to accept all who He would call and do it in a godly and a loving manner. You know, we should all be firmly anchored in Jesus Christ. He is the captain of our salvation. So, brethren, there's always going to be storms. You know, there will be things that will come up in your life. There'll be things that will come up in the church from time to time. We've all seen it. You know, there's a lot of drama in the Church of God, right? You know, we've seen a lot of drama in the Church. How we respond to the drama is very important. It's very, very important. God's going to allow the storms. There is such a thing as man-made storms. Sometimes we bring it upon ourselves. We reap what we sow, right? You've done it. I've done it. There are consequences. I want to share a story with you. When I was a college student, back at Ambassador in the 70s, we had an instructor that talked to us. It was a forum at Ambassador College. He was telling us that college students, you know, oftentimes they lack good consequential reasoning. I don't know if you're familiar with that term, consequential reasoning. Well, I want to use an illustration. When I was a boy, I was in my front yard. I was playing. I think I was playing ball, just goofing around, messing around. My cousin Rick was there. And Rick was a year older than I was. I was 11. He might have been 12, something like that. And he fashioned himself as a bit of a Daniel Boone, a real outdoorsman. He liked to hunt and fish and trap. And all of this. So he had the bright idea that he could catch a squirrel.

There was a squirrel on the back of this tree, and it was a big cottonwood tree. I saw it. He saw it. I'm thinking, don't grab a squirrel.

Well, he decided he was going to give it a shot. The squirrel was on the back of the tree. He wasn't. He snuck up behind the tree, reached around, grabbed it right behind the neck. Thought he would be safe. Not so. That squirrel, that squirrel just tore him up. That squirrel buried his teeth in his thumb. Buried his teeth and would not let go. I mean, he would not let go. I never heard anyone scream as loudly as I heard my cousin Rick scream that day. I can still hear it, truly, in my ears. He's screaming. He can't get the thing off. He finally just chokes it to death. He choked it. Finally, it died. He choked it to death.

I've never seen anything like it. But that made a big impression on me.

I try to think about the consequences of what I do. Am I going to grab a spiritual squirrel? You know, the squirrel looks gentle. It looks kind of nice. The squirrels look fluffy. They look pretty. They bounce around. They're harmless, right? Well, not if you grab them.

Satan is a roaring lion, and he is seeking whom he may devour. He is subtle. Sometimes he masquerades, and he has ministers who masquerade, as ministers of light when they're truly darkness. And I'm not talking about anyone here, by the way. Don't think this is not where I'm going with any of this. I'm just saying that Satan is our enemy. He's our adversary, and we have to think about the consequences. If we're going to go down a path of darkness, we're going to pay a price for it. You know, whether it's a squirrel or some other spiritual squirrel of some kind. I don't know if you know David Teague, but he's an artist, and he's drawn some beautiful pictures at the home office. And he heard this sermon I gave, and he drew a picture of a squirrel. And it just said, don't. The guy with the hands coming for the squirrel.

Don't! Okay, so I want you to think about that the next time you're tempted to grab a hold of a spiritual squirrel, and just realize that if you do, you're going to have some consequences.

If it's the wrong thing to do, hold back and don't do it. And spare yourself a lot of grief. So the first point is, again, we need to build our house upon the rock. You know, God and Christ, there's the rock that we need to build upon. Oh, you know, there's a few other scriptures I could return to, but I'll just mention that the Tower of Siloam. You remember the Tower of Siloam that fell? And it says they weren't any worse sinners. It just was time and chance. Sometimes time and chance comes along. You know, sometimes there's nothing we can do to avoid things like that. We should never sit back in judgment of people thinking we know all the story. You know, thinking that we have it all figured out, because we may not have all the facts. You know, we may not know it all, and they may not be any worse of a sinner than we are. And what does the Bible tell us? We'll be forgiven in the same manner that we are willing to forgive others. So if we think of others harshly, if we think ourselves better than others, then we'll also pay a consequence for that. In Hebrews chapter 12, it says, separate your salvation. I'm sorry, let's go to Hebrews 12 verse 1. Those were my comments. That's not what Hebrews 12 is. Let's go to Hebrews 12 and read it, then I'll make my comments. Hebrews 12 verse 1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. This is right after the faith chapter. You know, people, men and women of faith, he says, we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. They, you know, they witness to God's beauty, his truth, his strength. You know, they were faithful through thick and thin. God was with them. He says, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Isn't that true? Remember, it's hard to be good. Sin easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us. Let us run with endurance. Let us let us go forth with strength, God's strength, God's spirit working in us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, the stake, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. He sat down on the right hand of the Father because he makes intercession for us. I'm very grateful to Jesus Christ as my intercessor. He's had to intercede for me on a number of occasions. He's had to go to the Father, I have no doubt, and say, look, he sinned. But look at him, he's on his knees now. He's asking for forgiveness. He's praying. He's pouring his heart out. He's broken up by what he's done. Forgive him. And the Father does. And we need to know that we can go boldly before the throne of grace.

The best time to go boldly is before we've sinned, though. Now, that's the best time. If you're tempted, get on your knees before you sin. Ask God to fill you with his Spirit. Ask him to give you the strength that you need to be strong and faithful and true. But if you find yourself when you haven't done that, and we all will at times, then we can get down on our knees, ask and you shall receive. Come boldly before the throne of grace to help in time of need.

We desperately need help when we've sinned. Because the wages of sin is death. And if it's not repented of, then we will be cast in the lake of fire. We must repent of our sins. We must truly be sorry in a godly manner for our sins. Then we will be forgiven. So we're not playing games.

God's not a game player. You can't play games with God. God's very merciful. He's very loving. He's very compassionate. But he looks on your heart. And if you take him lightly, he's not going to appreciate that if you take him lightly. So we should never take God lightly. We should try to do our very best. Set the best example that we know how to set.

Help each other as we walk in life's storms and the battles that we face. You know, that's when we need each other. So separate your salvation from man. Look to God the Father and to his Son Jesus Christ alone. There is no salvation in any man. Many in the modern-day Church of God seem to look to men instead of to God.

They don't look past the men to God. And we need to look past the men to make sure that the men are doing God's will. And if they're not, then we have to reject that. We have to follow them as they follow Christ. So that's the first point. The first point, again, in facing life's storms, make sure you build your house on the rock. Number two, lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. Lay up treasures in heaven, not on the earth. If you want to be able to handle the storms, the spiritual storms that come your way, make sure you're laying up treasures in heaven because it makes a big difference to God.

He wants to see us laying up treasures in heaven. Let's go to Matthew 6 again, the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6, verse 19. Matthew 6, verse 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and dust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So what do we treasure most in life? No, we largely give God a very good indication and others what we treasure by how we spend our time. You know, we all have to work, so God understands that. And when we work, we should give an honest day's work. We should be good, faithful stewards, and we should give back to our employers. And then beyond that, how do we live our lives? Do we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Or do we spend a lot more time doing other things? And do we fritter away the time instead of being a bit more diligent? Not that God doesn't want you to have some fun. I like to have fun. I like to hunt. I like to fish. I like to play softball. I still do.

I enjoy spending time with family, with my wife, with the kids. You know, I'm not… I don't consider myself a workaholic, although I've had to work a lot here lately. But I don't really consider myself a workaholic. I'm looking for moments of relief from all the work. We all have to seek for that. So the point I'm making is lay up your treasures in heaven, not on earth. You know, sometimes we treasure things we shouldn't. Moses was wise when he chose to suffer affliction, with the people of God, rather than enjoy the very temporary pleasures of sin. Sin can be pleasurable. There are certain sins that are more pleasurable than others.

They can be pleasurable, but if they're sinful, then we have to say no. And we can't just say, I'm weak. I'm weak. And keep saying it over and over and over again. Sure, you're weak. We know that. But you can be made strong in Christ Jesus. I can do all things through Christ. I can overcome. I can put sin out. That's the kind of attitude and approach that God wants to see, not one who makes excuses for himself. We're all flesh. None of us will be perfect either. I get that.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for perfection.

So again, God looks on the heart. One thing God's elect strive very diligently about is this. You know, we want to stay close to God, right? You know, if we draw near to God, He draws near to us. And Satan has no power over us when we're close to God. Resist Satan and he will flee from you. He has no... He can't be in the presence of God and His Spirit very long. He leaves. You know, when we allow... We stir up the Spirit of God. He's gone. He doesn't want to be around. It's only when we're weak and we're walking in the flesh. When we have that opportune time that I may have talked about last time I was here, you know, that's what he's looking for. So let's be diligent. We are God's elect. We should be good neighbors to one another, but also to those who are not yet called of God. You know, I believe God loves everyone. I believe you should love everyone. I should love everyone. We shouldn't look down on people just because they're not called yet. You know, we should respect them. Many of them are amazingly dedicated in various ways.

It seems that in some ways they are producing some fruits of God's Spirit.

You know, even though they may not realize it, but if they're obedient, if they're reading the Bible, especially, and they don't know everything, but God has revealed some things to them, and they're faithful to those things, surely God will bless them. God will be with them. No, they're all, they're all eventually, or they're all eventually, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Every knee will bow eventually before Christ. Every knee. So when God brings back billions of people, they will have an opportunity to know Christ, to understand who He is, to accept Him as their Savior.

So we should always understand that when we interact with people. You know, don't do anything that would be a stumbling block to others, in or out of the church. You know, we have to set a good example. So lay up your treasures in heaven, not only on the earth. So what are treasures? Practicing pure religion is certainly laying up treasure. Visiting the fatherless, visiting the widows, visiting the elderly, just caring for the sick, acts of kindness, you know, acts of service.

This is all laying up treasures in heaven. If we have a right attitude and approach for doing it for the right reasons, we're laying up treasure in heaven. And God knows the heart, so He knows whether or not we're doing it for the right thing. We should seek peace and pursue it diligently as God's people. You know, we all have stories of God's mercy in our lives. You know, I can tell you stories where God I know intervened. I could have been, my wife and I could have been killed easily, instantly by big semi-trucks. It looked like we were going back into the road when we hit black ice. Amazingly, the car stopped. Instead of going out where it seemed to me like it should have just kept on propelling right out in front of them. So I believe that was an instant. God is good. He, you know, He takes care of us. All right, so again, life storms, whatever they are, you know, we have to look to God. We have to trust in Him. We have to lay up treasures in heaven as we go through our lives. Number three, take refuge in God. You know, if you're going to be able to stand up to all the storms that come our way, you will have to take refuge in God. You know, God is your protector. You know, God is the one that has all power. He has all might to protect, to take care of you. So you have to put your faith in Him. You have to believe in Him, trust Him. In 1 Samuel chapter 20, I don't think I'll go there, but this is the incident where David is talking to Jonathan. You know, Jonathan's an amazing example of a man who, he was in line to be king, you know, from a human standpoint. He was the king's son.

And yet he so respected David, you know, he saw the courage of David. And I think Jonathan was a man of courage. If you go back and read the story, you'll see Jonathan was a man of courage, but he didn't face Goliath. He didn't have that much courage. David faced Goliath, and I think that was powerful to Jonathan. Jonathan saw that, and instead of joining hands with his father to bump off David so he could be king, he protected David. He did the right thing. A person of integrity and loyalty, an amazing friend. So anyway, what David said to Jonathan as Saul had relentlessly pursued him, and Jonathan wasn't, you know, he wasn't sure whether his dad was as bad as David was saying he was. But David says, there is but a step between me and death, a step. Saul is out to kill me. Make no mistake, your father is out to kill me. There's only a step between me and death. David had to place his faith and trust in God to protect him from Saul. God was his refuge against Saul. Saul chased him for years. Saul should have had the power to kill him. God was not allowing it. God was protecting him. He was David's refuge. David came to him. He found refuge in God. David would not raise his hand against the anointed. It looked like God had delivered Saul to David. I mean, that's how most people would look at it. Here he was. David could have easily killed him. But David was wise.

David, he saw what was happening here. No, I can't raise my hand against God's anointed. Thou shall not murder. He didn't do it. So the point I'm making is there is a step between you and death. There is a step between me and death. We don't know what's going to happen tonight. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. So we need to take our refuge in God. We need to trust in Him. We need to pray daily for His help, His guidance, His direction.

That will help us face whatever storms come along.

Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 8.

1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 8.

It talks about suffering for righteousness' sake. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 8.

Here it says, finally, so Paul's wrapping things up here. Peter's wrapping things up, and it's always good to listen when they say finally because there's some nuggets. Finally, all of you be of one mind. And whose mind would that be?

Of course, the rock. Jesus Christ, let all of you be of one mind. Having compassion for one another, love his brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. If you will bless others, God will bless you. We reap what we sow. For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil. Okay, let's be careful what we say. Let's not be gossips. Now, let's not want to pass on something that would hurt another person in some ways. Let's be very, very careful. And the Bible is very clear that the tongue is a deadly poison.

Let's not poison. Let's not poison the well. Let's not poison one another with things that we really need to keep to ourselves. So let's be careful about that. 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 of the Lord is against those who do evil. Now, God is not a respecter of persons. Whether it be me or anyone else, you know, if I sin against them, I'll pay a price for it. I'll pay a price. You'll pay a price. Everyone pays a price when they choose to do evil.

We reap what we sow. And the Lord is against those who do evil. You know, God's not for evil. God's merciful. God's compassionate. God's looks on the heart when we repent of our sins, but he's certainly not for evil. So I think that's enough.

I think we all realize that we're all brothers and sisters in Christ here. You know, you're a brother and a sister in Christ to everyone who's in this room.

And it's important that we always keep that in mind. We should praise God in the storms.

Be grateful for the trials, is what the scripture says. Count it all joy. When you fall into various trials and things that come your way, it tests your faith, makes you stronger.

Thank God in the storms. You know, thank him. You can learn during the storms.

Thank God for all these things.

So, brethren, let us pray for one another. Let us consider one another.

Let us reach out to one another. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter where they are, no matter who they are. We get lots of prayer requests from around the globe. You know, we pray for each other. We care for each other. When one person suffers, we all suffer.

We should not take that lightly. When there's people suffering, reach out to them. You know, let them know that you care, that you're thinking of them, that you're praying for them. Again, we should be anchored in Christ. Christ is the rock.

Let us hold firmly to that crown of eternal life that God has for us. He has a crown of life, eternal life, for each and every one of us who are faithful. So, brethren, in order to survive life storms, build your house on the rock. Look to Christ. Let Christ live in you. Put the mind of Christ within you.

Also, lay up treasures in heaven, not here on earth.

And thirdly, always take refuge in God.

He will never leave you, and He will never forsake you, and He's true to every single one of us.

And He always will be. So, we can rejoice in knowing the truth.