Response To Storms Of Life Series

Standing In the Storm #8

We have been in a study of Surviving the Storms and have found that it is not an accident or stroke of fate that gets you beyond the problems of life.

We were at a funeral and we met the daughter of the man that had died. I asked how she was doing and her response was “I am Blessed”

I have been told by well-meaning people, “God’s

people never have a bad day!" Is that right?

Ever hear of a guy named Elijah? James reminded us that Elijah was a man subject to the same feelings and passions we have.

The Bible says that Elijah plopped down under a Juniper

tree, and asked God to kill him. 1King 19:4-5

This is the same man who, only hours earlier was calling

down fire from heaven. What was the reason for his

despair? A couple of things probably; fear, and just sheer

weariness. We are told he had just run all the way from the

summit of Mount Carmel to the Valley of Jezreel. When

your body is tired, you are sometimes subject to

depression.

So, are there ups and downs even in the Christian life?

Absolutely.

Will friends sometimes drop you, or shoot

arrows through your heart? Yes, they will.

Will there come tests of your faith when feelings have to be shunned and only your foundational faith will sustain you? You got it!

How to be prepared for it? Well, I can tell you that the

same God whom you worship in the light is the same

God you reach for in the night.

God is there with you at this moment--even though you are not aware of His presence. Keep reaching and believing.

We have learned some things that help us through the peaks and valleys of life.

Let me list some of them in case you have forgotten.

1.Fear is a cause of falling,

2.We saw there were reasons for Storms:

3. We found Deception to be a cause of fall.

The Devil knows he can’t defeat you if he can’t deceive you.

4. Lack of understanding

5. The lust for other things

6. PATIENCE.

PATIENCE is not waiting around or just hanging in there, it is Joyful Faithfulness.

THE ONLY WAY TO PRODUCE FRUIT IS BY CONSISTENCY.

There is no option for FAITHFULNESS.

7. HOW TO BE FRUITFUL

You must be a Christian and produce the way of life of a Christian.

That means we will have:

Peace

The test of Christ in you is Peace should rule in your heart.

Peace should rule as an umpire in your heart.

Perspective.

The way we look at the situation determines fruitfulness or frustration.

Some do not glorify God as God, they want to be His buddy or His helper, forgetting God must be honored as God.

A Sure Stop for most Storms

Job 42: 10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before

Purpose.

We must live our lives to serve others, encourage others, lift up others, doing good for others

Tonight we are going to see.

I. Response to Storms

As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything other than the dot?” he asked. A chorus of noes came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.”

In life we are often distracted by small, dot-like disappointments or painful experiences, and we forget the countless blessings we receive from the hand of the Lord. But like the sheet of paper, the good things are far more important than the problems that grab our attention.

Someone has written: “As you travel down life’s pathway, may this ever be your goal:/ Keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not upon the hole!”

Someone said; “To realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the storm.” –

Lu.6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Jesus was telling the disciples that EVERYONE HAS STORMS.