Are You Ready For The Storm?

I want to pick up right where we left off last Sunday morning. By way of review for those of you who weren’t here, the most important thing that I want you to know from last week is “It ain’t over till it’s over”. God has last at bats in your situation. This morning, don’t look at:

¸ The scoreboard

¸ Your situation

¸ How bad things are

¸ The clouds overhead

¸ Your problems

¸ Your sickness

¸ The mountain

¸ How far behind you are

But if you have a problem then I have a God. He is a problem solver and I want to introduce him to you today.

It doesn’t matter what the score is in your situation because God is getting ready to come to bat in your life!!! It ain’t over till it’s over.

Let’s praise him together today!!

I’m preaching this morning “Are you ready for the storm?”

When American billionaire Larry Ellison, cofounder and CEO of Oracle Corp., won the fabled 725-mile Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race during the first week of this year (1999), he and his crew could not find it in their hearts to celebrate. They began their race in his 80-foot long boat, the Sayonara. Although the race began under sunny skies, a ferocious storm rose while the boats were in open water, with 90 mile per hour winds hurling 35-foot waves at the boats.

Some 50 sailors, many injured, had to be rescued by helicopter. Six boats were abandoned or sank, and four men perished. Two more are missing and presumed dead.

Race organizers say their investigation will focus on whether the crews were sufficiently informed about the bad weather, which was forecast, but which many competitors obviously underestimated. (Newsweek January 11, 1999)

I’m preaching this morning “Are you ready for the storm?”

What I want each member of this church and every guest here today to understand is that we will all face storms in our life. There is not a person here today that will never face a difficult time in their life.

The Bible says that in this life we will have tribulation. I’m glad it goes on to say but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world, but remember it does say that we will have tribulation.

The Bible says that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.

The Bible says that man’s days upon the earth are few and full of trouble.

We will have:

¸ Difficulties

¸ Troubles

¸ Trials

¸ Hard times

¸ Problems

I’m preaching today “Are you ready for the storm?”

¸ What I want you to know today is that the clouds will always gather overhead.

¸ The wind will always blow against your house.

¸ The storms will always rage against your life.

Nothing in this life will ever come easy to you. But it will be a struggle everyday of your life to survive.

¸ If you are going to have a walk with God you are going to have to work at it.

¸ If you are going to have a good marriage than you are going to have to work at it.

¸ If you are going to have a family that stays together it will happen because you put some effort into it.

¸ If you are going to have children that grow up to love the Lord you are going to have to invest some time into them. Teaching them principles from God’s word.

Your going to have to fight for everything you get in life. It will be a struggle all along the way. But there is a God that wants to walk by your side through the difficulties of life.

In your marriage relationship with your spouse it will be a struggle, to put it mildly, if you are going to survive. With over fifty percent of marriages failing today it will be difficult at best. But there is a God that wants to be at the very center of your marriage relationship. He will help you in your marriage if you will let him.

In your family, if your kids are going to serve the Lord it will be a fight to save them from this godless and perverse society. But there is a God that wants to help you as a parent steer your kid’s mind in the right direction.

Let me pause here just a moment and say you can’t expect for your kids to love the Lord and serve him and at the same time watch the junk that comes from the television today, but you’ve got to guard their minds so that the junk of the world doesn’t get in.

Just this week in our family devotions I taught my children Philippians 4:8