Hearing God Speak In The Storms

Hearing God Speak In The Storms

Job 38:1, Matt 7:24-27

Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Joke: Twelve ministers were on a plane going to a conference in Seattle. When they came into a large storm, they told a flight attendant to tell the pilot that everything would be okay because 12 ministers were on board.

Later, the flight attendant returned from the cockpit. What did the pilot say? one preacher asked playfully. He said he was glad to have 12 ministers aboard, but he would rather have four good engines.

God uses some rather unusual things to get peoples attention, and to speak to them.

1. God uses a burning bush with Moses. Ex 3

2. God uses a donkey to speak to Balaam. Num 22

3. God used a whale to get Jonah’s attention. Jonah

4. God used a rooster to preach a sermon to Peter.

And in our text today, God speaks to Job from a whirlwind.

When the storm winds are howling, it’s awful hard to hear someone speak, but if we listen closely we can hear God speak in the storms.

Most of us are familiar with the whirlwinds that devastated Job, and his family. (By the way according to Strong’s dictionary, the word "whirlwind" can be translated "hurricane") He lost all of his children, and all of his material possessions in a brief time. And to make matters worse, the friends who came to comfort him said that the storms came as a result of sin in his life.

Our verse this morning assures us of some things. First of all God is in the storm. He may not necessarily be the cause of all the storms, but he is aware of all that is transpiring. He is in the storm. He is present with us in our storms. Secondly, God speaks from the storms.

On Thurs afternoon, I went to Pastime grill to pick us up something to eat, and the t.v. was turned to the news. It was showing the devastation from hurricane ivan, and showing all the storms that were raging in Georgia. An older lady in the grill said that she had never heard of so many hurricanes, and storms. Another person agreed. I suggested that perhaps God is trying to get our attention, and tell us something. God can speak through the storms.

Perhaps this is what he is saying........

I. Be Sure Of Your Foundation !

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells the story about two men who built houses. Storms came after the houses were completed. The rains fell, and it flooded, and the winds beat upon the houses. When the storm was gone, one house survived, and one house was destroyed. What proved the difference ? Why was one spared, and the other destroyed ? Were the storms stronger upon the house that had fallen ?

No. The difference between the two houses was where they were built. The home that survived, that stood through the storms was one that was built upon a rock. The home that was destroyed had as it’s foundation sand. Sand is a good thing to build sand castles out of, but it’s not a good place to build a home on. Foundation made all the difference when the storms came !

In Hurricane Ivan did a million dollar house have a better chance of survival than a 100,000 dollar house ? Not necessarily, it all depended on where they were established.

When storms come, God may be saying "be sure that you are building on the right foundation !"

On the Atlanta stations Thurs, they showed some apartments that were flooded in Atlanta. This was the third time over the last few years that these apartments flooded. The problem is they were built in a flood plain. Because of that the apartments cannot get any insurance and neither can the residents. Where you build is important !

Even more important is the foundation that we build our lives, our marriage, and our families upon !

The difference between you standing strong during the storms of life or failing is dependent upon the foundation of your life. Whether your marriage survives the floods, and the wind that will beat upon it depends upon where it is built or should I say whom it is built upon. How your children make it during the whirlwinds that they will encounter in life will rest upon what kind of foundation we have given them ?

In the story that Jesus tells of the wise man, and the foolish man and where they built their homes, the point he is driving home is the importance of being obedient to the will of God in our lives. In the story, both men heard the instructions, but only one man followed or did as he was told to do. In Mobile Ala all the folks were told to evacuate, but not everyone did.