Storm Endurance and Storm Assurance
Storms we see coming.
Storms we suspect.
Storms we never expected.
Mt. 7:24-27
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
We need to make some preparations for the storms of life that will undoubtedly come our way. It is not a matter to be taken lightly.
Rock is stable--Absolutes
Sand is shifty.
Jn. 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
As long as we live in this old world, there will be storms; we must accept that.
However, there is a great and wonderful key mentioned here. If we are in Christ, we can weather the storm in peace.
DISOBEDIENCE: The great devastation from a spiritual storm comes as a result of disobedience. Mt. 7:24 speaks of "hearing" and "doing" what the Lord has commanded.
It is much more than mental consent and going to church. There are some solid steps that one must take ahead of the storm. You cannot afford to wait until the storm is raging to follow this advice.
There are storms that send warning signs ahead of them. Hurricanes and typhoons are an example of this fact.
Mt 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
Mt 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Mt 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mr 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
To flee is not always a sign of cowardice, it may be a measure to ensure preservation and prevention.
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1Co 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
Building on the right foundation is a necessity, but it is not all that we must do. We are instructed to put a distance between ourselves and these pelting elements of the storms.
Jer 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
Mt 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
The world system does not view the end-time storms the same as we christians. In their minds, we are a major contributor to the storms. Our stance upon the uncompromising Word of God only incites their fury more.
Recently, I saw a picture of a group of protesters holding a banner that proclaimed, " If Mary would have had an abortion, then we wouldn't be in this mess." That pretty much sums up what the world thinks. The root of the problem is Christ and the christians.
So what is our recourse?
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Some storms are unanounced. They just seem to pop up out of nowhere. They can take us by surprise.
Jer 4:20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
Let us always walk in the Spirit; be alert and sensitive to what is happening in this world. We need to pray for discenment like never before. The Holy Ghost can lead us out and lead us on in the midst of all the storms that come our way.
When you are in a storm of Disobedience = REPENT
When you are in a storm of Obedience = REJOICE and Testify
When you are in the storm of others = REACH OUT and have PATIENCE
Pray for perserverance. That is what is going to take to make it in these last days.
He that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Keep hanging on to Jesus.
