THE STORM ON THE HORIZON
By Pastor Jim May
People all along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico are nervous this morning. They are nervous because of an approaching visitor by the name of Katrina. But this isn’t some long lost relative coming to pay a friendly visit. Katrina is a dangerous hurricane bringing the promise of widespread destruction, power outages and the chance for a few tornadoes. There is still some uncertainty as to where Katrina will go and who will be hit the hardest so we are all watching the sky today, waiting, watching and praying, hoping that God, in His great mercy, will cause the storm to weaken and turn away.
I know that most people don’t read the Bible but I think that they must have read Psalms 55:8 where David says, "I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." What they fail to read is a scripture that is found a little later in Psalms 107:29, "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still."
People are making preparation for what is coming. Stores are emptying quickly of all necessities. There are long lines of people buying water, food, bread and gasoline and most of those things are now in short supply. Many have reacted to voluntary evacuation from unsafe areas and have sought out safe havens in local hotels and with family and friends. There are no more vacancies in hotels for many miles around, as the refugees from the lowlands are pouring in to escape the wrath of Katrina.
If you have waited until after service this morning to go get what you need, I wish you the best, but don’t expect to get all that you want. The fear that grips the heart of people as this storm approaches, causes them to spend all they have, buy all they can get, and stock up like there will be no tomorrow.
There’s nothing wrong with preparation. In fact, only a fool would ignore the presence of the storm, and not do what he has to do to protect and provide for his own family and property. I hope that all of you are prepared or will be prepared by tomorrow when the storm is due to arrive.
I’ve weathered a number of hurricanes over the years. I can remember Audrey of 1957. I was only 9 years old but I can still remember the house shaking as a large oak tree fell not too far from the house. It was all an adventure back then. But since those days, I have learned a healthy respect for what a hurricane can bring. I remember Hurricane Betsy in 1965. She blew through town with a rage and delayed the start of my senior year in high school by several days. Then there was Andrew of 1992, one of the strongest storms on record, that blasted through town and took all of the shingles off my house with it, causing a lot of water damage and generally, just messing up things everywhere for a while. There were also a number of smaller storms too. None were much fun and some were outright frightening. I thank God that He saw us through them all.
I’m so glad that we have men and women in the Air Force and Coast Guard who fly “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft to track the storms and give us early warnings. I wonder how it must have been before the days when we were able to see them coming from so far away? I wonder how many people were caught in the old days, without warning and without time to prepare?
Thank God, we have instruments and people in place that can give us plenty of warning of the approaching storm.
For days, we have watched this hurricane track from the Caribbean, across the tip of Florida, and now into the central Gulf of Mexico. Anyone who doesn’t know of its coming is simply out of touch with reality because the news is everyone and on the lips of every body in the area. You can’t turn on the radio, the TV, or read the newspaper, or even listen to a conversation without hearing about it.
Simply put, we have had, and continue to have, plenty of warning, and plenty of time to prepare. The storm is on the horizon, and it will surely come, unless God intervenes, so get ready for its coming.
As I watch the news and keep an eye on the weather, I can’t help but think of those who are listening.
Some are local residents who have lived here for a long time and have been through this before as I have.
Some are new to the region, and they have never been through a storm like this before, so they face it with apprehension, but also with a bit of curiosity, not really knowing what to expect.
Some are here on vacation, or just traveling through, and they really don’t know what to make of it at all. Should they stay and ride it out, or should they cut their vacation plans short and run for home. If they decide to stay, I hope that they have a lot of vacation time to spend, because it may be a while before the ATM machines, gas pumps and computer registers are back on line.
There are some people, like news reporters whose job is to go to the center of the storm to keep us all updated. To those folks I say thank you, but at the same time I just want to say that you don’t have to stand in the middle of the street with pelting rain stinging you in the face and holding on to something to keep from being blown away to get me to believe you. There’s no reason to take unnecessary risks to tell me what I can already see.
Finally, there are those who think that being in the middle of a hurricane is a time to party so they travel just to be where the “action” is. Many of them have found a lot more action than what they bargained for. It seems that a lot of people look for any excuse to get drunk and party on. That’s why we have such a thing as a “hurricane party” and those who attend them are often the greatest source of casualties.
The fact is that when the call goes out to prepare for the storm on the horizon, there are some who will CHOOSE TO HEED THE CALL; SOME WHO WILL CHOOSE TO DEFY THEY STORM AND DO THEIR OWN THING AND OTHERS WHO WILL CHOOSE NOT TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A REAL DANGER.
Because of those choices, many will live, but some may die, and all of them, regardless of the choice they have made, will see and experience the storm.
Hurricane Katrina may, or may not, give us a direct hit. It seems certain that we will experience more from this one than from the last ones that came ashore in recent years. It may, or may not, knock out electricity for many of us. It may, or may not, destroy homes, property or place lives in jeopardy. It may, or may not, alter your life forever.
With all the uncertainty, people are nervous, some are afraid, and most are making their preparation for the worst and hoping for the best.
But what really strikes me this morning is that there is another storm on the horizon besides Katrina. It’s a storm that is vastly more dangerous than a hurricane. It’s a storm that is far greater than any storm that nature can bring. And it’s a storm that will not turn away or weaken in its intensity.
Let me read to you about this storm in Zephaniah 1:14-18, "The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land."
Zephaniah is describing the greatest storm to every hit mankind since the Creation and that storm is on the horizon. It’s not a storm of nature, though nature will be definitely affected. It’s a storm of God’s wrath and judgment that will be poured out on this sinful world.
Our God is merciful! Therefore He has set in place a vast number of warnings that the storm is coming. He doesn’t want any to be caught by surprise. He doesn’t want anyone to become a victim, or a statistic among the casualties.
God has promised that the storm is coming, but many won’t believe the warnings or heed the call because they can’t see it with their natural eye. 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Since the foundation of the world, and especially in the last 2000 years, we have received warnings on top of warnings of the approaching storm. What are some of those warnings?
Matthew 24:37-41, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."
2 Timothy 3:1, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."
Those are just a few and there are many more warnings, so we cannot say that we have not had plenty of warning of the approaching storm. If it catches us off guard, it’s not God’s fault.
We have had plenty of time, and we still have a little time, to get ready for the storm on the horizon. But we have to get ready. We have to watch for clouds to gather and the winds to blow and the rain to come, and then watch and wait until the Redeemer brings us to a place where we will be safe from the storm. Those who aren’t watching and waiting will miss His coming and be left behind to face the storm of God’s wrath where mercy will no longer be shown to sinful men.
Our Redeemer will come in the clouds. Revelation 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
Our Redeemer causes the wind to blow. It is the wind of the Holy Ghost as He enters the heart and soul of a man who is looking for His coming. Acts 2:1-2, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."
Our Redeemer will send the rain. Joel 2:23, "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." God wants to pour out the former and the latter rain of blessings upon your life, but if we don’t heed the warnings of the storm on the horizon, then it will be the wrath of God that is rained upon us.
Our Redeemer will come to take those who are watching, waiting, and heeding the warnings of the storm to come. He has prepared a place of safety for those who will be faithful and obedient to His call.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
As we look at the warnings and the promises, and all that God has given us, to tell us of the impending storm on the horizon, I can’t help but think of those who have also heard the warnings the approaching hurricane as well.
Some will choose the heed the warnings and they will obey the call to evacuate, or get ready to go. They won’t sit idly by and be caught unaware and unprepared. They have heard the call, believed the report, and made a decision to do whatever is necessary to survive the storm.
Isaiah 53:1 says, "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" The rest of that chapter goes on to describe, in very minute detail, the sufferings and the price that Jesus paid for our salvation. I wonder how many will not heed the warning, or believe the report, and be lost?
Many of those who refuse to heed the warnings and defy the power of the hurricane may be “lucky”, or blessed enough to survive in spite of their hard-headedness. But some may not be so blessed and they will pay for their rebelliousness dearly.
But let me tell you that not one of those who defy the odds and choose to face the wrath of God will escape. They will all perish. The casualty rate will be 100%. Every man and woman, left on this globe, will die in their sins without Jesus if they fail to heed the warnings.
Likewise, every one of those who heed the call, and prepares by watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord will live forever. Every one of them will obtain eternal life.
When you leave this service this morning, and go back to your TV set or the radio, or whatever source of news and weather that you choose to use, and you see, hear and read about the storm on the horizon – you have to make a choice. Will you believe the report, or not? Once that choice is made, then there are more choices to make.
If you don’t believe the report, then your choice is made by default. By default you will face the dangers alone. Your inaction will prove your unbelief, and you will be caught unaware because, whether you believe it or not, doesn’t stop the fact that storm is there.
If you choose to believe the report, then there is another choice you must make. Will you prepare for it’s coming and do what it takes to be ready, or will you just sit by and wait for it to come without doing anything about it. The man who does that is a fool and his end will be no different than the one who chose not to believe at all.
But, if you believe, and then choose to prepare for the storm on the horizon, then when the storm does come, you will be ready for its coming and you will make it through the storm as a survivor. You can get a T-Shirt that says, “God helped my survive Katrina”. You may suffer some, for none of us can escape everything.
Matthew 5:45, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Simply put, we can’t escape everything that is in this present world. There may be suffering. There may be loss. But your Father, which is in Heaven, will see you through it all.
Whether you believe the report or not is up to you. My job is to simply broadcast the news that a storm is on the horizon. It ‘s coming just as surely as the sun rose this morning. It’s more certain than the sun may rise tomorrow.
This is a storm that cannot be compared to any storm of nature in its power and intensity. It’s a storm that will bring judgment upon the heart of every man and woman remaining in the earth and none will escape its power.
Don’t wait until the storm falls on you. It will be too late to prepare then. There will no place to hide and no place of safety, for the whole world will be burned away and there will be no place to go.
There is only one place of refuge – in the hands of Jesus Christ by accepting Him as the Lord of your life. Jesus is the only source of refuge from the coming storm.
ARE YOU READY?
ARE YOU WATCHING FOR THE SOON COMING OF JESUS?
