A Lesson in the Storm
I'm glad to hear Greg say that he had repurposed the worship outline for last week because I'm going to do exactly that same thing.
What I'd like to do, and I know this is a possible, but this is the contact. I'd like for you to think of this lesson, as if you're carrying it this time last week, not not because it was ready, then there because it comes from then, and as I sat, and Thought through a number of different things. I just couldn't help but be moved in and feel like both the things I'd like to share. I'm so nice and sunny out there. But if you remember what it was like this time last week, it was a very radically different Snow storms, just give me the opportunity to do some different things and I just like for us to turn the clock back a little bit and think in terms of what it was like to experience that and let things move this. And and shaped us, when we told our boys, we were moving back to Oklahoma. They were thrilled. They thought we were moving to Antarctica. Ever. Going to snow skis to school? I was like, no, no, no, no, it doesn't do that. You know, you'll get some snow. Going to be there much.
Let's go back to your history book a little bit. You'll see that in January, we can we move here in the summer of 1986 in the D. In January of 1987 we had one of the biggest snow storms. We've had school's out for an entire week, even more snow than this past weekend. So we kept saying he doesn't do this all the time, it doesn't do this all the time. Christmas time that same year of 87 was the big ice storm, just left. Our backyard. Just coated with ice. You can slide from the house, all the way down and into the soccer goal, if you. And so they really thought we were children. It was like this is a winter wonderland and so it took several winters of pretty dry situation for them to start to believe what we really talking about.
Will be. What are in college? Terry had never been out but never been north of Waco before she came to Ocoee. It's so we're driving in the snow was not her real strong soon as she got a little bit better of our time but what she graduated she start teaching school and on the best of days I would take her to school or not. That I'm much better than she was, but I had a little bit of experience. So we're out in the driveway and try to get out of the drive and she's standing in the yard giving me directions and all this kind of stuff. I'll just Slip Slidin around the windshield are all the windows open in the front tires.
Why do we have these storms?
A lot of things in that, that was what I was thinking about last weekend was why we have these What's the? What's the purpose? And yeah we can look at the Joe but I won't go to those passages but I think it's time for 30-day references. The storehouses of the snow that God controls it. Someway God participated in what we experience. We can't explain exactly how that happened. Because job didn't explain it either with the Yonder man. That was Scott's point. But God is in charge of all of those things that happen to us.
Usually, when we talk about storms and make spiritual connections to storms, we use summer storms and they certainly do that. That works well, but I saw it as I went through this, the storm last weekend, you know, actually in a lot of ways, the snow storm is more of an illustration than those storms that hit us that are over quickly there, more elongated there more drawn-out, obviously, they give us time for reflection, and maybe you had some time. There was some beautiful pictures out of your window. A beautiful experiences that we could remember for ourselves maybe, you know for me was sitting in front of the fire and looking out the window with a cat asleep in my lap that was that was good and that was fun. And it felt really warm in enticing and encouraging I thought about people About Marcia Townsend. She would tell you that as a child growing up. She spent two Winters here in Oklahoma in a tent. Her father was offered a job. Other job was to include pay and housing, and when they got there, the housing was tense later on the man came through. As she told the story and actually built them. Good, housing it. So, it worked out well babe in between. Can you imagine going through last weekend in a tense? How would you do that? Yet people have all kinds of different experiences. There are always things we can learn and God brings storms into our lives or allow there to be storms in our lives. And then it's up to us to say, Okay, I want to gain something from this process. I want to gain something from have any experience this. What should I really take out of it? Do things like to share with you. First of all is preparation and for the winter storm we get a lot of warning, maybe too much, the four days maybe longer. It's going to be two feet of snow and people sometimes they get a little bit dismissive because they don't believe the reports anymore and I started not to really get engaged in the process of making preparation. But what happens if you don't make preparation for the storm, There's things to do to your house, there's things to do to your car. There are supplies that are you're going to need, many people who need medication. All those things have to be dealt with before it actually begins and if you wind up not making a necessary preparation. Then that storm process gets to be totally different and a whole lot more difficult.
When the storm hits? you'll hear people say,
Why didn't God protect me from this? Why doesn't God rescue me from this? Why does God allow me to experience this and and all in the tone of not really fair. And yet, at the same time, they're tremendously that we learn through that process. My cats love to go outside. And so I decided this time, I'm just going to let him instead of arguing with him, which of course is pointless. But instead of saying no, it's too cold out there, you don't need to be out there or let him go about 3 minutes to couple of times and they calm down. And then I mean you're everything that I think sometimes God does that to us to just like, okay what you want? And we're quickly wanted to get back in time, but it's really easy for us to not, prepare for the storm and then to blame God, the bad things that happen are offs. He warns us about these things just like those people on television or warning us over and over again about what was going to happen. This storm is coming. Get ready for the storm. The scouts say, be prepared. Who's God say? Be ready. be ready, is what we find look at Luke chapter 12, We'll start in bursts of. What was the Super sporting? But you must be ready because the son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect it. Oh, I think this is the time. Are they now is the opportunity or this is the place or it's going to happen and goddesses.
We can be your life that have the biggest storm is ever had spiritually or financially. Your relationship was in the next hour. We don't know when those things are coming. And we want to be ready, we want to have our resources, prepare to want to have our armor on. We want to have our supplies stockpiled and God keeps encouraging us to do that. And you say, well how do I know when the time is he said you just got to get ready? And stay ready. And so it's our challenge to grow. Is it develop a train? so that we had to be ready when those moments of Crisis, come
Not this past Wednesday night with the winds you that, before when I was here, people were talking about time to be prepared for what's going to happen and safely. And have you been to the grocery store? Know, I haven't been to the grocery store, so you got me scared. I went to the grocery store. I won't say which one will see it. Really matter if y'all like this, I'd never seen that many people to be short on Wednesday night, but has several recipes in mind. That I got my little cart went over here, the first place. So I was going to buy some mushrooms and nothing. I don't mean just a few in there is nothing there without. Well, let's go to plan B in a go over here and nothing there.
There's like 14 line and as I counted over here, I thought there's actually more people in the end. There were items left at the store.
Probably no reason to go through all this. I'll just fall back to plan B. So the next day I called and got some buffalo wings and got some barbecue and a couple salads is a couple sandwiches.
But Monday, I was all gone. I couldn't go out and there was nobody coming to my house or they could if they wanted. Now I need to starve to death.
First of all, you can look and see that I could have got to maintain quite a while.
The point on make that I didn't get to you, what I wanted to, I had crackers and cheese and tuna and canned soup at what am I wanted to eat? And next time they're saying I'll go a little earlier and then
we looked in God's trying to say it was you need to grow to maturity. Maturity is where you take the warning and you take the action so that you're prepared what's going to happen. Whether it comes. Or whether it comes through some kind of a long process. I mentioned this before, and I want to make it again. A lot of times, I think in the storm we fight Satan and often we fight him to a draw. And Satan sits down and we take a break and during that rest and Recovery stage, we have a really hard time getting started again. Satan's getting up and getting ready, he's stronger. And and if you look at that, you'll start to see that that war of attrition is working against us. I've used this illustration cure before but I'll do it again when I was a kid. I had a sister for years younger than I am. A mother would buy us both to candy bar to his stuff. Her mouth. It was gone. She looked at mine it's the time because I had to share what was left with her. That's what he's wearing us down. He's finding his over and over again. And if we use the periods between storms, totally it exclusively for rest. Fiddler's weaker at each battle. if we use it for growth, Development. Maturity. Then work stronger. When we have to go it again. It's going to happen again. We know what it is.
Matthew 7:24. Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine. Here's these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down the streams Rose and the winds blew and beat against that house yet. It did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. It was built by what God had said. And the instructions of God, we're actually put into prompt. Put into that process. You know what the other guys doing? But everyone who hears, excuse me these words about and does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came, the streams Rose, the winds, blew and beat that house and it felt was a great trash. That was easiest. But didn't hold up. Preparation. The other thing I spent a lot of time thinking about his safety Probably all of us have those moments when we were just grateful to be where we were. It's warm. There's no snow in the year, I'm safe. I'm taken care of there are many time but you should count your blessings. And and just say, this is something you got to sit in my way and I'm going to make the best of it. I mentioned that we had a big storm back in. 1987, we had a Sunday snow day that day. We have church and so we decided we're going to have a devotion, and the boys want to do it outside. They want to do it outside at night and we were like night just too much, you know, but but will do outside and I can't tell you how many times over the weekend and I can remember sitting out of that tree and singing and having prayer and strength Scriptures, it was just such a moment. that is so strange feeling in and so encouraging to me is as I look back on it, Felt safe. God wants us. To feel safe in him. Psalms 37:39, the salvation of the righteous come from the Lord. He is their stronghold in time of trouble. David says, in Psalms 27, the Lord is my light and my salvation, Whom Shall I Fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom. Shall I be afraid? We all need. A stronghold.
Couple weeks ago. I got a call from a lady that we've known for a very long time. I told you about this family before they lived in San Francisco in 1989 when the San Francisco earthquake hit. They were on their way home from their jobs, the man in the woman, they had one child of 10 year old daughter, who was at home. Their home was not inhabitable after the earthquake and the girl had to decide what to do. It's so she can listen to people talk about that kind of thing. And she hid under the dining room table, And there were knickknacks and things that were things from the ceiling that fell into that room, but she was safe. Because she had chosen as her safe place through wisdom and instruction. The Highlander that dining room table. she was ten, I think I mentioned that well when I talk to this lady recently and one of the What are the blessings of where I am in my life right now? Is that we get calls from people that have known from a lock for my lifetime. And that that's really with Ashley and we were talking about that and I was able and he said, she said, she's 47 now and she has slept every night of her life. Under the dining room table. I mounted my heart that she never went to a sleepover. She never went to Camp. She lived as home during college. She hasn't lived anywhere else until she got married and part of her condition being married. Was, it keeps taking dining room table with her and she did and we talked about it. And, and mom was really upset about it. And, and the thing that kept echoing in my head was But at least she has a safe place. She has a place. Where she can lay down every night and think I'm going to be okay, because it would be nice if we could live in a world that didn't threaten. It would be nice if we could live around people who didn't threaten this, but that's not our world. God, instead says, let me show you the way. To say places. David has his strongholds. One of them is at the Oasis of engedi, and he goes there when he needs peace. When he needs Comfort, what do you need safety?
Some years ago, there was supposedly, an art contest where they some of the best artist in the world were asked to draw a picture of peace. And both of those artists chose very tranquil settings. but the piece that one, Was a turbulent violent storm. and people were really, really confused about why that one was the one And yet, if you look very, very carefully in one of the trees, setback was little bird in a nest. That was protected by the storm. looking for, Got this. I'll give you a special place. I give you a stronger. Hope I'll be your dining room table if you need. I will fold you. I will lift you up.
2 years ago, I was
That's a I by the way, it's not real.
Few years ago, I was talking with vital granddaughter IV and I said I mean, what's your favorite song? And she said, flee as a bird. I thought surely she does me the church song Free as a bird? Maybe that's up to you. I don't know if I can guarantee you that if I can be the last one, I pick my favorite and yet, she's saying that whole song. And why is that important to you? Just because I have a safe place. I have a safe place that I can go to. MP. Out of the mouths of babes. Psalms 11 verse 1. David says there? How can you say to me, please? Like a bird. Melton. David says, in Psalms 55 all that, I had the wings of a dove. I'd fly away and be at rest, I would fully far away and stay in the desert. I would hurry to my place of shelter. Far from The Tempest and the store.
The snowstorm was an inconvenience. But hopefully is a reflect on it. We realized it. There were so many ways that we were blessed. So many ways that we were protected so many ways that God had prepared us and he allowed us. Saturday says give me some quiet reflection. That shows what you learn. Would you play with me?
The God, we thank you for this world and we know it's an imperfect world, but we know that you built it for us to serve as a temporal home until we go with. You are real place to be with you. Father, we thank you for the lessons. You teach us through this Temple life. You pray that we might have the faith to trust you that, we might have the willingness to prepare that we might have the strength to endure. Even when things are hard. Father, we pray that we might allow ourselves to be shaped and molded. So that we can be your people that we can be a blessing to you and to each other. Play this to your precious son Damien. This morning, you need to respond to the gospel invitation Jesus Christ. We about to do that right now. When we stand and sing together,
