Battening Down in a Chop

Storms they can come up in an instant or you can see them approaching in the distance. We did not see what we are currently experiencing come. It all just happened. As I mentioned last week that to survive a chop out on the water you need to have a captain who knows what they are doing. You need to gut the storm out, and you need to batten down things on the boat. This morning I would like to journey with you on battening things down. How do we do this?

Alex Honnold has achieved many rock climbing first. Two of the greatest achievements was his ascent of Half Dome 2000ft and El Capitan 3000ft. In is ascent of Half Dome Alex says that he did not prepare much which made him feel unsatisfied as he felt that he had gotten lucky due to his lack of preparation. Near the top of the climb lay the most difficult sections. One was a foot hold that if his foot had to slip it would mean certain death. He did not know if he could trust it.

In our journey through life we need to know that we can trust in something or someone when things get scary and out of hand. There is a story told of a young man who owned a houseboat it was moored somewhere in the Florida waters and there was a storm approaching. An old sea captain noticed how they young man and his friends were trying to secure the boat. The captain gave the men some advice and said, you need four anchor points. You need to make sure that the anchor points are strong and secured deep in the ground. Once you have tided the boat down just hold on and wait for the storm to pass.

Regardless of how life is going we need to make sure that we are preparing for a storm and not waiting till it hits to then determine what our anchors are going to be. The time that we are living in should be a time where we take stock of our walk with God and ask the question is my faith stable do I trust my hold on Christ or do I fear that if I rely completely on Him my foot will slip and I will fall off the mountain.

When Alex planned on free soloing El Capitan, he made sure that he put the work in. He spent two seasons training and learning all the holds needed so that he would feel confident on the rock especially on the most difficult sections. He needed to know that his feet would not slip and that he knew exactly where to place his hand as he moved up the rock face. To give you the extent of his preparation he spent one year working on leg stretches to make sure that he could perform one move called the karate kick.

Alex was intentional in all his preparation. We need to be intentional in our walk with God so that we can know that we can trust in Him. How do we achieve this? I would like to take you four easy steps.

Ask God to create in you a desire to know Him. Psalm 51:10 create in me a clean heart. O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. David realizes that He cannot change his own heart and therefore calls on God to do that which he cannot do. Paul confirms this in Romans 8:7 where he says that that carnal mind is enmity against God. The carnal mind is at war with God, it is in opposition to God. It is for this reason that David asks God to create in him a new heart. Galatians 6:8 says, for he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Ellen White gives us insight into what the flesh is in the Review and Herald, January 25, 1881 it was that the flesh or carnal lust embrace the lower, corrupt nature. The flesh of itself cannot act in accordance to the will of God.

To develop a trust in God has to start with us asking God to recreate our heart. We need to ask Him to enable us to make Him a priority in our lives. All our animal (carnal) propensities are to be subject to the higher power of the soul. Christ must occupy an undivided throne. In us learning to give God control of our lives there will be times where we stumble but we do not need to fear 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then there is the beautiful tension with Jude 24

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. As we ask God to create within us a new heart, He is able to keep us from stumbling but when we do stumble and we confess He is faithful to forgive us.

It is about the trajectory of our lives the direction we desire to go in.

Time reading the word: Alex Honnold we could say had a relationship with El Capitan. He knows it inside out. He had studied it to such an extent that he was able to visualize each hold and move he was going to make. This relationship enabled him to trust the rock. Although the analogy falls way short of what God is calling us to the principle is that God is calling us to a relationship with Him.

Seeing as though we are unable to see and hear Him, He has given us His Word that we may know Him. This is a long-distance relationship so to speak. God has given us a letter, the bible, that we may know Him. Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. God invites us to come to Him to ask of Him. He wants us to know Him. Jeremiah 15:16 says, Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Jeremiah says that he found the words. This implies that it will take searching on our behalf. There will be times when we do not receive the immediate comfort or answer we desire. Nevertheless, God wants us to read the letter that He has written to us. He wants us to discover His character in the bible. He wants us to see that He is constantly reaching out to us. He wants us to see that He is providing for us. The reading of Scripture allows us to unpack the beauty of God and His dealings with us.

God through Jeremiah is encouraging us to hide within us His word. Why does God word become a rejoicing? We get to rejoice in God’s word because we get to see His goodness towards us, we see His love and provision that He makes, we see the protection that He freely offers to us, we also get to see His love, mercy, goodness, kindness, we also see His willingness to protect us and strengthen and be by our side through the difficult times of life. As we read the letter of God, we get to see that He wants to be intimately involved in our lives. He wants us to know that we can trust in Him.

As we read the word of God His beauty and glory are made know to us.

One of the most neglected aspects of our walk with God is prayer. Ellen White says, prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well-spring of life and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience. Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. Gospel Workers 254–255. There are a few things to take note of in the quotation one is that prayer preserves the health of our soul. Prayer cannot be substituted for anything else, nothing else we keep our soul’s health, no amount of exercise, correct diet, lack of TV, no amount of works will keep our spiritual soul healthy. Our righteous living will not bring us into the presence of God only prayer does this.

If prayer is the soul’s breath our ability to stay connected with God How long can we go without it. Well, the average person can hold their breath for between 30 seconds to 2 minutes. We can see that we are not even able to hold our breath for one day. It means that in our relationship with God prayer so to speak is a matter of life or death. If we do not pray, we have no relationship. If we do not pray, we will lose our hold on God.

Roger Morneau writes in his book “The Incredible Power of Prayer” p 41, in prayer and supplication to God, who waits for our request for help so that He will then have the legal right to in the sight of the universe to move with power into satan domain and rescue his captives. Roger recognizes the great controversy he sees that God cannot just step into our lives. He needs the permission. God will not force Himself on us, He loves us too much to force us to choose Him. So, when we pray, we give God access, permission to intervene and interact with us.

But how do we get to keep a constant interaction with God during the day? How do we get to remain in tune with God during the day as there are many things that take place in a day thing that frustrate us things that draw us away from Him?

Meditation. Meditation in today’s times has a very negative connotation. A great deal of meditation calls for one to empty one’s mind. However, biblical meditation has to do with filling one’s mind with Scripture. Joshua 1:8 speaks to this point, this Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, Psalm 143:5 I remember the day of old, I meditate on all that you have done, I ponder the work of your hands.

These verses call us to keep the Word of God foremost in our minds. As we read our verse or passage for our morning worship commit is as much as possible to memory and during the day you are able to recall the passage and then you can think about allowing God to be present with you during the day as you constantly recall His word. Christ Object Lessons p 60 says, God bids us fill the mind with great thought, pure thought. he desires us to meditate upon His love and mercy, to study His wonderful work in the great plan of redemption. Desire of Ages p 83 encourages us to spend a thoughtful hour every day contemplating the life of Christ.

As we hang on through these turbulent times God gives us many means by which we are able to remain steadfast in Him. Meditation helps keep our minds focused on Him and not on the difficulties we face. When we look to Christ and think of His great sacrifice our confidence in Him will be more constant.

If we have not yet set anchors in our lives for times of difficulties, or if we have anchors but they seem incapable of handling these times I urge you now to start to set anchors. We need to know that we can trust our lives to Christ, we need to read His love letter to us that we get to know who He is. Friends it requires one simple request, create in me a new heart O Lord. Then we are to start each day reading a verse or passage, write a prayer as to who that passage impacts you. Then commit it to memory as best you can then meditate on it during the day so that you may walk with God as did Enoch.

Amen