Dr. Dwight Garrett, How To Stand, in the Storms of Life. (2007)



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How to Stand in the Storms of Life (As delivered by Dr. Dwight Garrett on Sunday - July 22, 2007, at: Friends Of Truth Christian Fellowship Church) Text: Matthew 7:24-27 When we think about adversity in our life, probably some of the first things that come to mind are: Dealing with a difficult or broken relationship.... Going through a financial hardship.... Dealing with some form of legal problems.... Unpleasant or painful health problems.... Dealing with rebellious children, or discontent within our family life.... Facing something that may bring about public disgrace.... Being laid off from work, or loosing our source of income.... Dealing with a conflicting situation at work, in our community or in church.... And the list can go on, but it is safe to say that sometime in our lives we are all going to face these kinds of adversity in one form or another. It is also equally safe to assume that we all fit into --- or are already in one of three phases of our lives. Those who have already gone through adversity. Those who are going through adversity. Or Those who are going to go through adversity. Everything I mentioned thus far is a given, and I am sure most everyone within the sound of my voice (or who may be reading this) already knows this and your probably already thinking, “I’ve already heard all of this --- so where is he going with it?” First of all, I am sure, you, like myself, have sat through and heard a message about something that you have heard many times before. But if your hearing a similar message over and over, time and time again, then it is safe to say that God is trying to instill something in your heart and mind that maybe you need more instruction and guidance, and understanding in. Secondly, it is good to be reminded of things from time to time because our lives change, and our circumstances change, and maybe God is just trying to help you go through whatever it is that you are encountering at the present moment. This morning I want to look at a parable of Jesus which gives us insight into how we can handle adversity and keep standing in the storms of life. I want to bring our attention to our text this morning, Matthew 7:24-27 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: 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. 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: 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. This passage comes at the end of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is known for its practical instruction. Some of the most famous words of Jesus are found in Matthew 5 thru 7. This is the sermon where Jesus tells us to, Turn the other cheek.... Be like salt and light in the world.... Avoid lust and anger.... Don't worry.... Forgive or risk our own forgiveness.... Don't judge others.... Don't do your acts of righteousness for men's sake.... At the end of His sermon, Jesus wants to drive home an important point: that in order to benefit from his wisdom, we must be like the man who built his house on the rock rather than the one who built his house on the sand. The picture is pretty clear. In a storm, a house (a spiritual life) without a solid foundation is going to get knocked down. There are three things we should learn from this parable, The First thing we learn is that: EVERYONE IS BUILDING ON SOME KIND OF FOUNDATION And there are only two choices: you either build on a solid and deep foundation or you build on a shallow and weak foundation. This is a recurring theme in the Sermon on the Mount. Just like hearing the same message over and over again. In verses 13 & 14 of Matthew Chapter 7, Jesus says: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Jesus tells us that there are two gates: a broad way and a broad gate and a narrow road leading to a narrow gate. The broad way leads to destruction and the narrow way leads to life. And we are on one road or the other, and passing through one of the two gates. In verses 15-20 of Matthew, Chapter 7, Jesus tells us: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. There are only two kinds of trees: there are trees that bear good fruit and trees that bear bad fruit. The bad trees bear bad fruit, the good trees bear good fruit. And we are either one or the other. And now going back to our original text Jesus tells us that there are two foundations: one that will withstand the storms and one that will not. The picture is clear. We are either walking God's way, experiencing His transformation in our life, and knowing His strength for difficult times; or we are walking away from God, producing nothing of eternal value and are vulnerable to the storms that may come our way. We are one or the other. The second thing we can learn is: TIMES OF TESTING REVEAL THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH WE HAVE BUILT. This parable gives every indication that before the storms came these two houses looked identical. The indication is both may have been attractive, spacious, and comfortable. On the surface you probably couldn't really tell which house was built on the sand and which was anchored deep to the rock. It was only when the storms hit that you could see the difference in the homes. So it will be with those around us and in our own lives. It is impossible for us to tell who is genuine in their faith and who is not until the time of trial comes. You and I both know that this is true. Everybody sounds like a believer when times are good. When God is giving us what we want, we are all cheering for Him. True faith comes though when we are called to trust Him in the dark. When a person faces loss, or disappointment, or things simply don't go as expected, we get to see what faith is really made of. The person who has a deep foundation, Trusts God's wisdom when life is confusing.... Relies on God's strength when they are weak.... Looks beyond the present heartache to God's purpose and eternal glory.... Relies on grace in times of personal failure.... Runs TO God rather than away from Him.... My daddy would often tell people at a gravesite, when he was performing a funeral service that the grave is where you often times learn first hand just what the foundation of someone’s faith is made of. It is easy to profess faith when life is good, it is more difficult though to believe when you stand at the grave of one you love. That is the time when you must ask a tough question: "Do I really believe, or don't I?" The third thing we learn from this parable is: HOW TO BUILD ON A FIRM FOUNDATION First, We Must Know the Truth Jesus said anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man. The first step is to hear. Which also means we must listen. I think this means several things. First, it means we have a responsibility to expose ourselves to the truth. We do this by reading the Bible, by reading Christian books, by attending worship, by getting involved in Bible Studies, by fellowshipping with Christian friends who can teach and instruct us, and who can help us develop our sense of understanding, and we do it through prayer. Second, it means to listen. It is not enough to just hear. We must actually listen. Anyone who is married knows that there is a difference between “hearing” and “listening”. Anyone who has children in their home knows that there is a difference between "hearing" and "listening" as well. The key to listening is to interact with the one doing the speaking. The best listeners I know are people who ask lots of clarifying questions. A good and attentive listener will ask questions such as, "What do you mean?" "What are you saying", "Can you explain that further?" "What happened or happens next?" These are questions that show a person is listening. We should ask clarifying questions when interacting with the truth of God. And we should always be considering things like, Have I understood the message correctly? Are there any other passages of scripture that teach the same thing? Is God warning me of something? Do I need to repent? Is this a promise that I can claim? Is this a command I need to obey? What is this account trying to teach me? What kind of response should I be making to this truth? This is true in every area of our life. If we want to learn something we have to be in places where we can get the necessary information. We have to expose ourselves to the truth if we want to grow. And this holds especially true in our spiritual lives. Second, We Must Act on the Truth It is not enough just to KNOW about God. It is not enough just to know what God wants you to do. It is not enough just to know how to apply His Word . . . If we are going to build on a solid foundation we must actually DO what God wants us to do. Just knowing isn't worth anything if you don't act on what you know. An example is that: some of us may know what it takes to save another person's life, but that information is useless if you don't use that information when someone is in distress. Just like, You can know all kinds of things about God, but it will not help you if you don't do what He says. You can know that God wants priority in your time, but it is meaningless until you reflect that in your daily calendar.... You can know that God wants you to forgive, but it will not help you stand in the storms unless you actually let go of the bitterness you hold toward someone.... You can know that God hates gossip but your foundation will not be strong unless you seek to eliminate gossip and stop tearing down others.... You can know that God despises the prejudices of the world, but you will not be building a strong foundation for life unless you actually begin to looking past the surface in the lives of those around you.... You may know that God wants you to be content with what you have, but a firm foundation will be established only as you begin to be satisfied with what you have instead of feeling you always need something more.... Please hear what Jesus is saying. The reality we must face is this: there are many people who are very knowledgeable about the Christian faith, but who are building on sand. There are many people who look good, talk good, and appear wonderfully religious, but are really building their foundation on the sand. They know the truth, they know how to appear Christian . . . .but they are not doing what God tells them to do. To some degree all of us are like this. Every one of us has areas of our lives where we are not applying the truth. We know what God wants us to do, but we just don't do it. However, the true believer is working to eliminate those areas from their life. They know that those areas of their life are robbing them of spiritual vitality and are weakening their foundation. The foolish builder is unconcerned about these things. We must learn to obey because we will need to react instinctively when the storms rage. We must learn to be obedient because when the storms come we must react. We won't have time to ask, "What should I do?" We need to KNOW what to do. We won't have the opportunity to build a foundation then, because we will be holding onto and trusting in whatever foundation we have at the time. In Summary: So, knowing all of this, why don't more people build on the firm foundation? There are several reasons. First some people just don’t “get it” and could even be considered: Spiritually Lazy. It is appealing it is to build on the sand. It's a good location. It is adequate. It is easy. Who wants to dig down deep if you don't have to? It takes more work to build on the rock. It takes more time and energy. And it costs more. It is easier and faster to build on the sand. It is easier to take shortcuts and for awhile, it may seem to work just fine. But somewhere along the line, sooner or later, if we build our spiritual lives upon the shakey foundation of sand --- it will catch up to us. It is easier to cheat, and take the easy way out.... It is easier to go with the crowd, or just roll with the flow of the world.... It takes less time and energy if we simply maintain a superficial faith. And frankly, most of the time, who can really tell the difference anyway?... It's easier to just show up for church for an hour or so a week than it is to develop a solid spiritual foundation.... It is easier to talk about caring for others than it is to actually care.... It is easier to talk about sharing your faith than it is to build bridges with others.... It is easier to talk about commitment than to be committed.... The second reason people don’t build on a solid spiritual foundation is because. They are short-sighted The problem with people whose foundation is on the sand is: They do not see beyond the present. They give no thought to what is ahead. They live for the moment and whatever needs to be done to get what they want right now . . . is what they choose to do. These people do not give any thought to preparing for difficult times. They don't save any money. They don't do anything to protect their health. They don't build relationships while there is time. They don't consider the consequences of their moral choices. They don’t read God’s Word regularly. They live for the moment and are unprepared for difficult times that may be ahead. In the spiritual realm many people are short-sighted. Their focus is all on the temporal world. They give no thought to eternity. They invest no time or energy in developing roots or in laying up treasures in Heaven. They believe they have lots of time to deal with eternal matters. They fail to see that being prepared for eternity and having a solid relationship with God, makes it possible to enjoy the present life more. And when the storms blow they don't understand why God seems far away. The third reason people fail to build on a solid foundation is because, They become naïve, and complacent. They really truly believe that nothing bad will ever come their way. They believe they will never have to deal with a crisis, or a tragedy, or loss, or financial or family stress. They don't understand that in the next moment life could change drastically. A car accident, a fire, a tornado, an unexpected pregnancy, a job layoff, a physical problem (heart attack, stroke, or some other problem) could come into their life at any time. These things may effect them or it could strike someone they love. They seldom see these things coming. But when they do, life is turned upside down. Life may be good for right now, but that could change in an instant. There is a key principle in this message today that is something I pray all of us can take with us. The parable of the two houses is a simple parable that teaches: If you build your foundation solidly on the Lord, you will be able to survive anything. It sounds painfully trite. But I know it is true. And I base this conclusion on my own experiences. In fact, I have had to face many storms in my life, and I can give many testimonies about what life can be like when we build our lives on shakey and unstable foundations. I also base this conclusion on the promise of God and on the testimony of history. History is filled with the story of martyrs who remained faithful in horrendous situations. And we all probably know of someone who has had to survived horrible ordeals because of their faith. We may have seen others go through circumstances that may have destroyed us . . . but they survived because of their faith. We may even know of people who faced death with courage, grace, and confidence. My dear friends, we will survive in the storms of life if we build on the right foundation because, Our strength will not come from us, but from the Lord We will not trust our wisdom, but from His Our focus will not be on present struggle but on our future hope We will know where to turn, who to trust, and what is really important. Maybe you are in a storm right now. Maybe you are in the process of discovering that your foundation is faulty. If so, please turn to the Lord. You need to immerse yourself in God's Word. You need Christian friends who can give you guidance. You need to place your confidence in His love for You and His work on your behalf. And you need to turn TO Him not away from Him. Sometimes that may seem like it is difficult, but God is merciful and faithful. If you are not in a storm right now let me remind you that the time to prepare for the struggles and storms of life is now. Tomorrow may be too late and when you find yourself struggling through a difficult time --- and without a strong and solid foundation --- your world could come crashing down around you. The best way to prepare for the inevitable trials of life is to build your life on a rock solid foundation. Make time to hear God's commands. Find opportunities to grow in knowledge. Be diligent about doing what He tells you to do. I don't know how much time we have until a storm rages against our lives --- only God knows that. But it is wise to prepare now --- while there is still time, and while the door of opportunity is open - and while there is still a foundation to build upon. God Bless!