The Storms Are Coming

Message by Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

HOUSE ON ROCK OR SAND

Matthew 7:24-27
“Therefore everyone who hears 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. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

STORMS

Everybody will have storms in their lives.

RIGHTEOUS AN UNRIGHTEOUS

Matthew 5:45b
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Four Observations About Storms:

1. Storms are a part of life. No one is exempt from storms, (Even God-loving, God-fearing, God’s favorite Christians are not exempt!). If you are not in one or coming out of one right now, then one is coming.
2. Storms come in all shapes and sizes.
3. Storms can either make us or break us. Trials, tragedies, and misfortunes can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block for us depending on our heart’s response.
4. Storms expose areas of weakness or unpreparedness in our lives. Trials, tragedies, and misfortunes expose our character to surface strength or weakness in our character. It is not when everything is going well that our true character is revealed but it is when things go wrong.

Foolish preparation brings a future fall.

What Jesus offers brings strength in times of storms.

BUILD ON THE FOUNDATION OF ROCK

Matthew 7:25
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.

NARROW OR WIDE GATE

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Storms will tear down any Christ-less foundation. What is your foundation?

People are like teabags. You never know how strong they are until they are placed in hot water.

George MacDonald a Scottish writer and man of faith, who influenced writers like C.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and Oswald Chambers wrote… “God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity still in the cloud, the oil still in the earth. How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.”