The Storm

Two women sat in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. One was very young and very shy, and tried desperately not to be noticed by burying her head in a magazine. She didn’t want to be there. She comforted herself with the thought that every other woman who sits in this room is here for help. With that thought, she knew that in some way she wasn’t alone, even though she felt isolated in her struggle. She knew that she had to think about something else before the pain in her heart began to show on her face. But it was too late. The other woman, several years older, had noticed the mist forming in the young woman’s eyes. She put her magazine down, moved slowly across the room, and sat down next to the young woman. She reached into her large purse and chuckled. She said, “I’ve got something for just about everything in this purse. I’d call it my grandma bag, except that I’m not a grandma. Let me see if there’s something in here for you.” The first thing she pulled out was a small package of tissues. By this time, the young woman had put down her magazine, and was actually amazed at everything that was in the stranger’s purse. She pulled out a couple of tissues and handed them to the young woman; who then wiped them across her eyes and crumpled them up in her right hand. Then the stranger pulled out a small envelope that said “to Meredith” on the front. The young woman could tell that this envelope had been in her purse for a long time. The paper was quite wrinkled and fragile looking. She spoke up and said, “Is Meredith your name.” The stranger nodded, and then said, “Today, Meredith is your name. Open it.” So the young woman opened the envelope, and pulled out a small piece of paper. On the paper, scribbled in pen, were the words, “It’s not your fault. You are not being punished.” Those words seemed to unlock something in the young woman’s heart, and tears began to race across her cheeks. She looked deep into the stranger’s eyes not sure of what she would find there. But then she knew that she was no longer alone in her struggle. The pain in the stranger’s eyes was just as real as hers, but there was something else there. The stranger said, “It’s been said that our eyes are the windows to our souls. What do you see in mine?” The young woman replied, “I see pain like mine, but there’s something else there that I don’t understand.” The stranger asked her, “Do you know Jesus?” The young woman was puzzled, “Well sure I’ve heard of him. I’ve been to church.” She asked the question again, “But, do you know Him?” The young woman said, “I guess I don’t understand what you are asking me.” The stranger said, “What you saw in my eyes was pain, because I do have pain, but what you didn’t understand was my hope. I’m not alone. I’ve got help. I’ve got Jesus.”

Good morning, welcome to Meadowland Community Church. We really are glad that you are here today. I’m even going to throw in a Happy 4th of July. Please be safe this weekend in whatever activities you have planned, because we really do like you. 4th of July on a Tuesday, How many of you are taking the 4 day weekend? How many of you have to go back to work tomorrow?

There could be one of a million reasons why you walked through the doors of this building today. It’s possible that you just saw the sign and came on in, or that you just really need to get back into the church thing. It could be that you walked in here this morning, because it’s what you did last Sunday and it’s what you’ll do next Sunday. Whatever your reason for being here this morning, God has a reason for you being here. You may be the answer to someone’s prayer or you may be getting a prayer answered. We all have private thoughts. Sometimes we don’t even want to really look into our own private thoughts, because the hurt may be too great or we are afraid of what we will find there. It’s possible that you may be so overwhelmed with life that you are here looking for just a sparkle of hope. I pray that you find at least that here this morning.

Let’s take a moment and ask God to teach us this morning.
Heavenly Father, we pray that your Spirit would speak into our lives today. Amen.

What a world we live in. It’s hard. This weekend is a time for celebrating our freedom as a country. This is the time in our country’s history that the Declaration of Independence was signed. Today, there are many who are experiencing the hardness of this world and how expensive freedom really is. There are hundreds of thousands of troops either in harm’s way right now or ready to go into harm’s way. There are mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and wives and husbands and good friends who will have their celebrations haunted by the ache that is in their heart for their loved one.

I don’t think that you have to think very hard about what’s troubling you these days. I say that because, I suspect that you are possibly already thinking about it or trying not to.

Do you know what a hurt heart feels like? Do you know what it’s like to lose someone you love? Do you know what it’s like to feel helpless while someone you love just throws there life away? Do you know what it’s like to be faced with several different choices, and not know which choice is the right choice for you and your family? Do you know what it’s like to be in a situation where your world is turned on its head, and you don’t know which end is up?

Take a look at these next slides. If nothing else, they will make you laugh. In fact that’s probably all they’re good for.

You’ve heard the saying, “All pain is gain”
Agony – Not all Pain is Gain

Defeat – For every winner there are dozens of losers. Odds are you’re one of them
Do you ever feel like you just can’t get it right?

Mistakes – It could be the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning sign for others
Why is there more bad news than good news?

Misfortune – While good fortune often eludes you, this kind never misses
Why do things seem to go wrong more often than right?

Futility – You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and statistically speaking 99% of the shots you do.

Problems – No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now, remember you’ve probably only seen the tip of them.
This is the last one, see if you can finish this one off.

That which does not kill me ________________ Wrong answer -
Adversity – That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable
Ok. So that probably wasn’t more than just a poor attempt at humor. Those things make me laugh, probably because of how true they seem to be. They at least describe the way that I often feel about the storms in my own life.

Every one of us sitting in this room today has been in a storm, is in a storm right now, or will be in a storm in the future. It’s so common to life that it has become cliché.
· *Life stinks
· *Such is life
· *That’s just the way it goes
· *You’re not the first and you won’t be the last
· *They say that into every life, some rain must fall
· *Pain is nature’s way of telling you that you are alive
· *When life gives you lemons, (PAUSE) *make lemonade

Storms are a part of everyone’s life. Everyone will agree to that, until it is you in the storm. I would like to read a passage of scripture to you from the book of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 24-27. Before we read this passage, I would like to give you a little backdrop on what’s going on. Jesus has come through His 40 day fast in the wilderness, He has recruited his disciples, He has been teaching in the synagogues, performing miracles, and definitely drawing a crowd. Jesus went to a mountainside and began to teach. He begins in chapter 5 verse 1, and His teaching ends in chapter 7 verse 27. He is teaching about what it means to follow Him. He is introducing some new ways of thought. Some that contradicted current standards and some that built on current standards. Jesus was teaching the way of His kingdom.

After he finishes His teaching, He says

Matthew 7:24-27
24"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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Jesus doesn’t give us much of a choice here. You are either wise or you are foolish. There’s really not a lot of wiggle room here.

The wise man and the foolish man had three things in common and one that was drastically different.

Number 1) The wise and the fool built a house.
Both of them had a house. Everyone has a life. You have built your house. You go to school. You have a job. You are married. You are single. You have no kids. You have 6. You drive a Harley when it’s nice out. You drive a dirtbike when it’s nice out. You get up at 3AM to go to work. You work from home. You have built your house.

Number 2) The wise and the fool encountered a massive storm.
It says that the rains came down, and the streams rose. That’s a lot of rain. Then it says that the winds blew and beat against that house.
This isn’t just a little thunderstorm on the way home from the office. This is a ‘run for cover and make sure you have batteries, food and water’ storm. This shows us that storms in our lives are not always in our lives because we are doing something displeasing to God. Granted there are times when life stinks because we are reaping the consequences of our actions, but this says that the wise person is getting it just as bad as the fool.

Number 3) The wise and the fool heard Jesus teaching, and they made a decision.

The drastic difference between the two is the foundation that the house is built on.
The wise man built his house on the rock, and the foolish man built his house on the sand. Take this back into life. The wise man put into practice what he had heard, and the foolish man did not.

The issue for us is not the storm. The storm will come and the storm will go, and in some lives it will come again. The issue is the foundation that your life is built on. Is your life built on your best ideas and opinions about how this life should be lived (as good or noble as they may be) or is the foundation of your life a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you are living on sand, and when the storm hits your house it will fall. If you have built your house on sand, then consider building a new house on the rock.

How do I build my house on the rock?
First, put your cornerstone in place by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, the maker of heaven and earth.
The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means that every one of us fall short of meeting God’s standard of perfection. If you can admit that, then you are almost there. The Bible also says that because of our inability to meet God’s standards we have earned an eternity away from God. It says that the wages of sin is death, but it goes on to say that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross. All we have to do is accept that gift by trusting in Christ alone for our salvation. If that’s the decision that you want to make this morning, then talk to Jesus right now, and let him know. You can pray silently or out loud. Tell Him that you agree with the Bible that you are a sinner, and that you are placing your faith in His death on the cross to save you.

Second, build your foundation by following Him.
Be publicly identified with Jesus through baptism. Read your Bible. Talk to Him through prayer. Get in a small group where you can grow in your relationship with Christ with others. Get in a one on one discipleship relationship. Sign up for a training session (Connecting with Meadowland; Spiritual Gifts class; Money Management class; Bible 101; Christianity 101). Always look for what God is trying to teach you through your situation.

So the question is, “Do you know Jesus?”

I know who Jesus is. He is the author and the perfector of my faith.
I know He’s powerful -
He is the Lord of all creation. He is the one who calmed the seas, turned water to wine, made the lame walk, healed Lepers, caused blind to see, rose Lazarus from the dead. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

I know that He loves me –
He knew me by name before I was even born. He went to the cross to pay the price for my sins. He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend, and you are my friend.” He is faithful even when I am faithless. He is the perfect father. He knows how to give good gifts to His children. All things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He clothes the flower, and he feeds the bird; He will care for me. No matter how dark the skies, I don’t have to worry about tomorrow.

The Bible says, Now we see through a glass dimly, but then we shall see face to face… Face to face.
I was in the biggest storm of my life. I felt abandoned by Jesus. I didn’t know which end was up. I would get angry and yell at Him, but in the bedrock of my soul, I knew Jesus. I remember standing in the kitchen of our flat in Chicago looking out at the sky. I thought of the day that Jesus Christ will come back for me. The Bible says that a trumpet will sound, and we will meet Him in the clouds in an instant. As I lived that picture in my heart, I looked into His eyes. I began to weep because I knew that when that time comes I will remember the storm, and I will know that He was there with me. He was my foundation, and I will praise Him, and I will love Him.

The issue is not the storm. The issue is the foundation. You build your foundation on the rock by following Jesus Christ. What is the foundation of your neighbor’s house like? Can you help them? Meadowland Community Church is a ministry to the unchurched families of Northern McHenry County. If what you have experienced here this morning was in any way significant to your life, then there’s a good chance that it will be significant to your neighbor who is in desperate need of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Who’s my neighbor? According to the Bible, it is anyone in need. You can share this message with them through our cd ministry or better yet, bring them with you next week to church or to your small group. In a moment we are going to remember Jesus death on the cross through taking communion. There is nothing mystical about this. There is no redemptive value here. Redemption is found through faith in Jesus Christ alone. If you have never made the decision to place your faith in Jesus as your savior, then it’s ok to let the elements pass you by. This church is a ministry where you are expected to come as you are, be who you are, and become the man or woman that God created you to be. We as a family of believers, are taking time out to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the change that happened in our lives as a result of it.