It is always raining somewhere!
I always like to challenge you to grow to become more like Jesus and today is going to be no exception.
I want you to think with me for a second
Chefs and cooks in here?
If the basic ingredient you need for any recipe is off, what happens to the meal…
At best it just tastes a little off at worse it is a major fail, as a meal
Home improvement aficionados and those that love to sew
If you are measuring a room for flooring or a piece of fabric for some clothing and the tape measure you are using is off what happens….the project fails and you have wasted money
Contractors here today
If your house has a faulty foundation…and you build on it what is going to happen to the house
It will crack at least (perhaps not right away but over time) at most it will completely collapse.
Jesus told us that would happen and I believe that is happening In America today
Matthew 7:24-27
Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Jesus said if our foundation is not built on him and his word then we are set for destruction
WE are a culture built on fear and not faith…we have circumstances in our lives that are the rain and how we respond to them shows our foundation
Afraid of COVID I get it…. so wear a mask, get your shots, whatever you need to do physically that brings you peace… but stay in the word, stay in prayer and stay in fellowship with believers and keep sharing the greatest life changing message ever.
Fearful of what the politicians are going to do….get armed with truth, stay informed, study to understand the truth, vote, lobby, communicate…be in the word, be in prayer, be in fellowship…ask for the gift of discerning of spirits (which allows you to distinguish what is God and what is not)
Racism/prejudice – choose to be Jesus, stop reacting to things and begin to walk in truth, stand against racism with truth, love, and forgiveness….there can be no healing without forgiveness on all sides….Jesus never asked us to demand that others come to us and repent before we forgive…he told us to forgive, walk in love and truth, see people, things and circumstances through Jesus’ eyes help them to change. Because you are guided by prayer, God’s word, and fellowshipping with believers hopefully of all races. We need to see everyone as a gift and a blessing and see them as someone Jesus died for.
Economy – recognize everything that you have is God’s and you are only a steward of God’s goods. Pray for wisdom regarding finances, tithe, give offerings and alms, trust the Lord because you have been in prayer, God’s word, and fellowshipping with other believers
Your future – recognize your life is not your own, surrender completely to Jesus. Believe that the plans God has for you are for a hope and a future, plans for your good and not for your destruction and build your future on the foundation of God’s word, prayer, and fellowshipping with other believers
If you are worrying you are not trusting, don’t complain about things take the actions I suggested and more, the Holy Spirit will guide you
All of theses things are choices….circumstances do not determine God’s will only the Holy Spirit does, and the only way we know that is by drawing closer to him through prayer, the word and fellowship…
The rain will come on both the just and the unjust (Jesus said this Matthew 5:45) but the foundation you have will either provide strength or it will fail and you will fail along with it
I’d like you to close your eyes for a moment and relax…I want to play a song for you that emphasizes just this point…Big tent revival “Two sets of Joneses” 4:42 (oldy but a goody) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQE5PNRLZ40
Our foundation is critical to whether we prosper or not…
When I say prosper what I mean is whether we are at peace, live a fulfilled life, an overcoming life, have joy and contentment
Our culture is so angry, miserable, fearful, confused, lacking peace and hope. Many in the church are living this way at times too and it is certainly not God’s plan.
I mentioned earlier that the Holy Spirit would guide you…in 1 Corinthians 2:9,10 Paul is quoting Isaiah. Isaiah recieved this word from the Lord when everything looked bleak, dark, hopeless for Israel
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared
for those who love him.” 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
I know the struggles people have that, I mentioned earlier are real, the battles are real but God is more real if we would just believe it.
When the very foundation of everything Israel stood for was shaking, when the early church was suffering great persecution, their foundation was shaken and now when we are a nation in such a crisis, I believe the Lord is saying the same thing, it’s raining but don’t be shaken.
The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul and Isaiah is saying keep your eyes on the Lord as you do, as Paul writes in verse 10, if you are close to the Lord you will see and understand what is happened, the word Paul uses, “God revealed” means to pull back a veil to expose some deep truths from God so we have understanding and we see through God’s eyes.
As God reveals these truths to us they are not only for us to pray about but to take action…to choose to meet the needs of the broken and hurting to change the political environment, to secure your finances and future by placing God first in them, to decide to cause your children to grow to become Godly young men and women
It starts by securing our foundation in the Lord…we are never to be shaken but to be proactive people. We seek the Lord and we find him and he reveals the truth of what is going on
When our foundation is strong, we know the word and can stand on it, our relationship with the Lord is one where we understand his great love for us and the world, we know, we are surrounded by people who love us and want the best for us that is why
the Holy Spirit says this in 1 John 3:18,19
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
Bad things will happen, the rain will come, it is the nature of the world until the Lord returns.
It is interesting that Jesus prayed in His real Lord’s pray John 17:15-18
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
Why would a loving God, one who loves us the most, called us his own, called us out of darkness into his glorious light, want us to stay in the world when heaven is so beautiful and perfect, why wouldn’t he just go ahead and destroy all of this imperfection all of the prejudice, family issues, political problems, corona virus….
He has given you the power by His Holy Spirit to overcome all of this.
He has given you the power by his Holy Spirit to cause you to never be afraid.
He has given you the power to always be at peace and overcome
Why if we have this power, doesn’t he just take care of all theses issues…verse 18 tells us
18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
We don’t have the power to do this if our foundation is not secure, we will constantly doubt the Lord, His plan, His purpose, whether He is really in control, we will constantly be overrun by our flesh and its fears and lose our peace, love, and joy.
I believe this is what angel was really saying to Daniel in Daniel 11:32b
“….but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (NKJV)
The context of this is a battle is waging the armies of the ungodly are overwhelming the earth and the angel comforts Daniel with these words stressing those that know the Lord, spending time in his word, in prayer, in fellowship (these were givens) will do great exploits another translation says will resist and overcome the enemies of God every time.
How secure is your foundation today? How much do you live in fear, how many battles are you losing? How much do you feel like a victim instead of a victor….you are called to do great exploits, to resist and overcome the enemies of God every time. You are called to live in peace, love, joy, blessing always!
Today is a day to secure the foundation…bad things will happen the rains will come but you are called to always overcome
Let’s pray