(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, it's great to be here this morning. As Brother Oliver mentioned, we have more than 50 people from our church in Verde, Vancouver. So if you're here for the first time, it's a much smaller attendance than we normally have. We're definitely glad to have you here today, and I appreciate the opportunity to come here and speak to you. In Matthew chapter 7, we see the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount starts in Matthew chapter 5, and it goes through chapter 6 and chapter 7. This is the most famous sermon that's ever been preached. This is the greatest sermon that's ever been preached. I mean, pretty much everything you can possibly think of is mentioned in Matthew chapter 5 and 6 and 7. I'm going to be kind today and not cover every single thing that's mentioned there, but we're in Matthew chapter 7, and I want you to see the reaction of the people that heard this sermon. Look at what it says in verse number 28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. You see, the people that actually heard what he preached, they were amazed. They were blown away. They had never heard anything like this before. They're thinking, never man spake like this before. He taught them as one that had authority. He didn't back down from the message. He stood up here, and he was bold, and he preached what the Bible said. They were amazed at what he said. And notice what it says in verse 28. It said, when Jesus had ended these sayings. So this is multiple things. This is not just one thing. When it's saying these sayings, it's saying everything that he's mentioned, Matthew chapter 5 and 6 and 7. They're blown away from everything that he said. Now go back to verse number 24. I want you to notice verse 24 where it says, 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. Notice in verse 24 it starts off with the word therefore. Now you've got to ask yourself at the beginning, what is therefore referring back to? What is it linking back to? Well notice it says, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine. This is the same thing that it said in verse 28 when it said these sayings. So it's not just talking about some things in Matthew chapter 7. It's linking back to everything he said in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. It says, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine. Everything he preached in the Sermon on the Mount he's linking back to. And basically these last four verses in the Sermon on the Mount, verses 24 through 27, these are paramount. Because if you reject what it says in verses 24 and 27, chapter 5 means nothing. Chapter 6 means nothing. Chapter 7 means nothing. You can't just take these, if you reject these last four verses, there's no point to the rest of it. And what he says in verse 24, 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. He's going to list two types of people in verses 24 through 27. The first person is someone that hears the message and actually does it. And the second one is someone who hears the message and doesn't do it. You see, it doesn't matter if you hear what I say today. Because if you do not apply it, it's meaningless. It doesn't matter what I preach. It doesn't matter if Jesus preached, you know, the Sermon on the Mount. If you hear it and you say, wow, that's great, and you don't apply any of it, what's the purpose? It means nothing. It's not helpful at all. And so there's two types of people. Those that their house is founded on the rock, and those that their house is founded on the sand, as the Bible says. The name of this sermon is Steady Through the Storm. Steady Through the Storm. Verses 24 through 27, they truly show us the storms of life that are going to come in our lives. You have to understand something. The first point is this. There is the inevitability of storms. It is a guarantee that storms are going to happen in your life. It is inevitable. Look at what it says in verse number 25. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. Notice with the first person, the rain descends. This is the person that actually does the Word of God. The rain descends, the floods come, the winds blow and beat upon the house. But notice the second group of people in verse 27. Notice the wording. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. Notice with both groups of people, it is word for word the exact same. There's not even a difference of a comma or semicolon or one word. It is the exact same thing in verse 25 and in verse 27. Whether you do the Word of God or not, the storms are still coming in your life. It is inevitable that there are going to be storms in your life. And I want you to understand with this first point that no matter who you are in this room, even if you're a very godly person, the storms are coming in your life. If you're someone who just doesn't care what the Bible says, the storms are still coming. If you're an unsaved person, the storms are still coming. It is inevitable that there are going to be storms in life. Don't get this idea that if you were to lead this church that you're not going to have storms in your life. You see, tragedy still strikes whether or not you're in church or out of church. You know, health problems can still strike whether you're in church or out of church. Financial problems can still strike whether you're in church or out of church. The storms are going to come in your life. It is inevitable. Go back to Matthew chapter 5. See, a lot of people start to get this idea that, you know, man, if I was out of church, my life would be better. It would be easier. I wouldn't go through trials. I wouldn't go through persecutions. I wouldn't go through storms. But that just doesn't jive with the Bible. See, it doesn't matter whether you're in church or not. You will have storms in your life. It is inevitable. You're going to go through hard times. You know, being at church is great because you can actually hear what you need to do to survive those storms. But if you leave this church, the storms are still coming in your life. You're not escaping the storms. Notice what it says in Matthew 5, verse 44. This is in the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount. See, you have to understand the storms are coming. The good times and bad times come whether you're a believer or you're an unbeliever. Whether you're in church or out of church, storms are still coming. Trials are still going to come in your life. Turn to Malachi, chapter 3. This is the last book of the Old Testament, so you're just going back one book. Malachi, chapter 3. And I want you to understand something, you know, we all go through storms in life. Whether you're a believer, whether you're an unbeliever, whether you're a Christian or you're an atheist. Now, as Christians, we can go through persecution for the cause of Christ. And some people might look at that and say, well, you know, I'd rather just escape the persecutions. But you have to understand that if you choose to reject what the Bible says and don't live for the Lord, sin has built in consequences. You see, if you leave this place and you decide, well, I'm going to go back to my party lifestyle, you might have escaped persecutions, but your life's going to be a lot worse. Sin has built in consequences and leaving this place is not going to make your life better. Deciding I'm going to quit sowing or quit reading the Bible, that is going to make your life worse because sin has built in consequences and storms are still going to come in your life. It's not going to be better for you. You're better off being in God's will. Look at Malachi chapter 3 verse 13. It says in Malachi 3 verse 13, your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, what have we spoken so much against thee? Now this is one of the dumbest statements in the entire Bible when you understand what they're saying. They're basically saying when they say, what have we spoken so much against thee? You're saying, we've spoken against you, God, but have we spoken that much against you? I mean, what a stupid statement that is. What have we spoken so much against thee? I mean, if you complain about God, that alone is wrong. I mean, think about the people in the wilderness murmuring. It's like, oh, we've only murmured a little bit, God, are you really that upset about it? I mean, speaking against God at all is wrong. Speaking against God at all is wicked and foolish and stupid. But they say, what have we spoken so much against thee? And this is what it says. He said, it is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? You see, when you're living your life as a Christian, sometimes you feel like trials are really coming in your life. And sometimes you might have this attitude, man, it's vain to serve God. What benefit does it have for me? What's the purpose for my life? I feel like I'm going through so many trials and tribulations. You might say, what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance? You say, man, I'm really striving to keep God's law of living a holy life and not a worldly life and obeying everything the Bible says. You say, what is the purpose? What purpose is it that I've kept his ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? You say, the life of a Christian can be depressing sometimes. You can have persecution. You can have afflictions. But you have to realize, if you leave, it doesn't get any better. The storms are still coming. And I want you to be a little bit encouraged at the start of this message and realize this is the best place for you. This is, without question, the best place in Sacramento to be on a Sunday morning. There's no question about it. There is not a church like this. I promise you, when people visit this church, you know, some people when they visit this church, they love it, and others, they hate it. There's usually no in-between. But when they visit this church, they realize, you know, I haven't really heard preaching like this before. This is different than what I've heard. This is the best place to be in Sacramento on a Sunday morning. But I want you to understand that this, you know, we get tired. We get worn out in the Christian life, and we start having this foolish attitude that if I leave, things are going to get better. We all are there at times. We get tired. We get exhausted. We're so busy. We say, man, I'm reading the Bible. I'm memorizing. I'm praying. And I feel like I'm going through so many trials. But you have to understand that if you leave, it's only going to get worse. Turn to Proverbs 23. You see, a lot of us, our lives have drastically changed since we got involved in church. You know, a lot of us lived lives that were a lot different. And you might have some fuzzy feelings about the past and feel like, man, I didn't have so many problems back in the past when I used to live a party lifestyle or didn't get involved in church. But, you know, I think you're forgetting about what the past was actually like. And I'm going to prove that to you in the Bible. And I obviously know people have come from different backgrounds, but in Proverbs 23, we talk about the person that's a drunkard, the person that spends their life being a drunk and drinking all the time. And look at what it says in Proverbs chapter 23, verse 29. It says, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes. They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Does that sound like the sort of lifestyle you want? Do you want to have woe in your life? Do you want to have sorrows and misery and sadness? Because that's the life of the drunkard. They don't enjoy what they do. They do not enjoy that lifestyle. And they can lie to you and put some commercial where some rich celebrity puts a smile on their faces or advertising vodka. But people don't enjoy that lifestyle. Living a life as a drunkard, that is a miserable, depressing lifestyle. It says who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause. You know, when people are drunks, they get in fights. You know, I got saved in a college town, West Virginia University, and it is always voted the number one school for drinking in the nation. Every weekend, you'd see a bunch of drunk people getting in stupid fights. I had a guy in my Spanish class who, you know, we showed up for class on, it was either Monday or Tuesday morning. The teacher told us, you know, so and so from our church passed away over the weekend. And, you know, at first I felt extremely bad. You know, I do feel bad that this guy died, but I thought, you know, something tragic could happen, a big accident, like a car accident or something like that, the way she said it. But she was trying to say it in a nice way, because the truth is that guy over the weekend was drunk and him and a couple of friends threw a snowball at a bunch of other people that were drunk. And then somebody pulled a knife and he ended up getting stabbed and killed. And see, that's the life of the drunkard. I mean, this is not just one story. That's just a story I know in my life, because this sort of stuff happens all the time. I know plenty of people that have died because they got drunk and they started driving and crashed and ended up killing someone or killing themselves. That stuff happens. You live the life of a drunkard. It's going to destroy your life. It's going to ruin your life. I think most of us could raise our hands and say we know people that alcohol destroyed their life. See, that's the life of the world. Leaving this place is not going to make your life better. Being in here is the best place that you could possibly be. Look what it says in verse 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. You know, us that are married, do you really want to have your eyes behold strange women and have thoughts of adultery and wicked thoughts like that? Do you want to utter perverse things against the Lord? Is that what you want? Because you live that life of the world. That's what's going to happen, says in verse 34. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. You know, drunkards, they want to go back to their old ways over and over. They don't know anything else. They don't realize there's a much better life. They will get involved in church and change their lives. But, you know, we do know better here. We know what the life is of a drunkard. And if you leave this place because you backslide or you get tired or worn out and say, I'm going to backslide on God, your life is going to get worse. It's not going to get better. You are not going to escape the storms because the rain falls on the just and the unjust. The rain is going to descend, the floods are going to come, and the winds are going to blow and beat upon your house, whether or not you're in church or out of church. Now, I like being in church because I want to be prepared for that storm, because the storm is going to come in your life. Turn to First Timothy, chapter six. And while you're turning to First Timothy six, I'm going to read you Proverbs thirty one seven, where the Bible says, Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. You see, the drunkard is it's associated with poverty in the Bible because you live a life of a drunkard. You're not going to be able to hold down a job. You're going to waste all your money on booze. And it says, remember his misery no more, because the life of a drunkard is miserable. That's what the Bible teaches. Who have whoa, who have sorrow? It's they that tarry along at the wine. It's a miserable life. But, you know, another thing that the world likes to do is they like to chase after money. It's not just living a sinful life, but money is something that a lot of people go after. And honestly, that's something we all have to be aware of, because it's very easy to make your decisions on money. It's very easy to quit on the things of God because of money. But look what it says about chasing after money in First Timothy six, verse nine. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. You see, you chase after money. You are piercing yourself with sorrow. People that live their lives for money, they're not happy. And see, the world might tell you that, oh, the living for money, having fun and partying, that's the way to go to being in church. What's the purpose? You know what? That's a miserable life chasing after money. People are not happy that are rich. And I'll tell you what, I'm not a rich person, but I promise you, I'm happier than the rich people that are out there that they live their lives chasing after money, because that is a life of misery. It does not bring you comfort. It does not bring you happiness. You know, living for the Lord. That is the answer. Turn back to Matthew seven. And so the first thing we see is the inevitability of storms, but even if you say, you know, I don't know about that, Brother Stuckey, maybe, maybe the old life, maybe it's really not that bad. But you know what the Bible says? If you know these things, happy are you if you do them, if you do them. And see, when you're at this church, you know what the Bible teaches. You're not going to be happy, just brazenly disobeying what the Bible says. The Bible says, if you know these things, happy are you if you do them. That is what's going to bring you joy in your life. And honestly, it's a foolish thing to sit in a church like this and hear what the Bible says. If you're not going to apply it, you're better off just not coming to church if you're not going to apply it, because you're going to be miserable knowing what the Bible says and not actually doing it. Because the Bible says, if you know these things, happy are you if you do them. That's how you're going to be happy. I'll be honest with you that I know a lot of people that are retired soul winners. They threw in the towel in their 20s or 30s. And I'll tell you what, some of the most miserable people you're going to meet in life are those that used to be great Christians, people that are retired soul winners. They're miserable. They're not happy. It doesn't bring them happiness. You have to understand the storms are still coming. It is inevitable. The storms are going to come. But you have to realize you're not going to be happy or leaving this place. Don't ever get weary in warfare and say, you know what? I had to leave this place and just kind of tone it down. Toning it down will not make you happy. But not only do we see the inevitability of storms, I want to show you the information of storms. Let's see the information. Look what it says in Matthew seven. It says in verse twenty five and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. Notice the Bible says the rain descended. I want to show you the source or the direction of these storms. The rain descending means it's coming from above. It's primarily hitting the roof of the house. OK, now it says the floods came. Now, where are floods going to come? They're going to come towards the bottom of the house, the bottom third or the bottom fifth or whatever. When the water gets high, it doesn't start at the top. It starts at the bottom and the winds blowing against that house are primarily hitting the sides of the house. So when we look at the source of the direction of this storm, it is coming from above. It's coming from the bottom. It's coming from the sides. It's coming from everywhere. And honestly, that's the way it is in life. Storms can come from every direction. You know, you can go to work in the morning on a Monday morning and you can have problems at work. You come home and you have problems with your wife or your husband or your kids. You know, you get you have storms from every direction. You can have maybe somebody at church that you don't get along with that well, or maybe you're driving and you end up getting in a car accident. Storms can come in every single direction from every source. The rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. Every part of that house is getting hit with a storm. But not only do we see the source of the direction of the storm, let's also look at the type of storm. See, these three things are different things. The rain is one storm that's coming. You know, you got a leaky roof, you know, you're going to have problems when the rain descends. But, you know, the floods coming, that is a different storm. It's hitting the bottom of the house. It's something else. And the wind blowing, that is something else. And, you know, in life, not only can storms come from every direction, but they can be every single type of storm. You see, you might go through a financial storm in your life. You might be really struggling with money. You're struggling to provide the bills. Or maybe you're having a tragedy that happens in your life. Maybe somebody that you know or somebody that you love ends up dying. You know, that can come. That happens on the believer and the unbeliever. Whether you follow the things of God or not, tragedy strikes in life. Or maybe you have major health problems in your life. And honestly, it really doesn't matter if you if you do everything perfectly, do a tea, you work out every day, you eat all non-GMO and organic food. You can still have health problems. You can still get in a car accident and have permanent health problems. You can still have problems with your personal health. Or maybe you have a problem with your family, you know, major fighting in your family. These storms can come from every direction. I think Job is the perfect example of this because he had all of the things that I just mentioned. He had storms coming from every direction and he had a financial storm. He lost all of his money. He had a tragedy strike. All of his kids died. He had sickness or health problems. His health was destroyed. And he also had a familial problem. His wife said, curse God and die. You know, I'll be honest, my wife and I have gotten fights before, but she never told me to curse God and die. That's that's pretty extreme. And obviously, you know, the situation she was in in life, you can understand why she's struggling. I'm not trying to stand in judgment of her. I don't know how I'd handle a situation like that when everything came down at once. What I'm showing you is that you can have storms from every direction and they can be every type of storm. But not only this. I want you to understand the timing of the storm. You see, the rain is descending and as a result of the rain descending very heavily, it causes a flood on the ground. When I was growing up in Bridgeport, West Virginia, we had a house that didn't really adequately get rid of the water. So whenever it rained really heavily on our back porch, you know, my dad and I were on the back porch with brooms doing everything we can to get rid of all the water, because if we didn't, it was going to flood our basement every single time. And so whenever it rained really hard, we ended up having, you know, flood problems in our house. And, you know, the rain is descending while the floods are coming. But, you know, when it really rains hard, it's often very windy at the same time. You notice how the rain and the floods and the winds can come at the exact same time. And when you look at the timing of the storm, it seems like when it rains, it pours. You ever notice that where it seems like you have one problem in life, you have 50? Yeah, everything's going well, or you got every single problem in the world, and that's what the Bible shows us. And honestly, it makes sense that when it rains, it pours. It makes sense that all of this happens at the same time. So we have to understand that we are in a spiritual fight. We're not in a physical fight. We're not in a carnal fight. We're in a spiritual fight with the forces of darkness. We're in a spiritual fight with the devil and his minions. Now, think about a physical fight, though. Let me give you an example. Let's say you had two boxers. You got boxer A over here, Manny Pacquiao, and you got boxer B over here, Floyd Mayweather. OK, now in a boxing match, the first couple rounds, both boxes are going to probably take it slow. They're not going to go for any major shots. They don't want to put themselves in danger of being hurt. And then in the third and fourth round, it starts to pick up. But let's say, for example, in the fifth round that Manny Pacquiao lands a good shot on Floyd Mayweather. And I remember when I was younger and I watched boxing matches, I never understood how when a fighter got hit really hard, they just kind of stood there kind of not moving with their chin up in the air because that's kind of the worst thing to do as a boxer. But I remember boxing, you know, some of my friends for fun and one of my friends hit me really good. And I remember just being kind of on shaky legs and like seeing stars. It made sense to me now why pro boxers, once they get hit, they just don't know where they are. And so let's say, for example, Manny Pacquiao lands a good shot on Floyd Mayweather. He's going to tell because he's a seasoned boxer that Floyd Mayweather is hurt. He's stunned. You know, he's going to be kind of moving around like this. He's going to have that glaze look in his eyes. And what is Manny Pacquiao going to do when he notices Floyd Mayweather's hurt? He's going to go in for the kill, right? If you got your opponent hurt, what do you do? You go in to finish the job. It just makes logical sense. And this is what they're going to say. The announcers are going to say that Manny Pacquiao smells blood. That's what they say. He smells blood. Basically, he realizes he can finish the job. It's like a shark in water. When a shark smells blood, guess what it does? Tries to finish the job. Right. And you have to understand this. The devil smells blood, my friend. The devil can tell when you're weak and you're weary and you're worn out. And he is going to try to finish the job when he realizes this. See, the Bible says about the devil as a roaring lion. He walketh about seeking whom he may devour. See, the devil wants to finish you off. He doesn't want you at this church. The devil knows what the best church in Sacramento is. I promise you that he doesn't want you here. The devil knows that reading the Bible is going to change your life. He doesn't want you to read the Bible. The devil knows that if you get on fire for God, you go so when you're going to you're going to do things that last for all eternity. He does not want you to do that. And when he notices you're weak or you're worn out, he's going to try to finish the job. Some people say, you know, man, I feel like the devil's really attacking me in life. And honestly, there's a good chance it's true, because when you decide you want to live for the Lord, the devil does not like that. He wants to put a stop to it. And here's the thing. We need to understand the devil knows who is weak and who's weary. You know, we always make excuses for our problems in life. But when we keep failing in the same area, you know, you know, the reason why we fail is because we're weak. It's because we're allowing ourselves to get destroyed by the devil. You know, no cloak for your sin. I'm going to tell you the truth. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. That is what the Bible says. And if you faint when the battle gets tough, it's because your strength is small. Another way to say that is you are weak if you give up when the going gets tough. And see, if you're someone who you start coming to church all the time and then all of a sudden you fade out, you get back involved in church. The reason why that keeps happening and the devil keeps attacking you is because you are weak and the devil smells blood. The devil is going to walk about and find out who we can devour, says seeking whom he may devour. And honestly, there's areas of my life I don't struggle with, but there's areas I do struggle with. You know, in church attendance, I'm going to be here for every service. I've just made that decision. I love this church. I want to be here. I want to hear the preaching the word of God. You know, there's areas that the devil kicks me around pretty well. You know, like, for example, Bible memorization, I think Bible memorization is vital. It's great. And I'll get in the pattern where I'm really memorizing the Bible and then I kind of fade out and I get back into it and I fade out. But I need to just admit the fact that's because I'm weak in that area. Let's not make an excuse and say, well, I just have this special situation. Now, if you keep failing over and over and over again, it's because the devil smells blood because he knows he can destroy you. He knows he can beat you in that area. And people that fade out of church, it's not some special situation because the storms come on all of us. It's because they were weak and they did not resist the devil. Turn to James Chapter four. You know, one of my favorite sermons I ever heard preached was a sermon by Pastor Anderson, and the name of the sermon was the only way to fail is to quit. That phrase has been stuck in my head for 10 years now, ever since I heard that sermon, because I've taken that with me in my life, because honestly, you know, sometimes you feel like going soul winning, sometimes you don't. And I just think to myself, you know what? I'm not a failure if I go out there and I don't get someone say I'm not a failure if I keep screwing up. I'm a failure if I give up. You know, we're all going to go through struggles. We're all going to go through storms. We fail when we decide to give up and just throw in the towel. And you look at people that left this church for various reasons over the years, you know, by and large, it's because they failed. You know, they could give every excuse under the sun. But, you know, honestly, if thou faint in the day of adversity by strength is small, it's because they were not strong enough to stand the test of time. And that's why this sermon is important, because we have to understand the storms are going to come in your life. It is inevitable. We need to be ready for it. And the devil smells blood. He knows when you're weak. You need to prepare yourself and be strong now. It says in James chapter four, verse seven, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. I love that guarantee that if you resist the devil, he is going to flee. See, the devil is going to run away with his tail between his legs when he realizes he can't win the battle. The devil cannot attack everybody at once. He can't put all of his energy into one thing. He's got to decide. Does he think he can finish the job? If he thinks he can finish the job, he's going to attack you. When people start coming to church for the first time, sometimes I'll tell them that, you know what, the devil is going to try to get you to miss church. You just got to decide. I'm going to resist the devil and he will flee because people start coming to church once or twice or three times and then they fade out because they didn't resist the devil. And if we would just resist the devil, guess what? He's going to flee and quit bothering you. You see, you want the devil to quit bothering you in areas in your life. Resist him and he'll give up. All you got to do is stand in there and he is going to give up. That's what the Bible promises. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Think about, you know, going back to the boxing analogy. Let's say you were in a set. Let's say you were in a 10 round fight and it was the seventh round. And let's say, for example, you were told that if you last these 10 rounds, you're going to get a million dollars. Man, I would love to have a million dollars. It would be great if it was the seventh round and I was really tired and worn out and weak. You know what I would try to do? I would try to do every single thing I could to finish those 10 rounds to get that money. Right. If you have a million dollars on the other side, you know, we need to realize this as Christians, we got something worth a lot more than a million dollars on the other side. We got rewards that are going to last forever. See, I mean, a million dollars, that's going to fade away. But if you get rewards up in heaven, those are there permanently. We have to realize the reward that we have on the other side and realize it's worth staying in the fight. Yes, the battle is coming down strong. And I'm not saying it's going to be easy because the storm implies it's going to be difficult. It doesn't matter how prepared you are. It's still going to be difficult. You're still going to have to fight through that and last through that. And they say, weather the storm, weather the storm when you're going through it, but don't quit. Never fail. Never quit, because the only way to fail is to quit. And if you get tired, you get worn out. You're only failing if you walk out and never come back. That's when you're a failure. Just stay in the fight. Turn to James five. You know, we look at someone like Job that we're going to see here in the Bible and James five, and Job was someone who he was a very dedicated believer. And because he was so dedicated, God used him as a great example. I think a lot of us could look back at the life of Job and say, man, I've gotten comfort seeing what Job went through, that he went through something far worse than I've ever gone through. And Job, you know, he probably didn't realize when he was going through all those trials and all those storms that this has a greater purpose. This can help change people's lives by the millions throughout all time. You know, we go through storms in life. We might feel like, you know, why is God allowing this to happen? But you have to understand there's a greater purpose on the other side. God is allowing you to go through that storm in that life. And it could be for a much bigger purpose. Look at James chapter five, verse 10 says, Take my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction and of patience. Behold, we count them happy, which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. You know, it's the truth that if you endure through the pain, the struggles, you're going to be happy on the other side if you endure and weather that storm. We just need to last through it. Turn back to Matthew chapter seven. Actually, you don't have to turn to seven, turn to first Peter, five, eight, first Peter five, eight. And so the first thing we saw today is this, we saw the inevitability of storms and we also saw the information of storms. But I also want to talk to you about the immovability of the house. So you have to understand that when a storm happens, you cannot pick up a house and move it to another location. There are plenty of people in California over this last week that would have loved to pick up their house and move it somewhere where there is no fire. Right. But you can't pick up a house during the storm. It's not possible. There's plenty of people on the beach where all those hurricanes were taking place that would have loved to pick up their house and move it to a safer and different location. But you can't because the house is immovable. It's impossible. You have to understand that when your storm comes down on you, you cannot move your house. It's impossible. You got to just be there to weather the storm. And see, people have this idea that they can just become spiritual overnight. People have this idea that I don't need to read the Bible. I don't really need to listen to preaching or apply it. But when the storm comes, I want to be strong. No, you won't. You know, the Bible gives us a couple examples of living the Christian life. One of the examples is this talks about it being a fight, right? Talks about the spiritual fight we're in. If you have not trained for a fight, you can't just do well in a fight if you step into a boxing ring. If you have no experience boxing or no experience wrestling, you're not going to win that fight. You know, you're going to lose that fight. Or how about running a marathon? Who wants to raise their hand and say they're ready tomorrow to run a marathon and do it in a really good time? Is anyone going to say that? I mean, if you haven't prepared for it, how are you going to do well? But people seem to think in the spiritual life, I don't need to prepare for it at all. I can just go out there and wing it and I'm just going to be strong in the face of danger. No, you won't. It doesn't make any sense. You know, the Bible says the horse is prepared against the day of battle. You know, if you send a horse into battle and it doesn't know what to do, it's not prepared. It's not going to do very well. We need to be prepared for the battle that's going to come before us. The Bible says in First Peter five, eight, the verse we read earlier, it says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. See, before it talks about the devil going to attack, it tells us be sober, be vigilant. See, if we're sober and we're vigilant, we're going to be ready for that battle. We're going to be ready for that storm when it comes. We need to make the decision. And that's a command. Be sober. Be vigilant. God expects you to be ready for these battles. He does not promise you that no storms are going to come. He expects you to be ready for those storms. He says, be sober, be vigilant. You see, you need to start reading the Bible every day, starting today. If you're someone who doesn't read the Bible every day, you need to make the change now, because that is how you're going to grow as a Christian. You're someone who says, man, I you know, I I don't pray every day. You need to start doing it now. You need to get ready for that storm now. You do not know when that storm is coming. It could come tomorrow. It could come in a day you do not expect. You don't have God doesn't give you a five year warning to get ready and get spiritual. It can come like that out of nowhere. And honestly, when the rain comes in life, sometimes it comes out of nowhere. I mean, the sky is nice and sunny. Then all of a sudden you look up and it's pouring down the rain. Right. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere. You do not know when the storms are coming in your life. You don't know how strong they're going to come. You don't know from what directions you need to prepare yourself for that storm that's coming. Turn to Genesis chapter 12. And I want to show you someone in the Bible who went through a couple of different storms that we're going to look at. And in the first example, we're going to see that he fails very miserably. And then we're going to see him be successful. And the difference is his preparation. He was ready at the end, but he wasn't ready in Genesis chapter 12. Says in Genesis chapter 12, verse 10, and there was a famine in the land and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was grievous in the land. So Abram or Abraham, once there's a famine, what does he do? He runs down to Egypt. Now, is Egypt a godly area or wicked? It's a wicked area. And so basically, Abraham leaves the will of God to chase after money. The famine comes. And in the face of that storm, guess what? He flees like that. There's no indication that he fights against it. He just said, oh, wow, there's a famine. I got to go where I can make more money. You know, I got to go where I can provide better. He doesn't even try to stay in the will of God. He just immediately leaves. But turn to Genesis chapter 22. And honestly, you know, when you go through financial struggles, that is a big storm in your life. It is very easy to make dumb decisions. I'm not saying it's easy. Any storm you go through in life, it's going to be difficult. You need to make sure you're as prepared as possible for when that storm comes. Genesis chapter 22, look at verse one. And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac, his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went on to the place of which God had told him. Now, this is a major storm in the life of Abraham. He's told to sacrifice his son. We see how Abraham's ready for this storm. He just said, I'm just going to do what God says. Now, I don't think he was ready for something major like this in Genesis chapter 12, but he's ready in Genesis chapter 22. And honestly, you know, you might be in this room and maybe you're kind of a newer Christian. Maybe you haven't read the Bible that much. Maybe you haven't gone through a lot of problems and stood the test of time. Prepare yourself now and then you can go through a bigger storm later on in life, because if you haven't prepared yourself, you are going to fail. You know, this sermon that I'm preaching and we still have a few more points, but this sermon I thought about because I was visiting a church, you know, just last month when we were on vacation and during the morning sermon, this this person was saying amen during the service, this young man. And and he was saying amen. He was really into the preaching. But after the sermon, you could tell that he was visibly, you know, bothered. Something was going on in his life and I didn't know what it was. But it turned out that morning before church, you know, and this is a young guy, so I'm sure his brother was young. His brother died in a car crash that morning and he was in church just a few hours later and he was saying amen during the services, paying attention. He came to church on the Sunday evening service as well when that had just happened to him. Now, when I looked at that and once I found out what had happened, I was amazed because I thought to myself, I don't know if I would do that well in the face of that storm. That's pretty major when there's an unexpected tragedy that takes place like that. I mean, I was very impressed with this guy that he was able to stand firm in that storm. It had just happened. Yet he was still there at church Sunday morning and Sunday night. And you got to ask yourself, do you really think that you're ready for that sort of storm that could come down in your life? Because it was completely unexpected. It could happen to any of us, any of us that have siblings or family. We could have somebody die in a car crash today. You got to ask yourself, would you still be at church tonight? You know, honestly, we need to make sure we're prepared for this sort of battle. And the only way you can do that is if you're already prepared. You can't just decide when the tragedy comes. OK, I'm going to be spiritual now and stand the test of time. No, you're going to you're going to fold like a deck of cards if you're not prepared for that storm that comes in your life. Turn to Matthew, chapter seven. And so the first things we've seen so far is this, we saw the inevitability of storms. We saw the information of storms. We saw the immovability of the house. But we also see fourth, intention ain't enough. You know, I'm sure if you're here today, you intend to live for the Lord. I'm sure you intend to say, yes, I'm going to apply this to my life. But intention ain't enough. It's not going to work. You have to actually do it. It's not good enough just to hear it and say you're going to be spiritual. You actually have to do the things that you hear. And this is a church that you hear the word of God preached every single week. I don't think anyone can raise their hand and say, well, pastor doesn't teach us anything. We learn every single week. We see what the Bible says and you hear the word of God. You've got to make that decision to do it. It's not good enough just to show up. It's not good enough to have the best intentions. You have to actually do it. It says in Matthew Chapter seven, verse twenty four. Therefore, whosoever hear these sayings of mine and do with them, I will liken him onto a wise man which build his house upon a rock. You see, you're not a wise man if you hear it, but you don't do it. In fact, it's pretty foolish to hear what you're supposed to do and not apply it. You're wise if you hear what you're supposed to do and you actually do it. Verse twenty six, and everyone that hear these sayings of mine and do with them not shall be likened onto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. So you hear what the word of God says every single week. If you choose to apply it to your life, you know, that's the wise thing. If you choose not to, it's a foolish thing because when that storm comes and you're built upon the sand, that house is going to fall, my friend. And you're not going to be here years from now still serving the Lord. You're going to fall out of church because you're not doing what the Bible says. Turn to James Chapter one. And I think here's where we can go wrong as Christians. I think most of us that are here realize that this is a great church and we might feel like, man, we're like one of the very few churches out there that is really just preaching the truth. So we might feel like just being at this church makes us spiritual or being at this church means that you're right with God or just being at this church. That means you're going to stand the test of time. But honestly, you know, just just this past week, I was looking through like our promo video at our church, which was three years ago. And they were going through all the different people and they showed the crowd and various people said how much they love the church. And of the people who said how much they love the church, if I remember correctly, the only survivors are the Nellatescu family. I mean, everyone else is like, I don't even know some of these people. You know, they talk about, man, I love this church. And then six months later, they're gone. And honestly, they probably did love the church back then. But just because you go to this church, you can start to get kind of lazy and say, man, I'm hearing that the truth preached and this is such a great church. I'm always going to love it. But you know what, if you don't do what the Bible says, you don't do the hard things like the Bible says and what pastor preaches to us, you are going to fold like a deck of cards when the tough times come. And it doesn't matter who you are. And I'm including myself in that I could fold like a deck of cards if I don't apply what I'm actually hearing. It doesn't matter how many times you've read the Bible, because here's the thing, your house can be built on a rock and it can end up being on the sand six months later. You can be really spiritually on fire for God. You've read the Bible 10 times. You know, you go so many every single week. But then you kind of get lazy, you start to backslide and then you stop reading the Bible every day, you stop praying every day, you get more and more out of the things of God. And all of a sudden, you're not as strong as you used to be. You're not as good of a Christian as you used to be. And so we need to make sure that we're constantly in a state of always doing what the Bible says. In James Chapter one, look at verse twenty two, it says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves, for if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer. He is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueeth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Now, I want to help explain this because this might sound a little bit complicated, but notice in verse twenty three, it talks about a man beholding his natural face in a glass. Think about a mirror. OK, it's talking about basically a man standing in front of a mirror and he can see his face. The example he's given is basically I could be standing in front of a mirror and I see a massive problem. You know, like, for example, you know, I was shaving and I cut myself this morning and I saw, you know, just kind of blood dripping down. Now, here's the thing. What would the wise thing be to do after that to clean it off? Right. Wouldn't it be pretty foolish to just leave and just allow this, you know, red smear just all down my face or just, you know, you're eating and then all of a sudden you get mayonnaise or something, you know, on your face? Or ketchup and you just walk away and say, huh, that's interesting. I should probably do something about it, but you don't do anything about it. Wouldn't that be pretty foolish? That's the example that he's saying it's just as foolish to hear the things preached from the word of God and know this is what I should do and walk away and say, well, yeah, yeah, that's interesting and not do it. It'd be pretty foolish. I mean, you hear the preaching all the time. You need to be reading the Bible every single day. It's pretty foolish to just walk away and say, well, you know, I really should do that and not actually do it. Right. That'd be a very foolish thing. And notice what it says is kind of a dangerous thing, too, because look at verse twenty five, it says, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continue with therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. You see, if you don't actually do what this Bible says, you're going to forget what you're supposed to do. See, when you hear what you're supposed to do, if you do it, you're going to realize it. But if you if you don't do it, you're going to forget about it. You're going to be a forgetful here. There's plenty of people that have heard great preaching over the years and really realize, man, I need to do something about it. And they choose not to. And then they forget about it. That'd be a pretty foolish thing. It's just like a man standing in front of a mayor and then all of a sudden he forgets about it. And then just hours later, he goes off to work with just, you know, food smeared on his face. Be pretty ridiculous. But that's the same way we are when we don't apply what the Bible actually says. Turn to First Corinthians chapter five. And honestly, you know, you could be in a great church where you're hearing the preaching of the word of God and you could be living just like the world. And honestly, I don't see what everyone's doing in their lives. I don't know what music you listen to. I don't know what things you watch on YouTube or the TV or whatever, what movies you watch. I really don't. I don't know whether you're applying these things or not. And you don't know if I'm applying these things or not, because anyone can put on a suit and put on a tie and act really spiritual, put a smile on their face and act like they really care about the things of God. But, you know, we don't really know what each other is really doing in our free time. And so I really don't know. But, you know, in First Corinthians five and verse one, look at what it says. It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such fornication as is not so much as named among the gentiles that one should have his father's wife. You say, how in the world does fornication happen in the church where the Bible is being preached? And yet it happens at a church like this or it happens at a church like Faithful Word or any of the churches in our movement. It still happens. You know why? Because people show up every week and they might hear things, but it doesn't mean that they actually do them. You say, how could these same sins be happening? But just because you're here does not mean that you're actually applying what you're actually hearing. Some of the same sins happen out there in the world that happened just in here, because some people come here, they like to hear some new thing, but they just do not want to apply it. They're just too lazy to apply it. And you see the same exact thing, you know, fornication inside the church. I want you to understand this, that we see two types of people, those that are planted on the rock and those on the sand. You have to understand the sand is very movable. It's very shifty. It's not very firm. Now, there's plenty of people that that spend all their time as lifelong Republicans. And, you know, they used to be very against abortion 30 years ago. But, you know, they're not that against abortion anymore because they still are watching Fox News. And, you know, their beliefs have changed. They've shifted because they're not building upon the rock. See, my stance on abortion is never going to change because it's murder. It will always be murder. And it doesn't matter if 99 percent of the world says it's not murder, it's still murder. You have to be an idiot to say that it's not murder. You know, when you kill a baby that's inside the womb, but see the world, you see them shifting their beliefs. I mean, think about this issue of sodomy. You know, it used to be 20, 30 years ago that the IFP churches would all preach heavily against it. I mean, every church would rail against it because we see what the Bible says about it. We see the fact the Bible says that they're pedophiles, they're perverts, they're wicked people. That's never going to change. That's what the Bible actually says. And yet people, though, they watch the news and they're built on the sand and their positions keep changing in life. And I remember someone that I know pretty well that a long time ago, they used to be very against, you know, sodomy and homosexuality. And I remember talking to them years ago and they had completely changed their views. And it's like, how in the world did you just change your views? But, you know, when you watch TV all the time, when you watch the movies and you listen to the music and you're built upon the sand, you don't actually do what the Bible says. You're going to change your beliefs one day. You're not going to hold to the same beliefs. And what you believe today, it's going to be different six months from now if you quit applying what the Bible says. All of a sudden you're going to start thinking, well, maybe Pastor Jimenez is a little bit too extreme on that topic. Maybe he did go overboard last year. But so you're not going to have that opinion if you're reading the Bible and actually doing what we hear preached, because the Bible is very clear on these things. But, you know, the world's philosophies and we all know people like this, that they keep changing what they believe because the world keeps changing. But, you know, it's not about keeping a distance from the world. We need to just keep our feet in the same spot and say God's word does not change. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. But, you know, if you walk out of here and you don't do the things that are preached, your position is going to change throughout your life and you're going to become more liberal and more against the Bible each and every single week. And you're going to end up changing your beliefs. Turn back. Turn back to Matthew seven. So the first thing we saw today is this, the inevitability of storms. It's a guarantee they're going to come in your life. We also saw the information of storms. We also saw the immovability of the house. And we also saw that intention ain't enough. But the last thing I want to talk about, and I touched on this just just a second ago, but this the invisibility of the foundation. OK, you have to understand that if you're driving by and looking at houses, you can see the roof of the house, you can see the size of the house, and you might get a pretty decent idea what that house is built on. But you do not see underneath that house. You do not really see what that house is actually built on. That's the one part that's invisible of the house. You don't actually see what is actually founded upon. It says in Matthew seven, verse twenty four. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which build his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not for was founded upon a rock. See, we have two houses. They might have looked the exact same on the outside. They may have looked just as nice, but one was founded upon a rock and one was founded on the sand. Now, you cannot tell by looking at that house what it's founded on. And we as Christians sometimes we worry so much about how we appear to be to other people. We worry about the outside rather than actually fixing the foundation or the inside. Turn to Matthew twenty three. And honestly, when you see people that leave church, sometimes it surprises you. Sometimes you are really shocked and you really think, man, that guy, I thought he was so dedicated to God, I thought he was on fire for God. And it turns out, you know what, their house was not really built on on the rock. It wasn't really built on built on the things of God. They actually weren't applying the things. And we could make every excuse under the sun. But the bottom line is when people just walk out and then backslide on God, they were not their foundation was not on the rock anymore. It might have been in the past, but it wasn't anymore. And honestly, some people surprise you. Some people that you expect to maybe in the face of troubles end up fading out. But it turns out they're more built on the rock than you realize. So you cannot see the foundation. And honestly, I preached this recently at another church, but I can't even see my own foundation. I see the outside of my house and I see the roof. And the only way to really know whether or not I'm right with God is if I'm actually doing what the Bible says, because I can't see my own foundation much in the same way. I can't see your foundation and you can't see your foundation. We have to actually look back and say, are we actually doing what the Bible says? Look at what it says in Matthew chapter twenty three, says in verse twenty five. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so, ye also outwardly appear righteous on demand, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and of iniquity. And here's what you have to understand, that you might be doing a great job of fooling people. You might be doing a great job fooling me or Pastor Menes or anybody else at this church. You might look really great on the outside. You're here for every single soul winning time. You're here for every single church service. And you really look like you're spiritual. You really look like you're as in fire for God as you always have been. Because you're making sure that the outside is fine. You make sure that you still put on that suit. You make sure you still put on that tie. You make sure that you still show up and do everything to be seen of men. But you know what, if you're not doing what this Bible says, it doesn't change the fact your foundation is not built on a rock. It might look like it's built on a rock. It might trick us into thinking that. But one person you're not tricking is God. And here's the thing, those storms are still coming in your life. And instead of just spending all of your time trying to look spiritual, actually become spiritual. Actually, just do what the Bible says. And look, the outside is important. See, the Bible says you cleanse the inside, the outside will end up cleansing itself. The outside is important, but don't cleanse the outside and forget about the inside. Quit worrying about I've got to impress people at church and just actually decide that in my personal time, when nobody sees me except God, I'm actually going to do what the Bible says. I'm actually going to be spiritual and not just appear to be spiritual. See, it doesn't matter how good you look on the outside. If your house is not built on a strong foundation, it is going to fold one day. And, you know, here's the thing. You might be in your house for a long time. You might feel safe and secure. You might feel like, no, I'm never going to fade out of church. I'm OK. I've been here for years. But honestly, if you stop doing what the Bible says, you will one day fade out of church. You know, once the storms come, you're not going to last through it. You might think you will. But you know what? We all think of ourselves way too highly. We all think that we can weather any storm. But if you are not prepared for that storm, you're not going to be able to weather it. And honestly, you know, our pastors preach a lot of sermons on on how to weather storms when you're actually in in that storm. This sermon is more about just being prepared for the storm. You know, you hear the great preaching every week. You need to start actually making sure that you're actually doing it. The things we saw tonight or this morning were this. We saw the inevitability of storms. They are going to come whether or not you leave this place or stay in this place, whether or not you do what the Bible says or not. It is inevitable that the storms are coming. But we also saw the information of storms that they can come from every direction. They can be every type of storm and they can all come down at the same time. We also saw the immovability of the house. You can't move your house to avoid the storm when it comes. That storm is still going to come. You cannot move that house to a stronger foundation. You need to be ready now. We also saw that intention ain't enough. It's not good enough just to be here at a great church. You have to actually do what the Bible says. We also saw the invisibility of the foundation. We don't really know what everyone else is doing in their personal time. I don't know how right with God you are. You don't know how right with God I am. We all need to worry about ourselves individually. Let us just the Sermon on the Mount that is here in Matthew five, six and seven. This is some of the greatest preaching in the entire Bible. This is preaching that will change your life. And I'm not trying to compare this church to the Church of Jesus Christ. You know, in 2000, not obviously not the LDS church, but the church 2000 years ago that Jesus Christ, you know what he's preaching. But honestly, this is a church where you do hear the word of God preached. You're hearing great preaching every single week, just like they were hearing preaching every single week. But see, here's the thing. That group in Matthew five, six and seven, they heard great preaching. But Jesus still said in that group, some are founded upon a rock and some are founded upon the sand. Even at a great church like this, you hear great preaching every week. Some of you in this room are founded upon a rock. Some of you are founded upon a sand. Let's make sure we're all prepared for these storms that are going to come. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thanks for allowing us to be in your house this morning. I ask you to help us all apply these things to our lives, God. And storms are going to be difficult no matter who we are and no matter how prepared we are, God. But if we are not prepared, there's just no way that we're going to last through them. God, I ask you to help us all to just continually try to grow and become better Christians each and every day and do everything that we can to prepare ourselves for these storms that are going to come. God, we pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen.