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Gone With The Wind:  “The Surge & The Savior”

II Cor. 1:8; 4:8-10

"For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life."--II Cor. 1:8

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."--II Cor. 4:8-10

This week we’ve been blown away by the images from the Gulf Coast and all those who have lost so much, blown away by the powerful surge of Hurricane Katrina.  It was like a half-tsunami, half-tornado that wouldn’t quit…and the wasteland left behind extends from the coast northward for 90,000 square miles.  *And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s the soup bowl which was created more than 24 hours later in New Orleans.  We have sat speechless, watching the surreal scenes, and this time it’s not half way around the world, but in our own backyard.  Christians were not immune, and they and their churches were hit as well.  Like 9/11 four years ago, God has America’s attention once again, and we’ve been given another chance as a nation to turn to Him.  We feel helpless, but there IS something we can do…we can pray.

The surge of trouble is nothing new to God's people. The Bible is filled with stories of those in trouble. The Hebrew children had their fiery furnace. Daniel had his den of lions. Joseph was cast into prison.  Paul was shipwrecked and beaten with stripes. Peter was sent to prison. John was exiled at Patmos. James had his head cut off. David fled from Saul. Samson had his eyes put out.

Psalm 34:19

    Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Clyde Gordon, who was completely paralyzed from his neck down, edited a magazine called The Triumph. In it he said:

Christ is no security against storms,

But He is perfect security in storms.

He does not promise an easy passage,

But He does guarantee a safe landing.

Someone else said, "The road to success is always under construction.  It seems that those who seem to have it hard always get more done."

Paul said in I Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation (trouble) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation  (trouble ) also make a way to escape."

One old preacher said that we ought to be good to everybody because everybody is having a tough time. God is no respecter of persons. He has no pets. In spite of this, we sometimes feel like victims. It seems that we suffer far more than others. But this is simply not the case.  Our hearts go out to those who are “in deep” right now on the gulf.  What can we learn about them and thus, about ourselves?

7 ways God will use a “surge of problems” in our lives:

1.     To Direct Us. 

      Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change.  Is  God   trying to get our attention?

Proverbs 20:30

    The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

The world deceives us. But after a serious bout with trouble, we don't usually care as much about what people think.

        Pride is plowed under, the world loses its value, the appetites for sin lose their taste. God could have kept Daniel out of the lions' den, Paul and Silas out of jail, the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace; but it was good for all these to go through these experiences.

2.     To Inspect Us. 

      People are like tea bags…if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them in hot water!  Has God ever tested your faith with a problem?         What do problems reveal about you?

James 1:2-3

    My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

3.     To Correct Us. 

        Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure.  It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.  But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something by losing it."

Psalm 119:71

    It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

4.     To Connect Us.

When someone dies in the family, loved ones gather from far and near for the funeral. People want to be together when in trouble.

When someone is seriously ill, their friends and neighbors gather in to check on them and make sure things are all right.

Trouble not only draws people together, but it also draws them to the Lord. David said in Ps. 119:67, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray".  Many a person has called for a preacher in time of trouble

to make things right with God.

Then trouble also draws people to church. It is not uncommon to see a whole family show up at church after a funeral.

Sometimes when people get bad news from the doctor about their physical condition, they take a renewed interest in church. So trouble unifies.

5.     To Protect Us. 

A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious.   I read about a guy who was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do.  His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when the management's actions were eventually discovered.

Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20

    But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

God is the only true “surge protector!”

6.  To Perfect Us.  [the perfect storm]

Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders.  God is far more interested in your character than your comfort.  Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity.

Romans 5:3-4

    And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; [4] And patience, experience; and experience, hope.

David said in Ps. 71:19-21

"O God, who is like unto thee! Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side."

Here we find the effect of trouble. It was a blessing in disguise, a benefit to the life of this good servant of God.

Paul emphasized that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"

(Rom. 8:28).

The graduate degree of spirituality comes from attending the University of Hard Knocks.

7.     To Project Us.

The surge of trouble focuses us outwardly, on what is most important…it furthers God’s cause.

Philip. 1:12

    But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

“For God to make manifest the fact that He gives songs in the night, He must first make the night!”

Ill.--The weather bureau in the Caribbean uses planes to help keep check on the weather. These planes have learned how to take advantage of the cyclone winds in that area. When going north, they get out on the fringes of the cyclone winds and take advantage of the tremendous tailwinds. They actually ride the fringe of the storm and save time and gasoline. Then coming back south, they get on the other edge and take advantage of the same storm to go in the opposite direction.

Ill.--Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?  The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.  While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm.  It simply uses the storm to lift it higher.  It rises on the winds that bring the storm.  When the storms of life come upon us we can rise above them by setting our minds toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us.  We can allow God's power to lift us above them.

It is not the burdens of life that weigh us down; it is how we handle them.

Isaiah 40:31

    But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

-----

God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.  He’s in the storm with you.  He’s calling you to rise above it…to be a water-walker, not a boat person.  Keep your eyes on Him during the storm so it doesn’t get you down!

We read in James 1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (trouble): for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life."

Someone has said:

“For God has marked each sorrowing day

And numbered every secret tear;

And Heaven's long age of bliss shall pay

For all His children suffer here.”

Those who go through fire or water should remember it is God's way of refining and cleansing you for your good and His glory.

Trouble is simply the factory God is using to manufacture the right type of product in our lives.

A poet wrote:

  He sat by a fire of sevenfold heat

As He watched by the precious ore,

And closer He bent with a searching gaze

As He heated it more and more.

  He knew He had ore that could stand the test;

He wanted the finest gold

To mold as a crown for the king to wear--

Set with gems with a price untold.

  So He laid our gold in the burning fire,

Though we fain would have said to Him “nay,”

And He watched the dross that we had not seen

As it melted and passed away.

  And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,

But our eyes were so dim with tears

We saw but the fire, not the Master's hand,

And questioned with anxious fears.

  Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow

And it mirrored a form above

Of Him bent o'er the fire, unseen by us,

With a look of ineffable love.

  Can we think that it pleases His loving heart

To cause us a moment's pain?

Ah, no, but He saw through the present cross

To bliss of eternal gain.

  So, He waited there with a watchful eye,

With a love that is strong and sure;

And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat

Than was needed to make it pure.

When Adam and Eve were in trouble, God stepped in and met their need; Noah's problems were solved by the God who cared. Joseph was released from prison; the children of Israel were delivered as they crossed the Red Sea; Elijah got God's help in getting some rain; Paul and Silas were set free from the Philippian jail. And God’s saving hand is in motion on the Gulf Coast, longing to touch and heal broken lives…both believers and those who need to believe thru this!

Gone With The Wind:  “The Surge & The Savior”

II Cor. 1:8; 4:8-10

God has America’s attention once again, and we’ve been given another c__________ to t______ to Him.  Psalm 34:19, I Corinthians 10:13

7 ways God will use a “surge of problems” in our lives:

1.     To D__________ Us.  Proverbs 20:30

        2.     To I____________ Us.  James 1:2-3

        3.     To C____________ Us.  Psalm 119:71

        4.     To C____________ Us.  Psalms 119:67

        5.     To P____________ Us.  Genesis 50:20

        6.     To P____________ Us.  Rom. 5:3-4, Ps. 71:19-21, Rom. 8:28

        7.     To P____________ Us.  Philip. 1:12, Isaiah 40:31, James 1:12

Trouble is simply the f____________ God is using to manufacture the right type of p____________ in our lives.