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Welcome to Verity Baptist Church and Happy Father's Day and take out your bullets in here today. Our verse of the week is 2 Kings 20 verse 19. The Bible reads, Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good if peace and truth be in my days? And that's a great verse there. We'll tie into our second sermon here today. We are a family integrated church, meaning children and infants are welcome during the services. We do have a mother-baby room back there for your convenience. As you see under the mother-baby room rules, make sure to utilize it if your kids are starting to act up or starting to be loud. Make sure as moms you utilize it or as fathers, take your kids and try to calm them down or whatever. On the next page, our weekly service times are listed. First service is at 10 a.m. Second service, 11-15, Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. We do have events here today with it being Father's Day and the basketball fellowship. I will try to get done early with the sermons. It's probably not going to happen. It didn't happen yesterday. I'll do my best today. I'll certainly do my best not to be extra long. Our normal soul winning times, 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, meeting at Marquee and Freedom Park. Today's soul winning, hopefully we can get started before 1-45. It will probably be 1-45 though. We're not going to have a tip though here today. We're just going to get started as soon as possible, just kind of announce the pairing. We're going to be going nearby. If you're not joining for the basketball fellowship though, obviously you can go soul winning for a lot longer. If you are coming for the basketball fellowship though, it starts at 3 p.m. It's a less than 10 minute walk away at Trinidad Homes. It's not too far away, but you're going to only have a limited time for soul winning if that's the case. We do have a sign up sheet over there for the men that are interested in playing basketball. We're going to try to be as organized as possible. Even if you're not going to play, you're welcome to come and just hang out and come back here for the food fellowship afterwards. The games at 3-5 will have pizza here afterwards. For a slam dunk contest, our rules are it's not about making a dunk, it's about touching the net. Whoever can touch the net in the most brilliant way will get the most points. We'll have the basketball start at 3 p.m. here today. On the next page we have our Bible memorization challenge, same as normal under upcoming activities. Our Father's Day choir will be for the second service here today. As I said, the activity is from 3-5, and we'll have food after here. We'll have pizza afterwards. We have a soul winning marathon tomorrow. It is a Muslim holiday, so we're going to have a soul winning marathon at Pasig Rainforest. We're going to do the 10-12 slot, and then lunch provided by church in 2-4. Obviously it's always based on how is the weather, because if it just starts to really pour rain, then obviously we're probably not going to be able to go soul winning. Assuming the weather is okay, we will have a soul winning marathon tomorrow. Monthly prayer meeting is next week. The Cebu Mission Strip is coming up here really quickly. It starts two weeks from today. It starts on a Sunday. It runs from Sunday to Saturday. I know a lot of people here are interested or planning on going for that. That's coming up. The Cavite Church service is actually going to be postponed until August. We will not have the service on July 7th, but the first Sunday of August. Birthdays and anniversaries for the month of June are listed below. It is the anniversary of our evangelist, Brother Mateus. Obviously Brother Mateus and Sister Angel are doing a great job over there in Poland. Make sure to try to stay in contact with them. Message them. Try to encourage them, because there's obviously a lot of difficulties when you're in the ministry. On the back we have the basic rules of conduct for our church. Then you should have an insert and your bulletin where you can take notes for both of the sermons here today. I believe that's it for announcements. We'll have Brother Chris lead us in another song. Okay, for our next song, song number 220. Song number 220. Jesus is all the world to me. Song 220. Jesus is all the world to me. Ready, on the first. Jesus is all the world to me. My life, my joy, my all. He is my strength from day to day. Without Him I would fall. When I am sad to Him I go. No other one can hear me so. When I am sad, He makes me glad. He is my friend. On the second. Jesus is all the world to me. My breath is dry or sore. I go to Him for blessings that He gives me. He is the Lord and Lord. He sent the sunshine and the rain. He sent the harvest, golden rain. Sunshine and rain. Harvest and rain. He is my friend. Jesus is all the world to me. And real to Him I'll be. Oh how could I, His strength be not when He is so good to me. Following Him I know I thrive. He watches for me day and night. Following Him by day and night. He is my friend. On the last everyone. Jesus is all the world to me. I want no better friend. I trust Him now. I'll trust Him when life's things they shall end. A beautiful life with thoughts of breath. A beautiful life that has no end. Eternal life. Eternal joy. He's my friend. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Matthew, Matthew 7. Matthew 7. We'll be reading from verse 13 down to verse 29. Matthew 7 verse 13, 29. Please say amen if you're there. Amen. Matthew 7 verse 13. Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire, wherefore by their fruit he shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but eateth towards the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have you not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then, while I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me the work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever hears these things, who might undoeth them, I will liken them unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and being upon that house, and it fell not, but was founded upon a rock. And every one that hearth these things, who might undoeth them not, but be liken unto a foolish man, which built his house upon its end, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, and he is an enemy, saying, that people were astonished at his judgment, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as a strike. Bless the ring of God's word. All right, we're here in Matthew 7, and we're finally going to be concluding the Sermon on the Mount. We've had a lot of sermons. There's a lot of topics that come up in the Sermon on the Mount. The most famous sermon that's ever been preached. And honestly, this is the most important in the entire series. And Jesus' own words tell us this is the most important of everything that's been said in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The name of the sermon is, Built Upon a Rock. Built Upon a Rock. Now, the Sermon on the Mount is a very interesting sermon, because when you preach sermons, you normally do not preach on a million different topics in one sermon. Because if that's the way that you preach sermons, it's very magalo. And then the next week, well, you've already preached on everything the previous week, right? You don't preach everything in one sermon, and yet that's pretty much exactly what Jesus does in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. You would have to ask, why is it he's not preaching about one specific topic? Why is he covering everything under the sun in one sermon? And he tells us in verse 24, because notice what it says here, the first word, Therefore. Now, the word Therefore is going to connect what's been previously said to what he's about to say. And notice, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine. Is sayings singular or plural? It's plural, right? What he's doing is connecting everything that's been said in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 to what he's about to say in verses 24 through 27. And he says, basically, everything I've preached to you in the last two hours, or however long the sermon is, he's like, you better do every single bit of what I preached on you. And so here's the thing, he's tying together everything from Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and he's like, every saying I had, the beatitudes, not lusting in your heart, not being angry, not doing your works to be seen of men, having proper judgment, understanding salvation, all of those things, you need to do all of the sayings that I told you. You know, in life, it's not good enough just to take 90% of what the Bible says. It's not good enough to take the things that are easy for you. It's not good enough just to take the things that you like or that you want to do. No, you need to do all of the sayings if you want to survive in the Christian life. The Bible says here, point number one, point number one, we all go through storms. We all go through storms in our life. Notice what it says here in verse number 24. 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, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it is founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which build his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. You know, when you compare verse 25 to verse 27, isn't it almost identical? I mean, it literally is identical for the first 75% of the verse. I mean, every word is the same. Every comma is the same. Everything's the same, but then the difference in verse 25, and it fell not, for it is founded upon a rock, verses, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. But you see, in this example, whether you do what God says or not, or whether you don't do, you're still going through the storm. Right? If you do what Jesus says, the rain's going to come. If you don't do what he says, the rain is going to come. No matter what you do, the storms are going to come in your life. Now, go in your Bible to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 3. Now, obviously, Jesus is not speaking about a literal storm. He is symbolically speaking about problems in your life, difficulties that come up in your life. But obviously, he's tying it together with a literal storm. So let's say, for example, that you found out today that in one month a massive storm was going to come through and you would have massive flooding in your area. Wouldn't you prepare yourself for that storm that's about to come? Because preventive maintenance is a lot easier than dealing with an issue that already is existing and trying to get rid of it. If you knew a literal storm was about to hit you in one month, if you were wise, you would do everything you could to prepare for that storm because it's a lot easier to stop the storm than allow your house to be broken and rebuild it, right? Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to make sure your house doesn't fall as opposed to letting your house get destroyed and then rebuilding it from scratch? And see, knowing that a storm is going to come in your life, knowing that there's going to be problems in your life, if you do not prepare yourself, you are a fool. You're foolish because the storm is going to come. Now let me give you three examples of not being prepared for the storms that are going to come in your life. One example is not going to a good church. It makes no sense as a saved person to understand storms are going to come in your life and then not go to the best church you can find. It makes no sense because the preaching of God's Word, the edifying, learning the Word of God, it's going to help you through that storm so it would make no sense to go to a non-denominational fun center or a lame church where you're not learning the Word of God. What makes sense is going to the best church you can possibly find. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3, verse 14, 1 Timothy 3, verse 14, These things write unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. You know, church is meant to be the pillar and ground of the truth. I might say things that make you mad. I might say things that bother you. You might get upset at me sometimes, but you can never accuse me of not telling you the truth. I open up the world filled full of lies. You look at just about every church under the sun filled full of lies. And when you come to a real church, it ought to be preaching the truth. And if it's not, it's not really a real church because church is meant to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Now, of course, God's Word is truth, so if it's a good church, they're going to open up the Bible and show you what it says, right? Go to James chapter 1. James chapter 1. We need some of you fathers to liven up here this morning. You should be in a good mood as Father's Day. It's like, that means saying amen when you're excited. I mean, all the guys are like, you need some coffee or something. Do what you need to do. Go to the back, just down that coffee, but get excited about the Word of God, right? So one example of not being prepared is not going to a good church. You know, another example would be to go to a good church and then not apply or not do what the Bible says. The Bible says in James 1, go to James chapter 1, verse 22, 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 a man beholding his natural face in a glass, referring to looking at a mirror. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. The Bible speaks about a person that would hear the Word of God, but they don't do the Word of God. Now, of course, if you're at this church, if this is your church home, you don't fit with the first category of not going to a good church. However, you could fit in the second category of hearing the Word of God, but not actually doing what you're hearing. I mean, didn't we talk about that last week? I mean, the book of James talks about it a lot, where it's like, hey, don't just, you know, hear the Word of God, but do it. And if you come to this church and you hear the Word of God, it makes no sense then not to apply what you hear. It would make more sense not to go to this church at all if you're not going to do what the Bible says. I don't for the life of me understand why someone would want to go to a good church, get preached against, and then not apply what it says. It's like, well, why do you even want to come here? It doesn't make any sense. If you're going to come to a church that's main focus is on preaching and teaching the Word of God with authority, then I would think that you'd want to actually do what the Bible says. And yet Christians all over this world, they hear certain things about the Bible, and they never do it. You know, as I said, sometimes I preach the Word of God, and it might hurt when it comes out. You might get offended when I say something that you're guilty of, but if it's coming from the Word of God, just do it. Or just don't do it. Just be like the person that does not found your house upon a rock and just let it tumble when you go through a difficulty of life. Because whether or not you like what I'm saying, it does not change the fact that a storm is going to come in your life. Turn in your Bible to Psalm 73. Psalm 73. You know what James 1 was referring to, looking in a glass, it's telling you about looking in a mirror. As a guy, I spend very little amount of my time looking at mirrors. As guys, we're just kind of there for a half second. Is there a problem? And then we leave. Because honestly, we really just don't care that much about how we look. Well, here's the thing about that. I'm not going to fix it. You'd be a fool. I mean, you come into church and people are like, hey, you've got ketchup on your face. Yeah, I know. It's like, what's wrong with you? People do this in the Christian life. They come to a church like this, and then the mirror is standing right in front of them, thou shalt not. And currently, they are actually doing what the Bible says, thou shalt not, and then they don't make the change. It's like, well, why do you even come here then? They here read therein all the days of thy life, but they never read the Bible. It's like, well, why are you coming to church if you're not going to do what the Bible says? It makes no sense, because you will not be prepared for the storms that come. And they will come in your life. I'm sure every single one of us could say that we've been through big storms in our life before. I'm sure there's a lot of people right now that are going through storms, and I'm sure there's a lot of people that, to the end of 2024, are going to go through storms in the future, because everybody in life is going to go through storms and difficulties and problems. There is no way to avoid that. So one example of not being prepared is not going to a good church. Another example is not applying what you hear. Another example would be getting envious at other people that are not serving God. When it comes to a church like ours and people that go soul winning and you're making changes in your life, you're getting rid of the ungodly music and things like that, you do a lot of things that are difficult. You do a lot of things that kind of hurt, and then sometimes you can develop this attitude, what's in it for me? Because I see wicked people that have lots of money, that are very successful, I've given up so much for God, and then I'm getting nothing out of it. Now look, that's a foolish attitude, it's a dumb attitude, but every single person in this room has had that thought come into their head from time to time. What does the Bible say about this? Well, go to Psalm 73. Psalm 73. And here's an example of the psalmist Asaph, and he's expressing this very thing, and what he's doing is, he's writing this psalm after he's gotten right, and he's expressing how he felt before he got right. And he says in verse 1, Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as of a clean heart, present tense, but as for me, my feet were, past tense, almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Look, I mean, pretty much every actor and actress is just a wicked person, and they have more money than any of us. They're famous. Everywhere they go, everybody loves them. I mean, the musicians of the world, I mean, a lot of them are very rich. They have a lot more money than us, and sometimes you can look at them and say, man, these wicked people that blaspheme God, and yet they're doing better than me. Number one, your life is not all about money, and we all need to be reminded of that. But here's the thing about this. This is the way that Asaph feels, and he expresses it for a while, but go down to verse number 16. Verse 16. And he says in verse 16, When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein. And what Asaph is saying is, I felt envious toward the wicked people, but when I stepped into the house of God and I heard the preaching, I realized, how foolish am I? Now, here's the thing about this. If you go to the average church in 2024, and you have this feeling that you get envious at the wicked, and you walk into church, and you hear this watered-down sermon of love, love, love, grace, grace, grace, peace, peace, peace, part 25, you're still going to be envious when you walk out. But when you hear me preaching against wicked people, and they're going to pay for every single one of their sins in hell, and they're going to get rewarded for the good works you do, you're like, how foolish was I? And I'm just being honest. I've felt this way before in my life where I feel like I've made a lot of effort to make changes, and you feel like it's not getting you anything, you're making sacrifices, and then you hear the preaching and you realize how foolish am I? It's worth every little bit of toil and effort to serve God. And another thing to be reminded about, your life is not about you being happy. That's not what the Bible says. I mean, people have this idea that life is about how to be happy, but it would not be the same if you experienced it today. I'll give you just kind of a silly example. When I was a kid, my favorite video game was Super Mario Kart. I have fond memories playing Super Mario Kart, and for some of you, you're like, man, you're old. That game was way dated by the time that I was playing video games. Super Mario Kart is my favorite game, but here's the thing. Do you think I'd have much fun playing Super Mario Kart today in 2024? Your memories are the past, and the grass is always greener on the other side. I have a lot of great memories playing soccer, but you know what? I wouldn't have the same enjoyment if I were to do that today and live my life for soccer. You might have fond memories of things you did in the past. Leave it in the past. It's not going to give you happiness going forward. The Bible says if you know these things, happier ye if ye do them. Happiness is found in serving God. It is not about pleasing yourself. The Bible says in Malachi 3, verse 13, 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, Malachi 3 is interesting because God is speaking this message through the prophet, and notice the response of the people. What have we spoken so much against thee? And what they're saying is, Yeah, we murmured a little bit, but we haven't spoken that much against you. Yeah, we complained a little bit. What's the big deal? We didn't complain that much. Well, any amount of complaining is wrong. What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept this ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And what they're basically saying is, What's in it for me? What profit did I get? How did this benefit me? How has this helped me out financially? Once again, your life is not about you. It's about pleasing other people and pleasing God, not living your life for yourself, but it's seeing others better than yourself. But you know, here's the thing. If we see this in Psalm 73, and if we see this in Malachi 3, and if I've experienced this in my life, you know what I know? Everybody has or will experience this from time to time. You think in your head, You know what? If I wasn't so zealous, maybe I would be happier. That's a foolish thought. And I'll tell you what. If you go down that road and just try to please your flesh, you're going to find yourself miserable. And look, I'm not looking for a show of hands, but I'm sure there are people in this room that you went all out to serve God, and then you started to drift back the other direction, and it was not the same, was it? It's like, I used to really enjoy these movies and this music in my old life, and now I'm doing them, and it's like you feel guilty. It doesn't have the same sense of happiness. You miss seeing a soul get saved, right? You will not have the same happiness if you go back to your old life. Go back to Matthew 7. Matthew 7. Matthew 7. A lot of churches teach and preach the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, and the basic idea is that if you're right with God, you're never going to have any problems. Everything's going to be great. I mean, financially, you're going to have a lot of money, you're never going to run into any health problems at all. I mean, everything is going to be great in your life. Boy, that sounds good, doesn't it? Wouldn't it be great if reading the Bible promised me I would never have health problems? Wouldn't it be great if reading the Bible promised me I would always have a good salary and a good job? But where does the Bible ever teach that? Where did Jesus ever say that if you're right with me, you're never going to have any problems? You don't see that. You don't see that. Throughout the Bible, you see people that are godly people. They go through health problems. They go through financial problems. They go through tragedies. These things exist, and what I'm telling you is the storms are going to come, according to Matthew 7, verses 24 through 27, whether you prepare yourself or whether or not you don't prepare yourself. So doesn't it make sense to prepare yourself for the storm that's going to come? Point number one, we all go through storms. But point number two, I want you to realize from this passage, storms come from different directions. Notice what it says in verse 25. And the rain descended. Now, we're talking about a storm upon a house. When rain descends, what part of the house is it hitting? It's hitting the top because it's coming from above, right? And the rain descended. That's one direction from above. And the floods came. What part of a house do the floods hit? They hit the bottom. So we got the top, and we got the bottom. You say, well, pastor, what about the sides? And the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. What part of the house did the winds hit? They hit pretty much everything else. So you got the top covered by the rains, you got the floods covering the bottom of the house, and you got the winds hitting the side of the house. Because, look, this is the example that God is giving. He's trying to make you think about this, a house that's getting attacked from the top and the bottom and the sides. And here's what I'm saying. In life, you can have problems coming from every single direction, from east, west, south, north, every direction, you can have problems that are coming. Go to Job chapter 1. Let me show you an example of this. Job 1. Here's what I'm saying. You can have problems when it comes to your family. You can have problems when it comes to your spouse. You can have problems when it comes to your kids. It's like, man, I can't take this. I'm so stressed at home, all of these problems. And then you go to work and guess what? It's so magulo it's your job right now. You got problems at work. It's like every single place you go, it's just like problem and difficulty and stress, and you get so frustrated, you just end up taking it out on somebody, right? You just scream about something so small, so insignificant, but you're dealing with so many problems in life, so many stresses, you're like, I cannot take it. Storms can come from every direction. Notice what it says in Job 1, verse 13. Job 1, verse 13. And I'm assuming probably most of us are familiar with the story of Job. I mean, a godly man through bigger trials and more problems than probably any of us are ever going to face. And the Bible says in Job 1, verse 13, And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and there came a messenger unto Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the acid was feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Now, as I'm telling you this story with Job, I want everybody to stop and think about this story and pretend to be Job as I'm explaining the story. I want all the ladies also pretend you are Job going through something like this. All the men, I want you to think like you're Job in this story and just try to put yourself in the position, because I think one mistake we make when we read, especially the Old Testament, we read stories and we kind of just read over them kind of too quickly sometimes. But if you're actually stop and try to put yourself in those stories, often they can be even more powerful than just the surface level. So a messenger comes to Job and you have to realize Job has a lot of money, so he's going to have a lot of people that are taking care of different things, like this servant's in charge of this, this servant's in charge of this, this servant's in charge of this, and all of a sudden a messenger comes to him. So all of a sudden someone's yelling, Job, Job! And he comes to Job and he says basically, all of your money in this area, it's gone. And notice what it says in verse 16. While he was yet speaking. So this guy is telling him everything that's taken place and while he's speaking, somebody's coming from the other side, Job, Job, I've got to tell you something. And the first guy gets done, he turns around, there came also another and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven and hath burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. So in one area everything's been destroyed and in another area everything's been destroyed. He hasn't even had time to process this information because while he's speaking the next one comes, it's rapid fire one after another. Then it says in verse 17, while he was yet speaking, there came also another. So there's person one who comes to him and he's yelling, Job, you won't believe. And then all of a sudden he turns around to talk to this guy and then all of a sudden somebody comes from this direction. I mean at this point if I was Job I would just want to get away and just shut the door and hope I'm dreaming. He hasn't had any time at all to process this and this guy says, Instead the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels and have carried them away. Yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. So he's had one person, two persons, three people that have come to him with all this news and then in verse 18, while he was yet speaking. I mean I just imagine in this story that if something like this happened you would probably be running to Job to explain what took place and you'd be yelling, you'd be frantic explaining, we lost everything. I would be at this point at verse 18 very scared about what I was about to hear. I mean the first three people have told you you've lost everything and now somebody else is saying something also to you. I'd be like, man I don't want to hear this. I can't take this now. But it says, While he was yet speaking there came also another. So basically he turns around and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. Look, before the servant finishes what he says, do you imagine the fear that would come upon you? You've lost everything. I mean you just have to think obviously something tragic has happened and you know here's the thing, losing money is one thing but then all of a sudden you're kids? I mean this first sermon is not the Father's Day sermon but as parents, as fathers, I mean imagine if you had this sort of tragedy that took place. I mean it would be devastating. And he said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house and behold there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house and it fell upon the young men and they are dead and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Look, you know many times I see stories in the Bible and whether it's true or not I think to myself well I wouldn't make the mistake that this other person did or I'd be able to handle it better or whatever. I don't think I would be able to handle this better than Job does. There's just no way that I would be, I mean I hope I would be like Job because if you read the book of Job, Job does not handle things perfectly but he certainly does better than I would say anybody else would do, certainly better than me and he goes through all of this and then in verse number 20 the Bible reads, Then Job arose. Now the Bible says Job arose and what this tells you is that at some point when he's hearing these things it caused Job to get so emotional that he basically just hit the deck. Right, because the Bible says he arose so at some point when he's hearing this information and I would imagine I'd be the same way if you're getting all these tragedies it'd probably cause you to grab your heart and just kind of fall down and it's like I can't take this. But then it says in verse 20 Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said, Naked came out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord and all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Look, when you're going through tragedies and problems in your life really the only thing you can do is cling on to God and you know here's the thing about this when people go through tragedies and problems it generally is going to effects. Either people forsake the things of God and they get bitter and they don't want to touch the Bible they don't want to talk to God or they cling more strongly to God. And it's not easy to do because of course if you're Job the thought's going to go through your head why did this happen to me? Why would God allow me I've done everything right I mean I'm not perfect but I've read the Bible I mean I've been trying to serve God I've been trying to do right Why? I mean other people are getting drunk other people are doing wrong I mean why would God allow this to happen to me? That's how I would feel and in fact I would say that if we're honest probably all of us have had that thought in our head before when we go through a problem like because here's the thing none of us in this room believe that if you start serving God you're going to have no problems but even though we believe that intellectually it's like when we actually go through problems it doesn't seem to us why am I going through a problem if I'm serving God even though we know that we're going to go through storms yet in all actuality when we go through storms we just think to ourself it's not fair it's not right Job is a great story that all of us can look at and cling to because I think Job went through more than any of us probably ever have and we see how Job handled the situation but what I'm telling you is this when you go through problems it can come from every single direction you have problems with your spouse you have problems with your kids you have problems you know with your co-workers you have problems everywhere you go it seems like you cannot escape it go to Matthew chapter 7 Matthew 7 Matthew chapter 7 point number 1 we all go through storms point number 2 storms come from different directions point number 3 storms are different types of storms because not only are they coming from different directions these are 3 different storms that the Bible is mentioning it says in verse 25 and the rain descended that is storm number 1 and the floods came that's storm number 2 and the winds blew and beat upon that house that is storm number 3 and when you read the story of Job doesn't he have not only from different directions but different types of storms and the general 3 categories you have are financial storms and you have tragedy and then turn to Job 2 we're going to see category number 3 of the storms that come Job chapter 2 Job chapter 2 verse 1 and by the way you know another thing to keep in mind in Job chapter 1 often times we think about that you know he lost all of his money and that's true you know he lost all of his money he lost all of his kids he also lost most of his friends I mean here's the thing the friends that he has after this event don't seem like they're that great of friends probably his closest friends were his servants I mean even though he's their boss I mean Job was a great guy he was probably friends with a lot of them I'm sure a lot of them loved God I'm sure a lot of them were saved and serving God and trying to so not only that I mean the servants are being killed in Job chapter 1 I mean imagine if like most of your best friends just all died instantaneously that'd be tough to deal with and he loses his kids he loses his friends and he loses all of his money and then it shifts to his health it says here in Job 2 verse 1 again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord and the Lord said unto Satan from whence comest thou and Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it and the Lord said unto Satan hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth a perfect and an upright man one that feareth God and escheweth evil and still he holdeth fast his integrity although thou movest me against him to destroy him without cause and Satan answered the Lord and said skin for skin yea and all that a man hath will he give for his life but put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face you know what Satan says is for the most part true I mean if somebody was really rich and they had absolutely horrible health they were paralyzed they couldn't walk or whatever they would probably give up all of their money just to have the ability to have their health back I mean I know that I would much rather have good health for myself and my family than all the money in the world because what's the point of all the money in the world if you don't have any health to actually you know do anything in your life I mean our health is extremely important to us and what Satan is saying is true because I would say for most people in life even people that are saved if they go through major health problems they could easily become bitter against God they could get mad at God saying it's not fair that it happened to me right but notice the reaction verse 6 and the Lord said unto Satan behold he is in thine hand but save his life so went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot onto his crown and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal and he sat down among the ashes and you know we don't have time to go into this story but as you keep going through the book of Job you see that although Job does not understand what's taking place he doesn't know why he's going through these problems he does not get bitter and hate God in his heart and yet a lot of people when they go through problems they get mad at God they blame God they say it's not fair right go to Matthew chapter 7 Matthew 7 Matthew 7 and by the way you know another thing I've seen in my life through the years is sometimes when people go through problems they blame the church as if it's the church's problem that they go through problems now number one when have I ever said that going to this church is going to fix all your problems it's not what the Bible teaches and yet I've seen plenty of people through the years both in Sacramento here people they go through problems and all of a sudden they quit church it's like they blame the church now they never audibly say that but it's just very obvious that's what's going on look if you go through problems in your life it's not my fault it's not my wife's fault it's not the church's fault everybody goes through storms I mean if you go through health problems in the future it's not my fault it's not the church's fault and this should be obvious but people have a tendency to want to blame someone when they go through problems and number one sometimes it's your own fault and number two sometimes things just happen it's nobody's fault it's just that all of us go through storms and look we don't understand the mind and the will of God why God allows certain things to take place we don't understand all those things just realize that you know what if you're not going through a storm now you will one day you better make sure you're prepared for it point number one we all go through storms point two storms come from different directions in this story we see it coming from above below the sides for Job I think there's a reason why it mentions four different people because I the way I look at it you know east, west north, south or you know front, back right, left point number three there are different types of storms we have rain we have floods we have winds in life you can have financial problems you can have health problems you can have tragedies I mean you can have a lot of different types of storms that come but point number four storms often happen simultaneously sub-i sub-i isn't that true? because in this story although rain and floods and winds are different types of storms you're not going to have floods without rain and isn't it often true that in a heavy rainstorm you have heavy winds also? these things often come in tandem with one another and one thing Jesus is trying to teach not only can you have problems in every direction not only different types of problems you can have them sub-i sub-i same time all at once Matthew 7 verse 25 and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock we see the rain descending at the same time the floods come at the same time the winds are blowing and beating upon that house turn your Bible to 1 Peter 5 1 Peter 5 there's a famous expression when it rains it pours that expression first originated in the early 20th century and I haven't seen this in the Philippines but if you come from the U.S. everybody would be familiar with this type of salt because it originated from this salt company Morton Salt Company and it's the most famous type of salt I would say when you go to a grocery store in the U.S. and it's got this girl on the cover it's like a blue surrounding this white container of salt that's cylindrical and it shows her with an umbrella and it's raining really hard and then she's got like a salt shaker and she's shaking out the salt and it was like their big ad that made them really famous when it rains it pours but you know here's the thing that's actually completely true it's a biblical concept we see in Matthew 7 that when it rains it pours we got the rain we got the floods we got the winds and I would say that if you think back to your life you've thought this a million times why does this seem like either my life is going great or everything is just so magulo because when it rains it pours it's a biblical concept it seems like in life either everything is going great or everything's a mess and look I'm just looking on the outside of people I don't know what your life is like right now but I would assume it's either going great or it's a mess right now because that's just the way it goes and I would say with my life it's like things are either going great or it's like I'm going through time it's going great I'm going through that's just the way life works 1 Peter 5 1 Peter 5 now you might think well why is that pastor why is it that when you go through one problem you seem to go through a bunch well I mean in the story of Job we see that the devil is the one that's causing all these problems in his life and I want you to see what it says in 1 Peter 5 verse 8 be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour isn't this exactly what Satan said he was doing in Job 1 I've been going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it well what exactly is he doing when he's walking up and down in it he's seeking to destroy people's lives now I just want you to think logically because you know obviously we are in a spiritual fight we're not in a physical fight with the devil right think about a physical fight though think about a boxing match and look I'm not really promoting you know boxing or fighting sports but I want you to think about them I'm sure boxing is very popular here in the Philippines probably everybody's seen a boxing fight I remember the first time I had ever seen a boxing fight you know I had already watched the movie Rocky before I ever saw a real boxing fight so I thought fighting was just like you know you hit the guy as hard as you can and he hits back in a boxing match I was like it's so boring right because in Rocky you're just getting hit like a million times you know in one round right and when you watch an actual boxing fight it's like nothing's happening and obviously if you're an expert or whatever you understand what's going on but it's kind of like not many punches you're just kind of you know going and then every once in a while a boxer will land a jab and all of a sudden the other guy gets a little bit wobbly and at that moment what does the fighter do that just they go in for the kill there's an expression in fighting he smells blood and what that means is you've wounded your opponent and you're going in to knock them out because usually in boxing you don't just go guns a blazing against someone who knows what they're doing that might work against someone on the street but an actual boxing fight you never see the professionals go in like that they are waiting they're patient but when they wound their opponent what do they do they go in for the kill and here's what I'm saying the devil also smells blood when he is wounding you he is trying to go in for the kill it would make no sense in a fight if you rock the guy and he's like this and you just kind of let him recover does that make any sense no and look the devil's not an idiot if he wounds you he's going in for the kill so what does he do he walks about seeking whom he may devour and what does he do he tries to just destroy your life all at once and here's the thing when you're going through a great time in life the thing is that kind of gives you a full sense of security doesn't it I mean things are going great of course I would never stop reading my Bible I never stop going to church I mean I'm always going to stay faithful I'm not going to get mad I'm not going to get bitter I love this church I'd never get angry at this church well that's how you feel when things are going well and guess what you get a full sense of security kind of reminds me of Peter in the Bible I mean it's interesting Peter's the one that's writing these words cause he's the one who said though all men deny thee I never will and here's the thing that is the way we all feel that's the way I feel that's the way you feel but I want you to realize something when you're looking at this situation in Matthew 7 and actually go back to Matthew 7 Matthew 7 when you look at this story in Matthew 7 two types of people you got the rain you got the floods you got the winds and it's all about a house being founded on a good foundation if you were to look at a house a random house today do you really know how strong that foundation is of what it's founded upon no you don't right you have no idea I mean the house I live in I hope it's got a strong foundation I don't really know because I can't really see the foundation right we see the outside we don't actually see what it's founded upon and here's what's kind of scary about it not only can you not tell somebody else's foundation you do not even know how strong your own foundation is we all think it's strong but how do you really find out how strong it is when you go through a storm and you see how you handle it because the house could have the worst foundation ever but if it's not going through any kind of storm it's not going to have any problems once that storm comes though what is it going to do it is going to reveal how strong that foundation is look when you go through a lot of problems in your life and you lose your temper so easily the situations you went through are not to blame your foundation is what's to blame cause let me help you out with this every child accidentally spills stuff all over the floor every child you know makes a mess sometimes everybody at their jobs sometimes it's stressful everybody has orders messed up at restaurants that they go to you cannot blame well I mean I only lost my temper because they did that to me you cannot change outside circumstances what you can change is yourself and you know what Jesus said here in verse 24 is this therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them you know what he's saying everything I've said in Matthew 5 6 and 7 which is pretty much a summation of the whole Bible you need to hear it and do each and every one of these things cause let's go back to the example of being in a fight and you know an easier way to think about this would be like a mixed martial arts fight if you're you know if there's a fighter that is the greatest kickboxer in the world but he is a horrible wrestler guess what he's gonna lose to every single professional fighter I mean in fact when boxers shift over to MMA they always lose you say why because they can't stop a take down but here's the thing about this if you're really good at wrestling and you have horrible Brazilian jiu jitsu what's gonna happen when the fight hits the ground you're gonna be sleeping in five seconds what happens if you're really good at Brazilian jiu jitsu but you're horrible at getting take downs you're gonna get knocked out on the feet you say what's your point you better make sure you're well rounded in your life because all it takes is one weak area for you to be destroyed what you need to do I mean in everything said in Matthew 5 6 and 7 find out what you're weakest at and get better at it you say why because the attack is gonna come in your life when the Bible says the devil is walking about seeking whom he may devour what that implies is there are people that he can devour and people that he cannot devour and look when I look at you today I have no idea which one of those people you are you might go soul winning all the time you know I read the Bible all the time but I still don't know I can't see your foundation and here's the thing do not get an arrogant attitude that you would never fall I mean take heed less default the Bible says because you do not know how strong your foundation is you do not know how you're gonna respond in a storm you say why because you can't see the foundation of the house all of us think we're gonna last but the only way you really know that is when you go through the storm so what I'm saying is hey prepare yourself as much as possible now and when you go through the storm you can fight it out you can last it out notice what it says in verse number 25 and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock and everyone that hears these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be like unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell I grew up watching a lot of sports and it would always be interesting let's go back to the example of boxing when you think about the greatest heavyweights that have ever existed the guy that comes to my mind of who people thought was the greatest heavyweight before he lost was Mike Tyson cause he knocked everybody out in like five seconds right? and I remember when I was a kid the Evander Holyfield fights were a big thing back then you know if you don't know what I'm talking about the biting off of the ear maybe you know that right? but the reason why Mike Tyson got so frustrated is cause he lost to them both times everybody thought he was going to knock out Holyfield because he was so great against weak competition and when he went against strong competition guess what? he couldn't take it what I'm saying is in your life things might be great for you when things are going well you're serving God you're excited you're zealous but wait a minute something gets tough you don't really know until you actually go through it make sure you prepare yourself as much as is humanly possible for the storms that undoubtedly are going to come in your life verse 28 and it came to pass when Jesus had finished 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 know I hope that 10 years from now every single person in this room is still serving God I hope that's the case I hope in 10 years I'm serving God I hope my family my wife and my kids are all serving God in 10 years but here's the reality not everybody in this room is going to be serving God 10 years from now because people drop out of church all the time people get excited they get zealous things are going great people drop out all the time it's just a reality and I hope I'm wrong I hope everybody works their best to disprove me and everybody is still at this church and serving God and doing great things 10 years from now but does anybody really believe that's going to be the case? Now none of us think we're going to be one of the people that drops out but you just don't know any one of us could I mean when Paul brings up Demas in the Bible I'm assuming Demas was one of the greatest men in the world because why would Paul bring up somebody that was just an ordinary person that dropped out because that happens all the time I'm assuming Demas was a zealous soul winner that preached great sermons and then he forsook Paul having loved his present world if that could happen to Demas if Peter could deny Christ when times got tough it could happen to any one of us in this room make sure your foundation is as strong as possible let's close in a word of prayer your heavenly father thank you for allowing us to be here today and just the wonderful teachings we found throughout the Sermon on the Mountain I ask you to help all of us to apply everything that we've heard in these sermons everything the Bible says help us not to leave any weak areas of our life that are liable to be attacked God help us to just build up a strong foundation and found ourselves upon the rocks when we do go through the storms of life God we're able to for our last song you should get your hymnal and open it to song number 2 song number 222 moment by moment dying with Jesus by death reconfined ready song number 222 on the first dying with Jesus by death reconfined living with Jesus by 25 losing to Jesus till glory does shine moment by moment all more light and light are o'er the sky moment by moment all more light and light are oo moment by moment I am in love moment by moment I fly from above looking to Jesus till glory does shine moment by moment all more light and light I am dying never a trial that he is not there never a burden that he does not bear never a sorrow that he does not share moment by moment I am in love moment by moment I am dying from above looking to Jesus till glory does shine moment by moment I am in love moment by moment oh lord I am dying on the last never a weakness that he does not fear never a weakness that he cannot heal moment by moment is more in will Jesus my savior I'll fight with me still more root moment by moment I am in love moment by moment I fly from above looking to Jesus till glory does shine moment by moment oh lord I am dying let's pray dear help father lord we thank you for the sermon lord that you have heard we pray lord that you will help us lord to apply the sermon in our life ask yes lord that to forgive us and our sins we pray amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen