Lead Me To The Rock

Luke 6:46-49

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Here in this passage of scripture Jesus gives us the parable of the two different houses, two different foundations, two different men, but the same storm.  The other thing that Jesus does in this passage is that He clearly divides all the people of the world into two classifications: The wise and the foolish.  Jesus teaches us in this text that no one is born with either a predisposition to be a fool or a predisposition to be wise, it’s a choice.

Even though this parable is intended to be a teaching of contrasts and variables, one thing is the same for both the foolish and the wise; they both are faced with the same storm.  The point is that storms come to everybody.  In this life there is no question that we will all face the storms, the question is not if, but when.

I currently live in an area of the country where we face the danger of tornadoes fairly regularly, especially this time of the year.  There is no question, if the storm will come, the question is when they will come and which direction it will come from.  And the truth is that in reality a lot of the time that question cannot be answered because no one can control the weather.  The same is true of life; no one knows when the storm will come.

Many times we have the advantage of the “daylight” hours and we are able to see the storm coming and we have time to brace for it or to get out of the way.  But there are other times when there is no warning.  Many have gone to bed after a beautiful summer or spring evening and woke up to the sound of a tornado ripping their house apart and destroying everything they hold dear.  In the morning light all that remains are the broken shattered pieces of a life that used to be: a home that used to be, a marriage that used to be beautiful, a body that used to be healthy and strong, a family that used to be close, a mind that used to be uncluttered by drugs and alcohol, and dreams and aspirations that were destroyed.  And it all happened without warning, it happened while they were sleeping.

I wonder how many storms could actually have been avoided had we not been sleeping.  I know some storms are unavoidable, but there are some storms that could be avoided if we would just wake up.  A lot of things happen in our lives simply because we are asleep, we’re not watching, or we’re not paying attention.

I Thessalonians 5:2-7

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

Samson didn’t have to have his eyes gouged out, he didn’t have to suffer humiliation and play the part of a fool and a slave in a Philistine prison.  This was a storm he could have avoided.  Samson’s problem was that he was sleeping when he should have been praying, sleeping when he should’ve been hiding God’s Word in his heart, sleeping when he should’ve been in fellowship with God instead of in bed with the world. Samson was sleeping while the storm was brewing and he closed his eyes to the obvious threat around him.

I believe that the Lord gave me this word today for those of you who are going through a storm in your life right now.  I know some storms are unavoidable, but there are some storms that you don’t have to go through.  Some are in storms right now that you didn’t have to go through, hell you didn’t have to go through, heartbreak you didn’t have to experience.  These are storms that are the product and the fruit of fleshly desires and decisions.

Samson’s life was a series of storms, tragedies, loss, heartbreak, and every one of them was a product of his own self-will and actions birthed out of the desires of his flesh.  We’ve all been there, God knows I have.  We’ve all blown it, we’ve all moved in the flesh, we’ve all ignored wise counsel, and did what we wanted to do.  And like Samson we have found ourselves in a storm.

In two of my favorite verses in the bible David said:

Psalm 40:2

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and "set my feet upon a rock" and established my goings.”

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

What is David saying in this verse?  It doesn’t matter what comes my way in life, where I find myself standing, or how bad it seems: God is my refuge and if I am willing to cry out to Him, I am going to make it because He is my Rock and nothing can move my Rock.

Somebody receiving this message is in the storm of your life.  I am not concerned today with whether it was avoidable, I am not asking you if you caused it, or not.  You are in a storm and you need help and you need it now.  Everything you’ve been holding on to is shaking and falling apart.  Listen to what David said:

Psalm 61:2

“When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to that rock that is higher than I.”

I want to lead you to that rock that is higher than you.  That rock that is higher than your storm, the rock that is higher than the fight you’re in, the rock that that is higher than the fire you’re going through, higher than the enemy that is warring against you.

I want to lead you to Jesus.  That’s the rock I came to lead you to today: He is the rock that never rolls, He is the foundation that never shifts, He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, He is the captain that never lost a battle, He is your shelter in the time of storm, and He is your fortress, and your high tower.

Everything in your world may be shaking right now, the wind and the rain may be beating on your life, and it may look like there’s nothing and no one, you can depend on, but I came to lead you to that rock, and if you’ll step up on the rock, you’ll make it.  I can’t promise you the storm will stop, I can’t promise you that all your problems will disappear, but I can promise you that if place your life on the firm foundation of Jesus, you will make it.