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Staying Grounded in God's Word
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I am so excited to share with you today about how to get through tough times. This is a message I would love to preach to my younger self based on what I have experienced about life so far.
Let me start by reading from Matthew 7:24-27:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
The reason it fell was not because of the storm, the winds, or the streams that rose. It fell because it was not built on the right foundation.
You are going to live for a very long time. You cannot escape tough times. You cannot stop the rain coming down, you cannot stop the streams rising and overflowing, and you cannot stop the wind beating against your house. Jesus said winds—different types of winds—will come.
Different kinds of winds will blow against you:
As long as you are on this earth, the winds of life will come. Whatever you are building right now will be tested. So we better build well and get ready for that strong wind.
From my travels, I have visited ancient historical and archaeological sites—the ruins of Jericho, the Coliseum in Rome, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. One thing common to all these places is their foundations. The materials used to build these foundations have stood the test of time. Years and erosions later, we still come back and say, "Wow, this is magnificent," because of the foundation.
Our lives need to resemble this. Our lives need to have a foundation that can withstand the storms of life.
What we build our lives upon is very important. Your marriage must be built on the rock. Your children must be built on the rock. Your career and your finances must be built on the rock—not on a rock, but on the rock.
Jesus emphasizes in Joshua 1:6-9:
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
To get through tough times, you must stay grounded in your conviction. A conviction that God's Word is the only way—not one of many ways, but the only way.
How do you know if you have conviction? When you are consistent in your belief and in what you do. I accepted this as the only way over three decades ago—July 4th, 1988 at 6:00 p.m. I made a decision, and I have been consistent.
But here is the reality: today you pray through, tomorrow you do not. Today you read the Bible, tomorrow you do not. Today you tithe, tomorrow you do not. This is not consistency. Be grounded in your conviction.
Joshua 1:8 says:
Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it night and day, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
You need two key convictions:
First, conviction that God's Word is supernatural. This book is from God and has supernatural properties. The Bible is not a man's idea—it is God's idea. It contains supernatural truth that will change you, empower you, guide you, and sustain you. It connects you with the God who created you.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us:
The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Second, conviction that God's Word is true. This book is not filled with options and opinions—it is true. It is always true. It is always right. It is always correct.
When things are going great and you are living in prosperity, it is very easy to believe that all things are relative—that there is no absolute truth. But when your life is falling apart, when you are fearful and confused and lost and going through tough times, you need a clear sense of direction.
How do you decide who to marry? How do you decide your investments? How do you decide your life partner? How do you decide your career path? These life choices require clear direction, not a legacy of options.
Living a life of only options in a storm can be very dangerous. It is absolute direction that gives you courage. In a storm, you want a clear sense of direction.
Consider the captain of a ship. The captain does not argue with the compass. In a storm, the very first thing the captain does is look at the compass. If the compass says north, the captain trusts it and follows it—not because the captain is arguing, but because the captain has conviction that the compass is true, right, and accurate, and points to the right direction all the time.
If you do not have this conviction regarding God's Word, you can never overcome in times of crisis.
The second way to overcome tough times is to stay grounded in your commitment—a commitment to know God's Word and to live God's Word.
Joshua 1:8 says:
Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it night and day, so that you may be careful to do everything within it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
How can I follow something I do not know? How can I know something unless I study it?
The Bible is God's life manual—given to us to live life and live it to the full. If you want to get the most out of life, if you want to overcome and be an overcomer, if you want to get through tough times, then you must have this commitment that God's Word is your guide.
Yes, there is a lot of work involved in studying, reading, and meditating. But it is your life, and it is worth it. I always tell my children: If you pay now, you play later. If you play now, you will pay later. Either way, you pay.
When the storms of life come and tough times arrive, if you have not invested the time to study and understand God's Word, you will panic and end up looking for answers from anywhere.
Start from the Gospels. Read the Proverbs a day. Invest that time to read and study.
Joshua 1:7 says:
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.
It will require great courage to follow God's Word when the rest of the world is not. Stay grounded with your courage.
Courage to speak the truth and not lie. Courage to say no to temptation. Courage to work when you say you are working, not logging on and going back to bed. Courage to refrain from pornographic websites. Courage to own up to addiction. Courage to tithe. Courage is required to build a solid life foundation on the rock.
Fear can crumble a life foundation very easily. Fear is the opposite of faith, and like erosion, it can eat away your foundation, making it vulnerable to tough times. Fear is not good building material. Fear is not a great duty material.
Do not make decisions based on fear. You may experience fear now and then, but you cannot rely on fear. You cannot take counsel from fear. Do not allow it to direct your life.
Do what is right despite fear. That is how you build your courage. Do not allow fear to erode your conviction in God's truth. Do not choose the easy way out. Trust your compass when you are confused and afraid.
Be convinced: God is with you. Jesus said, "I am with you always."
Look at the story of David and Goliath. David said, "You come to me with knives and spear, but I come against you in the name of God." He took five stones. That giant was gone.
Look at Joshua and the spies. The spies reported, "We can take the land." But others said, "There are giants in the land." They all saw the same thing, but Caleb had a different perspective because he was grounded in his courage. At the age of 80, he said, "Give me this mountain. Forty years ago as a young man, I took them. I can take them again."
Look at Esther: "If I perish, I perish." Grounded in her courage.
Look at the three Hebrew children: "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace. However, even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods." Grounded in their courage.
Look at Daniel and the lion's den. The Bible is filled with stories of courage from men and women just like you and me today who lived in tough times.
Their courage came directly from what God had said and from their knowing God for themselves. Our courage comes from the same place.
Matthew 7:24 says:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man.
Stay grounded with your cooperation. We cooperate with God's Word through obedience.
Joshua 1:8 says:
Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
James 1:25 tells us:
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
Your obedience is the only evidence that you have aligned yourself with the Word of God. Not what you know. Not what you have read. What you do.
There are so many people who believe in Christian service but never volunteer. There are people who read and study and understand giving, but their obedience never shows in their bank account. Their obedience takes a back seat to their sports. It takes a back seat to their hobbies. They do not give. There are people who would spend money at the nail shop. The nail shop takes it all. So it is not what you know. It is not what you have read. It is what you do.
Our lives cannot be grounded without obedience. We cooperate with God's Word by studying it so we can do it. We study God's Word so we can do it.
Some people study but do not follow. They do not do. They follow their culture. They follow their tradition. They follow their friends. But they never follow the Word of God. Be grounded in your cooperation, which is expressed through obedience.
The reason we read the manual is so we can use it. If you buy a new phone, you study the manual so you know how it works. You study the manual so you can put that tool to use. If not, what is the point? This is how we must approach God's Word.
The reason we study. The reason we read. The reason we seek to understand. So we can follow and do.
I pray in the name of Jesus that the grace to stay grounded—the grace to improve your conviction, your commitment, your courage, and your cooperation—rests upon you right now in the mighty name of Jesus.
Do not miss this series. You have got to learn how to get through tough times.
