When You Can’t Take It Anymore | David Jeremiah | Psalm 107

in 1996 photographer Charles O'Rear was driving  through Napa Valley north of San Francisco when a   particular landscape caught his eye it was a green  hillside sloping and smooth with a few wildflowers   dotting the grass at the bottom of the hill or  rear was struck by the beauty of that peaceful   scene so he did what any good photographer  would do he pulled over lined up a picture   in the resulting shot the lush green of the hill  is framed perfectly by the bright blue sky with   just enough wispy white clouds to add another  layer of color and texture if you look closely   you can even see the lines in the hillside where a  lawn mower has recently done its symmetrical work   pleased by his excursion or rear packed up his  gear went on his way he had no way of knowing that   he'd just taken what would become the most viewed  photograph of all time you see a few years later   the Microsoft company commissioned the rights to  arears picture now named bliss and designers set   the picture as the default background for their  new operating system and by the time Windows XP   was retired Microsoft estimated that bliss had  been viewed by billions of people around the   world more than even the most famous paintings in  history including the Mona Lisa one of my favorite   features of the Psalms is the pictures that they  paint like Charles arere the the psalmist's were   experts at creating pictures and except that they  didn't use a paintbrush that they use cameras not   no not cameras they use words as an example Psalm  107 celebrates the friendship and the faithfulness   of God it's a beloved hymn of Thanksgiving for  his deliverance in the section from verses 4   through 32 we can find forward pictures for  biblical camera pictures of circumstances faced   by God's people along their journey the first  picture is that of a desert it is a landscape   and this landscape happens to be a desert it's  described in verses four through nine of Psalm   107 and you can read the word picture painted by  the psalmist here's what it says they wandered in   the wilderness in a desolate way they found no  city to dwell in hungry and thirsty their soul   fainted in them now the Bible tells us that life  for Christians and life for all of us who are   God followers can sometimes be like being in the  desert we lose our way we get into dry wilderness   we don't understand what the meaning is this is  true for those who don't know God but sometimes   even after we come to know God we can fall back  into sort of a self absorbents that puts us in   the same place for some the desert is loneliness  others are lost in the cycle of routine futility   and still others become dislocated in the desert  they get caught up in affluence which turns out   to be a land drier and thirstier than they ever  expected The Wanderers trudged through the sand   without hope or Wow doubt without help and they  seek true spiritual meaning that always seems   to elude them the psalmist paints this picture  of people lost in a desert what a picture of   hopelessness and helplessness that is and that's  unfortunately where many people are right now and   this whole pandemic that we've been through has  just exaggerated that experience in their life   well the psalmist paints another picture and this  one is the picture of prison he said sometimes   life can be like prison the desert may have seemed  an odd subject for a painting but verse 10 offers   one even less likely it's a group portrait of  prisoners Psalm 107 verse 10 says those who sat   in darkness and in the shadow of death bound  in affliction and irons Leonard Griffith has   written that peep are like prisoners trapped in  the dungeon of their own moral folly the victims   of evil rather than the doers of it they started  out with freedom of choice but they continued to   choose the wrong thing but that freedom will be  fleeting when we choose evil the wrong choices   become patterns of behavior that finally master  those who made the choices Griffith continues   he says the drug addict would give anything to be  set free from the chains of his habit but it has   him hooked and he knows that the end of it will  be his death in his sober moments the alcoholic   hates himself for the hell that he creates in his  own home but his bottle is like a chain and he   knows that he cannot break loose from it not all  prisons are of our own making however some of us   are trapped by difficult circumstances from which  there seems little hope or escape these prisons   might have been constructed by other people's evil  by persecution or by matters over which we don't   have any control we don't have to be at fault to  become hopeless captives the psalmist says that   sometimes life can be like a desert the dryness  and barrenness of it all sometimes it's it's like   being in prison you're caught up in the chains of  your own making and here's one many of us know he   paints the third picture he says sometimes life  can be like a hospital we come to the portrayal of   a familiar and forbidding setting fools because  of their transgression and because of their   iniquities were afflicted their soul abhorred all  manner of food and they drew near to the gates of   death this is a ward of illness and affliction  and it serves as a corridor that opens into the   darkness of death now not every illness of course  is caused by sin but the people here have poisoned   themselves with their own transgressions here in  the Psalms and there they are in the ward they   lie there waiting only for their final moments on  this earth so the first three paintings are easily   described sometimes life is like being in a desert  where there's no water where your parched and your   thirsty sometimes life can be like being in a  prison sometimes it's like being in the hospital   these three pictures are easily described and we  can dispense with them and the few words to which   we have a given it is the fourth picture that is  very meaningful for all of us now it's the picture   about which Michael was singing a few moments  ago it's the picture of the storm the picture   causes us to catch our breath we're gazing at the  portrait of a furious storm here are the verses   from Psalm 107 verse 23 and following those who go  down to the sea in ships who do business on great   waters they see the works of the Lord and his  wonders in the deep for he commands and raises the   stormy wind which lifts up the waves of the sea  they mount up to the heavens they go down again   to the depths their soul melts because of trouble  they reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken   man they are at their wit's end and then they cry  out to the Lord in their trouble and he brings   them out of their de-stresses he calms the storm  so that it's waves are still and then they are   glad because they are quiet so he guides them to  their desired Haven oh that men would give thanks   to the Lord for His goodness and for his wonderful  works to the children of men let them exalt him   also in the Assembly of the people and praise him  in the company of the elders how many disasters   like kovat 19 have felt like a raging storm that's  why this Psalm is so meaningful because when we go   through these storms here is God's Word helping us  to understand the storm and understand where he is   in the midst of it so let me just this for us in  this message first of all I want you to notice   the place of the storm when I've encountered  the storms in my life I've taken encouragement   from this Psalm it has always been when I have  ventured out into the open sea when I have taken   a great step of faith and move beyond the borders  of safety that I've been caught by the treacherous   winds here's what he says they will go down to  to the sea who do business in great waters I   feel certain that I'm pursuing the will of God for  my life but my faith is tested by the wind and the   rain have you ever been there as far as you know  you aren't out of the will of God you're doing   everything God asks you to do you're even walking  in faith you've taken a big step to trust him for   something important and then all of a sudden the  storms come the message is simply that great works   are done in deep waters many of us never learned  that lesson we want to hang around in the shallow   part of the pool and we do that because we're  afraid we don't want to get out of our comfort   zone where we where we will feel it feel fear  but Jesus tells us to launch out into the deep   and take risks in the pursuit of excellence and  in the knowledge of God we walk to the edge of   all of our light and that next step into the  blackness holds the destiny God has for us but   it also holds whatever dangers are out there we  know that we realize the risk and perhaps we'll   never take that one terrifying step that makes the  miracle possible it's not simply biblical sense I   mean this is common sense I read this not just in  the Bible I read it in business books if you're in   the business world you realize if you play it safe  and you'll never build a business launching a new   firm is launching out into the deep some of you  are right there now you've lost your businesses   and you're sitting there thinking well I'm not  going to try this again I'm gonna take the easy   way out I'm gonna just fold my tent and quit and  maybe God doesn't have that in your plan maybe   God wants you to rebuild maybe he wants you to  take that step into the unknown the storms are   certain to come if you do it and the win we'll  howl you'll be out on the edge all by yourself   and unsteady but your business will fail despite  all of your best efforts if you don't go where God   calls you you'll never know what God wants to do  unless you get out into the deep no one ever said   it would be easy in the deep waters I mean all  of us who are leaders in the church we know the   difference we take faith steps the world calls it  risks we build buildings when we don't have enough   money to pay for them when they're done and God  supplies it oh the stories we could tell of what   God does for us when we step out by faith into  the deep waters and all the sadness and sorrow   as we watch people who just hang onto the shore  only doing what they can themselves understand   to do they stay along the shore and as they stay  along the shore they discover that they're safe   safe from drowning safe from disaster but they  never will know the blessings of the deep things   of God the place of the storm where is it it's  in the deep waters that's where the wind blows   that's where the challenge is now here's something  that's really surprising and you may this is sort   of counterintuitive if you want to know the  truth let me talk to you about the producer   of this storm where's the storm come from well  what's wrong with this packed passage is that   it's very unusual it seems backwards Psalm 107  verse 25 for he commands and raises the stormy   wind which lifts up the waves of the sea and the  pronoun here is he capitalized and we realize that   this storm is is created and produced by Almighty  God himself as great as the power of the wind and   the waves maybe there is something someone more  powerful in the background behind it all it is   God now listen to me we're much more comfortable  crediting God with calming storms than causing   them and yet we have to take the scripture at its  word here in Psalm 107 it teaches us that the Lord   is the one who produces this storm his purposes  are at stake let's take care before blaming God   for every storm I mean that may be a dangerous  thing to do but sometimes we've done just fine   on our own bringing on those dark clouds and we  make the mistakes and gods places simply to let   us discover how deeply we need him when we're just  about to go under the waves so we're not referring   to those self-induced storms we're talking about  storms brought on expressly by divine intention   did you know that sometimes God puts you in the  middle of the storm he has done that for so many   of us during these days here we are this is not  man cause we didn't do this we didn't ask for this   we didn't pray for this this is what's happened  we're in the midst of this storm have you ever   been through fire and water in your problems  why did he send that storm into your life if   you're weathering a storm you can be certain the  winds are no random weather front they blow for   a clear purpose and as you're caught up in the  tempest you need to ask God to help you be caught   up in its purposes the place of the storm is the  deep waters and the producer of the storm is God   himself now notice the peril of a storm what an  image God paints on the canvas of Scripture in   Psalm 107 here's verses 26 and 27 they mount up to  the heavens they go down again to the depths their   soul melts because of trouble they reel to and fro  they stagger like a drunken man and are at their   wit's end this is a riot of mixed metaphors in the  service of a strong point this is a passage that   is spinning wildly out of control have you ever  lost control of an automobile on an icy highway   if so you know this feeling well these passengers  of the rocking ship are their wits and by the way   did you know where that expression at your wits  and came from it came from right here in the Bible   these people have been outwitted they've come  to the end of all their ideas and strategies   the tempest has mastered their vessel the ship  has set off to navigate the winds in the waters   but that's all been turned upside down the wind  and the waters are now navigating the ship and   the passengers can't do anything but watch and  pray they're at their wit's end the place of the   storm is in the deep waters where you've stepped  out by faith the producer of the storm is often   God himself and the peril of the storm it leads  you to the very end of your own rational ability   now notice the prayer I could promise you if  you're a Christian and you're in a storm you   pray may not be a very fundamental prayer may  not be a very polished prayer storms produce   prayer unfortunately prayer seems to be our last  port in a storm it should be our first but the   people of this passage do turn to God in verse 28  here's what it says and they cry out to the Lord   in their trouble and he brings them out of their  de-stresses here's the thing I've noticed have you   ever noticed this think about this carefully the  inverse relationship between the depth of a crisis   and the length of a prayer you can almost create  a mathematical formula to demonstrate that the   commerce eggs are the longer and more eloquent  are your prayers but the greater the storm the   shorter and simpler are your prayers starting  with this classic prayer adopted by many devout   and troubled believers over the century here it  is help have you ever been there have you ever   been in a place where all you had time for was  help the seafarers of this Psalm may have called   out the same words and probably more than once  their circumstances have certain similarities to   the characters in the other paintings let's look  at the first picture again the desert Wanderers   hopelessly lost here's what it says about them  they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and   he delivered them out of there de-stresses what  about the prisoners remember them in their cell   what are they saying here's their verse then they  cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he   saved them out of their distress meanwhile back in  the sterile deathlike hospital ward what are the   patient's saying and they cried out to the Lord  in their trouble and he saved them out of their   distress 'as in the storms in the wilderness in  the captivity in the illnesses people desperately   seek an escape and the only way out is the way  up no matter what the problem may be no matter   what the trouble may be there is only one path to  safety the only hope is to reach beyond ourselves   to someone stronger than we are stronger than  the shackles that bind us and only one can fill   that requirement and even the proverbial earth a  theists and the foxhole realizes if if he trusts   God that's his only hope you know the old adage  is there aren't any atheists in foxholes because   once they're there and they're all of their other  options are gone God becomes their only hope God   certainly hates everything that causes us pain  whether it's imprisonment or illness or storms   but God knows that lesser pain is necessary to  avoid deeper pain it hurts to pull out a thorn   but the pain of leaving it would cause the deeper  agony of infection God knows that he has to pull   out a few thorns occasionally and will cry out in  pain and even angry will talk to God but it's all   for a purpose God knows even if we don't that were  not self-sufficient he loves to bring us to our   knees in fresh dependence on him has he ever done  that during these days if only peacetime prayers   carried the intensity of storm-tossed prayers I  remember as a young pastor my wife became very   ill one day and we couldn't figure out what it was  what was going on and then she lost consciousness   and the ambulance came and and we put her into  the ambulance to take her to the hospital this   was back in Fort Wayne Indiana and I crawled in  with her in the back and kind of stretched out   over her and and prayed and prayed and I pled  with God to not let anything happen to Donna   I don't think I've ever prayed such an intense  prayer that was my big storm and ultimately since   she's sitting out here in this service she made  it and we both made it we never did know for sure   what happened but we know God heard our prayer  I remember thinking about the intensity of my   prayer when that all took place and wondered  why can't I pray like that all the time have   you ever thought about that have you ever had a  moment where you've cried out to God in intense   prayer and maybe God has heard you and answered  you well we often don't pray like that unless   we feel trapped and we feel desperate so here we  go we're in the storm we're in the midst of this   thing and God has heard our prayer so let me tell  you let me just review where we are the place of   the storm that's deep water who produces the storm  Almighty God what is the peril of the storm we go   up and down and we are at our wits end and what  is the prayer in the storm God help and here's   the peace in the storm here's where it should end  Psalm 107 verse 29 and 30 here's what it says he   calms the storm so that it's waves are still and  they're glad because they are quiet have you ever   noticed the wonderful purity of silence after  a long cacophony of noise the tyranny of sound   suddenly loses its hold in in the untanned the  ensuing quiet seems to liberate your spirit it's   truly a peace that passes understanding we refer  to this phenomenon as the calm after the storm   it's not just in weather situations but it happens  in life I'm sure that some people are hoping that   all that's been happening in our country now is  is going to be pretty much settled and there will   be a calm after the storm it's about comfort  and relief and deep inside us we realize that   the bringer of the storm is also the master of  the storm and he can take it away in a blink of   a moment when we realize he is great enough to  send the storm and remove the storm we fall down   and we worship Him when the people of the psalm  were being battered by the storm they cried out   in fear and helplessness and God responded he  calmed the storm he still the waves speaking   of storms Ron Mel told me about a woman who was  caught in a frightening storm in the middle of the   Atlantic Ocean she was aboard a luxury liner that  was carrying a large number of children and the   women the woman saw that everyone was panicking  and obviously the panic was spreading to the kids   so so they were running to and fro all through  the passages and this was upsetting the children   so she gathered all the children together and  began telling the Bible stories to keep them   calm and the children became quiet captivated by  the wonderful stories the ship made it through   safe and sound and the captain made his rounds  and he saw the woman laughing and talking with   the children she'd stayed calm through the storm  and she was calm now and he was very puzzled so   he said why don't you keep your cool when everyone  else was falling in pieces have you been through   this before it's simple said the woman I have two  daughters one of them lives in New York and the   other one lives in heaven I knew I was going to  see one of the other room tonight and it didn't   make any difference to me which one does that  story seemed a little trifle maybe sentimental   unrealistic well it shouldn't it simply describes  the mindset of the serious believer the follower   who takes Jesus at his word if you feel such  a story is simply sentimental you may feel the   same way about heaven and the concept that God is  in control grace through the storm is a function   of believing that the creator of the storm is  also the deliverer from it he is also the one   who can bring peace and strength when all those  around us are falling apart he is our deliverer   and the fact is gloriously portrayed in living  color in every canvas of the eternal gallery   known as Psalm 107 the first painting shows desert  Wanderers those who can't find the path and he led   them forth by the right way that they might go to  a city for a dwelling place a city for a dwelling   place the very words that define hope and peace  when you're lost in the desert then we revisit   the darkened prison what happens to the captives  someone comes to unlock their cell and show them   the sunlight again some 107 verse 14 he brought  them out of darkness and the shadow of death and   broke their chains in pieces and then over in  the hospital the patients are almost ready to   die only they get healed miraculously notice  verse 20 he sent his word and healed them and   delivered them from their destructions downpour  or desert dungeon or disease the specific facts   of the crisis ultimately don't matter for God is  in control and whatever we're doing and wherever   we are we may be up against everything that's so  negative and difficult but when we cry out to God   in our trouble he will hear us he will calm the  waters and the time may come when he will even   let us know the reasons he unleashed them on us  so we're almost finished but one more review the   place of the storm that's the deep waters where  you're trusting God for great things and the   producer of the storm is often God himself and the  peril of the storm takes you to your wits in the   prayer in the storm is God help us and the peace  in the storm is the calming of the waves and the   coming of your heart and let's notice the purpose  of the storm verse 30 so he guides them to their   desired Haven the Lord didn't stop delivering  the people from the storm he took them where they   needed to go there's only one twist the storm may  change our idea of a destination he's never leave   us the same way as they find us I hear people all  the time asking this question how are we going to   be different after the coronavirus is over how are  we going to be different as people how we're going   to be different as families how are we going to  be different as churches those of us who love and   trust God through the worst times those of us who  are receptive to what he might be trying to teach   us find that our hearts have been changed by the  time the stillness replaces the storminess and   sometimes we don't know what to do with it we  will be far more in tune with his desires when   the storm has passed we will know that the one who  delivered the storm also is the one who delivered   us from the storm and our goals will have moved  closer to his so you have the place of the storm   the producer of the storm the peril of it the  prayer of it the peace of it the purpose of it   and here we are once again to worship the praise  after the storm what is there for us in the time   when the calm returns but to praise God have you  ever been in a terrible situation where it looked   like there was no way out and God miraculously  moves in and shows you the way and not only shows   you but carries you through and you're on the  other side and you're so full of gladness and and   praise how we wish everyone we know and all the  men and women on the face of the earth could come   and join us in praising and exalting God he's so  much greater than any of the forces of nature so   we read in Psalm 107 verses 31 and 32 oh that men  would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and   for his wonderful works to the children of men let  them exalt him also in the Assembly of the people   and praise him in the company of the elders we've  been hopelessly lost in the barren wilderness and   suddenly we find ourselves in an oasis what do  we do we give thanks back to the first of the   psalm oh that men would give thanks to the Lord  for His goodness for his wonderful works to the   children of men for he satisfies the hungry soul  and fills the hungry soul with goodness or we've   been imprisoned by addiction or abuse or past  memories or another cruel master and we discover   a master who was loving and who frees us and what  do we do some 107 15 and 16 oh that men would give   thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for his  wonderful works to the children of men for he   has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of  iron into in the first two word pictures in Psalm   107 we offer Thanksgiving to the Lord for what he  has done but in the last two pictures the image   changes we've been desperately ill waiting only  for death how do we respond to healing we come   together for worship verses 21 and 22 all that men  would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and   for his wonderful works to the children of men let  them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving and   declare his works with rejoicing and finally we  make it through the storm God brings us through   and what do we do we assemble for Thanksgiving  praise and worship verses 31 and 32 oh that men   would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness  and for his wonderful works to the children of   men let them exalt him also in the Assembly of the  people and praise him in the company of the elders   this Psalm is like the hymns we used to sing when  I was growing up I remember we used to have they   called them song leaders back then we would call  them worship leaders now and they would get up and   some of the old hymns had six verses and the and  I remember if I loved the hymn that was alright   I don't mind but if I didn't really care for the  hymn and we had a sing at 6 times that was another   deal but after every verse there was a chorus  and you know how the hymns are you you sing the   verse and then the chorus is down at the bottom  it doesn't change all the verses change but the   course remains the same that's what happens in the  psalm after the desert experience let men praise   God after the prison appearance experience let  men praise God after being in the hospital and   almost dying what's the chorus let men praise  God and when you're in a storm and you come out   of the storm what do you do you praise God is it  really important to include other people in your   phrasing the last two celebrations tell us we  should shouldn't it be enough simply to thank   God quietly in the prophecy and sincerity of your  own heart well we've had a good experiment with   that right here in this building is it okay  to praise God did we not have great worship   and praise tonight yes we did it was amazing but  there was no choir and there were no congregate   succeptible and he's totally empty all I see as  I look further in this auditorium is darkness   what's missing in the praise of God at this  moment are the people who do the praising you   say well I'm praising at home but I can't hear  you and it's when we can hear each other when   we come together and worship that's what we long  for that's what we're missing that's why we can't   wait to get back to church so that we can be with  others who are believers and so we can blend our   voices together and praise the Lord I hear people  say and I've heard them say this I don't really   need a worship God in church I can worship Him  just as well by myself working in my garden on   a Sunday morning or up at my lake cottage sounds  convenient but it's not very biblical we are told   all through the scripture to come together in the  assembly for the exultation of God together so if   you're sitting there listening to this message  and making all your plans for a new new moment   in your worship of God and you've just decided  you know this is pretty cool I got my coffee in   my hands I didn't have to get dressed up I didn't  have to get out on the highway I didn't have to   find a place to park I'm Wersching God at home you  can do that but you're out of the will of God the   will of God is for you to be with the people  of God worshiping together in the presence of   the elders it says that's who we are where the  were the teachers the elders you're supposed   to come and worship God in our presence that is  the leaders and praise God and when we do that   together we become something much greater than  we could ever be by ourselves together we offer   an entirely different brand of worship than we  offer when we're alone together we are the living   body of Christ oh how I want to urge you whether  you're ready to do it immediately don't lose your   motivation to go to and doesn't have to be this  church maybe you go to another church don't get   yourself in a situation where you're going to be  comfortable out of community that is not the will   of God for you that's not David Jeremiah I'm  not begging you to come back because I want to   see these seats full although I do I'm telling you  what the Bible says forsake not the assembling of   yourselves together so I'm looking for you I'll  be watching for you when the time comes for you   to come back to church I've been a pastor here  at shadow Mountain Community Church for almost   four decades but in the early years of my time  here I held two jobs I was not only the pastor   of the church but I was the president of Christian  heritage college I had a strong feeling of God's   leading and holding both of these positions but  I never saw the storm front that was moving in   during one particular summer the college had  run out of resources the tuition money was gone   and existing funds were insufficient to carry us  through to the fall the church had underwritten us   but now those resources were no longer available  the church had simply given all it could give and   nearly every week I went to meetings in which  we agonized over what to do slowly but surely   we were edging toward the idea of simply closing  the doors of the college we even met with another   Christian college to explore the possibility  of a merger and I remember wondering if this   was what God had in mind but I could feel no peace  about it one day I was filled with a sense of the   storm raging around me I felt like the waves were  crashing over us and that we were drowning in the   waves and I didn't know what to do so I gathered  our senior staff and we all traveled to a local   Christian camp called Pine Valley Bible Camp it  was vacant the caretakers allowed us to use one   of their conference rooms a group gathered around  a table to pray but I still felt a deep sense of   despair and hopelessness no options I mean we had  tried everything we have used up every option we   knew our prayers weren't being answered or so it  seemed we had tried everything we could think of   trying and I remember at that time coming to Psalm  107 and reading it to the group it was the storm   my feeling of in during a storm reminded me of  the imagery in Psalm 107 so we sat there in the   conference room at Pine Valley and I opened my  Bible and I read the psalm that we have studied   in this service I told the senior staff there is  one crucial thing we can never forget together we   have chosen to do business in the great waters in  the deep waters not many churches have schools but   we have several we have a preschool and three  elementary schools a junior high school a high   school and a college we've pursued these out of  obedience to God's leadership it's not supposed   to be easy we've launched out into the deep and  we shouldn't be surprised to find ourselves caught   in the storm we talked about the challenge at  hand and I returned to the theme of the psalm   I said men what we have to do is to cry out to  the Lord I remember telling them that when I had   cancer I had gone to the Brooklyn Tabernacle and  people came up to me in the Brooklyn Tabernacle   and said to me all dr. Jeremiah we cried out to  the Lord for you I'd never heard anybody used   that term before that was how they described  the intensity of their prayer that's what the   psalmist says they did they cried out to God I  said man we have to ask God to move in the midst   of this situation and do something that only he  can do I've never experienced many events like   the one I'm about to describe and I'll never ever  forget what happened we began to pray around the   table with very intense heartfelt emotions and  tears it was one of those powerful spiritually   charged atmospheres that come about when needy  Christians get serious about seeking for God's   deliverance tears pleading and there was a knock  at the door it was the proprietor of the camp she   mentioned to me to come out into the hallway and  I got up from the prayer meeting I went out into   the hallway and she said to me you need to call  your office I didn't have a phone and there was   a payphone on that campus and I found the pay  phone and called my secretary at the church and   she said are you sitting down I said no I'm in  a pay phone booth can't be sitting down she says   well if you can't sit down hang on and this is  what she told me she said that the women down in   the college mail room had been routinely opening  mail and they came across a strange envelope it   contained no letter no letter at all but it did  have a check in it and the check was for a half   a million dollars I couldn't believe it I know I  should have because I had just asked gone for it   I went back into the meeting with my eyes filled  with tears and everyone was anxious they wanted   me to tell them who had died they thought had been  called out because somebody in the church had died   I said no one has died let me tell you what has  happened we've been sitting here in this room in   the midst of a storm and we've been crying out to  God for his help and he heard us and he reached   out to us in her trouble and brought us into a  place of peace to say that we began to praise God   would be an understatement I'm glad you couldn't  see in what we did when you come out of a storm   in which all seems lost and God does something  magnificent the worship is unforgettable that's   known as a happy ending and I wonder if you still  have doubts that your story will have one perhaps   the storm is raging for you as you read these  words and listen to me tell my story perhaps   you're lost in a wilderness of shattered hope or  shut away in a prison of debt maybe you're facing   a hospital ward of health concerns or family  problems and you feel you'll be lost forever   wherever you are whatever the crisis may be there  is an important principle at work here it is if   you feel helpless you have just become eligible  for the assistance of God you need only cry out   for his salvation and he will do the rest and  he will do it well and when the storm is over   you'll be a new person wiser stronger ready to  serve Him the sea will be calm the breeze will   be soft and the silence will present itself as  a sanctuary for you to exalt his name and sing   his glorious praises if he can control the storm  what other wonderful works might he bring to pass   in your life with that exciting thought you'll  cast off and launch out into the deep waters   and watch God go to work in your life but you say  dr. Jeremiah I don't know God I know about him I   hear you talking about him I watch sometimes and  hear you talk about God but I don't know him well   that's where the journey begins let me tell you  what I do know you don't want to go into a storm   without God you just don't want to do that some of  you are trying to negotiate that right now and you   would say a big Amen if you could so let me tell  you how you can bring God first of all into your   life and then be assured that wherever you end up  if it's in a storm he's with you and he will never   forsake you the Bible says you come to God through  Jesus Christ his son John tells us that there's no   other way to God except through Jesus Christ he  is the way the truth and the life so if you want   to have God in your life you have to accept Jesus  Christ his son as your Savior and the son of God   Jesus Christ came into this world for you and for  me went to the cross of Calvary there he paid the   debt for all of our sin by his incredible death  infinite death in an infinite God and because   he paid the debt for our sin we can be forgiven  if we will just ask so I'd like to lead you in   a prayer at the end of the service whereby you  can ask God to come into your life Jesus Christ   to be your savior when you make that decision it  will change your life you will look back on it   as the most important thing you've ever done and  I want to encourage you to do it now dear God in   Australia in Ireland in Brazil in Great Britain in  almost every state in the United States there is   gathered a congregation across the broad spectrum  of this world people are gathered as we worship   and there are some who have been brought into this  moment so that they can encounter God through His   Son Jesus Christ and Lord as you have brought them  to that place and they have this willingness to   make this decision help them with all of their  hearts to seek your forgiveness and the hope   that you bring so here's what I want you to do  just pray this prayer dear God I need you in my   life I can't do the storm without you I know and  I believe that Jesus Christ is your son and that   he came into this world to pay the penalty for  my sin so that I could be forgiven and so that   I could be saved and so that I could be born again  and come to know Jesus as my own Savior and Lord   so Lord Jesus come into my heart and forgive  me of my sin give me the gift of eternal life   which you promised to all who will ask you help  me to live for you from this moment on help me   to find those who believe in you and grow with  them in community in a church in a Bible study   lord I thank you for caring so much about me  that you would give your life in my behalf

Channel: David Jeremiah

Views: 961,567

Rating: 4.7861462 out of 5

Keywords: david jeremiah, turning point ministries dr. david jeremiah, dr. david jeremiah, david jeremiah sermons 2020, resurrection, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ, faith, tomb, turning point david jeremiah, turning point ministries, turning point ministries tv broadcast, turning point ministries sermons, turning point ministries david jeremiah

Id: 2pwXo6MzNjA

Length: 43min 45sec (2625 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 09 2020