Andrew Wommack and Greg Mohr Live Bible Study Notes – 2/7/17 Navigating the Storms of Life – Outline 1 (Scripture verses in this outline are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise indicated.)
I. Navigating the storms of life A. The storms of life come to us all 1. Matthew 7:24-27 – Being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only will prevent our spiritual houses from blowing away in a great battle in life—whether physical, financial, or relational. 2. John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” a. None of us are exempt from storms, but there are things we can do to prepare for them and respond to them that will protect us when the raging winds are blowing and the devil is trying to huff and puff and blow our house down. b. In hurricanes, people board up their windows and evacuate. c. In tornadoes, people listen for sirens and use storm shelters and safe rooms. d. In blizzards, people use snow shovels, plows, chains, and snowblowers. e. Jesus told us here to keep our eyes on Him and get our peace from Him in the midst of the storm—in other words, make Him our storm shelter. 3. Psalm 61:3-4 – “For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. [4] I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.” a. Jesus is my shelter and strong tower in the midst of every storm of life! B. Examples of some personal storms our family has been going through recently: Marty, Janice’s mom, another close family member going through relationship crisis 1. Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.” a. God has made a way for us to navigate through every storm of life.
2. It is helpful to know what kind of storm you are dealing with so that you can apply the scriptural remedy to navigate it successfully. C. Four categories of storms 1. Storms of our own making 2. Storms caused by others 3. Attacks of the Enemy against the will of God 4. Inward storms
II. Storms of our own making A. Hosea 13:9 (King James Version) – “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” 1. Years ago, we had an accident in our firewood business when the eighteen-wheeler we rented tipped over because of our stupidity—we loaded it to the top with firewood, making it top heavy. a. There wasn’t any deep, dark spiritual reason for that accident, which created quite a financial storm for us. b. It was just a whole lot of ignorance and immaturity, and it was just plain dumb with a capital D. c. This wasn’t caused by the devil and certainly wasn’t caused by God. It was a storm of our own making. B. Proverbs 19:3 – “The foolishness of a man twists his way.” 1. Twist = turns upside down, ruins (his way) 2. Not the devil, not others, and certainly not God, but our own foolish decisions we did not seek God about or act on His Word, or just couldn’t wait to act 3. Sometimes we create problems for ourselves and sabotage our own success. 4. Proverbs 11:29 – “He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind” (create his own storm)—the Word of God is relevant!
a. Have you ever known someone who has drama follow them around everywhere they go—every job, relationship, or project? b. They make their own storms wherever they go—they are not happy unless they stir something up. c. Then they will say, “The devil is really attacking my life/my marriage/my relationship/my finances/my job/etc.” d. He doesn’t have to—they’re doing a real good job of it without his help! C. Galatians 6:8 – “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” 1. Some people create their own storms and then get mad when it rains. Actions have consequences. 2. If we have created our own storm, we need to face the truth and take ownership of our actions. 3. This doesn’t mean we are to wallow in condemnation, guilt, shame, or self-pity. 4. We need to simply repent, receive God’s forgiveness, seek the forgiveness of others when appropriate (those we have put through a storm by our actions), and forgive ourselves. 5. Facing the truth means we don’t seek to blame God or the devil; instead we are honest with ourselves and with others regarding our actions that have created this mess. D. Lessons from Jonah’s storm 1. Jonah 1:1-3 (emphasis added) – “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, [2] ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ [3] But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” a. Nineveh, where Jonah was supposed to go, was located in modern-day Iraq. b. Tarshish, where Jonah was heading, was close to modern-day Spain, which is in the exact opposite direction from where God told him to go.
c. Whenever anyone runs from the call of God or the will of God, it leads them on a downward spiritual spiral and brings storms on themselves and others. 2. Jonah 1:17 – The Lord, in His mercy, prepared a fish to swallow Jonah and preserve his life. 3. Jonah 2:1-9 – “Seaweed University” caused Jonah to get serious with God and pray. a. Far too many Christians are content to do their own thing and go their own way, but when trouble hits, they pray. b. In this prayer, Jonah graphically described his problem, consecrated himself to God, trusted in God’s mercy, and committed himself to following the will of God for his life. 4. Jonah 2:10 – “So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” 5. Jonah 3:1-3 – Jonah got a second chance! a. He suffered consequences because of his initial disobedience, but God gave him a second chance. b. Thank God for His mercy that endures forever. c. Jonah made it to the place God sent him (a bit more bleached out than before) and preached to the people as God had initially instructed, and the people responded to the Word, repented, and were spared. E. Sometimes storms of our own making are caused by rebellion against the known will of God, like Jonah, and other times by ignorance or carnal, foolish actions. 1. In either case, don’t play the blame game—blaming God, others, or the devil—and don’t wallow in self-pity and condemnation. 2. Simply repent, take ownership for your actions, appeal to the mercy of God, and commit to following Him and His Word. 3. That is why it’s important to be a part of a good local church where you can hear the Word of God and learn how to walk in His ways and avoid creating storms of your own making. 4. If you are in the midst of a storm today, just ask yourself and God this question: “What part have I contributed to this problem/storm?”
a. Don’t respond in condemnation but simple repentance. 5. Jonah got into his storm because of disobedience. 6. He got out of his storm through prayer (calling on the mercy of God), repentance, and consecration to the will of God.
Navigating the Storms of Life – Outline 2 I. Review A. The storms of life come to us all 1. John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 2. None of us are exempt from the storms, but there are things we can do to prepare for and respond to them that will protect us and help us navigate them safely. 3. Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.” 4. God made a way for us to navigate through every storm of life. 5. It is helpful to know what kind of storm you are dealing with so that you can apply the correct scriptural remedy to navigate it successfully. B. Four categories of storms 1. Storms of our own making 2. Storms caused by others 3. Attacks of the Enemy against the will of God 4. Inward storms C. Storms of our own making 1. Example: Jonah’s storm
2. These types of storms can be caused by ignorance, foolish decisions, or outright rebellion. 3. Jonah got into his storm because of disobedience. 4. He got out of his storm through prayer, calling on the mercy of God, repentance, and consecration to the will of God.
II. Storms caused by others A. Paul’s storm 1. While Jonah’s storm came because of his own disobedience, Paul’s storm came because of other people’s disobedience. 2. Have you ever been negatively affected because of the wrong choices and actions of others? a. Example: Involuntary church plant and termination from ministry assignment 3. These storms are very difficult to navigate on an emotional level because you cannot control the actions and decisions of others. 4. Acts 21-26 give the account of the Jews’ attempt to kill Paul, their bringing false accusations and lying witnesses against him, a group of men taking vows to kill him, Governors Felix and Festus and King Agrippa refusing to free him, and Paul’s having to appeal to go to Caesar’s judgment seat. 5. Acts 27:9-14 – The centurion, the helmsman of the ship, and the owner of the ship all refused to listen to Paul’s warning. a. Paul did not have the authority to make the decision in this situation, the majority won out, and they encountered a violent storm that went on for two weeks (Acts 27:27)! b. I have been through two hurricanes that lasted five hours, and they seemed like a lifetime—like they would never end. 6. Acts 27:20-26 – Paul was factual, but not vindictive, and declared God’s promise of deliverance with no fatalities, though with a hard landing 7. Acts 27:33-44 – Paul encouraged them and gave thanks—then they had a shipwreck and all escaped safely to land, just as Paul prophesied!
8. Acts 28:1-5 – After all this, a snake came out of the fire and fastened on Paul’s hand (bit him). a. “After all I’ve gone through, Lord, and now this. I just can’t take one more negative (bad) thing happening to me.” b. Was this Paul’s response? c. No, he just shook the beast off into the fire and walked on. d. Then later they had a healing revival on the island (Acts 28:9). e. Anytime the Enemy attacks you, make him pay through signs, wonders, miracles, and new births. 9. Paul’s storm was caused by the disobedience of others. a. Some situations you are in, when others make bad decisions, you have no control. b. Other situations and relationships where others are making bad decisions that affect you and others, you can control by establishing boundaries in that relationship you do not allow them to violate. 10. Paul got out of his storm by: a. Staying close to God (not angry at God) b. Embracing God’s promises c. Considering others instead of blaming others d. Forgiving those who caused his storm e. Shaking the beast off into the fire!
III. Attacks of the Enemy against the will of God A. Proverbs 10:25 (brackets added) – “When the whirlwind [storm] passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.”
1. Though it is true some storms come because of our disobedience and some because of the disobedience and bad decisions of others, Scripture tells us that some storms are simply direct attacks against the will of God for our lives because of our obedience. 2. Don’t assume your storm is a Jonah storm caused by disobedience or a Paul storm caused by the disobedience of others. 3. Some storms come because you are doing what is right, doing what God said, and acting on His Word, and the storm is simply an attack against that Word (Mark 4:17). B. The disciples’ storm – Mark 4:35-41 1. Jesus gave His disciples a directive: “Let us cross over to the other side.” 2. The disciples did precisely what Jesus told them to do—they were 100 percent in the will of God (Mark 4:36). 3. A great windstorm arose, and water was filling their boat. 4. Jesus was asleep, at peace, and His disciples were terrified. 5. They responded to all this by saying: a. “Lord, You don’t care about us.” b. “We are perishing—we are all going to die!” 6. Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and waves and called the disciples into faith. 7. When they came to the other side as Jesus had instructed them, they discovered a great ministry assignment—deliverance for the demon-possessed man at Gadara— which reveals the very reason for Satan sending this storm: He didn’t want this man free from his bondage and control (Mark 5:1-20). 8. The disciples got into their storm by doing exactly what Jesus told them to do. 9. Disciples get out of these kinds of storms by: a. Refusing to assume God doesn’t care for and love you b. Refusing to agree with the worst-case scenario as final authority in this situation c. Exercising spiritual authority over the storm
d. Realizing there are great ministry opportunities on the other side of the storm
IV. Inward storms A. Psalm 61:2 – “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” B. Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.” 1. If you are depressed and downcast instead of encouraged and filled with hope, it is because you have been allowing anxiety to fill the thoughts of your mind. C. Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; [7] and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 1. Anxiety and the peace of God cannot coexist. 2. Cast your cares upon the Lord. 3. Make your focus Him, not your problem. 4. Praise Him in the storm!
