This is going to be one of those
fireside chats tonight. I start these messages saying
I'm not going to preach, I'm going to talk to you out of God's
Word and out of my heart. My way of introducing the message
tonight, I'd like to make about five or six comments. This life is subject to many
storms. It's subject to many storms from
within and from without. First of all, there are mysterious
disturbances within, and these cause the most dreadful
confusion of mind. The terrible part about it is
we can't explain Someone explained them this way, these mysterious
disturbances within. He said, they are winds whose
directions are uncertain, shaking, disturbing everything. And most of the time we can't
even determine the cause of these storms. All that we know is that
they are there. They may be physical, They may
be emotional, they may be spiritual, they may be even circumstantial,
but they are so real. And they're the most difficult
to deal with. When these mysterious inward
disturbances occur, we're unhappy and we don't know why we're unhappy.
We are distressed and we don't know why we're distressed. We
are discouraged And we want to give up, and we don't know why
we're discouraged. David went through something
like this, I found in Psalm 77. I want you to turn with me to
these scriptures. I'm talking first of all about
the storms inwardly, mysterious, disturbing within. Winds, as the writer said, that
come from an uncertain direction. but they shake everything. David
went through this. He said in Psalm 77, verse 1,
I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice,
and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought
the Lord. My sore ran in the night and
ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and I was troubled.
I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine
eyes waking, I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered
the days of old, the years of ancient times, and I call to
remembrance my song in the night. I commune with mine own heart,
and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever?
Will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? These are mysterious
distresses, mysterious storms and disturbances that occur within. Unexplainable, but they're real. And then secondly, there are
storms of spiritual distress. We know where these come from.
and they're very real. They come from unbelief. We go
through periods of unbelief, through periods of doubt and
fear, through periods of doubting our interest in Christ and doubting
our relationship with Christ. We go through periods of when
natural passions are unchecked and when thoughts are uncontrolled
and when wrong desires dominate and control. I think Paul is
describing that in Romans 7 if you'll turn with me there, Romans
chapter 7. He says in verse 18, Romans 7,
verse 18, I know, Romans 7, 18, for I know that in me, that is,
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not, and the evil which I would not, that I do. And if I do that,
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. I find then a law, and by a law
he means here something that is continually with me, something
that is definitely established, something that cannot be questioned,
that when I would do good, evil is present with me. And my growth
in grace and my knowledge of Christ doesn't overshadow this
conflict as I thought it would. These are spiritual storms and
spiritual distresses. Because of unbelief, because
of wrong desire, because of unchecked passions, because of uncontrolled
thoughts, we go through these storms of doubt and spiritual
distress. We have to say with the Apostle
Paul, I find then a rule that when I would do good, evil is
always and continually present with me. And then there are storms
of attacks from human enemies. Nearly all of God's children
experience this type of storm, this type of tempest. That is,
attacks from human enemies, especially you men and women who work. and have to associate with unbelievers
and associate with people who do not believe God and who do
not love His Word. People outside the kingdom of
God harass you and they slander and they mock your gospel and
mock your faith and mock the message that you believe and
they criticize it. In Psalms 55, David experienced
this. In Psalms 55, verse 1, listen
to this. Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me,
and hear me. I mourn in my complaint, and
make a noise because of the voice of the enemy, because of the
oppression of the wicked. For they cast iniquity upon me,
and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within
me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness
and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
And I said, and don't many of you feel this way sometimes,
O that I had winged like a dove, then would I fly away and be
at rest." I'd just fly away from all this. I'd just be lifted
up with the wings of a dove and just leave the whole thing, all
of the slander and harassment and mocking and criticism and
fault-finding. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, they
hated me without a cause. And marvel not, my brethren,
if they hate you, for the servant is not above his Lord. If they
hate the master of the house, they'll hate the servant too.
Another type of storm through which some of you have recently
gone, through which I have gone, through which all of you will
go, and those who live the longest have to go through the valley
the most. And that's the storm of losing loved ones and those
who are very, very close to you. Indescribable storms, indescribable
agonies and tempests, best described by David in 2 Samuel. Listen
to him here, and I never read this passage of Scripture without
almost weeping. In 2 Samuel, chapter 18, Absalom, you know, the young
man with ambition, had tried to take the throne away from
his father, and he had been slain. And they came to tell David about
the death of Absalom, and this is what occurred in 2 Samuel
18, verse beginning with verse 31, And behold, Cushi came, and
Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king! For the Lord hath avenged
thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the
king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi
answered, The enemies of my lord the king And all that rise up
against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. Now
watch this verse. And the king was much moved. And he went up to the chamber
over the gate and wept. And as he went, thus he said,
O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, Would God I had
died for thee, Absalom my son, my son. These storms of the loss,
the bereavement, the sorrow, the deep agony through which
some of you have passed of losing loved ones, these are storms
that we must bear. And then there are storms in
the home. I wish I could give you some
illustration, but I don't want to put it on tape, and these
messages are being taped. But family distress, conflict
between husband and wife, conflict between children and parents
that are so grievous to be born. Turn to Genesis 42. I think a
scripture that describes this would be the words of Jacob.
Jacob had such heartache. from his sons. He had twelve
sons, and practically every one of them at one time or another
brought him great distress and sorrow. He said in Genesis 42,
beginning with verse 36. Let's begin with verse 36. You
know, they'd come back and told him that Simeon, I believe it
was Simeon, they kept down there in down in Egypt, and now they wanted
to take Benjamin, and Joseph was already, he thought, dead.
In verse 36 of Genesis 42, ìAnd Jacob their father said unto
them, Me have you bereaved of my children? Joseph is not, and
Simeon is not, and youíll take Benjamin away? All these things
are against me.î And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay
my two sons, if I bring him not to thee, deliver him into my
hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And Jacob said, My
son Benjamin shall not go down to Egypt with you, for his brother
is dead, and he is left alone, and if mischief befall him by
the way in which you go, then shall you bring down my gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave. In verse 14 of the next chapter,
Genesis 43, verse 14, he finally decided
to let Benjamin go with him, but he said in verse 14 of Genesis
43, ìAnd God Almighty give you mercy before the man that he
may send away your other brethren, Benjamin. If I be bereaved of
my children, I am bereaved. If I be bereaved of my children,
I am bereaved." And these are storms that some of you have
borne and are bearing and will bear. These are storms. Storms in the home. Tempest with
family and children. What touches their lives touches
your heart. And then there's the storms that
we must bear. Some of us are strangers to this. Some of you are not. And that
is the storm of sickness. and loss of health. Turn to Isaiah
38. Most of us don't know anything
about this, but some of you do. But we can all be sure of this
one thing. These storms of sickness and
loss of health await every one of us. They're there, and they're
going to come. The instrument of death is already
prepared. That's what Scripture says. Our
days are are determined a number of our months are with the Lord.
And here in those days, Isaiah 38, was Hezekiah sick unto death.
And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, came unto him, and said
to him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, thou
shalt die, and not live. We'll hear this some day. Then
Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the
Lord, and said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee I have
walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and I have
done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept with
great weeping," is the translation. And Hezekiah wept with great
weeping. Well, I have named several storms.
I by no means have named them all. Mysterious storms within,
dreadful confusion of mind and spirit, of undetermined origin,
and then storms of spiritual distress because of wrong desire,
unbelief, uncontrolled thoughts, and attacks from human enemies,
and the loss of loved ones, distresses and tempests in the home between
husband and wife, between father, mother, and children, between
children and parents, between brothers and sisters. and the
storms of sickness and loss of health, but above all, when we
talk about storms and tempests, we have to talk about the most
fearful one of all, and that's the overflowing scourge of God's
eternal wrath, which I trust none of you will ever feel, in
the day when men shall cry for the rocks and mountains to fall
on them and hide them from God's face. I hope none of us ever
have to endure that storm, and we won't unless we're hiding
in a false refuge, because we all have a refuge. We won't unless
we're hiding under falsehood, because we all have some kind
of hiding place. But any of these storms, any
of these, the mysterious storms within or without, in the home,
on the job, our personal conflict, any of these storms can destroy
us. Somebody asked me just last night when we were talking about a
conflict which a dear friend of ours is passing through. They said, how can a Christian,
how can a believer come to this depth, to this terrible valley? Well, I can't answer that. I
just know that it can be done. And these storms can destroy
us if we try to brave them and bear them ourselves. We're going
to have to have a deliverer. We're going to have to have a
refuge. We're going to have to have a shelter, and that shelter
has been provided. Let's read some scripture. First
of all, in Isaiah 25. Now these storms, they're real,
and they're going to come. And don't any of us, don't any
of you, And this preacher included, feel that you are immune to these
storms and tempests because they're genuine. If a man like David
can endure some of the things that he endured, so can I and
so can you. But Isaiah tells us about the
shelter here in Isaiah 25 verse 4. For thou hast been a strength
to the poor. strength to the needy in his
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when
the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. He is our shelter. He is our refuge. Now let's turn
to Isaiah 26, verse 20. And the Lord says, Come, my people,
Isaiah 26, 20, Enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee, and hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpassed. There is a hiding place. There
is a shelter in the time of storm. Now Isaiah 32, Isaiah 32, verse
2, And a man And a man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind, when the hurricane uproots everything
about me, when these uncertain winds, even when they blow, when
distress comes upon me, and I'm unhappy and don't know why, and
distressed and don't know why, when the winds of doubt flood
my soul, Christ is a hiding place from that wind." Read on. And he's a covert from the tempest. And he is as a river of water
in a dry place. When I walk through dry places,
parched, famine-infested places, he's my living water. He will
quench my burning thirst. When the burning sun parches
me, he is a shadow of a great rock in a weary land. How foolish
for me to try to stand alone. Our Lord Jesus is called the
hiding place from the wind, the cupboard from the tempest, the
river in a dry place, and a shaded place in a scorching, burning
sun. Spurgeon quoted this hymn one
time, and I jotted it down, and I felt that it fitted here real
well. The storm's awful voice was heard,
O Christ it broke on thee. Thy open bosom was my guard,
it braved that storm for me. Thy form was scarred, thy visage
marred, now cloudless peace I see. A shelter's of no value unless
I hide in it. A hiding place from the wind,
a covert from the tempest, is of no value unless I flee to
And even a great rock in a sun-scorched land is of no benefit unless
I hide in it. And the biggest mistake that
a man can make when he's going through these tempests and storms
and trials, and you'll be tempted to do this, so listen to me,
because I've seen many people do it. The biggest mistake that
a man or woman can make when they're going through these storms
and these tempests whether it be the storm from within, of
undetermined origin, whether it be doubts of our salvation,
whether it be unbelief, whether it be conflicts in the home,
whether it be attacks from enemies without, the biggest mistake
we can make is to allow these trials to affect our relationship
with Christ and to try to go it alone. That's the biggest
mistake we can make. But I've seen countless numbers
of people do it. They are so faithful to the Word
of God and to prayer and to church when things are going well, but
when sorrow strikes or when conflict arises or when doubts flood their
souls or when temptations overwhelm and overcome them, they desert
the people of God. They desert the house of God.
When David was going through his greatest trials, what did
he do? He said, I went down to the temple. I went down to the
house of God to find the answer. When the wind is blowing the
hardest, that's when I need to get behind the wall, Christ Jesus. How foolish it would be for me
to stand here and brave that awful storm when the wall's right
there beside me. Get behind it. I must not stand beside the wall
and refuse the shelter. I must flee to Christ. And when
the storm wind is blowing, Christ is my shelter. He's my hiding
place. Why? All right, I want to look
back at Isaiah 32, verse 2 again. It says, it talks about the wind,
talks about the tempest, talks about the dry place, talks about
the weary land. And we know something about some
of those things, not a whole lot, but something. And it talks
about there is a hiding place from this wind. It talks about
there is a cupboard when this tempest comes upon us. It talks
about when we're in the dry, burning desert, that there is
some water to quench the thirst. And it talks about when we are
in that sun-scorched, weary land, that there is a place to find
some shade. And look at verse 2, the first
three words, and it's a man. It's a man. A man is the hiding
place. A man is the cover. A man is
the living water. A man is the great rock that
gives you shade. First of all, he is the sympathetic
man. We're talking about the man Christ
Jesus now. He is the sympathetic man. Turn to Hebrews 2. Now this
is important, and this will encourage you. I don't care how deep the
doubt, I don't care how overwhelming the trial or temptation, I don't
care how burning and uncontrolled and unchecked are the thoughts,
I don't care what the distress through which you're going. Christ
Jesus the Lord was tempted in all points as you are. and He
knows you and He knows your trial, and we must not lose sight of
the genuine humanity of our Lord. Look at Hebrews 2, verse 16. 16. For verily he took not on
him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17. Wherefore in all things it
behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest. in things pertaining
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people. For
in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, therefore he is
able to succor them that are tempted." He knows your frame
is dust. The Lord Jesus is the sympathetic
man. You can run to him, you can cling
to him, because he has been tried and tested and suffered in every
way that you possibly could be tried. Now then, if any of you here
in this congregation lost a son by death, I think one of the
first places you'd come is to me. You'd come to my study. And
you'd say, my son's been killed and you've gone through this,
so I want you to talk to me. I want you to help me. And I
believe I could. Now then, I don't care what your
trial or what the storm is or what the tempest. There are a
lot of them where I can't help you. But my Lord can, your Lord
can, because He understands He's been there. And He is the sympathetic
man, and He doesn't want you deserting the prayer closet and
deserting the house of God because of some trial or conflict. He's
sympathetic. in every area, and he wants you
to come to him. Now turn to Hebrews 4. He not
only is the sympathetic man, but he's the representative man. In Hebrews 4, verse 15, he took
our nature. He willingly became a man. He
willingly became identified with us. He wanted to. The Lord Jesus
Christ is not some far-off God who sits and watches his people
trod through the mire and the muck and the quicksand of this
world, never having experienced it himself and not knowing what
they're going through. He'd been down there with them,
and he deliberately got down there with them. He knows where
they are and what they're suffering. It says in Hebrews 4, verse 15,
We have not a high priest, which can't be touched with a feeling
of our infirmities? He was in all parts tempted like
as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
grace to help in time of need." Now we quoted this verse of Many
times. Let's come boldly to the throne
of grace that we may find mercy and grace to help in time of
need. But it's preceded with this verse. The reason you come
is because you've got a high priest that's been where you
are. And he can be touched with a feeling of your, not your righteousness
and your goodness, your infirmities. He was tempted like as we are
yet without sin. Therefore, if you need mercy,
You come to him. If you need grace, you come to
him. He's the representative man.
He deliberately, willingly took our nature that he might enter
into and understand our trials. He knows what it means to be
hated. He knows what it means to be misunderstood. He knows
what it means to be harassed. He knows what it means to have
people turn against him. He knows what it means to be
tested and tried. He knows what it means to suffer.
He knows what it means to weep. He knows what it means to hurt.
He knows what it means, whatever the infirmity. Then thirdly,
he's our refuge because he's the substitutionary man. Now
watch this, and I'm going to rebuke myself and you a little
bit. Turn to Psalms 103. Psalms 103. And I'm not talking about something
I don't know anything about. I'm talking about something we
all know something about. All right, we have these storms.
We have these infirmities. They're real. They're genuine.
And we have these trials and these afflictions and these temptations. And we have these times when
we feel like anything but a child of God. But I want to challenge
you. I want to know why should I bear
my sins when Christ has already borne them. I want to know why in the world
that I should sit around and mourn over these infirmities
when Christ has already said He has already borne them Himself
and suffered for them. Listen to Psalm 103, verse 12. As far as the east is from the
west, So far has he removed our transgressions from us. What
in the world do I want to reach out there in infinity somewhere
and bring them back, huh? I just feel like that I've got
to despair. You know, I've got to take this
burden on me. I've got to take this load on
me. Christ's already borne this burden. He's already borne this
load. He's already separated my sins
from me as far as the East is from the West. And here I reach
back and get them and put them on me and say, well, I can't
be a child of God. He's the substitutionary man.
He has already borne my sins and borne my transgressions. He's already carried my griefs
and sorrows. And what I need to do is quit
living in despair and doubt and confusion and fear and go to
living in victory. Our victor is Christ. Thanks
be to God, He hath given us the victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. He separated my sins from me.
And then He's the ever-living man. Turn to Psalms 27. Why is He the hiding place? He's the ever-living man. We
live because He lives. Why should I not defy the infirmities
of death and judgment? Why should I not say, get away
from me, Satan, get away from me, trials? I'm not going to
be brought down to this valley of despondence and despair. Because
verse, Psalms 27, 1, listen, the Lord is my light and my salvation,
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life, of whom shall I be afraid? Why should I fear what men can
do unto me? When the wicked, even mine enemies
and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled
and fell, though an ocean encamp against me. My heart shall not
fear, though wars shall rise against me, in this will I be
confident. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his temple, for in the time of trouble
he'll hide me." Now this is one of the reasons
that I get a little bit perturbed with my brethren who are so afraid
of political catastrophes and the overthrow of governments
and these things. The scripture tells us that the
Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid. Scripture
tells me that he reigns and he must reign until he puts all
his enemies under his feet. And little old puny, scrawny
man is not going to upset God's purpose and God's plan. I belong
to a higher kingdom. What if this one does fade away?
I'm a subject of an eternal kingdom. What if this one is destroyed?
He's the ever-living man. And then watch this. He's our
hiding place. Turn to Luke 22. Because he is
the interceding man. Now listen to this. He's not
going to suffer us to bear any trial that is more than we can
bear. His grace, he told Paul, is sufficient. These trials are good for us.
They take the edge off. They melt the dross away. They
purify the gold. They reveal true faith. They're
good for us. It's good, David said, that I've
been afflicted. The only time it's not good for
you is when you let it come between you and your Lord. The only time
you'll get in trouble when you're going through distress and trial
is when it affects your relationship to Christ. I don't care how deep
the valley, it ought to make you look up. I don't care how
painful the circumstances, it ought to make you cling to Christ.
I don't care how heavy the trial and the sorrow, it ought to make
you embrace the Master. That's the purpose of it. And
here in Luke 22, verse 31, he said to Simon Peter, Luke 22,
verse 31, and the Lord said, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your
faith fail not." Now this may be an experience you and I are
going to have, but we don't need to despair, we don't need to
fear, because the Lord Jesus said, even as powerful a force
as Satan is, and though he has desired you, wouldn't that, what
if God told you that tonight? Might disturb you, wouldn't it?
But Christ adds these words, but I've prayed for you. I've
prayed for you. Bishop Rutherford wrote this.
I want to read it in closing. I creep under my Lord's wings
in the great storms of life, and the waters cannot reach me.
Let fools laugh the fool's laughter, Let them mock me and let them
bid the weeping captive in Babylon to sing one of the songs of Zion.
I can sing, even in my winter storm. I can sing, even in the
day of falling leaves. I can sing, even in the scorching
summer sun. I can sing. I can sing, for my
victory is Christ, and He shall never fail. And no created power
on earth or hell can mar my Lord's work, and no invisible force
can spoil my song, and no trial within or without can destroy
my union with Him, for did He not say that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ our
Lord. And though my heart be keenly aware of my sin, and though
my mind endures a conflict over natural evil, and though my eyes
often be filled with tears, and though dangers and storms are
without and within, thanks be to God, Christ is my victory. And John Newton wrote Content
with beholding his face, my awe to his pleasure resigned. No
change of season or place would make any change in my mind. While
blessed with a sense of his love, a palace, a toy, would appear,
and prisons would palaces prove if Jesus had dwelt with me there.
May God bless the message to your growth in His glory. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, teach us through
Thy Word how thankful we are for the Word. How thankful that
though we have to talk about these storms and trials and these
tempests that are within us and about us and upon us, We can
turn to this book and we can find comfort, and we can find
strength, and we can find the good news of Christ our Lord,
who is our hiding place from the wind, our cover from the
tempest, and we have tasted and we know that He is the living
water in a dry and thirsty land, and He is the shadow where the
weary pilgrims can find a place to hide from the burning sun.
He can find a place to rest from the scorching sun. He can find
the shade, Christ Jesus. And we pray that thou would teach
us tonight as we have studied this together. Let us not forget
it. For these trials are here and they're going to stay. And
these massive trials are ahead of us. There's some deep water
and there's some dark valleys. But though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Thou art with
me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies. My cup runneth
over, and surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life, and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Through Christ our Redeemer.
Amen.