Preparing to Stand in the Coming Storm

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. A terrible storm is coming to the whole world. It's time to put away childish things. It's time to say, Now God, make me a voice in the storm.

I know one thing for sure, that no matter what comes, my house is going to stand. Welcome this week to A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon. In this week's message, Carter asks the questions as a follower of Jesus Christ, What is the purpose of life? What are the true resources and riches of Almighty God? From Matthew chapter 7, Carter tells us that you can find complete confidence that the things you ask for, God will give you according to His will.

Let's join Carter now and learn about this gracious generosity. Preparing to stand in the coming storm, Matthew chapter 7, going to start at verse 7. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asks receives, and he that seeketh find it, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. For what men is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? Therefore, all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Let's stop there for a moment.

We're going to be going through some more of this text, but we'll stop at verse 12. You know, I hadn't really fully understood how much and how lavishly God wants to give to us until I became a grandfather. You know, when we have a concept of God as the Father, I've often thought of that myself over the years. As a father, we have a tendency to say, son, those shoes are good enough. We can wear them for another semester at school, or those pants are sufficient, or that etcetera, etcetera.

We reason our giving, and it seems that when you become a grandfather, your reasoning goes right out the window as far as giving goes. Last summer, I was with my little grandson, Landon, and we were eating together at McDonald's restaurant in Canada, and chicken fingers and fries, and we're having a great talk, grandpa to a two and a half year old at that time. And then he said to me, he pointed out the window to a small strip mall across the street and he said, I want to go there. I said, okay, let's go there.

And I thought, I thought he would want to sit on the moor tractors and such like things that are there as you go into this little mall. And he took me by the hand. When we went in the door, he led me into this store. And then he said, where is it? And he went to this huge basket of stuffed animals and wandered around it and finally said, there it is. And he found this polka dotted fire dog, stuffed fire dog, pulled it out, took it to the counter and just put it on the counter.

And so without questioning, I just went and I paid for it and took his fire dog under his arm, grabbed me by the hand and out the door. And we went very methodically down the hall to another store, walked in to the store, went to the farthest aisle on the left, down halfway down the aisle. And it was a trucks, all kinds of trucks, toy trucks.

And he pushed through. A lot of the things went way into the back and he said, there it is. And he pulled it out and he said, this is a really cool truck.

We walked together to the cash. He put it on the cash and he said to the sales lady, this is a really cool truck. Never any, never any doubt that his, his papa is going to pay for this.

So we put these things in bags. We headed home and when we got through the door, he took his stuff out, put it on the countertop and his mother immediately says, Landon, I told you last week that you couldn't have those things. And I thank God that that's how he sees his grandfather. And it's good when you and I understand how much God wants to give to us. Jesus himself said, if, if, if you're being evil, now that's in comparison to the goodness of God. If you, if you're being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more shall your father, which is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him how much more and you've got to see God this way.

You and I have to see him this way. There's a longing in the heart of God to bless his children. There's a longing in his heart to give us the things that we need and you've got to see that you're, you're not going to fully comprehend what we're going to be talking about. I want to give all of my grandchildren those things which God has planted within my heart that have helped me to understand who God is and more so help me to understand who he is in me, why I live on this earth. What is the purpose of life as a follower of Jesus Christ and where is the highest purpose of this calling found? What are the true resources and riches of almighty God and where must I be found so that I can do as he has done as a young grandson?

I can go to the counter. I can go with complete confidence that the things that I'm asking for my father is going to give me because Jesus did say, if you ask, it will be given you. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, it will be open to you. Verse seven right through to verse 11 talks about this generosity of God, how he wants to give to his children, how he says, I will not withhold from you.

You come to me and you ask and I will give it to you. But verse 12 brings everything into into clarity. In other words, this verse shows the root of mature thinking that will unlock this incredible generosity of God that spoken about in the previous five verses. He says, Therefore, that means you can't take that verse and separate it from verses seven to 11.

It's a summation. He's just made these incredible statements seek, ask, knock, I'll give to you the things you want. Therefore, he said, all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them for this is the law and the prophets, everything that you would want somebody to do for you. If you were in this world without God, or perhaps with God, and in a place of distress, if you were in prison, if you were wounded, if you were suffering, if you were depressed, if you had no clothing, if you had no food, if you were without shelter, if you and I were wandering, lonely, aimless, empty, sick, orphan, or friendless, what would you want someone else to do for you?

That's the question. If you were found there, what would you want someone else to do for you? You say, Well, I, I would want them to come to me, I'd want them to help me, I'd want them to give me courage, I'd want them to speak something into my life, I'd want them to come with authority and lift me out of depression. I'd want them to have the resources to give me clothing and food and shelter. I'd want them to be able to tell me how to find my way through this endless labyrinth of confusion in the world that I'm living in. I'd want them to be a friend. If I was lonely, I'd want them to show me the direction if I didn't know where to go. I'd want them to come with something that had weight if I was empty in my heart, sick in my spirit.

If I was orphaned, I'd want them to be a family to me. If I was friendless, I'd want a friend, as the scripture says that sticks closer than a brother. And Jesus says, Now, whatever you would want men to do for you, do these things for them. Now, this brings us back to verses seven to 11.

Because we say, Where would I find the resources and the strength to do all of these things? Then he says, Ask, seek, knock, you come to me, ask me, and I'll give you courage and love that casts out all fear. If you don't know how to minister to somebody who's been wounded, he said, seek the healing that I have and I will give it to you an abundant measure and it will begin to pour through you and you won't have to pass by on the other side of the struggling and suffering people that we see every day. If you need wisdom to know how to unlock areas of depression in people's minds, he says, just knock to me and he said, I'll open it to you. I'll give you these gifts.

I'll teach you how to be a friend. I'll put something in your heart that's not there. The giftings of God are miraculous, folks. But the giftings of God, there's a point of maturity.

There's a point where you and I are not called to be children anymore. In our understanding, you and I are the church of Jesus Christ. We are called to do the work of God in the earth. Everything that Christ did you and I are called to do on a scale. He was one man in one body. He's now the son of God. And in the power of the Holy Spirit has a body all over the earth, doing as it is more than he was able to do in just that one body in one historical moment in time. And you and I are to be that well, we're to be that key. We're to be the hands of God's provision as it is for those that are struggling and suffering in our generation. Praise God. He says in verse 13, enter in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction.

And there'd be many that go in there. In other words, Christ is saying to those he's teaching, go in this direction. The world offers many seemingly more appealing and an alternative pathways. But in verse 14, he said, but straight is the gate narrow is the way which leads to life. And there are few that find it.

He said, there are a lot of pathways out there. There are a lot of opinions, even in Christian today over what it means to ask God for things. And there's a narrowness in this. There's a straight way. We are called to fall in humanity. It's not even debatable when you read the scriptures.

There's no other opinion that is necessary because there is no other opinion. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We're to walk in the ways of Christ. We're to walk with the heart of God in Christ. We're to walk with the power of God, the authority of God, the purpose of God. We're to walk into the mountain of fallen humanity all around us.

Praise God. Now there are other opinions about what it means to be a Christian. And we are living in a time in history when there are as many opinions in Christianity as there are radio stations on the airwaves today. He said, but go into this way because it's a wide gate. It's broad.

It leads to destruction. And many go there because trade is the gate narrow is the way which leads to life. And there are few that find it. Now in verse 15, Jesus goes on. He has not left his text. He's not left his thought that we started with in verse seven. Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ravening wolves. False spiritual voices will arise to take you away from that which God would have given you.

And they do so by keeping you in a continuous state of childish self focus. That's what the false prophetic voice will do will keep you as a church in a state of infancy, always going as a child as it is for some new toy for some new thing never entering into the fullness of the purpose of God through your life. The purpose of God is not to just accumulate the most toys before you die, get to the highest rung on the ladder, or to be the best looking or to have the nicest clothes or the biggest house that is not the purpose of God. That is childlessness.

Folks, we are to live way beyond that. No, the treasure of God is fallen humanity. The treasure of God is every person ever born into this world. The treasure of God is young and old, rich and poor, every race, culture, language everywhere in the world.

The treasure of God is so important to him that he left you and I here on the earth and we might become co laborers with him going into this harvest and compelling them to come home to God our Father. Verse 16. Jesus said about the false prophets, you'll know them by their fruits.

Do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? In other words, he's saying the compassionate fruit of Christ for others is not found there. That's how you identify the false prophetic folks, the compassion of Christ is not in it. It's all about the whole focus is about you. It's not about other people.

And ultimately, it's about them. Verse 21. Jesus says, Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that does the will of my Father, which is in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name, done many wonderful works. And then while I profess to them, I never knew you depart from me, he that work iniquity.

Now here's the point. False teachers claim that knowing the mind of God, having an appearance of fighting for the right side, and having the ability to cause others to marvel at their seemingly personal accomplishments is sufficient. But Christ calls it iniquity. It's an amazing thing.

It's self focus. And as we seek first the kingdom of God, as we seek that God's kingdom advance and men and women find Christ is Lord and Savior. He said, I will add to you all the things that you need. I know what you need. Before you even ask them, praise God, I'll give it to you.

I'll add it to you. That's why Jesus said, Therefore, don't live your day worried about where shall we live? What shall we eat? All these things are said after all these things, the Gentiles, those outside of the kingdom spend their whole day thinking about these things. Then he said, No, seek first the kingdom of God, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Now, the title of my message was preparing to stand in the coming storm.

And make no mistake about it, we're going into a season we're in it now, we're going in deeper into it, when everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken. In some measure, I'm greatly thankful for that, in the in the context of the Christian church, because everything unlike Christ is not going to stand in the days ahead. Matthew 724. Again, he says, Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

Now, folks, it's founded upon the very heart of Christ. That's why it doesn't fall. If your whole focus is about yourself, when everything around you starts to shake, of course your house is going to fall.

But if your focus is on others, nothing changes. Verse 26 is everyone that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Time to stand in the coming storm. Listen to what David says in Psalm 41. Blessed is he that considers the poor.

Here are the promises. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive. He shall be blessed upon the earth. He'll not be delivered to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on the bed of languishing.

And that means when he's in a place that would take away the strength of ordinary men. God said, this man, this woman will find strength that does not come to ordinary people. It comes to those who are given to the work of God, who are found where he is at the right hand of the poor.

Verse 28. It came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now they were used to words, but they were just empty religious words. People with somewhat of an idea about God, but they were never moved. And looking at the vessels, most of the vessels speaking it had no power to live what they were speaking. But when he had ended speaking, they were stunned.

They were astonished. He taught them as one having authority. And really what that means, he spoke these words as someone who had the power to do and enable others to do all that had been spoken authority.

They looked at him and said, this man can do what he just said. This man will be true to his word. This man is unlocking to us as it is the heart of God.

And there's there's weight in it. There's such a sense of awe that's come into our hearts that if we are moving in this direction of God, we can go to God. And when we ask, it will be given to us. And when we seek, we will find. And when we knock, it shall be open to us.

The sureness in his voice. Did you know today that if you're doing the work of God, you should be expecting the miraculous now you responded like you almost almost almost now persuadest me. You almost believe it.

I believe it with all my heart because I listen, listen, folks, it's not about me, but I have to give testimony to God. I've been taken all my life now as a Christian places I could never go. I've been given things to do I could never hope to do. I don't have the training to go to a lot of the places that God sends me to.

So I just go where I know I feel like my grandson. Where is it? God says is right here. And so we we search it out.

You know, we had to search for that that first spotted stuff dog. And God says, Now, take this. Okay, let's go to the counter. It's yours. Take you got a new mind, I give you a new heart to give you a new spirit. I'm going to I'm going to take you through impossible places. And you see, your testimony will not be about you.

It will be about me, the Lord says. You're not the one who paid for this. I paid for this. You're not you don't get it in your own strength. I give it to you. And folks, this is the wonderful thing about God. When everyone else says you can't God says you can. When every when every argument ever put your way, says it will not be yours. The Lord says just ask me.

Just ask me and we'll go to that counter together and it will be yours. It delights the heart of God. Oh, folks, if you and I could lay hold of this today, if we could see the exceeding greatness of the power of God that's available to us, Paul saw it. And he was trying to explain it to the church of Ephesus. And I'm sure many did see it as well.

But many didn't see it because their focus was not right yet. Paul was given for other men, given first to the glory of God, but then given to the purpose of God, given to gladdening the heart of God, given to the work of God, given to going into fallen humanity all around, whether he was accepted or whether he crawled out from under a pile of rocks, it made no difference. He was given and because he was given, heaven was open. And because heaven was open, he saw the exceeding riches of God.

And he said to the church of Ephesus, all that you could see what I see, that your eyes could be open, that you could see the exceeding power of God that's available to all who call out to him. But we can't call out to him as children anymore. That season is gone. It's time to put away childish things, folks. A storm is coming. A terrible storm is coming to the whole world.

It's time to put away childish things. It's time to say, now God, make me a voice in the storm. God caused me to stand upon a rock. God put compassion in my heart. God give me love that's far beyond anything I've ever known.

Oh, Almighty God caused her to be an explosion of faith in my heart. When I read your word, let me understand that it's all mine when I'm doing the work of God in the earth. Praise be to God. Praise be to God. Praise be to God. I know one thing for sure. I know it for sure that no matter what comes down the highway in the days ahead, my house is going to stand and every house built on this rock is going to stand. Praise God. I've lost it all before and I might lose it all again. But folks, it doesn't matter. Nothing of this world is going with us.

Nothing is going with us. The Lord says, I want to give you things that are so much deeper than anything you've ever known. But it's time to put away childish things. Time to put away childish tapes. Time to put away childish internet preaching.

Time to put it away, folks. Time to pick up this Bible and say God Almighty, send me into the harvest field. Send me into the harvest field, Lord.

I determined in my heart that I'm not appearing before the throne of God with an empty basket one day or just a series of things I've prayed for for myself on this earth. Oh God, help us as a church. Now help us Lord.

Help us God Almighty. Praise God. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me last night as I was preparing, putting the final points to this, that he was wanting you to ask for the power to do something he's calling you to do. Something that you don't yet find within yourself the power to do it. Whether it's to love somebody in your family and your workplace, to forgive somebody, whether it's to reach out, whether it's something I've not thought of, but you know what it is? Whether you yourself are behind a prison door and you just don't know how you're ever going to get out. Perhaps you're dealing with just tormenting thoughts of the enemy and you don't know how you're ever going to get out of it. Remember David said in Psalm 18, God, I called out to you. You came to me and by your power I have leaked over a wall by your anointing.

I have run through a troop. I don't care if 10,000 set themselves against me. David said, I will not be afraid. He knew the power of God.

He knew the power of God and I do believe with all my heart in this generation. It's time to know the power of God again. It's time folks. It's time.