The Secret to Sanity and Survival

Steve Bowyer

Words & Works of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Matthew 7:24–29

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Preparation

This is Jesus’s conclusion to his sermon that Matthew recorded in 5-7. Over the past few weeks I’ve unpacked it for you. This morning, we will review and overview a little bit.

Storms in life are inevitable. They are a reality and a certainty. We just don’t know when or how often. But, wherever you live, you have to prepare for what will eventually happen.

I grew up in Wichita, KS. We had to have a tornado plan. Every summer, the sirens would go off several times, we had to know what to do when that happened. Even as a kid I had to know.

When I was very young, we lived in an apartment that didn’t have a basement. So, the plan was, when the sirens went off, no matter the time of day or night, my mom loaded my sister and I in the car and we drove a few miles to my grandparents house. They had a basement.

We never went in the basement. My grandfather would have the TV on the local weather, we’d have a portable transistor radio on if the power was out, listening to the spotters report where around town the funnel clouds were.

Parents remained calm, in control, we were prepared with radios, flashlights, candles, and a place in the basement. We were prepared and ready to implement the plan.

What not to do in the event of a tornado. Don’t go chasing the Wicked Witch of the West who had just confiscated your little dog, Toto, and rode off on her bike making you late to get into your family’s storm cellar w/ Auntie Em and the rest w/ the tornado bearing down on the farm or you’ll end up being sung to by munchkins in Oz.

Now, we all live in AZ and we all are prepared and have a plan for when there’s a flash flood running across the road.

Test. Do you:

A. Get out your inner tube or kayak and take on the rapids

B. Proceed on the road, into the water, and even though no one else can drive thru it to the other side, they aren’t you, so you assume you can make thru.

C. Turn around and survive.

In case you missed it, this is what it looked like in March behind the church.

We still had feet of snow on the ground. Then, overnight, we rec’d 4” of rain. If you saw this, I hope you’re prepared to turn around.

If you are, then you are sane and able to maintain your sanity and live to talk about the storm you just survived.

When the rain stops, we have a forest fire danger. Munds Park has an informal evacuation plan. We participate with the county in the Ready, Set, Go program. We also have the Smart 911 app on our phones that alerts us to any dangers and change in status.

We’ve seen what forest fires can do. We know how devastating they are.

We know that forest fires can travel up to 70 mph. We are always alert and aware of any fire in any direction, but we are most aware of what is going on SW of us in Oak Creek Canyon. Most likely, a fire will come up from the SW b/c that is the direction of the prevailing winds in the summer.

It doesn’t mean a fire can’t come from a different direction b/c the wind can always shift.

Besides the programs and apps, we rake our pine needles, trim our trees, and have spark resistant screens on our attic and eave vents. When the danger is high, then we have our Go bags packed and ready.

Part of the plan that will help all of us maintain our sanity and survive has to be that we don’t all wait to Go, to Go. If there’s a fire threatening us, we are put on alert at Ready status, most all of us have to be ready to go, at set.

Why? B/C, there is only 1 way out of Munds Park. If we all wait and leave at the same time, then we will not all get out.

There are 3 major choke points. Pinewood and Crestline, Pinewood and Fairway, and I-17. If you have someplace to go, then go at set. That must be part of our evacuation plan.

Be prepared to have to go north on I17 b/c if the fire is coming up from the south or SW, then they are not going to let you go south. And they will close the forest. There will be no way head out the 240.

It’s a forest fire. They won’t let you into the forest even driving away from the fire. You can’t drive fast enough on those roads to outrun a fire.

We’ll be fine. We have a plan. When the storm comes, stick to the plan. We can be at ease until the storm b/c we know what to do when the storm hits. And, we are much more likely to survive the storm by sticking to the plan.

Having a solid plan, based on solid information, built on solid ground will help you maintain your sanity until you need it and improve your chances of survival when you do.

That is Jesus’s conclusion to His Sermon on the Mount. Take the solid information He just gave us, implement it, and it will help you stay sane and survive when the inevitable storms his.

A solid plan based on solid information built on solid ground.

Solid Ground

Matthew 7:24–27 NIV

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The most important part of the building is its foundation. If the foundation is bad, it does not matter how good the construction is. The building will fail and fall down.

If the ground moves causing the foundation to shift, then the walls and ceiling will crack, the roof will leak, and house will fall apart like 2 of the 3 pigs’ houses in the nursery rhyme.

When building on soft dirt or sand, like here on the west side of I-17, you’ve got to build up the foundation and plant beams down on bedrock. This is flood plane, the water table is between 2 and 4’ below the surface. Nothing will stay erect unless the foundation is built up.

In Haiti a few years ago there was a devastating earthquake. The ground rocked and rolled and it destroyed almost every house on the island. Hurricanes had been more frequent and a greater threat. So, to w/stand the winds of the hurricane, they build their houses out of poured concrete. A hurricane could not damage them.

They didn’t plan on an earthquake. When the ground rolled, the concrete couldn’t sway and give so it cracked and crumbled.

Now, the Haitians don’t know what to do. If they build their houses to w/stand a hurricane, an earthquake can destroy them. If they build their house to w/stand a quake, then a hurricane can destroy them.

This could drive the most sane person over the edge into the abyss of insanity. Stress over what might happen. Then, the question of survival if they did the wrong thing.

How do we plan, what do we do, to prepare our lives for the inevitable storms that will blow up around us? Like building basements, raking pine needles, and turning around; what do we need to do and be prepared to do to maintain our sanity and survive the storms?

Apply what Jesus taught in these 3 chapters.

Let me Overview where He took us during this sermon. And as I do, be open and listen to the HS for where He might want you to do some prep work for the next possible storm.

There are many points, I won’t spend much time on any one of them. If you want more, maybe go back and listen to that sermon, it’s online, or study a little more for yourself.

Here’s the review of where we’ve been and how to prepare for the storms in life to maintain your sanity and improve you chances of survival.

If you back up to ch.5, follow along as I overview what Jesus taught in these 3 chapters. I may not give you the verses, but it will be obvious where I am as I go.

Blessed

The beatitudes. God will bless you if you do these things.

Blessed means deeply contented. No matter how much stuff you have or not. You can be totally satisfied in life if you are like this:

You recognize your absolute spiritual poverty apart from Jesus.

If you mourn that situation.

If you are meek, not weak, but strong and pliable to God’s direction.

If you are as desperate for a good relationship w/ Jesus as those on an island that has been cut off from the mainland and its basic utilities don’t work. Hunger and thirst for the best possible relationship w/ God.

If you are merciful w/ those who deserve to be cussed out and cut off.

If your heart is pure in its love for God and other ppl.

If peace w/ others is your priority, not necessarily always being right.

And, if ppl criticize you and ostracize you b/c these characteristics describe you and your faith in Jesus is strong.

Start here. What could be a better gift from God, besides salvation, than satisfaction and sanity in this life?

Then, if you live these out and demonstrate to those around you that you are blessed by God, then you will be salt and light.

Salt & Light

We use salt as a preservative and that makes a nice analogy today. But in c.1, they didn’t salt food to preserve it.

They salted food to make themselves thirsty so they’d drink enough to stay well.

When you first come up to altitude you must force yourself to drink more water. We don’t realize how much water we lose up here and altitude sickness is a real things.

Eat some potato chips so you’ll drink a little more.

When we are salt, we make the ppl around us thirsty for Jesus. Thirsty for what made us so content in life.

And, when we are light, we show ppl how to find Jesus themselves.

No matter what else you do in life, as you do it, be salt and light to those who do it w/ you.

We have work to do when we are saved. If we didn’t, then once we came to faith God would take us straight to heaven. He doesn’t. He leaves us here to help get others there, too. And when they do, we all are applying the OT law as it was intended.

We are NT believers. Part of the church. But the OT still applies to how we’re saved.

Fulfillment

We embody the fulfillment of all the OT worship rules and laws. Jesus fulfilled them. When Israel sac’d a lamb or young bull, it directed their focus to what God would do for them in the future.

When we accept Jesus by faith as our Savior and a sac for our sins, we apply the OT as it was written and intended to be applied.

In the OT, Israel looked ahead to Jesus. Though, they didn’t know his name or the specifics of when and how he’d do what he did.

We look back to Jesus on the cross as the Lamb of God. And, we look ahead to the future when Jesus comes to establish His kingdom as King.

All this fulfills the OT law and we live the OT law by faith in Jesus’s fulfillment.

Beyond salvation and the worship laws, many other laws are still in effect and keeping them keeps us sane and out of trouble.

Murder

Murder is still bad. If we are going to love each other as we love ourselves, we can’t kill each other. Besides, if I kill someone you care about, then we probably won’t be friends any more.

Jesus took it farther. If you hate someone to the point you wish they were dead, then you’ve done as bad as killing them yourself.

That may not hurt them, but that kind of hate will eat you up on the inside. That will drive you nuts. Let it go.

Adultery

Another of the big 10. Adultery is still bad. Being intimate w/ another’s spouse will hurt a lot of ppl. You will lose more than your marriage. That would be a storm of your own doing and the losses are completely unnecessary.

If you are single, intimacy w/ another creates such a strong emotional bond it prevents the relationship from developing at a healthy rate. Sex before marriage literally retards the emotional development of the relationship causing more problems in the areas of conflict resolution, communication, serving each other and loving each other the way they want to be love.

Simply, it’s too easy to just go to bed instead of communicating, resolving the conflict, and changing what needs to change so it doesn’t happen again.

Kept in the best order, it’s the last piece of the relational puzzle to be put in place after you’re married.

Marriages end for a number of reasons. But they can all be tracked back to one, or both’s, ego problem.

Divorce

Divorce is still bad. We tend to overcook the moment the gavel falls and the judge absolves the marriage. But, the bigger problem is what led to the divorce in the first place.

Few divorces are one-sided. Abuse. Addiction. Can be one-sided.

In almost all other cases, there is plenty of responsibility to go around on the reasons for the divorce.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to get help. And if you’re divorced, when you’re ready, do the hard work of taking responsibility so you don’t do it again the next time.

Two of the more important elements of a marriage is honesty and integrity. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Integrity

If you say you are going to do something, then do it. Make your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes.’ If you say ‘no’, then don’t do it.

There was a procedure in c.1 where some would make a big show of their promise to do something. That was, as if, the greater the show, the more likely they were to do it.

Just say it and do it. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Always tell the truth in love. Be sensitive, but always be honest.

Contracts are always a good idea, but they should never be necessary.

If someone hurts you, takes something from you, or does something that costs you; don’t try to get even. Let God get even and give them even more.

Revenge

Don’t be a victim. Take control of the situation. if someone takes something from you, then give them even more and let God make it up to you.

If you live holding a grudge, it will only hurt you.

God may not make up the monetary value of whatever you lost, but he will heal your heart and renew and clean out your mind so it does not preoccupy you.

Grudges will work their way into every area of your life. It is impossible for us to keep the grudge contained to the principals involved and situation in which it occured. So, rather than trying to do the impossible, do what you can.

You do not have to be a victim the rest of your life. Jesus overcame his most hurtful and difficult situ, and He made it possible for us to overcome ours.

And for the principals who hurt you, as hard and irrational as this sounds, act like you love them. Remember, this is about maintaining your sanity and improving the chances of your survival when a storm hits.

Love Your Enemies

You may think loving your enemies is impossible. It is certainly improbable and very difficult. But, Jesus proved it’s possible. He loves you when you were still rebellious and an enemy of his.

He made it possible for us when He empowered us to be like Him. We can act like we love everyone.

Love is a verb. Not just a feeling.

We can pray for God to bless the ppl who hurt us. Don’t pray that God smites them. Pray that God blesses them.

If you do, I promise your attitude toward them will change and you will be less stressed and there will less bad stuff hurting your heart. They may not change, but your attitude toward them will and you will feel better.

That’s ch. 5. Stop. Take a breath. Is there 1 or 2 things God got your attention on w/ these that can help you be better prepared for a looming storm?

If not, there may be something in ch. 6

Be generous w/ your money.

Generosity

Give generously and give privately to org who help those in need, or give it directly.

In my first church we learned the value of giving our support to the Salvation Army instead of directly to those who were in need. They specialize in providing for ppl in need.

We had someone w/ a heart to provide meals for the homeless hobos riding the trains and rails between Seattle and Chicago. The trains went thru Minot.

She gave us a shopping list. Church members dropped of the food. All easy to prepare in paper or wax containers that could be used for fuel for cooking. We gave them out when the word got out we had bags of food.

There always seemed to be a few men who would come and pick up 4 or 5 bags. We found out a few week into this that they were taking them down and selling them to the homeless men hoboing thru.

We started giving the bags to the salvation Army and they passed them out 1 at a time to each individual who asked for one. Better process.

Give privately. Don’t make a big show of it. And give generously to those who cannot repay you. That’s grace. That demonstrates you appreciate the grace w/ which God saved you.

Pray hard. Using the model Jesus gave us.

Pray Hard

Due respect to those who appreciate liturgical services and reciting the Lord’s prayer. But, Jesus never intended for this to be repeated, verbatim, as a prayer. It’s supposed to be a guide.

Praise God for who He is. He is holy, set apart, and above all others.

Pray for his will to be done on earth. Not ours or anybody else’s. Especially in Washington DC.

Ask for your needs to be met, not your wants.

Confess your sins. Name them. Specifically. If you can’t name the last sin you committed then you may not be paying attention to the HS when He speaks to you.

Satan can’t touch you unless you let him. He can only hurt you by hurting those close to you. He can’t mess you up. You can mess you. You can mess up your life pretty bad if you follow Him instead of Jesus.

Make fasting a regular practice. Regularly give things up you know you don’t have to. Just do it voluntarily.

Fast

We spend so much of our attention and time on getting stuff. Spend a little time giving stuff up. Appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for you by making one for him.

Appreciate what you have and what you can do when you do it. You can appreciate it even more by not doing for a time on purpose. Acknowledge every good gift is from God. And when you voluntarily give it up you are demonstrating that appreciation.

Invest your time and money in things that pay eternal dividends.

They will be waiting for you when you get to heaven.

Treasures in Heaven

We waste a ton of time and money on things that just don’t matter. Take some of that time and money and invest it in things that do.

VBS is a great example. 1 week of intense exhaustion, planting and watering seeds in kids that may not come to maturity until well after they do. But they will remember that crazy lady that led all the songs on stage, the snack ladies, the science guy, the craft ladies and fun crafts, and all the rest.

They will remember. it will pay eternal dividends for all of us. Invest more in things that matter and last. And less in things that don’t.

And make the focus of your eyes these eternal things.

Focus your Eyes

Focusing your eyes means these are the things you fantasize about, dream about owning and using. Focus your eyes on good things. Want good things. Don’t fantasize about things that will hurt you.

Even if you get them they won’t fulfill you. That’s insanity.

And choose not to worry. It really is a choice.

Choose not to Worry

God will take care of your needs. But, who really worries about needs? We worry about the things we want. If a storm comes and takes our house or car, they’ll get replaced. Relax. We need a place to live and transportation. It may not necessarily be the house you now own or the car you drive.

Memorize Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Seek the kingdom first and your needs will be met. Don’t worry about anything else.

Don’t Judge

What Jesus means here don’t assume someone is going to Hell just b/c they don’t do what you think they should do.

That’s what the Pharisees did. When someone didn’t keep the law the way they thought it should be kept, they bel’d they were on the fast track to hell.

We don’t have the right or enough information to make that call.

We can judge some behaviors. Murder is always wrong. We can make that call. Adultery is always wrong. Motives don’t matter. But these are not what Jesus talking about.

Let Him decide what direction ppl go when they leave this life. Don’t try to condemn them or guess if they are condemned.

Pray Persistently

Ask, Seek, Knock.

Over and over and over again. God won’t be offended by our nagging if we are asking for the things he wants us to ask for. Seeking the kingdom, knocking on his door will help us know the things to ask for.

Right Road, Right Gate

Make sure you are on the right road on your way to the right gate.

Some ppl are going to be surprised and disappointed when they get where they are going after this life. It will be an unpleasant surprise.

Lip-Service

Pay more than lip-service to Jesus. Words are cheap. When you sing, mean the words. When you study, listen to the HS, not me. Let Jesus save you and change you.

Let Him be your Lord. Don’t just say he’s your lord.

Storms are inevitable. If we have a plan and know what to do, then we can relax and implement the plan when it happens.

You can’t wait until there’s a fire to prepare for the fire. A military can’t wait for the war to start to prepare for. The time to prepare is while you’re at peace.

And the security that the preparation and plans provide will help you maintain your sanity until there is a storm and help you survive when it hits.

Having a solid plan, based on solid information, built on solid ground will help you maintain your sanity until you need it and improve your chances of survival when you do.

That’s the sermon on the mount. Just like you rake your pine needles, pack you go bag, and turn around before you drive into a flash flood; prepare by doing these things then you can spend your time doing other things besides worrying about the storms.

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