The following message by Don Basham is entitled, "Storms in the Christian Life." But I was going to talk about storms in the spiritual life. And so that very subject seems to trigger things in the atmosphere. So if you want to know why it's been such a rainy day today with the wind and the rain, that's one of the reasons.

In Acts 14, we want to turn to this now. We'll look at some other scriptures, but I just want to read a verse out of Acts 14, verses 22, 21, and 22. Verse 21 says about Paul and Barnabas, and when they preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.

Verse 22 confirms the souls of disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Brother Ern Baxter has been teaching some of us, a group of the leaders, young men, and pastors, and elders over in Fort Lauderdale for a number of weeks on Sunday night. He just finished the series last Sunday.

And one of the points he was making in his teaching was that if you are going to discuss any kind of scriptural subject or consider the theology or the principles that develop out of that subject, it's not proper to stop short of taking all that the Scriptures have to say about that subject. In other words, if you are going to build principles or you're going to discuss a theology or discuss any particular doctrine or teaching or principle, if you're going to do it right, you have to consider everything that the Scripture says about that subject.

And it doesn't take much analysis on our part to realize that frequently we don't do that. We're very selective about the Scriptures that we quote. When we want to talk about some particular subject, most of the time we'll pick out the ones that favor our viewpoint about that subject, and we leave the others alone.

Point in case is the criticism that many people make about speaking in tongues, about what Paul has to say about it. And they'll say, for example, Paul says he'd rather speak five words in a known language in the church than 10,000 in an unknown tongue. And so a lot of critics of speaking in tongues quote that text of Paul to say, see, Paul didn't think much of speaking in tongues.

Well, they forget that Paul also said, "I think, my God, I speak in tongues more than all of you put together." And I want you all to speak in tongues. Those are some other things that Paul says about speaking in tongues. But you see, the point I'm making is, and that is that we tend to be very selective about our Scriptures.

And this is true when we talk about the kingdom of God, when we talk about the blessings of God, and about the power of God. And there's some validity in what we do in the sense that we do take texts that encourage us and that give us faith. But if that's all we took, if we took only the promises, if we took only the Scriptures that talk about the blessings, what happens is that we become ill-equipped to deal with the problems that are inevitably going to confront us as Christians.

Because there are times when there are no easy answers. There are times when it's like all we can do is hold on. That's as much a part of the Christian life as victory.

So we're going to talk tonight about storms in the Christian life. And by storm, I mean, I give a definition: by storm, I mean those conditions and situations and experiences which we feel are out of balance or are abnormal, which put us under pressure in which we find it difficult to operate or to function.

I want to say it again, a definition of storms: A storm, by my definition, is a condition or situation or experience in which we feel are out of balance or they're abnormal and which put us under kinds of pressure where we find it difficult to function.

And I want to say, before we get into talking about the various kinds of storms, that I believe that every storm which... sweeps into our lives is allowed by God. I appreciated the prayer of our brother tonight praying for the minister who was in the accident today. And the point was made in the prayer that everything that happens to us is something that God allows.

Now that doesn't mean particularly that he wills it. But I've come to see that nothing happens in my Christian life but what God allows to come into my life, he intends to use even the bad things. And he will not shut everything out which will cause me pain or cause me difficulty.

And even the things the devil does to you and to me, God allows.

Now, there are reasons for that. It doesn't mean he always wants us to put up with it. Sometimes he allows those things to happen just to teach us how to fight.

Well, I better not develop that because then we'll talk about the storms themselves.

So I want to suggest tonight as we talk on this subject that the storms that face us in the Christian life fall into basically three categories.

And one reason why we have difficulty in handling the storms is that oftentimes we haven't realized this, and every kind of storm requires a different kind of response or a different kind of counteraction on our part. And until we know the kind of storm it is, we don't know exactly how to respond to it.

So I want to suggest that there are three kinds of storms. First of all, there are the storms which God expects us to rebuke or to resist.

And secondly, there are storms that God intends that we find shelter from.

And thirdly, there are some storms that God expects us simply to endure.

There are storms to rebuke or resist, there are storms to find shelter from, and there are storms which we must endure. Another way of putting it is that we could say there, in the Christian life, there is a time to fight, there is a time to hide, and there is a time to stand.

Now we want to look in the Scriptures at some scriptural examples of these storms. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so I'll try to move along fairly rapidly.

First, we're going to talk about storms which are to be rebuked or resisted. We're going to take the first two categories fairly rapidly because I want to spend more time developing the third because it's one that we charismatics are fairly ill-prepared to handle.

Storms to be rebuked or resisted. Turn with me to Mark chapter 4.

This is an example of an actual physical storm. Some of the Scriptures that we read will describe those, things that are actually in the physical or the weather sense. Some are spiritual, some are physical in another kind of nature, but this one in Mark 4, we're reading about verse 36 to 41.

And on the same day when the evening was come, he, Jesus, said unto him, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship, and there were also with him other little ships.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he, Jesus, was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.

And they awake him and say unto him, Master, careth not that we perish? And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?

And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

So in this particular instance, we have in the Scriptures a clear story, a clear illustration of an actual physical storm in the terms of weather, which the Lord Jesus rebuked and which he chided the disciples for being unable to rebuke.

Now turn back with me to Matthew chapter 4. We're going to see another storm, this time of a different kind, a storm in the ministry of Jesus himself, in which he encountered a tremendous temptation.

Call it a storm of temptation if you like. This is the first 11 verses of chapter 4.

And it's the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Jesus was led of the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

And when he'd fasted forty days and nights, he afterward hungered.

And the tempter came to him and said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

And he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil taken him into a holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, Cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

And then Jesus saith unto him, Get thee hence. Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

And the story when it's written in Luke also adds the fact that the devil departed from him until an opportune time, or for a season.

Now here's a case where Jesus, led by the Spirit into the wilderness, there to be tempted 40 days of the devil. And this is a case where by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Lord's let out into that wilderness experience, and there God expects him to do what he does, which is to rebuke Satan or to resist Satan all through those temptations.

It's interesting to note, too, that the temptations that Satan gives to Jesus are tailor-made to fit his particular situation. This is something to remember about when you face the enemy in his attempts to get the best of you, that the devil has keen knowledge about each one of us in terms of our strengths and weaknesses, and there are certain ways that he tempts you that he doesn't tempt me, and certain ways that he tempts me that he doesn't tempt you.

Notice that he tempted Jesus in terms of Jesus' own unique powers and abilities. The devil's never tempted me to command stones to become bread. The devil's never tempted me to jump off a high building and float down. Because I don't have those capabilities anyway. But the Lord did, and the devil knew that.

And although the Lord resisted and rebuked Satan in these occasions because it was not the will of God, but a temptation from Satan to do these things, later on he did both of the things that he wouldn't do for Satan. He didn't turn stones to bread, but he did multiply the loaves and fishes miraculously to provide food miraculously for the multitude.

And while he wouldn't cast himself down off the temple and float down in a great display of power, there was a time later when he did defy the law of gravity and walked on the water.

So it's as if Satan oftentimes can anticipate those things which even God would call us to do. And he tempts us in terms of our own capabilities, in terms of our own unique qualities. And he did that to the Lord. And he'll do it to you and he'll do it to me.

But this was a storm. This temptation was a storm in which Jesus met Satan face to face and rebuked or resisted him.

A little book of James says, oh, you don't have to turn to this. James in the fourth chapter, the seventh verse.

Where James says, Submit yourselves to God, therefore unto God resist Satan, and he will flee from you.

That and other scriptural advice where there are situations in which when the storm or the problem is satanic or the situation is of a particular kind, the storm is of a particular kind, those storms are to be rebuked or are to be resisted.

Now let's look at some others in the Scripture that were storms that describe a storm where shelter is to be sought. Turn with me to the 12th chapter of Exodus.

Chapter 12, verses 21 to 24. This is the story of God's dealing with the Egyptians, with the plagues and so forth, in order to get them to let the people of Israel go.

And you know what happens? The plagues come, but Pharaoh's heart is hardened. And finally, God decides on this final great terrible plague, which will be the death angel, which will sweep over Egypt and strike dead the firstborn of all the Egyptians, or strike dead the firstborn of everyone who's exposed.

But in that, provision is made for the Israelites, that if they'll stay indoors in their houses, and the Israelites are to have this sacrificial meal, the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, and they're to take the blood of the lamb, dip hyssop in it, and strike the doorposts in the lintels of their houses.

And the mark of that blood is to be their protection.

And the word is then that if they'll do that, then the death angel will pass them by.

We'll just read three verses of that in verses 21 to 24.

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover.

And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin.

And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and upon the two side posts.

The Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons forever.

Of course, this is the origin of the feast of the Passover. But notice the conditions. This terrifying death angel, this... plague which is going to strike dead the firstborn of every Egyptian is to sweep through the whole nation and the protection of the Israelites is to stay under the blood to stay inside their houses that are marked by the blood.

But the warning is from Moses to the elders if you get outside your house, you'll be killed too. Any firstborn who strayed out from his house would be subject to the same kind of a tragedy that was going to strike the Egyptians.

So to miss or to avoid this terrible storm, what was required was that the Israelites were to stay sheltered inside their houses.

So there are some storms in life that were to be sheltered from. We'll talk more about those later.

All right, turn with me to Psalm 56. I'm sorry, Psalm 57. There is some things in Psalm 56 too, but Psalm 57, just the first or second verse.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee, yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed.

I will cry unto God most high unto God that performeth all things for me.

The picture here the psalmist is showing is that there are certain situations, certain calamities, certain terrible things that come upon the scene that the answer is not to rebuke or not to stand against, but simply to seek shelter under the wings of God and to make God our refuge until the calamities are past.

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Turn with me to Acts 9. We'll see one in the ministry of Paul, where Paul was a man that was not lacking in courage, but early in his ministry he lacked a little wisdom, as all of us do when we're young in the faith.

And this is right after Saul is converted.

He starts to preach with power and raises up all kinds of opposition, beginning with verse 23 in chapter 9, 22 in chapter 9. Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

After that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him.

But their laying await was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

Then the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket.

Now that's not a very... positive picture it's not a very heroic picture we see of Saul who many times did endure things and suffer things but on this occasion although Saul would have been willing to stand up to the opposition wiser head said Saul you could have your ministry cut mighty short mighty quickly here so be a little bit wise and not so zealous and climb in the basket and we'll let you down over the wall you can sneak off and you can minister another time.

Well as I say that doesn't seem very heroic but in this particular case, it was not God's will for Saul to confront that crisis, that storm of persecution. He was to be sheltered from it.

So they let him out over the wall at night in a basket, and he sneaked off into

Here is the cleaned-up version of the sermon transcription:

The darkness and lived to minister another day. Now let's look just briefly at a couple of storms to be endured. We're going to spend a little more time with this than especially with one of them. Without turning to it, let me just mention about the book of Job. That this is a classic story of a man who endured all kinds of things and in the end was vindicated by God. He lost everything that he had and had these three friends who tried to explain to him and castigate him and accuse him of all sorts of things as to why he went through all he went through. The whole book is a very profound study in the problem of suffering. And Job maintains his innocence through the whole thing and said that he doesn't understand it, but he's going to hang in there anyway.

And, of course, the story has a very positive ending in that at the end all of Job's fortunes are restored, and he has more sons and daughters, and his cattle and flocks are renewed, and in the end his situation is totally redeemed. But the whole book of Job is a classic story of a lengthy storm of persecution and misunderstanding and tragedy that Job could not overcome, he simply had to endure.

Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. For Paul talks about a particular problem that he has to endure. Verses 7 through 11, And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, sent to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

For this thing I besought the Lord three times thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses for Christ's sake. For when I'm weak, then I'm strong. Now, Bible scholars are not at all in agreement about the exact character of Paul's thorn. But I think most of us are agreed that we're not talking about physical weakness or sickness.

In the usual sense. Some scholars have said Paul's thorn was epilepsy or weak eyes or a bunch of other things. But I think the context makes it plain. First of all, it wasn't a sickness and he didn't ask to be healed. He said it was a messenger sent from Satan. A messenger means an angel.

An angel sent from Satan to buffet him. Buffeting is what happens when we are harassed and what happens when we come into a storm. Storms buffet us. And so there was this kind of persecution and this kind of difficulty. And I think when we see it in the context that what Paul is referring to is the continued and repeated rough time he had in the way of persecution and misunderstanding, and particularly of the Judaizers, those who were always undercutting his ministry.

So whatever the nature of the thing was, he prayed earnestly and with faith about it on at least three occasions and asked that the thing be removed, the torment, the harassment be removed. And in every case, God refused. He said, no, Paul, stick it out. My strength is sufficient for thee.

In other words, in this particular case, it was the will of God for Paul to go through this. Now, there is a reason for it. Paul says it was because of the abundance of revelations he'd had. He'd just been talking about how he was a man who'd been caught into the third heaven and saw things that nobody else had seen and he couldn't tell anybody about.

And so he interpreted the thing that came his way as God allowing it, even though it was a messenger from Satan, it was a thing that would keep him dependent upon the Lord. And he goes on to say after God told him three times that his strength was made perfect in weakness, then Paul says, Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my weakness or my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So here was something that Paul simply had to walk out in his life. Now, we want to look at one other one that has to do with Paul, and we're going to spend a little bit of time with it because it is one that again deals with the weather itself, and it has real significance, especially in light of the first one that we saw where Jesus rebuked the storm.

Turn with me to Acts 27. Beginning with verse 7. Paul, this is where Paul is under guard. It was appealed to Rome, to Caesar, Rome to have his case tried, and he's under armed guard and being shipped to Rome. And it's in a bad time of the year in the Mediterranean for to be traveling by boat.

And they get into difficulty. So let's pick up the story at about verse 7. We'll read rather rapidly, and I think probably it's simpler just to read the whole thing to get it in your mind, and then we'll come back and make comments about it.

When we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Snidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete over against Salmone, and hardly passing it came into a place which is called the Fair Havens, where nigh whereunto was the city of Lycia. Now when much time was spent, and the sailing was now dangerous because the fast was now already passed, Paul admonished them, that is, the crew and the captain and the centurion in charge of the Roman soldiers who are guarding him.

Paul admonished them and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Now I want you to notice that apparently Paul has a word of knowledge here. When he says, I perceive, he has gotten a revelation about this situation.

And he's telling these brothers, they're not his brothers, but he's telling these men, the captain and the crew and the centurion, that they ought not to go. Now, one of the things, a question I want to raise for you to consider here is the fact that if it's true that Paul has a word from the Lord, why did God give Paul the word about the storm to give to the captain and the centurion when they weren't going to do anything about it?

I'm not answering that, I'm just raising the question. God gives Paul a word about this situation. Verse 11, Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenis and there to winter, which is a haven of Crete and lie toward the southwest and northwest. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing they obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Eurachlidon. And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her dry. And running under a certain island, which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat, which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship, fearing lest they should fall into quicksands.

Struck sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. The third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And look at this, verse 20. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away.

But after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened to me and not loosed from Crete to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you but of the ship.

For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me.

Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria about midnight, the shipment deemed that they drew near to some country, and sounded and found it twenty fathoms.

And when they'd gone a little further, they sounded again, found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. Very, you know, the Bible isn't really all that dramatic, but every once in a while they get some very dramatic verses in there.

Cast out four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. Understated, but it's still a very vivid picture. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship when they had let down the boat into the sea under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. You're reading a modern version to be clear. What's happening is some of the sailors letting down this little boat to check the anchors, they're going to head for the shore.

They're going to desert the ship. And Paul knows what's happening. And he tells the centurion, the word is, unless everybody stays with the ship, what I say is not going to come true. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. They just cut loose the little boat.

So the sailors couldn't leave. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. I would say that was probably an involuntary fast.

For fourteen days. That kind of weather would be very difficult to eat. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat, for this is for your health, for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you.

And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, gave thanks to God in presence of them all, and when he had broken it, began to eat. Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen sold. Two hundred and seventy-six people.

And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, cast the wheat into the sea, and when it was day, they knew not the land, but they discovered a certain creek with a shore into which they were minded if it were possible to thrust in the ship.

And when they'd taken up the anchors, they committed themselves into the sea, loosed the rudder bands, hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. And falling into a place where the two seas met, they ran the ship aground, got stuck on a sandbar.

And the foreparts stuck fast and remained immovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose.

Commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and get to land, and the rest, some on board, some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. All 276 made it to shore.

All right, so here's another story out of the Scriptures that deals with a storm, actually, of the weather. Now, I want to raise some questions about this storm.

First of all, we already said that God apparently warned Paul about an impending tragedy, and Paul tried to talk the centurion and the crew and the ship's owner, the captain of the ship out of the trip. But they figured they knew better than Paul did, and so they went anyway.

And sure enough, they got into trouble. And then they got caught in this tremendous storm and were driven about 700 miles off course. Some of your Bibles probably have a map in the back like mine does that shows Paul's missionary journeys.

And the little jaunt that they were to try to go on that day was to have been covered about 40 miles. They got caught in this storm and were driven for two weeks westward across the Mediterranean before they finally hit upon this island of Malta.

In the Mediterranean where they ran aground and finally escaped to shore. So what it meant to be just another little step in several steps' journeys to Rome ends up taking them in one drastic, violent trip, 700 miles across the Mediterranean.

It's interesting, though, that they were heading toward Italy. I mean, Malta's not that far from Italy. They were being blown in the right direction, but it's kind of a rough way to make the trip.

Now, I want you to speculate a little with me just to let your imagination go a little about what the crew, or rather what the Christians that were with Paul must have thought about on that trip.

Because they had all known Jesus' attitude toward those things, and they'd all heard the promises about prayer and faith, and I'm sure they discussed among themselves why they were in that plight, and I'm sure they applied all kinds of spiritual principles to try to deal with that storm.

I can imagine that time and again they reminded one another, you remember when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and the storm came up and was about to sink, and the Lord stood up and rebuked the wind and the seas, and they obeyed, and he told the disciples, why were you frightened? Where is your faith?

And so they talked that over among themselves, and they got a special group up on the deck, and they said the right words, and in the name of Jesus, they rebuked the wind and the sea, and nothing happened.

The wind continued to blow, the clouds continued to sweep across the place, the waves were as high as ever. I imagine they rebuked themselves blue in the face.

And we know they fasted, whether it was voluntary, involuntary. They got down in earnest with things about God. And they knew the promises of Jesus.

Whatsoever you ask in my name, that will I do if two on this earth shall agree together as touching anything they ask of it. Don't you imagine those guys fell on their knees and agreed together that God would stop that storm?

But he didn't stop it. And it got so bad, the scripture says in verse 20, that when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we might be saved would be taken away.

This is a Luke talking who's with him. This is the Christians we're talking about. They simply despaired of surviving that storm. They gave up.

That is all except Paul. I don't imagine Paul felt too good about it. So it was one of those situations where nothing seemed to work spiritually.

Now this begins to touch on the thing that I was saying earlier. It is true that there are times when we can rebuke storms. It is true that there are times when we can find shelter from storms.

And there's nothing wrong with us encouraging people to learn how to rebuke and encouraging people to learn how to seek shelter. But what we must understand is that there are times when those things will not work.

And if we're going to be honest to the spirit of Scripture and to the revelation of the Word, we have to admit that one provision of God, one promise of God cannot be applied in every situation.

And if you're going to get a balanced picture of God's dealings with you as a Christian and bringing you into maturity, it's not going to be all victory. Please stop your machine at this point and turn your cassette over.

It's not going to be all victory. And it's not simply a question of not having enough faith. I remember somebody asking Catherine Kuhlman one time about the people that didn't get healed and said, well, is it because they don't have enough faith?

And Catherine was wise enough to dismiss that. She said, that is not the answer. You just can't simply say that someone doesn't have enough faith and that's the reason that they were not healed.

Our spiritual growth and God's plan for our lives is much more complex than that. That doesn't deny the fact that the Lord heals. And that doesn't deny the fact that we need to seek healing and that it's God's will to heal.

But it's so oftentimes we come up with these oversimplified answers to problems, which are no real lasting satisfaction. We end up like Job's friends, telling them, Job, there must be some real secret sin in your life.

That's the reason why you lost your cattle and you lost your sons and daughters and all the rest, and why your wives turned against you. And Job maintained stoutly that was not the case.

And I've done it, and I'm not the only one who's done it. I've often in times past dropped a little hint with some brother or sister who's going through some problem that there's probably some reason why they're having to endure that.

Otherwise, they'd be strong like me and wouldn't be having that problem. I've learned in the last few years, I've had enough lumps myself to know that that's not the case.

So I'm sure these guys tried everything they knew, but still nothing worked. And so what happened is when they ran out of solutions or advised solutions, they finally gave up and said, well, maybe the jig's up.

Paul was the only one who maintained his own steadfastness. But before you get to thinking that Paul was too much of a superman, turn with me over to 2 Corinthians 1.

I want to show you just a little thing there about Paul's own situation. 2 Corinthians 1. Verse 8. Now this particular case in the storm, Paul was the stalwart. He was the oak tree. He was the one that had the word from God and all the rest.

But it wasn't always that. Look in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 8. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength insomuch that we despaired even of life.

So there were times when Paul was also struggling with the same kind of storms and difficulties as his audience.

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Even when Paul, the greatest of all the apostles, couldn't put it together and was in situations where he just finally gave up and where God, whatever you're going to do, just do it. If everything's lost, if we just can't put it together, this is the end, okay. Have you ever been in that situation? Let me tell you something. If you haven't and you go on being faithful to the Lord, the time will come when you will.

Now, I'm not saying that as a threat. I'm not saying that simply to say that every Christian has to go through those situations. There are certain things that God wants to accomplish that will not be accomplished any other way, except that he puts us in situations for which we have no solution. So it was with the disciples.

That they gave up all hope. And Paul was the one who had the word of the Lord, and he was the one that, after all those days, cheered up and told the fellows that he ought to eat something. Well, now, why did he have the added word of good cheer? He said, let me tell you something. He said, an angel came and stood by my bed last night and reminded me that God had told me I was going to preach in Rome and that he would grant me all the lives of those that were with me.

Well, now this adds even kind of a greater puzzle to the thing. Why would God go to all the trouble to have an angel come and appear to Paul in the middle of the night, in the middle of that storm, to give him that encouraging word? If God's going to bother to do that much supernaturally, why didn't he just calm the storm like Jesus did?

That's because there are some storms that you cannot reduce. And there are some storms that you cannot find shelter from. There are some storms that must be endured. There are some situations where the only way out is through.

As I say, that particular storm drove them 700 miles off their course. And they lost everything but their lives. The ship was lost. All their possessions were lost. And even when they ran on that sandbar and the ship broke up, it was still a spooky, scary experience. And they didn't know until the last one came dragging out of that water and walking up the beach that God had kept his word and that they had all been saved.

But it was a miserable, tough, discouraging, and humiliating kind of thing to go through. Some storms are just to be endured. Well, all that makes some interesting reading and evaluation of the Scriptures and begins to offer some little help.

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. I was first working on this sermon, this message, I guess, about a year and a half ago, maybe nearly two years now. I was sitting at the dining table in our house, and Laura... Our youngest girl came up while I was working there, and she said, Daddy, what are you working on?

I said, I'm working on a Bible message, a teaching about storms. And I described for her briefly what I was outlining. Now, three categories of storms. I said, there's some storms to be rebuked, some storms to seek shelter from, and some storms to be endured.

And she says, Daddy, it sounds like you've got a good message going. Let me ask you a question. And I said, what is it? And she says, how do you know what kind of storm it is?

That's the question. That's the question. How do you know what kind of storm it is? Well, let me say, if I had a 100% adequate answer to that, I'd be the most popular preacher in the charismatic movement.

I don't have, but I do have some things to suggest to you because I don't claim to... I think I said the other night there was a time when I thought someday I'd be mature and I'd have all the answers. The longer I go with the Lord, the fewer answers I have.

Because I think I'm coming to see more and more how sovereign God's dealings with us is. Ten years ago, I wouldn't have known to teach what I'm trying to teach you now, because my charismatic approach was, if you had enough faith, you can do anything, and I had the scriptures to prove it.

If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say to this mountain, move and be cast into the sea, and it'll be done. Jesus said that. Well, you take that scripture and a couple others about prayer and you lay them all out there and apply them like a blanket over every situation, it would seem as if the only reason would be we don't have enough faith.

But you see, like I said in the beginning, you've got to take everything the Lord says about a situation, everything the Scripture says, before you can build an adequate theology or understand biblical principles. And so what happens is that after you've learned how to rebuke certain storms or learned how to seek shelter from certain storms, God will end up showing you there's some storms you can't rebuke or hide from either.

So it was a good question, Laura asked. How do you know what kind of storm you're in? And let me suggest, first of all, that it's a help just to know there are different kinds. Now, that may seem like small potatoes, but let me tell you, it does help to realize that God doesn't expect you to win every inning, that there are certain things that you don't have to feel guilty just because sometimes you don't make it.

It's not because you failed. It's because God is dealing with certain things in your life. So it's some help to realize that there are different kinds of storms. That knowledge in itself is some help.

Now let me say about Christians and charismatics in particular, but about Christians as a whole, and charismatics and others as well. There are some, you can divide Christians into categories. Some think that there's only one kind of storm. That knowledge in itself is some help.

Bless God, just have faith, brother. And it'll be done. Well, now, those strong faith preachers, and I thank God for them, I appreciate them, I've been blessed by them and encouraged by them, and they're right often enough that they're furthered oftentimes in their error.

And I don't mean when I say that some of that's error, that some of what I say isn't error. All I'm saying is that the faith message won't do everything. And I've tried to pick up some of the pieces in people's lives who've been damaged by that, just as other ministers have tried to pick up the pieces of some people's lives who haven't understood deliverance when I ministered it.

And they couldn't grab it the way it ought to be grabbed, and they got into problems. We all have our successes, and we all have our failures. But there are some people, as I say, who feel that every storm that comes along is a challenge. And you're just going to get out there and do battle with Satan, and you're going to win.

And if you don't win, brother, sister, you just didn't have enough faith. Well, the problem with that, there are several problems with that, and not the least of which is the fact that you're missing out on some of the things that God says are important.

Because God lets us know that there are some things that we're not to get involved in. We're not to tackle everything that comes along. We're not expected to face every storm. Some storms that sweep by God never intended us to do anything except hide from. He didn't expect the children of Israel to try to exercise faith against the death angels.

And the psalmist said, I'm going to hide in the shadow of your wings until these calamities go by. So not every storm is to be rebuked. And a man who tries to rebuke them all never learns how to seek shelter in God. And he never learns the lesson, really, that there are some situations which God expects him to endure.

Now, there are other Christians who believe that every storm is to be avoided. There was a time when I tended to be like that. You know, let's just, anytime there's unpleasantness, let's seek some shelter from it. Some evangelical Christians are this way who don't believe in the gifts and the ministries.

Well, if you think that every storm is to be the refined shelter from it, you know what? You'll never learn how to stand on your hind feet and rebuke the enemy. And it's important that we know how to do that, to exercise the authority there is in the name of Jesus.

Also, if you think every storm is to seek shelter from, you'll never... get to that place where you'll have the courage to stand through those things that you have to endure, or if when those things come upon you, you'll feel that you've failed God because you haven't found a way out.

By the same token, the fellow who thinks that every storm is to be endured never learns to have enough sense to hide or enough strength to rebuke Satan. So any single solution is inadequate. There are different kinds of storms that call for different kinds of solutions.

Now, how can we tell? The nature of the storm. Well, one of the things is that we need a word from the Lord in this situation rather than to rush out.

Some of you may have, if you're in full gospel circles, you may have known of a brother, Daryl Hahn, who was one of the international directors of full gospel businessmen, a good friend of mine and some other teachers. He lived out in California, went on to be with the Lord last year.

But he told a very... Powerful story. He was living in Louisiana as a successful builder of homes and buildings, and he moved to California and got in successful business and really got active in the Lord's work.

And just about the time he really got into the things active in full gospel businessmen and their board of directors and was really serving the Lord faithfully, his business began to go down the tube. And nothing he tried worked.

I mean, that is, he tried every bit of business acumen that he knew, and he prayed faithfully that God would bless his business, but it just like the thing that was going down the tube. He was facing bankruptcy, and he couldn't put it together.

And it was a time when he ought to be succeeding. It wasn't a time when there was a recession in the market or anything like that. And he sought God about it. He didn't understand.

And what happened was, he said, I was driving down the Los Angeles freeway one day when he said, It was just as if I could almost see him. He said, I knew the Lord was sitting beside me in the car as I drove down.

And he spoke to my spirit very clearly. He said, Darrell, if you don't take authority over Satan, he's going to destroy your business. Just that one word.

And it was through that word that Darrell learned that there were some things, some storms, that he was expected to rebuke and resist.

And so for not only just praying or just serving the Lord from that time, he began to stand against Satan and apply the authority in the name of Jesus.

And he said within two weeks, his business turned and began to prosper. Now that was a particular case where the storm that he was going through was one that was to be resisted or rebuked.

But he needed a word from the Lord to tell him what kind it was. So one of the things... When we're facing situations like this, we do need a word from the Lord.

Now, let me also say that in the categories that there are certain things that ought to be obvious to us about storms that are to be rebuked. For example, certain things are not in God's will. We know that there are certain things are clearly a satanic attack.

When you seem to be overwhelmed with fear or confusion or that sort of thing, that's not from God. And Satan comes in and begins to magnify little things all out of proportion and you get off balance and get into difficult things.

There are certain situations like that where it's just clear by the nature of the harassment that we're expected to rebuke it. Things like fear, things like panic, powerful temptations of the flesh.

Addictions and things that we may have thought that we had conquered before that rise up again. There are certain things in that category that you don't have to have some great divine revelation about.

They're simply contrary to the will of God, temptation to do anything dishonest. For example, we know that Satan is always laying snares in our path in that regard.

There are certain things that are clearly satanic in nature that we are expected to rebuke. Again, I don't mean to indicate that you can always be 100% sure, but a large percent of the time in things like that, you just simply know as a Christian what your responsibility is, that you're expected to fight.

There are certain things that we ought to know that we are to escape. I don't believe that all things being equal, that God's people are expected to suffer what the world suffers.

As children of God... We have certain privileges that the world has not had. I don't believe that Christians were meant to suffer economically the severity of problems that the world suffers in times of recession or in times of want.

Even the children of Israel, when they were in Egypt in the land of Goshen, even though Egypt was not God's ultimate destiny for them, and they ended up going through some terrible times before they left, when they got out into Egypt, they were given the best land that was in Egypt, the land of Goshen.

Now, Egypt represented a kind of time when they were out of the main purposes of God. They were out of their own inheritance. But even when in a situation like that, even in Egypt, they had the best that there was in the land of Egypt.

I believe even when the world suffers, as it must suffer in the way things go, I believe that a lot of that Christians... Can escape. We can find shelter from that.

I don't believe it's the will of God for us to go down the drain the way the world goes down. There is protection. There is shelter. There is provision for the people of God that the world has no right to expect.

And we're told that over and over and over again.

I believe that God's judgment as it comes upon society or comes upon the world, that that judgment of God is not to come upon Christians, not if we're walking properly and in the light with the Lord.

The judgment with which God judges the world will affect us, but that judgment does not fall upon us, not if we're in God where we should be.

And so there are some storms that are to be rebuked, which we can recognize, some storms that are to be escaped, which we can recognize. But then there are some storms that are to be endured.

First of all, I believe that this is an area that God is more or less introducing us to as charismatics.

I can remember some years ago talking with a good evangelical Christian who had become a charismatic, but she was a fine evangelical Christian before.

And she said, one of the things... That I noted about when I was still critical of the charismatic movement. She was a missionary general missionaries in Africa She said was that charismatics was that they seem to have no understanding of the cross no understanding of what it was to have to endure suffering, and most of them didn't have any courage to handle situations of that sort.

She said, now I realize that we fundees, as she called herself, didn't have an understanding about the power of God, which could have gotten us out of some of the things that we were having problems with.

Nevertheless, she said, my evaluation, which has only been confirmed since I've become a charismatic, is that the average charismatic still does not make room for the cross.

And I have to say, yeah, that's true, because we've been miracle happy. We've had these instant solutions that whatever it is, if we rebuke it or pray or God will move miraculously and answer.

Now, one of the things that I think I caught on a year or so ago when I was here, a message on which I call Beyond Blessing to Obedience, which is coming out in a little book in a few weeks.

But one of the things I pointed out in that message was about things that had disturbed me was that I found out in spite of all of the wonderful miracles that God was doing in our midst,

But in the midst of the charismatic, there was an awful lot of problems. Rebellion and immorality and sin and deception, right in the midst of all that God was doing.

And that pressured me to come to see that there were, and I've verified it by Scripture, that apparently some things God wanted to accomplish in us, miracles were not going to accomplish.

The power and the blessing and the joy and the praise and the deliverance and the healing and the gifts and all of those things, as wonderful as they are and as essential as they are, they apparently don't accomplish some things God wants to accomplish.

So if those things don't accomplish the maturing of us in the way God wants us, what is it that does?

There are certain things that only hardship accomplishes in us. There are certain things that only difficulty can bring to pass.

That's why I was saying there are some storms that we have to endure. If you could pray your way out of everything, you'd never develop any patience, you'd never develop any endurance, you'd never develop any courage or any strength.

Sometimes when I'm talking about this, I talk about the fact that we long for these high spiritual moments like the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter told Jesus, Lord, let's just stay here and build three tabernacles and never go back.

And the Lord said, no, we have to go back down off the hill. And he went back down off the mountain, and there was the epileptic boy to be dealt with.

All of us enjoy those mountain peaks. And I, through the years, have heard people say, well, I just would like to order my life so that I'm always on top.

But I don't know whether I've said it since I've been here. If I have said an earlier message, you forgive me if I'm saying it again.

If I have said it before, it's because I believe that we need to learn how to endure some things in life. We need to learn how to stand through the storms that are going to come our way.

And I think that's one of the reasons why I've been so passionate about this message. Because I know that if we don't learn how to endure, we'll never make it to where we're supposed to be.

We'll never reach the place where we can stand on our hind

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But all I'm saying is that while those mountain peaks are wonderful, the only reason why you can identify mountain peaks is because there's valleys in between. And as wonderful as those mountain peaks are, you don't grow on those. You're blessed on those, and you have high moments that you'll remember the rest of your life. But that's not where growth takes place. It doesn't require anything of you when you're on that mountain peak. That's God's sheer grace in the midst of that miracle or that blessing or that high moment which you didn't earn and which you didn't deserve, but by God's grace you've experienced.

And you go from one of those to another one of those, and we'd like to have our life a series of those, a succession of them. But let me tell you, the only way you can have them is by the valleys in between. And it's in the valleys where the growing takes place. When you're having to endure situations that you can't put the answers together for. And where it looks like nothing's going to work. And you wonder, God, what's wrong? Isn't anything wrong?

You're in the purpose of God in the valley as much as you are on the mountain peak. Now that's not to say you can't grovel in those situations when you shouldn't. All I'm saying is that into every life those valleys come. And those valleys are as much a part of your spiritual geography as they are of the earth's geography. You can't have mountain peaks spiritually without having valleys spiritually.

So there are some things that God can accomplish in us that must be accomplished only through the storm, only through the pressure, only through the fire, only through circumstances which everything in our flesh cries out for and say, oh God, I don't want to go through that. But we're in a time in God's dealings with us when he's wanting us to grow up.

And we have, in all honesty, we've been somewhat childish about... the things of God in our charismatic movement. We become preoccupied with the miracles. And we've had quick flip answers to people's problems. And that's understandable because oftentimes those answers seem to be there. In some cases they work, but in other cases they don't.

You need to understand, too, that as we said, I think, last night one place, anyway, how God deals with each of us according to where we are in our relationship with him. And one of the things that further complicates the picture I'm talking about tonight is that while you may be on a mountain peak, another brother may be in a valley. And from your mountain peak, you may have all kinds of answers for him. But those answers won't work for him where he is because he's in a different dealing of God.

And when God is dealing with you, like God was dealing with Job, that kind of advice that Job's friends had didn't work. And sometimes your advice for your brother in the valley, well, brother, just have faith. You know, just hang in there, brother. Pray more. Have you fasted this week? You know, and this poor guy's down there under the dealings of God, hurting and bleeding all over the place, and you're offering him pat answers about how to get out of the mess.

You may even get down and try to help him financially or some other way. One of the things that I've learned about the way God deals, one of the real strong ways he deals with us is financially. And I've had to learn to be very, very careful about how I give that which God has given me to give to others, to be a steward of what I'm going to give away.

Because sometimes you see a brother who may be in a real bind, and there are times you may be prompted to help him, and that may be God. But other times God may be trying to speak to him through some difficult situation. And if you start laying money on him, all you're doing is postponing the dealings of God.

I know some Christian works that are in trouble and they're asking for money. I believe many times they're in trouble because something's wrong spiritually and God's trying to get their attention and trying to get some things set in order. But instead of beginning to pray and fast and seek God and make the adjustments, they send out more letters.

And if you can get enough letters out begging for enough money, they can get enough money to survive, and God never manages to deal with the problem because they bail themselves out of it some other way. So God's working with some people in a valley while other people are on a mountain. God, you may have just come through a storm that you've rebuked and got the answer to, and your brother may be in one that he has to endure.

Or the same storm may come, which in your case you can find shelter from, but your brother has to endure. So what happens is you get out and get under the roof and get out from under that rain, and your other brother can't make it out of the rain. And he's out there getting drenched and all bedraggled and everything else and crying and moaning and groaning.

And you say, why don't you get out of the rain? But he can't. That storm for him is one that he has to endure. So what I want you to understand is learn to be perceptive and loving and tolerant of people with the dealings of God because the time will come when you'll be the one that's shut out in the rain and your brother will be the one that'll be having it easy under shelter because your time will come if it hasn't already.

So there are some storms that simply have to be endured. How many of you in recent years have found that God seems to be dealing in your marriage in a way that he never did before? Certain things are coming up in your relationship with husband or wives. You're not a very honest group of people here tonight, really.

Okay. I thought you were serious. Yeah, no, I'm serious. Yeah. That there are things that, and my wife's here, and she doesn't mind me saying this, but we've had a very beautiful marriage. We've been married 26 years, and it's been better than most marriages.

And yet in the last couple of years, we've been through some things. I mean, things have come to light that we've begun to wrestle with, pressures and so forth. I learned that for years I skirted around some things. You see, just tippy-toeing around things for peace's sake in the marriage.

And there were really things that needed to be dealt with, adjustments that needed to be made in me, adjustments that needed to be made in my life. We've gone through some stormy times in the last couple of years. We don't love each other any less, but there have been the dealings of God in our marriage in the last two years that I used to say that my wife and I never had a disagreement in all the years we'd been married.

Well, in a sense, that was true because I was too chicken sometimes to have been the kind of husband I needed to be. And to move in and protect her in situations where she needed to be protected, I'd take the easy way out and just not say anything and just fuss and fume to myself.

But God is turning the light on in situations like, making us, pressuring us into situations where we have to get honest for one another, and that hurts, causes some pain, gets to be kind of a stormy time. But that's, for years it seems we could get away without that sort of thing, but now God's dealing with marriages, this whole thing about divine order in the home and so forth.

This is, these are some of the storms that you have to endure. How many of you have ever prayed that your wife or husband would change so you would be happy? Well, that's a cop-out. Did you know that?

If God would answer that prayer every time, it means that you wouldn't have to change. But you see, God wants you to change, so God may bring things up in your husband or wife that are just almost impossible for you to handle.

Why not? Because they've suddenly become ogres or witches, but because God's dealing with something in you that he wants to change. And if God would answer your prayer to change your husband or wife, you could go your own sweet way and stay your own selfish little self and snap your fingers and God will answer your prayers and you'd never change.

You'd never become more loving, more humble, or more mature, or more submitted to the will of God. Those are the kind of storms that come to us. You see, one of the characteristics that God's seeking to bring forth in us is maturity.

And maturity implies endurance. Learning how to endure. We haven't wanted to endure. We've wanted quick answers. Every time something was out of the way, what was out of kilter or out of whack, we wanted God to move in and perform some miracle to set it right.

And if God would always answer those prayers, we never would grow up. Turn with me, we're going to close now, but turn with me to Hebrews 12. We're going to read a passage. Another good one is Matthew 24 where Jesus talks about the things that are coming and then says, but he who endures to the end will be saved.

One of the things God's teaching us is endurance. Hebrews, the 12th chapter, beginning with verse 5. Some storms were to rebuke, some storms were to seek shelter from, some storms we have to endure.

And Hebrews chapter 12 gives us some advice when we're having to go through those things we endure. Hebrews 12, beginning with verse 5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.

For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards and not sons.

Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live?

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit. Now get that. When we go through these storms, we have to endure. It's for our sakes.

God chastens us, puts us in these hot boxes, gets us into these pressure situations that we don't understand for our profit, and look at the reason for it, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

If God were to answer every prayer of yours and mine when we wanted it answered, we would never become holy people. We would never willingly submit to the pressure and the discipline that God requires if we could pray our way out of it.

Because the flesh cries out. We have those parts of our lives that we've clutched to our own bosom, those secret dark areas we don't want God messing with, and we want to go ahead and enjoy the gifts and the good Christian life and the joy and the praise and all the rest without changing all the way down, without opening up everything to the light, without putting everything out on the line where God can see it all.

And God's putting His finger on those places now. And pressuring us to open up in ways. And if we could pray our way out of those situations, our lives would never be opened up before Him.

And God's determined to make saints out of us. We're to become holy people. And the way that holiness comes is through enduring the fire, enduring the storm, enduring the pressure that God puts us in.

Because that refining process is absolutely essential if we're to come forth pure and tried. Okay, let's finish the passage. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, verse 11. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Where God wants to bring us is on the other side of a lot of hard and difficult things. There's a lot of hard times between us, where we are now, and where God wants us eventually to be.

And the only way we're going to get there is through endurance, through those storms that have to be endured. So cheer up, take the advice of the writer of Hebrews who says, Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.

And follow peace with all men in holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Amen.

This concludes this message by Don Basham.