In the eye of the storm

In the eye of the storm
Rev. Renato V. Bernardo
Director for Education

Introduction:
After the rage of Typhoon Ondoy, the talk of the town became the flood that came with it. Most probably, different stories had been heard here and there. Some might say the water inside their house rose up to their knees, some up to their chest, or maybe in some places up to the second floor. We, ourselves have our own share of experiences. But unless we opt to see the whole picture of the recent calamity, we will not be able to grasp the gravity of what our country went through.

The scars made by Typhoon Ondoy in the country are undeniably visible.
According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (as of Sept 30),
• 2.25 million people were reported to be gravely affected by the calamity,
• 246 are dead
• 42 are still missing.
• 4.7 billion pesos worth of livelihood and agriculture were destroyed.

Without a doubt, the Philippines remains in the state of shock after a tragedy that came without warning. In these trying times, every Filipino and God’s church face different challenges.
• The challenge for the church is to be sensitive to the voice of the All-powerful God who is surely ready to reveal His urgent message to His beloved people.
• The challenge for the Filipinos is to open our hearts to God’s revelation and the lessons from this event, as well as to live faithfully according to the message we will receive.

We have experienced one of the most terrible tragedies in our history… We faced one fierce storm that caused probably one of the critical conditions of our nation… The questions that must have been boggling our minds are: who is HE in the eye of the storm? What is God telling us amidst the winds and the rains?

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

1. Our God is a God Who Saves
The first revelation of God showers each of us with a new beam of hope on this devastated horizon. This is a message of hope to those who lost their loved ones and their properties, to those who lost their faith because of fear and weakness, to those who experienced emotionally traumatic situations. In short, this revelation is for every Filipino who is now struggling to recover from this recent catastrophe. Let us be reminded that the truth remains that our God is a God who saves… Jesus is the King over the flood.

• Mark 4:37– ³⁷A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
• Mark 4:39 – ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

We can see two things about the character of our Savior King based on our recent experience:
• He protects us
o God’s protection for the Filipinos was still seen considering the fact that the flood did not happen during the night, because if it did, a greater number of people would have lost their lives.
o God’s protection enabled us to help our neighbors in need (during and after the flood).
o Although the incident came without a warning, because of His Divine Protection, we were still able to perform necessary measures for the flood. Imagine if the flood happened while we were not in our houses. It could have caused greater damage in our properties.
o We are sure that God covers us with His divine protection. If it were not for His mighty Hand keeping us secure, we could have been in a more terrible state.

• He gives us hope
o The catastrophe proved that our sure hope does not lie on financial wealth, precious furniture and equipment, fame, or any other material thing in this world.
o Ondoy became an equalizer because all kinds of people did not escape its fierce attack: from those who possess huge wealth to those who own almost nothing.
o One truth reverberates through eternity: Our hope is in our God, our protector.
o With this truth, our faith should remain in Jesus Christ forevermore.

2.  Our God is a God Who Judges

Epigram:
“The fall of man has created a perpetual crisis. It will last until sin has been put down and Christ reigns over a redeemed and restored world. Until that time the earth remains a disaster area and its inhabitants live in a state of extraordinary emergency.” – A.W. Tozer

We have a just God and because of this, it is to be expected that He brings judgment on earth. Biblically, this is evident in Genesis 6: 5 – 7:

⁵The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
⁶The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.” (feel sad, unhappy,  hurting, mourn, distress, upset)

As what we can see in the context, God’s judgment came at the time when sin was overwhelming and mankind was disregarding the voice of the Holy God.

The nation of Israel also received God’s judgment during the time of Hosea.

¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.
¹³But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,
¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated – as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
¹⁵Thus it will happen to you, O Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed. -Hosea 10:12-15

These verses in Hosea give us a picture of the coming of God’s judgment upon Israel and the reasons behind it. A clearer depiction of the state of Israel at that time is relevant for our own situation now. Our question then is, “What was the nation of Israel like in Hosea’s day?”

• Bible commentator J. Sidlow Baxter wrote, “Hosea was the prophet of Israel’s zero-hour.”
• The nation had sunk to a point of such corruption that a major stroke of divine judgment could no longer be staved off.
• The political, social and religious state of the Israel shows why God’s divine judgment came upon them.

o POLITICAL: It was a world of anarchy, bloodshed and revolt.

• Hosea 4:18 – “Even when their drinks are gone they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
• ”Kyle Yates wrote, “Jeroboam’s son, Zechariah, was murdered within six months after he had mounted the throne. His assassin, after a month as king, was dethroned and killed by a vigorous band of men.
• Anarchy was having its inning.
• No king was safe except the one who was able to maintain a strong guard to keep the assassins from him.
• The rulers were evil through and through, thinking nothing but leading others into a lascivious lifestyle:

o SOCIAL: It was a world of compromise and corruption.

• Hosea 4:12 – “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
• Justice was nowhere to be found.
• The courtroom was a joke in the day of Hosea, filled with judges who accepted excessive bribes from the people.
• Family life was equally corrupt and was rapidly disintegrating.
• The teaching and nurturing roles of parents were eroding at a drastic pace, leaving the children to figure out life on their own.

o RELIGIOUS: Hosea’s nation was one of idolatry and immorality.

• Hosea 4:18 – “Even when their drinks are gone they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
• The priests accepted, even encouraged these evil acts.
• Loose living was the accepted standard.
• It was a sick scene.

To cast it in today’s terms, Hosea’s nation was a nation in the pits. And this clearly summarizes the reason behind God’s judgment.

Like the nation of Israel, the Philippines is also in the pit of sin.

• Sins of the Individuals
o We have strayed from our highest and most precious calling – to acknowledge and serve the Almighty God.
o Instead of worshipping the One True God, we turned to idols:
 Ourselves
 Other people
 Material possessions
o We stopped caring for our natural resources – our mountains, rivers, seas, forests, animals.
 A study was made as early as 1910 about flood patterns. Selfishness of developers and corruption in government prevented the implementation of its recommendations.
o Matthew 13:22 – “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
o Mark 4:19 – “The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
o Luke 8:14 – “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.“

• Sins of the Family
o The father who is supposed to be the priest and pastor of the family has abandoned his responsibility to lead. He has also turned his back on being the spiritual shepherd of the family.
o Likewise, the mother has forgotten her calling to be the light of the family, the source of love and care.
o The father and mother have committed the sin of adultery and have ruined the true essence of a God-centered family.
o Sadly, the children have disobeyed their parents and thus forfeited the promise of long and well-satisfied lives in Ephesians 6.

• Sins of the Nation
The Philippines is filled to the brim with sins that call for the judgment of a Righteous God.

o Government
 Graft and Corruption
 Lies and deception
 Selfishness
 Mercy killings

o Business and Economic
 Selfishness
 Greediness
 Exploitation

o Media and Entertainment
 Immorality
 Dishonesty
 Discrimination
 Partiality
 Self interest and ambitions

o Education
 Corruption
 Laziness
 Complacency

o Science and Technology
 Corruption
 Indifference
 Irresponsibility

o Arts
 Indifference
 Corruption
 Immorality

• Sins of the Church
Sadly, the church has also fallen into sins that arouse God’s holy wrath.
o Disunity
o Corruption
o Selfishness
o Self-delusion – Spiritual elitism; Holier than Thou attitude
o Indifference
o Complacency
o Mediocrity

The reign of evil in our country reaches the throne of the Holy God, and this calls for His judgment to come upon us. Judgment came upon the corrupted generations of Noah and Hosea.

But the good news is that our God is abounding in grace and mercy that He gives us new beginnings.

3. Our God is a God of New Beginnings

God’s new beginnings come after His judgment. This happens when righteous people (His church) builds an (prayer) altar for Him.
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord… and sacrificed burnt offerings on it.” -Gen. 8:20 (NIV)

a. The Awakening
It should be noted that Noah’s first act after surviving the flood is to rebuild God’s altar. Noah represents God’s church. As His church, we should awaken and remind ourselves of our unique calling as builders of God’s altar. Noah, being the righteous man of God on earth after the flood, was the one called to rebuild God’s altar.

David, the King of Israel at the time when a plague struck the nation of Israel, decided to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Araunah, “that the plague on the people may be stopped” (2 Samuel 24:21). David’s act signifies repentance from the sins that had caused the calamity in his nation. When David finally built the altar and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, “the Lord answered (David’s) prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague was stopped” (2 Samuel 24:25).

Noah and David built an altar to the Lord at a time when such act was necessary. We, as God’s church, are called to build His altar at this significant moment of our nation’s history. To do that, we must define what we are going to build – the altar.

The altar is the most important structure, being the central object used in worship. This is where sacrifices were offered and incense burned. The altar of burnt offerings was the means of atonement of one’s sins during the Old Testament times. This is can be seen in Leviticus 1:4-5:

⁴He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵He is slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

As God’s church, we are called to build an altar of burnt offerings in order to atone for the overwhelming sins in the pillars of our nation. And we are assured that Jesus’ blood will be sprinkled on the altar that we will build.

As builders of God’s altar, we must be like Abraham wholeheartedly offered Isaac to God. We must have:
• Absolute Obedience – We must not have any mental reservation before God.
• Unadulterated Heart of Worship – We must fix our minds, souls and bodies to the only One who is worthy of adoration – Our God Most High.
• Genuine Humility – We must stand before His presence with nothing to be boastful of, knowing that we can do nothing apart from Him.
• Unwavering Faith – We must believe that God is the one True God who created us and who governs everything in our lives. He is the loving and just God – the Perfect One.

b. The Restoration and Revival
After the rebuilding of God’s altar come the restoration and revival of His nation. God promised a new beginning to Noah and the entire mankind after the flood.

“Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth… everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
-Gen. 9:1-3 (NIV)

During the time of David in 2 Samuel 24, God did not fail to show His unfailing love and mercy towards the repentant. As seen in 2 Samuel 24:25, God answered accepted David’s offerings and stopped the plague from striking the Israelites.

God is always ready to bring about restoration and revival to a nation which is willing to rebuild His altar that will establish His supremacy over everything.

Conclusion:
Without a shadow of doubt, the Philippines is in a crucial condition. The challenge for us Christians is: Are we ready and willing to rebuild God’s altar in this nation? Do we want to establish God’s dominion over the Philippines once again? But let us start rebuilding our personal altars in our hearts. Then and only then can we unite in rebuilding the altar of the Almighty God and experience the restoration and revival He is ready to give us.

Prayer:

Our Almighty Father, the Lord of heavens and earth, we humbly come before Your throne of mercy and grace to ask for Your forgiveness for all our transgressions. We admit that we have turned away from Your righteous ways. Now, we repent for what we have done and we desire to offer our lives to You again. We want to return to the calling of holiness and righteousness that You have put in us through Christ Jesus. Be the One and Only God of our lives. Reign in our hearts, our Faithful Father. And as we embrace the new beginning that You are giving us, we choose to seek Your face and follow Your ways. We humbly ask that You include us in Your Holy Church who are called to build an altar that will bring a pleasing aroma before You. We are willing to offer our everything to You and to declare that You are the Lord of the Philippines. Be enthroned, our Everlasting King over every pillar of our society because everything in our nation is Yours and Yours alone. All Glory to You alone. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.