Some days are like a whirlwind. Some weeks are like a whirlwind. When I think of a whirlwind I think of a tornado. I remember the tornado that rolled through Hallam, NE back in 2004. Hallam was a small town of less than a 1,000 people that was struck by a two and a half mile-wide tornado in the middle of the night.
In less than a few minutes the town of Hallam was completely destroyed. Homes that had been there for a 100 years were destroyed in a matter of minutes. Family businesses that had been handed down from one generation to the next were destroyed in a few seconds. People’s lives were turned upside down in a few moments.
I was thinking about this as I worked my way through my daily Scripture reading last week. I was reading in the book of Job. The book of Job is all about a whirlwind of many days for Job. The story of Job is absolutely amazing. Job is a righteous God-loving dude. Satan comes to God and asks for permission to shake Job up. Satan believes that Job will not be so God-loving anymore if he faces a little suffering. So God gives Satan the permission and lets him go to town on Job.
And near the end of the story after Job has lost everything. His kids are dead. His home is destroyed. His marriage is on the rocks. His friends are blaming him for the mess. His body is covered with rotting disease. He’s asking God why this has happened to him. Why am I suffering so much? What did I do to deserve this? Where are you God? Why are you withholding what I want? Why did you do this to me? Do you really love me?
Right into the middle of those questions the author of the book says “And God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind.” God spoke to Job in person, out of a whirlwind. What would that look like? What would it be like to speak with God personally in the midst of a whirlwind? What would it be like to be so grounded in the love of Christ that when the nastiest of storms hit my life I seek the presence of God until he shows up and speaks to me?
Paul knew what it was like to talk to God in the midst of a whirlwind. He faced suffering. He battled his own sin. He struggled with fear and weakness. He wrestled with anxiety. He faced death on multiple occasions. He lost friends. He faced down enemies. He was beaten with whips and rods because of his faith in Christ. And now he’s in prison waiting for the executioner because he preached the gospel. Listen to how Paul prays for the Ephesians in the midst of this whirlwind.
Look at Ephesians 3:14 – 21…
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
In these verses Paul is praying on his knees out of desperation for other believers. We hear him praying in light of the knowledge of our identity in Christ. We hear him asking the Lord for a manifestation of true spiritual power. We hear him asking the Lord to settle down in our hearts. We hear him asking the Father to root our hearts in Christ’s love. We hear him asking the Spirit to ground us like tall buildings in the love of Christ.
But what does it mean to be grounded like a tall building in the love of Christ?
Last week we learned that if we have been grounded in the love of Christ then we will build our lives on a solid foundation. We will praise and worship God on a daily basis. We will be secure in God’s presence.
The building of your life must be built on something solid if it is going to weather the storms of this life. And the proof that your life is built, established, founded or grounded on the rock of Christ is that you live a life of obedience to the Words of Christ. We are called to love Christ with every ounce of our beings because he first loved us. (Luke 6:46 – 49)
If you are grounded in the love of Christ then you are intimately connected to the God of all Creation. God is holy and righteous and just. He is full of perfect, permanent, unconditional and unfailing love. If you have trusted in Christ as your Savior, God has forgiven every sin you have committed and ever will commit. He has crowned you with his perfect love and mercy. His presence in the room with you is like a loving, compassionate and gentle father. Your failure yesterday doesn’t change your standing before God. Your sin today doesn’t change his disposition towards you. Your sin tomorrow will not catch him by surprise. (Psalm 103:1 – 13)
Every believer that the Father gives to Jesus will be grounded securely in the love of Christ. If you have trusted in Jesus then there is nothing in all of creation that can separate you from the love of Christ. If the Father has given you to Jesus then you will not be lost. You will stumble and fall. You will struggle in sin. You will suffer. But you can rest assured that there is total security in the love of Christ. (John 17:20 – 26)
So that’s the summary of what we learned last week. If your life is grounded in the love of Christ then your life will be built on the love of Christ, you will praise him for he is and for what he has done and you will be secure in his presence. But there’s also the hope of Heaven.
#1: If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you will stay focused on the hope of Heaven…
Focus is hard when you have so many distractions to contend with. When I’m trying to focus on something important it’s easy to get distracted. For instance, as I wrote this, two of my children began bickering in the front room so I pressed pause and had a conversation with them about why they were bickering and how to handle things in a more godly way.
This is just one example of the distractions that can easily cause me to loose focus. In this case it was important to shift my focus to my kids. But throughout the day there can be thousands of little opportunities to loose my focus and become distracted from the hope of Heaven. What distractions have caused you to loose focus recently?
A friend calls who is suffering and I become distracted by going into fix-it mode. I see a financial report and I get distracted by worry and doubt. A sinful thought enters my mind and I get distracted into entertaining that thought and the deceptive lie that somehow what I’m imagining will satisfy me. What I need in these moments is to become grounded in the love of Christ so that I can stay focused on the hope of Heaven.
Paul describes this in Colossians 3:1 – 4. He says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you will stay focused on the hope of Heaven. You share in the resurrection of Christ. You share in Christ’s victory over Satan, sin and death. Christ is firmly seated next to the Father. Therefore you share the same presence of the Father that Jesus enjoys. You are dead to your sin. You are hidden from the power of Satan, sin and the grave. When Christ returns in glory you will be completely perfected once and for all.
Though you stumble and fall. Though you struggle with temptation. Though you slug your way through difficult days filled with suffering, sin, fear, anxiety, pain and insecurity, your eyes will be brought back to the hope of Heaven instead of the momentary sufferings of this broken life.
No plane from any terrorist, no whirlwind of a day, no tornado, no arrow of the enemy, no sin that so easily entangles, will move your attention from the hope of Heaven for very long. You have the Spirit of God inside you, speaking truth to you, counseling you, comforting you, reminding you that this life is not all there is to your existence. The building of your life will remain established because the foundation that you are built upon is the love of Christ. If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you will stay focused on the hope of Heaven.
#2: If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you have the assurance that God will finish what he started in you…
I have a friend that loves to start new projects almost as often as I change my clothes. They’re awesome projects. They’re really good projects. They’re really creative projects. When those projects get completed they are really awesome. The finished product is always great. But sometimes because of a lack of resources or a lack of time or a lack of interest these projects don’t get finished and they get swept aside for a new project.
Do you ever feel this way about God? Like maybe he has better projects to work on? Or maybe he doesn’t want to spend the resources on you? Or maybe he doesn’t want to spend any more time on you? Paul addresses this in Philippians 1:6. He says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you have the assurance that God will finish what he started in you. Paul was sure of this. He had the assurance. He was certain. He didn’t question. He trusted that when God begins a work in someone he finishes it. Paul didn’t believe that God began little side projects in his kingdom only to let them go to waste.
It’s a good work he began in you. You are not a mistaken work. You are not God’s side project. You are not a forgotten work. You are not a frustrating work. You are a good work that God began and God doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t do things halfway.
God completes the good work he begins. Your sin doesn’t derail God’s good work. Your imperfections don’t bring his good work to a stop. Your failures don’t cause God to give up and walk away. God doesn’t drop his hammer to find a straighter piece of wood. He doesn’t pack his tool bags and leave for an easier job site. God completes the good work he begins in you. If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you have the assurance that God will finish what he started in you.
#3: If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you can be assured that you are built to last…
When I go to the store to purchase something I’m always torn between the cheapest version and the name brand version. I never know when it’s ok to skimp on a purchase. The old saying that you get what you pay for is so often true. When we bought our home it was a tough decision. I didn’t want to skimp on this purchase. Was the house in good shape? Had it been taken care of? Did the people before us make wise investments?
In my mind this home would be our families’ home for many years to come. I wanted to be as certain as possible that it would last. That it would stand the test of time. That it would house our large family effectively. I wanted to be sure that the house was built to last.
The Bible teaches us that we are the house of God. We are God’s home. And the home that God builds is built to last. Paul explains this in Ephesians 2:19 – 22. He says, “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but your are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you can be assured that you are built to last. You are not a stranger to God. You are not alienated from him like someone from a foreign country. You have papers of citizenship in the kingdom of God that have been signed in the blood of Christ. God’s signature on your adoption papers cannot be revoked and it cannot be erased. You are a saint who has been perfected by the work of the cross. Your perfection has been completed. You will persevere as a saint if you are truly grounded in the love of Christ.
You are a member of God’s family. Your membership dues have been paid in full. Your membership will not expire or run out. The Word of God, which is perfect and lasting and true, is building you into the home of God with other believers. The love of Christ is the everlasting glue that holds you together. Not one brick in the home of God will be lost, replaced or left undone. The promises of God are right and true and they don’t depend upon you. If you are grounded in the love of God, you can be assured that you are built to last.
Conclusion…
One of my favorite songs is the old hymn called “In Christ Alone”. I think the words of that song describe the truths of Ephesians 3:17 really well. Look at the words of that song:
In Christ alone my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This Cornerstone, this solid ground. Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease. My Comforter, my All in All. Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, who took on flesh. Fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness. Scorned by the ones He came to save. ‘Til on that cross as Jesus died. The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious Day. Up from the grave He rose again. And as He stands in victory. Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me. For I am His and He is mine. Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath. Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand
If you are grounded in the love of Christ, you will build your life on the love of Christ; you will praise him; you will be secure in his presence; you will be focused on the hope of Heaven; you will trust that God will finish what he started in you and you will have the assurance that you are built to last.
Are you grounded in the love of Christ? Do you feel insecure or afraid? Have you been distracted in your relationship with the Lord? Do you struggle with thinking that God has given up on you? Do you wonder if your salvation is secure from one day to the next?
Praise God for who he is and for what he has done. Ask God to help you rest secure in the finished work of Christ at the cross. Ask God to refocus your heart on the hope of Heaven. Ask God to give you the assurance that you belong to him and that he isn’t finished with you. Ask God to help you trust him and to remind you that when he builds people into his home he builds them to last.
God paid the highest purchase price for you. He didn’t skimp on the project. When he spent the blood of his Son, Jesus, on you, he got exactly what he was buying. You may not think you are worth much but the cross of Christ says you are worth infinitely more than you could imagine. Let your heart be grounded in the love of Christ today.