"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:24-27)
Storms are adversity and hardships. The rock is Jesus Christ, in 1 Corinthians 10:2-4 " And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." We need to build our lives on the Savior and the Gospel " And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out; For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered."(Mark 6:45-51) "The wind was contrary to them is like adversity and trials"(Ether 6:5-12)The promised land is eternal life
*A Metaphor for Life* A dish could be testimony and desires. There are difficult storms of life. We will be left alone at time, and needs to be an independent being to be righteous in dark. To be the friend of God. He is aware of us when we are struggling. We worship a 4th Watch God:
*We often make assumptions about a 4th Watch God
-He is not there
-Not listening
-Doesn't Care
-We are not worthy
In moments like theses we need to realize, its not the 4th watch YET!!! For example in Abraham 2:2,19,14)"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;" Sariah doesn't have Issac until 38 years after this promise that the Lord makes.
In Mormon 8:5-6 "Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior." He wanders for 46 years and he is all alone.
Here are some examples of 4th Watches Deliverance:
-Man at pools of Bathsalda
-Israelites at the Red Sea
-Widow of Zarephat and Elijah
-Alma & Amulek in prison
Remember YOUR 4th Watch Deliverances
*That which gives fear is the resolution to the problem
*The Gospel is a resource for pain, all that we go through builds our characted so we can become more like our Father and Mother in Heaven
*Walk with Jesus through the storms and we will walk on the storm! "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."(John 14:27)
*There will be a peace to the calm
-"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."(Mosiah 24:14-15) Be instruments in the Lord's hands
-Sometimes the best people have the worst experiences because they are most ready to learn "Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."(Matthew 14:33)
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