Let’s Talk about the Weather
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
SCRIPTURE: - Genesis 8:2 says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease”.
Job 37:9–14 says, “Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: And cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: And the breadth of the waters is straitened. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: He scattereth his bright cloud: And it is turned round about by his counsels: That they may do whatsoever he commandeth them Upon the face of the world in the earth. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, Or for his land, or for mercy. Hearken unto this, O Job: Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God”.
PRAYER: -
OPENING: Weather can be devastating in a moment, it can totally interrupt and even change the lives of multitudes of people, whether it is by loss of power, loss of possessions, or loss of loved ones.
When this happens the Question becomes: How could a good God allow such terrible weather that takes the life of the innocent to happen.
In our text from Job 37:9-14, the oldest book in the Bible we see three reasons why God “commandeth” the weather to do what it does. (1) for correction; (2) for the land; and (3) for mercy. We may try to offer a comforting answer like He takes the innocent home to avoid problems on earth. Although that is not always the case it does bring some comfort. Other times He uses the weather to bring correction and judgment to the wicked. And sometimes the weather is sent to take care of the land, like rain to water the crops and snow to cover the ground and protect it from a deep freeze.
According to the Weather Channel and numerous articles from Meteorologist from around the country, there have truly been a lot of strange weather events in the first 8 months of 2023. This included major smoke episodes, drought-to-flood whiplash and early Atlantic tropical activity. There have also been some weird tornadoes and global tropical cyclones.
Some of these weather events were strange for where or when they occurred. Others were just plain weird. January 2023 reported the third most confirmed tornadoes since 1950. During a month more notorious for major East Coast snowstorms, an EF2 tornado tore through parts of central New Jersey on February 21, only the fifth February tornado in the Garden State since 1950. On April Fools' Day, Delaware's widest tornado, only the state's second F/EF3 on record, tore through parts of Sussex County. Its ghostly white appearance was also accompanied by a rainbow. The Northeast which is known for its snowfall in the winter had hardly any measurable amounts of snow, New York measured around 2.3 inches in February according to Weather Sources.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy formed south of Indonesia on February 6, embarking on a month-plus pilgrimage that would prove catastrophic in one country and would rewrite the global tropical cyclone history books.
Freddy made landfall in Madagascar just over two weeks later, then in Mozambique on February 24, however, that still wasn't all. Its remnant double-backed over its previous path and became a tropical storm again over the Mozambique Channel on March 4. It spent a week over that body of water before making its second Mozambique landfall, then moving into Malawi. Freddy dumped six months' worth of rain in the east African country of Malawi, where over 500,000 residents were displaced and over 500 were killed, according to the U.N. World Food Program. This Tropical Cyclone may have set a record for the globe's longest lasting tropical cyclone.
Maui was devastated by wildfires that was the cause of weather, it was reported that the wildfires were fueled by Hurricane Dora offshore. California was hit by a Tropical storm for the first time in 84 years, then during the storm a 5.2 earthquake hits as well.
Canada has had wildfires burning for some time now fueled by the weather, then I saw on CNN the other day Greece is struggling with wildfires that are even approaching the Historic City of Athens. Then just this past Thursday August 24th, my birthday, 7 tornadoes touched down in Michigan during the storm.
Wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, snow, tornadoes, what’s going on?
While working on this message earlier this week and watching the news it was stated that 22 states from the Midwest to the Northeast are experiencing extremely high temperatures many of them well into the triple digits with numbers like 115, 113, 117 degrees.
I truly believe God is trying to tell us something and He is using the weather as a means to get people’s attention warning us that time is running out. It is a warning signal for people to repent and turn from their wicked ways.
I believe He is giving judgment stating that He is on His throne, He is in control, that He cannot be mocked, and He will not tolerate the gross immorality, the disgusting depravity, the embracing of what is an abomination to Him, the mocking of everything that is Holy, moral, ethical, and decent any longer.
Humanity has been weighed in the balances and has been found wanting and before destruction is administered, He is warning mankind to turn from their wicked ways and repent.
Understand the Bible does not tell us specifically about today’s weather events or what is causing it. However, the Bible is sufficient in its reports about God’s works with his people, preserving those lessons to inform our response to situations today. It is our responsibility to recognize that the weather is often a means of divine reproof.
God loves mankind and has blessed us especially us in America more than any other nation. However, the Word of God says in Luke 12:48 “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more”. God requires for us to be Holy as He is Holy, but we have turned our backs on God and living according to what is right in our own eyes and not the Will and Word of God.
The Bible also says in Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth”.
Understand when God chastens, the purpose is never to punish, but His purpose is to call us to repentance so that we might be saved. Isaiah 26:9 says, “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”. God desires for us to learn righteousness, God desires for us to from our wicked ways and turn back to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”.
Because God wants us to learn righteousness and turn back to Him before destruction comes He is using the weather to get the attention of the people.
The most dramatic example of God using weather is the Flood in Genesis 6–9. After Noah preached repentance for 120 years and the people still continued to sin against God and do what was right in their own eyes, God sent the flood as a direct response to human sin and blatant disobedience.
Today we have people asking the question why is all this strange weather happening. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:23-27 “And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book”.
Many people feel that it is climate change, and we are destroying the planet that is why we are experiencing the weather events that we are. However, because of the spiritual condition of humanity, because of their disdain and disregard for God, because of the abominations that are being embraced, because we have turned from God as a nation and have gone whoring after every diabolical thing imaginable is why I truly believe we are experiencing the weird weather that we are.
I would make the proclamation that God is trying to call us to repentance before He sends destruction.
Abraham Lincoln said when he evaluated the cause of the Civil War. In a proclamation which he issued on March 30, 1863, the President called for a National Day of Prayer and Repentance. Lincoln made this comment, “Insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishment and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of Civil War which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a people.”
He continues with “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.” But, Lincoln added, “We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied, enriched, and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all our blessings were produced by our superior wisdom and virtue.”
“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to fill the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God who made us. It behooves us to then humble ourselves before the Offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
That proclamation was made over 160 years ago, yet it rings truer I believe today than even then.
We have not only turned our backs on God, but we have Thumbed our noses to Him as well by trying to replace His laws and statutes with man made ideologies. Our very imaginations are continually evil. Wrong is called right, right is called wrong, Holy is considered profane and the profane is declared holy.
We are truly living 2 Peter 3:3-7 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men”.
Listen people of God, this nation, and humanity as a whole, you want to talk about the weather and why all these things are happening. Let’s talk about repentance and how to change the course of what is going on.
So many people are worried about the carbon footprint, worried about how we are causing climate change and greenhouse gases affecting the atmosphere.
Let’s talk about sin and repentance. Let’s talk about what really causing the weather we are experiencing now. Let’s talk about how God is trying to tell us something.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
SUMMARY: - I believe God is on His throne, He is in control, and He is letting people know He cannot be mocked, people are trying to mock Him which means to disrespect or dishonor Him. They run around like they have no fear of Him, having only disdain for Him, scoffing His return, and even have nothing but total contempt for Him and everything Holy.
I believe He is letting us know that He will not tolerate the gross immorality, the embracing of what is an abomination to Him, the depravity of mankind any longer.
These are truly the days as it was in the day of Noah. Humanity has been weighed in the balances and has been found wanting. God is Merciful, and longsuffering and I believe that the weather is just a wake-up call for people everywhere to repent before He pours out total destruction.
People want to talk about the weather, well we don’t to talk about the weather, but we need to Listen because God is trying to tell us something.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
