“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. “
Matthew 7:24-27
This is part of Jesus message called, “The Sermon on the Mount.” It is a powerful message straight from the One who is able to live these truths out of our lives through His Holy Spirit. Notice that it didn’t say, “If the storms come.” It says, “When the storms come.” We will all experience the storms of life. They will not all be the same storm each time. Some will be more severe than others. They come in the form of physical challenges, temptations, relational misunderstandings, and just hard times.
Jesus promised that lives built on the foundation of obedience to His teachings would not be washed out during times of temptation. In his book The Sermon on the Mount, Clovis Chappell expressed this truth as follows: “The buildings we are constructing, the characters we are making are going to be tested. For this reason we are not to build for fair weather only. We must build with a view to hours of crisis. Upon you, and you, and you some day the storm will surely break. The building of the foolish man is going to be tested, but the building of the wise man is going to be tested too. God does not coddle His saints. But there are those, thank God, that are going to pass through the testing without loss and outride all storms.”
Could it be that the storms of life come to reveal how strong your foundation really is? Many times we think that they are only to test us to see if we can withstand the storm. I want you to consider today that they are like a mirror, revealing how prepared you are.
The bottom line of Jesus’ famous sermon was that people must not only hear His words but also obey them. The main point – that obedience to the truths Jesus taught lays a solid foundation for all of life. It applies to individuals, churches, and nations. Since the illustration takes place in a house, what could be more appropriate than for a family or household to take these matters to heart?
This Sunday several of our new parents will be bringing their babies and dedicating them to the Lord. They are bringing their children to Jesus at the beginning of their life, recognizing that they are a gift and that Jesus has entrusted them to raise them up in Christ and the Church. This is laying a foundation of faith in their life, asking the Lord to help them teach them to put Him first in their lives, as they model what it is to be totally committed to Jesus. I can’t think of a better example of this Scripture than that. And to think that we as a congregation play a role in this as well. Don’t miss out on this blessing as we support these families with our prayers.
So whether you are in the midst of a storm or you are experiencing a restful time – saturate in the Word and God and allow Jesus to transform you by the renewing of your mind. I guarantee that God will use your obedience, prayers, and times of renewal for His glory.
May God give you his grace as you walk in obedience to the One who was, is, and is to come…
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
No comments:
Post a Comment