Matthew
7:21-29
Jesus
said to his disciples, ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in
heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your
name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from
me, you evil men! ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and
acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came
down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it
did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words
of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house
on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it
fell; and what a fall it had!’ Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say,
and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them
with authority, and not like their own scribes.
Food
for thought!
Jesus
has been teching us since Mt. 5:1 (When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a
mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach
them). Today, as Jesus concludes his sermon, the crowd burst into applause.
They had never heard a teaching like this. This was the best teaching they had
ever heard. The people applauded Jesus because, though many of his teaching was
hard, no one is like him and no teaching is like of Jesus. He is a divine
teacher; he deserves all our listening.
And
Jesus knows how important are his words, that's why he says that the words he
speaks to us are not incidental additions to our life, homeowner improvements
to our standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life
on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who
built his house on solid rock. But if you just use his words in Bible studies
and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built
his house on the sandy beach.
Let's
look at the two houses, two lives, two kinds of Christians. Each house was
subjected to the same kinds of abuse. A storm came. Rains fell, winds blew and
savage floods wrapped themselves around these houses. One house fell in the
storm, but when the storm was over, one house was still standing, the other was
not.
The
two houses were built by two men. These men were pretty much alike. They both
wanted houses and they both built them. Both watched as the house they had
built was attacked by the same vicious storm. One watched in horror as the
house he had built succumbed to the storm and fell in the raging flood waters.
The other watched in satisfaction as his house stood firm in the storm. Jesus
looked at these men and proclaimed one a fool, but the other he called wise or
smart.
We
are one of these men; we are either one or the other. Each one of us and all of
us are builders of our own lives. Your life is like a house. It looks pretty
much like all the other houses around it. It is made from the same materials.
It is also attacked by the very same storms. Storms of economy, storms of
sickness, storms of sin, storms of temptation and storms of problems. But as
the two houses some houses, some people, do survive quite easily the challenges
of life while others do not. What makes the difference? It is the Word of God. Jesus
is teaching us that if our life is built upon anything that is not Jesus' word,
WE'RE IN TROUBLE! There is nothing in all creation that can bring us victory in
whatever it is we are facing than putting our faith in the Word of God. We must
learn to run to God’s Word when we are in the midst of a crisis or attack.
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