“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)I spent many years of my life believing in God, hearing and knowing the truth, but never living out what the Bible taught. I would say, “I believe in God and I’m ‘saved’.”, then turn around and party, get drunk, fill my mind with trashy movies and music, spout out filthy language, have sex outside of marriage. Do everything the world says is ok and everything that God wanted to protect me from. I never took the step of obedience. It's not enough to just believe. The Bible says in James 2:19 (NLT), “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror”.
In Luke, Jesus compares those who are not obedient to His Word to a house with no foundation. For me, these are like castles built of sand. Tell me if this sounds like your life. You're sitting on a beach building a beautiful castle, you have spent endless hours in construction, when suddenly a wave comes crashing in and destroys all your hard work. Devastated you get up determined to keep going. Nothing is going to get you down. So you move to another spot and start building your sand castle again. And again, a wave comes crashing in and wipes out your castle. Yet you will not let life defeat you, so you get up, move somewhere else and start rebuilding. We all know what happens next.
Is that how your life feels? Do you keep getting knocked down and get back up only to have everything knocked down again? My biggest question to you right now would be: what or who is your foundation? What are you building with?
Jesus says that the man who is obedient to His Word builds a house on a firm foundation that will withstand the crushing elements. These aren't our own personal kingdoms of dirt and sand but Gods solid kingdom built up in our lives. If you really think about it, God knows all, sees all and understands all. His Word is our guide book on how to live life. Our rules for life. He knows what is best for us, so it makes sense to do what He says to do. When you begin to be obedient to His rules for life, your life won’t fall apart with every trial. God doesn’t promise that we won’t have hard times in life, but you may find that as you follow God’s path for your life that you spend less time struggling, less time falling flat on your face, less time digging yourself out of difficulties.
If you are tired of having your life falling apart or getting beat down when difficult times come, then stop and evaluate your foundation. Are you being obedient to God’s Word or are you merely believing in it and hearing it?
The Bible says in James 1:22-25 to "be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." James compares a person who only hears the Word but doesn't obey it like someone who forgets what he looks like. But the one who obeys God’s Word "will be blessed in his doing.”
The Greek word for blessed is Makarios. Makarios means satisfaction from experiencing the fullness of something and refers to the believer in Christ who is satisfied and secure in the midst of life's hardships because of the indwelling fullness of the Spirit.
Be obedient to God’s Word. Don’t just merely hear and believe, but DO…and experience the fullness of life.
