Matthew 7:24-29
24 “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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/satan-doesn-t-mind-bible-study-never-put-into-practice says:
ReplyDeleteReceiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put them into practice. We must become doers of the word (James 1:22 KJV).
I understand this is a hard step, because Satan fights it so intensely. He doesn’t mind you going to Bible studies as long as you don’t do anything with what you learn.
We fool ourselves when we assume that just because we have heard or read or studied a truth, we have internalized it.
Jesus also pointed out that God’s blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:17 NIV).
The best way to become a doer of the Word is to always write out an action step as a result of your reading or studying or reflecting on God’s Word. Develop the habit of writing down exactly what you intend to do.
This action step should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it). Every application will involve either your relationship to God, your relationship to others, or your personal character.
My 2 cents:
ReplyDeleteI think Jesus is repeating a pattern in the entire sermon. He gives us universal truths that specifically applies to salvation. That is His message has levels of depth that apply to us all, with the first level having to do with the initial entrance into His Kingdom.
In this case, Jesus is telling us that we need to accept and put into practice His words or final destruction (death) will overtake us suddenly. For those of us who passed through that initial gate (initial repentance and acknowledgement of Jesus' Lordship), there are more words from Jesus. In some cases, we hear Jesus' words and don't put them into practice in certain areas of our lives. In those particular areas, in which we build our shed on a foundation of sand, a storm is going to come and knock it over - a happenstance that God delights in, yet at the same time feels our pain.
In those areas of our lives where we are in obedience to God, we hardly notice things that would be storms in other people's lives. What we don't think of as a big deal would be a crisis of faith in other people's lives (and vice-versa in other areas where we have sand sheds).