CHAPTER FOUR

Saturday 11th April

One of my favourite parables is found in Matthew 7:24-27. It’s the story of the wise and foolish builders.

I’m sure most of you reading this, will know it, but just in case, here’s the story!

2 men, 2 houses, 1 storm (commentators say that the houses were next to each other which makes this even more poignant in my thinking)

1 man built his house on rock, he dug down deep for his foundations. The other man built his on sand. He didn’t dig down deep for his foundations.

A storm came and the house that was built on rock stood firm, and the other? You guessed it, it collapsed and was ‘utterly destroyed’ some versions say this.

The message behind the story, if you want to survive a storm, you have to build a solid foundation. Jesus explained it this way: if you hear the word of God and apply it to your life, you are like the wise man. If you hear the word of God and don’t apply it to your life, you are like the foolish man and your ‘house’ will not stand firm.

How many times have you seen Christians shipwreck their lives? More often than not, if you were to ask how their building progress has been going, it’s likely that it hasn’t or if it has, it’s been mainly on sand.

Jesus never promised a life without storms, storms and challenges are  what test us and helps us grow, but he also never said we would be on our own to deal with the storms. We have access to the master builder who helps us build wisely, if you listen to Him.

I have to say at this point, that there are some, many storms that we absolutely bring on ourselves because of the silly choices we make at times. We have to submit to God and to ‘acknowledge Him in all our ways’, only by acknowledging Him, talking to Him, asking Him for His thoughts do we receive the promise that comes in the second half of that verse which is, ‘and He will make your paths straight’ (Proverbs 3:6) So often, we don’t acknowledge Him, we don’t take His advice, we do our own thing and wonder why our paths aren’t straight….

Another great potion of scripture showing us the responsibility that we have to grow in Jesus…. 1 Timothy 1:18-19

“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith.”

 By rejecting building a solid foundation – some have made a shipwreck of their faith. Strong words, yet words that we rarely hear from pulpits today.

Look at what is a available to those of us who believe..

John 15:5

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you”.

Wow! Jesus has made known to us, ALL that he has heard from the Father! Our job is to study it and to build on a firm foundation. And if we do that, when storms come, our houses will stand!

After thought – 7th November 2020

This week, the story broke of the New York Hillsong’s pastor, Carl Lentz. He was fired from his role due to a moral failure, an affair. A cool, trendy, relevant pastor (he baptised Justin Bieber) taken out because, as far as I am concerned, was building his house on sand. He wasn’t doing what was right (Genesis 4: 7) and he wasn’t adding to his faith – 2 Peter 1:10.

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

The consequences of a shipwreck and a house collapse are massive. What now for Carl, his family and the church? Huge repercussions. No doubt, that with God’s mercy and grace, they will all recover, but there will be a huge price to pay.

This Kingdom that we are a part of isn’t a game, it’s serious. Carl wasn’t the only one who fell this week. We were speaking to good friends of ours just this week and they told us of a highly respected Tanzanian pastor who has been doing the same thing, to the point of getting a girl pregnant.

I wonder how many other pastors/church leaders are having sex with people they shouldn’t be? I wonder if this is a major reason why we are not seeing what we should be seeing?

“The kingdom of heaven is advancing and forceful men take hold of it!” Matthew 11:12

If you’ve lost your grip, if you’re on a slippery slope, if you’re building on sand, if you’re sleeping with someone you shouldn’t be – stop it. If you’re texting someone you shouldn’t be – stop it, or it will spiral out of control. You think texting is innocent? How do you think Carl started on this path? I think I am safe in saying, he didn’t wake up one day and commit adultery. He began by making small, wrong choices and ended up in bed with someone who is not his wife. If you continue on a path of wrong choices, the enemy is waiting to pounce, if we give him a sniff of a chance, he will take anyone down.

Don’t down tools, build on the rock.

See you next week! D x