“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27 NASB1995)
All throughout the New Testament Scriptures we are given
this message. If we listen to the words of God, and if we act on them in
obedience to our Lord, and so we deny self, we die to sin, and we walk (in
conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord’s commands, by the Spirit, in
the power of God, we will survive the onslaughts of the enemy who is coming
against us, and we will have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
But if we do not obey God and his Word, but we follow the
ways of the world, instead, and we live for sinful desires to please the flesh,
and not to please God, and so we do not die to sin, then when the storms of
life come, and the enemy is doing everything he can to totally destroy us, we
will not survive. We will collapse. We will die in our sins without hope, we
will not be saved from our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.
And this word here is given to us in the context of the need
for us to be those who take the way of righteousness, holiness, godly living,
moral living, self-denial, death to sin, and obedience to God and to his
commands as the only path leading to salvation and to eternal life with God. For
the way to faith in Jesus Christ, which results in salvation and eternal life,
is restricted and controlled by God, and it has stipulations we must adhere to.
And this word here is also given in the context of the need
for us to beware of those who teach lies disguised as truth, who teach the
Scriptures out of context, and who twist them to say what they do not say if
taught in context. For they disguise themselves as servants of the Lord and as
teachers of truth, but they are inwardly ravenous wolves who come to us in
sheep’s clothing, hoping that we will believe their lies and reject the truth.
And this word here is also in the context of Jesus saying
that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father. And many will
stand before the Lord on the day of judgment claiming all they did in his name,
but he will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who
practice lawlessness,” and because they would not obey the Lord and die to sin.
Therefore, faith in Jesus Christ is not lip service only. We
are not of genuine faith in Jesus Christ just because we claim to be, but because
how we live gives evidence that such faith exists. For faith in Jesus, which
comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, will submit to the Lordship
of Christ, die with him to sin, and now walk with him in obedience to his
commands, all in the power of God at work in the life of the person of genuine
faith.
[Matthew 7:13-27; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44;
John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Musical Instrumentation by Mark
Bradley
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you
who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and
eat what’s good today,
And your soul will
delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and
you will live.
I have made an
eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of
the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while
He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked
forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the
Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons
him.
“For My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My
ways,”
declares the Lord,
our God.
“My word that goes
out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return
to Me unfulfilled.
My word will
accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal
I intend.
You will go in joy
and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will
burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees
clap their hands.”
Acting On God’s Words
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