PROCLAMATION
“Whosoever cometh to
Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you whom he is
like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid
the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat
vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a
rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a
foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat
vehemently, and immediately if fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 6:47-49 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
These
words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which
were spoken by Christ according to Luke, the physician. On a
sabbath day, Jesus and His disciples were going through the fields and they plucked
ears of corn and ate them. The Pharisees
saw this and asked Him, “Why they did that which is unlawful to do on the
sabbath?” (Luke 6:1-2) Jesus answered
them by asking had they not read what David did when he and his men were
hungry. (Luke 6:3-4) On another sabbath
while in the synagogue, Jesus healed a man with a shriveled right hand.
He asked if it was lawful to do good on the sabbath. The scribes and the
Pharisees who saw Him do it were furious with Him and began to discuss among
themselves what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:5-11) There was a large
crowd which followed Him, some of them wanted to hear Him, while others wanted
to be healed. He taught them to love their enemies, (Luke 6:27-29) to
give to anyone who asks, (Luke 6:30) to do unto others as they would have them
to do unto themselves, (Luke 6:31 – The Golden Rule) to lend money without
expecting repayment, (Luke 6:34-36) not to judge others, (Luke 6:37) and to
give and it will be given to them. (Luke 6:38) He also told them that
good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. (Luke
6:43-45) Then He said that people who hear Him and put His words into
practice are like a man who builds his house on a solid foundation. (Luke
6:46-49)
APPLICATION
It is not enough to
hear The Word of God, we must also internalize it and put it into practice.
(James 1:22) Our beliefs and our behavior, our spiritual house so to
speak, should be built on a solid foundation. (Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke
6:47-49) The only truly solid foundation is Jesus, The Christ. He
is The Rock of our salvation and our foundation. Our life, our thoughts,
our words, and our actions must be built upon The Rock. (1 Corinthians
10:4) It is our foundation in Christ that keeps us standing when the
storms and the temptations of life come up against us. As the words of
the Christian hymn state: “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground
is sinking sand.” (“My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” by Edward Mote)
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