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March, 2010 Lessons to Convert Know And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 TheI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 Truth In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4
This Month's Theme: Dig A Little Deeper! Luke 6:46-49 But why do you call Me Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.
The text is a portion of Luke's account of the Sermon on the Mount. It was given to establish some religious truths conspicuously missing in this day. The principles set forth in this narrative are universal in the scope of coming to God. Jesus never claimed to originate His teaching apart from God; in fact, He claimed to only speak what God had given Him to say, note: John 12:49-50 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.
The very first point of this message is that of subjective and objective thinking! Subjective thinking is that which is based on ideas, feelings, and theories and absent of established fact. Objective thinking is that which is based on facts, evidence, and testimony! Jesus establishes in the first verse that where God has not spoken there can be no fact, evidence, or testimony; on the other hand, where God has spoken there can be no opinion, theory, or feeling of any value. So, in order to truly acknowledge God is to do the things which He says!
Jesus next, by illustration, states that He will show us one who truly comes to God. He states by this illustration that the one who truly comes to God is going to have to "Dig a Little Deeper" than the rest! He is going to have to find foundations that are firm enough to withstand the storm of life and doubt. He is going to have to build on a rock! Here the rock is the word of God (fact, evidence, and testimony). He was going to have to avoid subjective thinking and sources of wisdom that lead us to abandon the surety of our nature and purpose; to fear God and keep His commandments as our sole purpose for existence (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER THAN:
Jesus came to a world ruled by the doctrines of men. They were claiming to serve God, but had replaced His wisdom with a watered down version of their own. Matthew 15:8-9 "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
It was the same in the day of Isaiah the prophet (750 years earlier), from which Jesus is quoting here. Be very careful friend that you do not buy into what anyone tells you, until you can verify it from the word of God itself (in context and properly divided - 2 Timothy 2:15).
Many have found contentment in their service to God in the religion of their family or parents. "Dad was a Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, etc... That's good enough for me!" Does that sound like it is based on fact, evidence, or testimony? When I was a kid, my parents always told me when I wanted to do whatever everyone else was doing; "If they all jump of a cliff, are you going to jump off with them?" We had better dig a little deeper than the religion of our parents and become like the citizens of Berea , note: Acts 17:11 "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
Many have a misplaced conclusion that service to God is purposely for their entertainment. "Unless I feel moved, I don't want to go!" They have forgotten that service to God is exactly that. The benefits we receive from humbly bowing before our Creator are secondary to whether or not we please Him! In addition, they want to make God their pal? As if He was your neighbor down the street, or a friend from work; instead of the Holy Almighty! Friend, if He were standing before you this day, would you dare display this attitude? John 4:23-24 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. 1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" _____________________________________________________________ God commanded the Gospel to Go into the whole world in order to establish the rock that He wanted His children to build on! Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
Romans 10:17 " So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
COME! DIG A LITTLE DEEPER WITH US!
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