Video #14 - Just Do It!

Let me remind you of what Matthew 7:24-27 says:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

In a previous video we talked about 2 comparisons between the 2 builders and us.

• 1st they were building a home - a life, a heritage, a legacy.
• 2nd they both faced the same storms. We too face storms in life intent on taking us down.

Today let’s consider a third comparison Jesus gives between the two builders.  Both men went to the same Bible School.  They sat in the same class and listened to the same Professor teach the same Bible lesson.

Jesus said they both “heard” his words.  Both chose to be open to God’s Truth.  Please understand that Jesus wasn’t saying the wise man had a love for hearing the truth, while the foolish man had utter contempt for it.  No, both men heard God’s Word.  Both men sought it out.  Both men knew the value of what God had to say.  And both of these men listened to what God said.  Both of them gave careful consideration to what they heard, and they both understood how it applied to them!

Unfortunately, here is where the comparisons end.

• Here is where the men take two totally different paths.
• Here is where the sole singular contrast makes one a wise man and the other foolish.
• Although they both were building their life, although they both faced the same storm, and although they both heard God’s word, the fundamental difference between the two was the foundation they chose to build upon.
• One chose obedience to God’s Word, the other did not.

Jesus said the wise man built his house upon the rock.  He IMMEDIATELY applied God’s Word to his own heart and life - doing what God was instructing him to do.  The foolish man built his house upon the sand.  He heard and understood what God wanted from him, yet he chose to ignore it. 

According to Luke 6:48, the wise man didn’t simply set his house on that rock, he dug deep into it!  Obedience requires effort; it calls for discipline.  Remember, the wise man of Matthew 7 wasn’t able to rent a 385 CAT Excavator, he didn’t have access to a pneumatic jackhammer with alloy steel forgings and a four-bolt backhead design, he couldn’t even find a simple stick of dynamite.  He had just a chisel, a hammer and sheer brute force.

It takes work to build into the rock.  It requires time and energy, and it costs more.  Let’s face it; it’s always easier to take shortcuts in building a home.  You save money when you use inferior materials.  And for a while, no one may notice the shoddy work.  But somewhere along the line, there is a price to be paid.

It also takes less time and energy to maintain a superficial faith.  To be honest, who will be able to tell the difference?  It’s definitely easier to just show up for church for an hour a week, let the worship leader and the pastor fill you with warm fuzzies and then go on your way.  It’s less demanding on your day to just open the daily devotional booklet, read the few verses that are there, read the writers comments, close it up and go on with your day.

The question for you is this: are you doing the Word?  Are you moment by moment, day by day choosing to do what God says?  If you construct your life according to Christ’s building codes, if you dig deep into solid rock, you will never be disappointed (1 Pet. 2:6-7).

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About Steve Etner
Steve Etner is a National Men’s Speaker, Author and Purity Coach (www.thepuritycoach.com). He has authored many books, including “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to Transform Sinful Habits into God-Pleasing Patterns of Life”; “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity”; and “Are You A Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.” 

Steve’s conferences, seminars and retreats focus on what God has to say about the way we think and the impact it has on our behavior. By teaching men how to live in moral purity by equipping them with Biblical answers, Steve’s goal is for men to have a re-ignited passion for Jesus and learn how to prepare their minds to successfully overcome their temptations and thus live pure lives for Christ.