An Effective Walk

An Effective Walk

Matthew 5:13-16

Last week, we talked about having a “Courageous Walk”. So the next logical question is HOW! How do we follow Christ in a more effective way? Today, we will talk about wisdom and truth from God’s word to help us be successful in that.

In Matthew, chapter 5, we see Jesus preaching on the sermon on the Mount to the His disciples and to the crowd that was around Him. 

Matt 5:13 Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for a nything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men…You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.“

A Wise Builder vs a Foolish Builder…

 

A Wise Builder

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the ROCK. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the ROCK. But everyone who hears these words of MINE and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Notice that Jesus tells us that it’s not enough to just HEAR the words, but you must put them into action. The person who HEARS His words and ACTS upon them can be compared to a WISE BUILDER.

In the book of James, He tells us to be a “DOER” of the Word and not just a “HEARER” of the Word. James 1:22-24 “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Rom 2:13 says, “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.“

Knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action.

When the storms of life come along, and they will, we need a foundation that will stand up against whatever is thrown against it. Jesus tells us that because of the effort of the WISE BUILDER to build their house on the ROCK, whenever the storms come, the house will stand. 

 

A Foolish Builder

The problem is not a lack of knowledge. It says that both the wise and the foolish builder heard the words. So what’s the difference? The foolish builder is the one who hears the word of God and does NOT ACT upon it. Jesus says that person is building their house upon the sand.

Listen, building on the sand is like listening to Heavenly instruction and going back to earthly habits. What are earthly habits? To build on sand is to build on your own self-will, your own self-fulfillment, your own self-purpose, your own self-sufficiency, your own self-satisfaction, and your own self-righteousness.

The foolish builder is short-sighted. He doesn’t give any thought to tomorrow or next year or ten years from now. The foolish builder is always trying to do what is easy and quick.

It is not enough just to have knowledge; to be effective requires you to USE your knowledge to guide your actions. That is wisdom.

No matter how nice a building we build, no matter how pretty it is, for it to stand, it must have an EFFECTIVE FOUNDATION. The same is true for Christians. 

The time of testing will come. The storms will come.

Will your spiritual house stand or fall?

Are you a Wise Builder or a Foolish Builder?