Today I am going to start with a question. It is a question that will make us do some soul searching. I ask you today, what motivates your behavior? But to understand the complexity of the question that I have just asked, we will first have to know the definition of this small word “behavior.” The word behavior is defined as 1. A: the manner of conducting oneself, B: anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulation, C: the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment, 2. the way in which someone behaves; also: an instance of such behavior, the way in which something functions or operates. With this definition in mind, I want us to ask ourselves again, what motivates my behavior? This is a question that we should be asking ourselves as Christians because oftentimes, human behavior is motivated by that which offends God. The problem is that many believers fail to recognize or simply ignore the danger that exists in allowing oneself to be motivated by that which is condemned by God. The danger may or may not be something that will manifest itself in the immediate future, but of one thing that we can be sure is that it will manifest itself. Of one thing that we can be sure is that sooner or later our behavior and our actions will catch up to us. With this in mind let’s now turn to the word of God to see the message that He has in store for us.
Mathew 7:21-27 - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
As I stated just a minute ago, there are a large number of believers in the body of Christ that ignore or simply disregard the consequences of their behavior. There are a large number of believers in the body of Christ that continue to act and behave in a fashion that is not accepted by God, and the consequences of this is very evident in the first three verses that we are studying today. But let’s break this down into smaller sections to fully comprehend the meaning of His words. First we see that He tells us “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” What we see reflected here simply put, is the spiritual condition of the body of Christ in our days. I say this because there are numerous congregations that are full of people, there are numerous congregations that are full of professing believers, but in fact they are not. There are numerous congregations that are full of people that have accepted the Lord, but that fail to live the way that God intends them to live. There are numerous congregations that are full of people, who are there because it has become convenient, and not because they have received conviction of their actions. There are numerous congregations that are full of people that although they profess His name, they are unwilling to change. But the truth of the matter is that unless a change occurs, then you have nothing. This is something that is very well reflected in John 3:3 when we read "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Here the Lord tells us that we must be born again, in other words we need to start from scratch. Think about this for a second or two. When an infant is born, what knowledge or behavior does he have? Of course the answer to that question is none. At the time of birth the infant is totally innocent, the infant does not know the difference between right and wrong, and does not have the capability to do wrong. The knowledge and the capability to do wrong is something that is learned later in life. The knowledge and capability to do wrong is something that develops according to the behavior of those around him or her. Now, I want to stop here for a second to clarify something.
I am sure that what I have just told you has set off some alarms in the minds of many. Alarms have begun to ring because many have immediately begun thinking about their children. I am sure that many are thinking “I have provided the best example I could to my child.” Of this fact there is no doubt, this is why parents and family can’t always be blamed for a person going astray. I say this because throughout human history there have been countless cases where a person has grown up in a perfectly good atmosphere, but that later on in life have departed from what they have learned. So I am not saying that anyone is to blame, because when it all boils down, the only person to blame for our bad behavior is ourselves. We have the power to resist the temptations, but most of all we have the power to do good, but unfortunately many of us do not exercise these powers. But his is a preaching for another day. So, the knowledge and capability to do wrong is something that is developed later in life, and it is this knowledge that influences and in many instances dictates our behavior.
As I said before, there are many within the body of Christ that are there only because it is convenient. What do I mean by this? Although in some circles of society a Christian is often looked at as a religious nut, for the most part, when someone speaks of a Christian, the first thing that comes to mind is that of a good person. Here lies the convenience. The convenience being that we all want to be seen as good people. So by going to church once or twice per week, by attending church events and social gatherings, many give the appearance of being good and wholesome. By attending prayer nights and in some cases by serving in the church in some official capacity, many have the convenience of appearing as something they are not. Many have the convenience of appearing to be God fearing people. But to all of those I say, look carefully at the word of our Lord when He said “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” As I have stated before, the consequences of our behavior may not have an immediate effect in our life, but as we have seen here, sooner or later it will catch up to us. Let us remember what Jesus told us in Mark 4:22 when He said "For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad." Let us also never forget Paul’s warning in Galatians 6:7 when we read "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Tell the brother next to you, God can not be fooled. You see, men look at the exterior things. Men look at the outward appearances, but God does things very differently. Look carefully at how God sees things when we read 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." Tell the brother next to you, God can not be fooled. God will not be fooled by your church attendance. God will not be fooled by your faithful tithing. God will not be fooled! God will not be fooled because God is not looking at the appearances; God is looking in your heart.
What shall we do then? Jesus gives us the answer very clearly when He states “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” They key words are “doeth them.” We can’t just hear the word of God; we have to do the word of God. Brethren if we are not following the word of God, then we are only fooling ourselves. Look carefully at what we find in James 1:22 when we read "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." The foundation of our life has to be the word of God, or else, we will always fail. Something that is very true about our life is that we will all have to struggle with temptations. Let’s face it, no one here is exempt, I repeat no one here is exempt. We will all be tempted as we find in James 1:14 when we read "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Everyone here without exception will be tempted, in other words, the rain and the floods will come, and the wind will blow. Severe storms will arise in our life, all because of or behavior. This is something that is clearly reflected here, when we read “when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” This is why the foundation of marriage has to be founded in the word of God. This is why the foundation of our friendships has to be based on the word of God. This is why the foundation of our entire life, our behavior, has to be based on the word of God. Look carefully at what we find in Ephesians 5:33 when we read "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." When we follow this, when we follow and live the word of God, then there will never be heartbreaks. When we follow and live the word of God our home will become what it is meant to be, it will become a blessing. Let us play close attention to what we find in Mark 8:38 when we read “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Why must we pay close attention to this? We must pay close attention to this because in the majority of the situations, in order to look good in front of our friends, we become ashamed of our beliefs and compromise our faith. The foundation of our entire behavior has to be based in the word of God. Look carefully at what we find in 1 Corinthians 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." When we follow and live the word of God, when we stand firm in our faith at all times, then there is no storm strong enough that can influence us. How can I say this with such conviction? I can say it because as we find in the word of God in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." But all of this can only be accomplished when we have conviction of His word.
What happens when we do not have conviction of His word? Jesus provides us with the answer here also when we read “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” The key words here are “doeth them not.” Simply stated, when we do not have conviction of His word, when we do not base our life in the word of God, then when temptation comes around, we will succumb to it. I know that many of you right now are receiving conviction of the word of God. It would be impossible for me to list or even think of all of the things that we can, and oftentimes, do wrong. But I know that God is handing our conviction this morning. God tells you today as we find Romans 8:7 when we read "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." God tells you today as we find in James 4:4 when we read "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." God tells you today as we find in Mark 7:21-23 when we read "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” God tells you today as we find in Romans 13:13 when we read "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." Tell the brother next to you, God is handing our conviction.
In conclusion, I know that I have spoken some harsh words today; I know that the message today has been strong, but it has been this way because God wants us all to analyze our life, and our relationship with Him. God is convicting you today of your actions and behavior because He does not want to see you go astray. Look carefully at what we find in John 6:39 when we read "And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." The problem that persists is that many believers fail to recognize or simply ignore the danger that exists in allowing oneself to be motivated by that which is condemned by God. But remember what His word tells us in Matthew 5:29 when we read "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." But what does this mean? Do we really have to pluck out our eye? Of course not, if we took this literally, then we would all be going around one eyed. But when you search yourself this morning, and when analyze your life, if you find that your behavior and actions are separating you from God, then you must cut it out. You that call upon the name of the Lord, you that come to His place of worship but do not live His word, I tell you today, it’s time to build upon the rock. Remember that the consequences of your behavior may not be immediately felt, but rest assured that they will be felt. Remember that the behavior you exhibit will not only affect your life, but also the life of all of those around. Remember that you may fool people, but God can’t be fooled. God is handing out conviction this morning not to condemn you, or accuse you; God is handing out conviction this morning because He wants you to develop a genuine relationship with Him. Now the only question that remains is will you accept it? Remember what the word of God tells us in Hebrews 3:7-8 when we read “Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, today if ye will hear his voice, 8Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.”
