Five Things God Uses To GROW Your Faith
Part 2: Practical Biblical Teaching
Matthew 7:24-29
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Dr. Randy Deal, Executive Pastor, Rock Point Church
GOD USES FIVE THINGS TO GROW OUR FAITH:
1. Practical teaching
2. Providential relationships
3. Private (spiritual) disciplines
4. Pivotal circumstances
5. Personal ministry
Practical Biblical Teaching…shows us where we ARE and where we need to GO!
THE PARABLE OF THE WISE BUILDER VS. THE FOOLISH BUILDER
Matthew 7:24-29 (NIV) "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." When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
1. LISTEN to Jesus!
2. DO what He says!
Matthew 5:19, John 13:17, James 1:22
3. STORMS WILL come!
Job 14:1
4. Storms test our FOUNDATION!
Isaiah 59:19, 1 Peter 5:8b, Revelation 12:15
Ephesians 4:14
5. Our foundation is The ROCK!
Luke 6:46, John 14:15
1 Corinthians 3:11
The Bible can save your life!
Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16
Five Things God Uses To GROW Your Faith
Part 2: Practical Biblical Teaching
Matthew 7:24-29
Dr. Randy Deal
Mountain View Family Church
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Video: Baby Got Book (4:25)
Funny! Very funny! But as we will come to understand today, it’s not the SIZE of your BIBLE that matters, it’s the SIZE of your FAITH because you put the Bible into practice! When our OBEDIENCE, our acts of FAITH, intersect with God’s faithfulness, God shows up and our faith gets bigger! Stronger! BIG FAITH comes when we APPLY God’s Word in our lives, not just HEAR it or BEIEVE it.
See…It’s one thing to believe in the benefits of EXERCISE and another thing to actually exercise! It’s one thing to believe in good NUTRITION and another thing to eat healthy. (Yes...I had to go there! )
Many churches are content to teach us what to BELIEVE. And if we BELIEVE, that’s enough! But people with BIG FAITH are people who are living it out! And they started living it out when someone challenged them with the Scriptures, with the Teachings of Jesus Christ, with God’s Word! Can’t just BELIEVE it…gotta DO something about it!
Last week, Pastor Rick opened this series with very thought provoking questions. He shared that in tough times, our TRUST often turns into DOUBT! He asked…
1. What would it be like if we had COMPLETE TRUST in God?
2. What if God really existed and we had BIG FAITH in Him? BIG FAITH that honors Him!
3. What if we were ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT that God was WITH us? That He was FOR us NOT AGAINST us?
4. What if we were ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT that EVERYTHING that came our way was part of God’s divine plan, and that someday we’dd look back and see how it all fit together?
5. What would happen to our stress? Our fears? Our illnesses? Our budgets?
6. What if we were COMPLETELY CONFIDENT that God REALLY did have our best interests in mind when he gave us his Word to live by?
7. What if when faced with temptation, we immediately went into a mode of: God, I trust you to get me through this—and then we leaned hard and walked away?
8. What if we lived with the BIG FAITH that God was WITH us and FOR us and working THROUGH us…NO MATTER OUR CIRCUMSTANCES?
9. What if we began TRUSTING God again, with BIG, BIG FAITH, and entered into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?
10. What if our lives GLORIFIED GOD because we truly lived in active, death defying, out-of-the-box, OVER-THE-TOP FAITH and TRUST in Almighty God?
11. What would THAT look like?
How many of us live like THAT? How many of us know someone like THAT? Who wants to be them? See…Christians…Believers…who have fully embraced a BIG FAITH like THAT…are AMAZING people of God! And when you hear their stories, when you hear their spiritual journeys, when you listen to them testify about how God has SHOWN UP AND SHOWED OFF in their lives…five things emerge:
As Pastor Rick previewed last Sunday (if not here, please go listen online!)
GOD USES FIVE THINGS TO GROW OUR FAITH:
1. Practical teaching
2. Providential relationships
3. Private (spiritual) disciplines
4. Pivotal circumstances
5. Personal ministry
TODAY…Practical Biblical Teaching…shows us where we ARE and where we need to GO!
Hold up BIG WHITE FAMILY BIBLE….A little boy opened the big family Bible at home. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it closely. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mamma, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered: "I think it’s Adam’s underwear."
OUR BIBLE ISN’T JUST FOR CARRYING TO CHURCH AND STORING YOUR BULLETINS! We must APPLY it to our lives for it to TRANSFORM our lives…to GROW OUR FAITH!
Turn with me…Matthew chapter 7, starting in verse 24 and as you turn there, let me set up the context of our primary passage this morning…
“Therefore…” (v. 24): What’s the THEREFORE there for?
Jesus had just unloaded a new RADICAL, COUNTER CULTURAL value system, what we call The Sermon On The Mount (5:1 – 7:13), His greatest Sermon of all time…the JESUS MANIFESTO...
Jesus presents a way for us to live that if we REALLY lived this way, the ONLY explanation for HOW we could possibly do it is because of a TRANSFORMED HEART from personal, SURRENDERED relationship with Jesus Christ!
His “Manifesto” includes: The Beattitudes, the Law, the Lord’s Prayer, Money, Marriage, Divorce….the most PRACTICAL, APPLICABLE teachings of Jesus!
He’s preaching to his disciples, basically saying things like…
• Lust is adultery!
• Turn the other cheek!
• If someone wants a favor, do even MORE than they ask!
• LOVE your ENEMIES!
• Give your MONEY away! Be GENEROUS!
• Anger can be murder!
• Eye for an eye!
• Marriage and Re-Marriage!
• Forgive—no matter what—even if it feels like you are letting them off the hook!
• Don’t judge!
• Pursue people who you’ve wronged and make it right!
• GOLDEN RULE: Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated!
This = RADICAL stuff!
Then…to illustrate that we have a CHOICE to make with His teachings, Jesus’ Sermon ends here in Matthew 7 with FOUR COMPARATIVE WARNINGS:
• (vv. 13-14) The Narrow Gate vs. The Wide Gate: 2 destinies: Will we choose the abundant life or a life of destruction?
• (vv. 15-20) The Good Tree vs. The Bad Tree: Don’t be deceived! Will our lives bear GOOD fruit or BAD fruit?
• (vv. 21-23) The Two Claims: Will we just proclaim the Lord or will we actually DO what He says?
Then, in light of these radical choices, He says, "therefore" (v. 24) these two positions can be likened to two builders and their houses…
• The Wise Builder vs. The Foolish Builder or The Strong Foundation vs. The Weak Foundation (vv. 24-27): Will we merely HEAR God’s Word or will we ACT on it?
All 4 of these WARNINGS deal with our DESTINY! ONLY 2 POSSIBLE OUTCOMES! Are we experiencing Eternal Life right now or not? Will we go to heaven when we die or not? Sad news….(vv. 13-14, 21-23) some will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven, soley because of their resonse to Jesus’ words!
The PARABLE of the Wise Builder vs. the Foolish Builder
Matthew 7:24-29 (NIV) 24"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.
Jesus was saying here that in order for his teaching to have any impact in our lives and in this Fallen World, we’ve got to DO something. Believing is NOT enough!
25The 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. 26But 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.
You can BELIEVE and STILL be a fool!
27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
Jesus’ teaching should MOVE us to ACTION!
29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Their teachers helped the disciples KNOW more, but Jesus MOVED them to DO more!
Let’s dive in to this parable…
“Therefore EVERYONE who hears these words of Mine…” (v. 24)
See…because there are only 2 ways and because there are so many deceivers and because not everyone enters the kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, “you gotta listen to me!”
1. LISTEN to Jesus!
In Scripture, the word “house” is used:
1. …of a person’s own self as in the house of the unclean spirit (Matthew 12:43-45)
2. …of a person’s family as in their household (1 Timothy 3:4-5)
3. …of the church itself which is the Lord’s house (1 Peter 2:5-9)
Whether we are building our lives, our character, our families, our careers, our ministries, our churches…
2. DO what He says!
Both hear…but only the Wise Man DOES anything about it!
Earlier in Matthew 5:19 (NIV), Jesus said, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called GREAT in the kingdom of heaven.
After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus in John 13:17 (NIV) says, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you DO them.”
James 1:22 (NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO – WHAT – IT – SAYS!
We are ALL builders! We are all HEARERS today! We are ALL building our house. The only difference between us is the FOUNDATION we are building ON!
The FOUNDATION of our lives is what we CHOOSE to believe in, what TEACHINGS we CHOOSE to obey and PUT INTO PRACTICE, what TRUTH we CHOOSE to put our FAITH in! That FOUNDATION determines how we will weather the STORMS of this life…and we ALL face STORMS! Amen?
In this parable…BOTH HOUSES are hit by a storm, but only ONE stands in the storm!
Gonna build on sand and only HEAR the Word? Or gonna build on The Rock and HEAR AND OBEY the Word?
3. STORMS WILL come! Can I get an Amen?
Job 14:1 (NIV) Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.
The Bible says God rains on the just and the unjust! (Matthew 5:45)
Every “house” we build will face a storm! God promises it to us!
Jesus is not teaching a parable about how to build our houses in protected areas. There are no storm-free housing zones!
PHYSICAL STORMS (natural events)
o fire, floods
o lose all our possessions
o How will our house stand in the face of such “storms”?
FIGURATIVE STORMS
o illness, loss of loved ones, financial setbacks
o lose our health, our wealth, our family
o Our ability to weather such “storms” will depend on the FOUNDATION of our house!
Storms described identically in vs. 25 & 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;
One house stood and one fell. What brought out the difference in the two houses? The storm! Each house looks secure in good weather. But when the storms come, the FOUNDATION is revealed! Isn’t that so true in our own lives?
But this is a parable about FOUNDATIONS…not avoiding the weather!
Underneath these 2 houses there was a HUGE difference in foundations! At the very FOUNDATION of these 2 houses there was a huge difference! At the very CORE of these 2 houses there was a huge difference! A difference so great that one would stand and one would fall when the storms come, because...
4. Storms test our FOUNDATION!
Who’s had their FOUNDATION tested?
Isaiah 59:19 (NIV) describes the enemy coming against the people of God like a FLOOD.
1 Peter 5:8b (NIV) Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Revelation 12:15 (NIV) describes Satan sending a flood against God’s people hoping to sweep them away.
Notice the terminology in Vs. 27, “...and it fell with a GREAT crash.”
The enemy sends storms and floods of all kinds against our foundation. He knows that if he can get people to embrace something other than the teachings of Christ, other than the Word of God, other than the Holy Bible, it doesn’t matter what they build, it will ultimately crash!
Ephesians 4:14 (NIV) Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
There are many voices (Oprah…hmmm…) today that say God’s commandments aren’t necessary, that there are many paths which lead to God, but Jesus says there is only ONE foundation which will stand in the storm!
5. Our foundation is The ROCK!
Jesus says 24"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. 25The 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.
To build on the rock means to be a hearing, responding disciple, not a phony, superficial one!
Luke’s version of this parable in Luke 6:46 (NIV), Jesus says, “Why do you call me, ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Jesus also said in John 14:15 (NIV), “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.”
Gotta build our spiritual house on THE Rock! That Rock is Jesus Christ! Listen to Him! Do what He says! He is the solid Rock. He is the Rock of our foundation.
Psalm 18:2,31,46 (NIV) The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God? The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
Read the Psalms! 19, 27, 28, 31, 40, 42, 61, 62, 78, 89, 92, 94, 95, 144
Paul…1 Corinthians 3:11 (NIV) For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Build wisely! Build on the solid Rock! There is only one foundation that will make it through the storms of life and that is Jesus Christ!
CONCLUSION
Quote: “The Sermon On The Mount ends with what has been implicit all throughout it--the demand for radical submission to the exclusive lordship of Jesus, who fulfills the Law and the Prophets and warns the disobedient that the alternative to total obedience, true righteousness, and life in the kingdom is rebellion, self-centeredness, and (literally) eternal damnation!”
Everything depends on our FOUNDATION! We’re either building our lives on Jesus and his teachings….or we aren’t!
Wanna stand when the storms come? Listen to Jesus AND DO what He says! If you don’t? Headed for destruction!
What foundation are you building on? BUILD WISELY! DON’T BE A FOOL!
Wisdom is putting Jesus’ words into practice, building to withstand ANYTHING!
Foolishness is pretending to have FAITH or only having knowledge ABOUT Jesus!
It’s about APPLICATION, not more knowledge!
Pastor Lane Jones says, “Unapplied truth is like unapplied paint. It doesn’t do anybody any good. The value is in the application.”
It’s about being OBEDIENT, NOT to GAIN God’s acceptance, but BECAUSE of God’s acceptance!
Quote: “Like a house of cards, the fool’s life crumbles. Most people don’t deliberately seek to build on a false or inferior foundation; instead, they just don’t think about their life’s purpose. Many people are headed for destruction, not out of stubbornness but out of thoughtlessness. Part of our responsibility as believers, AND WHAT I’M TRYING TO DO TODAY, is to help us stop and think about where our lives are headed and to point out the consequences of ignoring the message of Jesus Christ!”
A U.S. soldier shot by a sniper in Iraq back in August 2007 said his pocket-sized Bible tucked in his shirt saved his life by stopping a bullet near his heart. 22 year old Pfc. Brendon Schweigart was helping retrieve a tank in Iraq when he was hit by a sniper’s bullet. Schweigart said the bullet stopped right where the Bible was in his shirt pocket. He said, "(The Bible) definitely prevented more serious injury, because if it wouldn’t have been there, it would have ricocheted off my bullet-proof plate and more than likely would have gone back into my chest, causing more damage."
The Bible…the very Word of God…can LITERALLY save your life! Eternally!
Psalm 119:105, 130 (NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Put your Bibles and your notes away and just listen to me now…
God uses practical biblical teaching to GROW our faith…
Here’s why I know this is absolutely true! On April 16th of last year, the most disasterous storm of my entire life hit my house HARD! My 16 yr old son, my baby, Randy Jr was in a fatal car accident in our community in Power Ranch. Many of you followed the story in the papers. Many of you prayed. Thank you! He and 3 of his best friends were in a single car roll over. Randy was the only one wearing his seat belt so he rolled inside the vehicle when the others were thrown. One boy died, Dylan Beaver, only 14. None of the other 3, including my Randy, were expected to live. In fact, there’s no medical reason that they did. But they did! On the Glascow Coma Scale, with 3 being the worst and 15 being the best, Randy was a 3 that night! He suffered the worst possible Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with what’s called Brain Shearing when the front and both side lobes of his brain literally were shredded inside. He broke his neck at C5 and C6, the base, the diver’s fracture, but his spinal cord was spared. He had bleeding and brusing in his brain. A broken rib. Severe contusion of his entire right arm. But…he was extubated in less than 24 hours, was home within 6 days, did Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy for 6 months and we just celebrated his 17th birthday 10 days ago.
Watch this quick Photo Montage put to Mercy Me’s “Bring The Rain.”
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Here’s a few of the Scriptures, that because I had put them into practice, helped me stand in the storm:
“Peace” on the 202 heading to MMC…Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In coma in ICU….1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
Dylan Memorial Service…John 14:1-3 (NIV) Jesus said…"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Psalm 34:18 (NIV) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Randy Jr home in 6 days… Psalm 56:13 (NIV) For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
When couldn’t get to out-pt therapy for a few weeks, Dena & I became his therapists…Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
When football career over…Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
When his broken neck healed beautifully…Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
When the Medical Bills Piled Up…Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
My FAITH didn’t waiver when I nearly lost my son! My faith GREW! Because I had already decided long ago to listen to God’s Word AND to put it into practice in my life. I had already decided years ago to build my life on THE ROCK, Jesus Christ! The STORM could not shake my foundation!
It’s not how many times you’ve been through the Bible…it’s how many times has the Bible been through you! Don’t be just HEARERS but be DOERS of His Word! PUT IT INTO PRACTICE! It will come ALIVE in your life! Then…you’ll be able to stand in the storms!
God uses Practical Biblical Teaching to GROW our faith!
